Free The Devil Inside by Mia Amano Page A

slight smile. But I’m not about to let him get away that easily.
    I put my game face on.  
    Steady, girl.  
    Remember, he’s bothering me at work. Which is none of his business. He’s possibly gone out of his way to find me here. And for some reason, Mama-san is scared of him. She seems to think he’s some kind of bad and dangerous person.  
    From what I’ve seen so far, he probably is.  
    Oh, lordy.
    Game face, Adele. If Kaito wants my company during working hours, then he can damn well pay for the privilege.  
    I turn and wink at Mama-san. “Don’t worry. I’m sure this one doesn’t bite.”
    Mama-san’s face turns a whiter shade of pale. The way she’s looking at me, you’d think I’ve grown another head.

Adele

    As I walk towards Kaito’s table, holding the silver tray in one hand, he takes a slow drag of his cigarette. I cross the floor and pluck it right out of his mouth.
    “Dirty habit, remember?” I grind the offending smoke into the ashtray. I place the glass of whiskey in front of him and take a seat. “Fancy seeing you here. I didn’t know you were into this kind of thing.”
    Kaito takes a sip of his whisky and shoots me a flat look. “Likewise.” He hands me the drinks menu. “Why don’t you order something?”
    His matter-of-fact tone irritates me. There’s a sudden distance between us, as if he’s just a regular customer and we’ve never met before. “Sure.” I pluck the menu from his hands, rolling my eyes. “I’ll have an OJ with watered down vodka, and we’ll chat for a while. After three or four of those whiskeys, you’ll be ready for karaoke. Is that what you came here for?”
    “No.” Kaito leans in closer and I breathe in his complex, masculine scent. It’s like morning in a pine forest, mingled with the rich aroma of tobacco. He lifts the menu from me in one fluid motion and flips to a page at the back I hadn’t noticed before. It’s written in Japanese, with no English translation. “If you’re going to be successful in this job, you need to know this page. Don’t bother with the Japanese characters. Just look at the numbers.”
    I glance at the page and my eyes go wide. The items on that page are crazy expensive, some running into the thousands of dollars.  
    “There’s a certain kind of customer who likes to spend big. The more money he drops, the more you stroke his ego. That’s what this section is for.”  
    “And you’re telling me this because?”
    “You’re obviously doing this because you want quick money.” Kaito pulls another cigarette from inside his jacket. His eyes move slowly up and down, tracing along my figure. “Just trying to make it easier for you.”
    “Oh?” I take the cigarette out of his hand and break it in half, dropping the pieces into the ashtray. “In that case, I’ll have that one.” My finger lands on a menu item. I don’t know what the hell it is. It’s all written in Japanese. But the price is easy enough to read. Two thousand dollars.  
    “Ethereal Beauty sake?” Kaito raises a sardonic eyebrow. “How appropriate.”
    I snort. “Does buying that make you feel like a big man?”
    “No.” His hand brushes against mine as he lays the menu on the table. His touch is warm, and electric. A thrill courses through me. “Only an idiot would pay this much for a bottle of sake. But for some reason, you make me act like an idiot.”
    Kaito signals a waitress and orders in Japanese. She raises her eyebrows at me, but says nothing, bowing and hurrying across to the bar. She returns with a chilled bottle and two small, delicate cups made from fine pottery. There are Japanese characters written in bold, black brush strokes on the label. She’s about to serve us, but Kaito waves her away. He takes the bottle in his hands and pours the clear, slightly golden liquid into my cup. Then, he pours his own.  
    He raises his cup and I do the same. I summon my courage and knock back the liquid in one gulp, and it warms my