Chapter 157 - Underhanded Tricks (6)

Lina quickly put her phone back into her purse and walked back to the bar where her two companions sat.

As she got into her chair, she noticed the atmosphere was heavy. Both women, Ayu and Mana had nothing much to say to each other and had on fake smiles, as if to bear the torture they were being put through. 

In Mana's head, Ayu was a thorn in her side. And in Ayu's head, Mana was a third wheel, intruding on her and Lina's time together. 

As if trying to cut the silence, Lina commented breezily to Ayu, 

"Ayu, you haven't had more than one sip of your drink. I thought you liked this brand, didn't you?" 

'Better if the assistant keeps drinking too, then I can get her out of the way' Mana thought to herself. 

"Yes, drink up Ayu! It's on me tonight because I am celebrating finally having a night out with my best friend!" she smiled at Lina as she squeezed her arm, also hoping to coax her into drinking. 

Then she turned to Lina, the sugary smile still on her face. 

"Li, come on, let's make a night of it. Let's chug our drinks together. Bottoms up!" 

Lina sighed. She wasn't too sure about drinking...but she had Ayu by her side and her husband knew where she was. What could possibly go wrong? Maybe just this once, she'd just go with the flow. 

"Okay then, bottoms up!" Lina chimed in as bother she and Mana clinked their glasses and downed their drinks. 

Ayu observed the two ladies chug their drinks, and almost picked up her glass to do the same, but then she suddenly felt a slightly dizzying sensation. 

'Was the alcohol really that strong? It is only wine, after all...and I drink this label so regularly. I must be exhausted. If I get too drunk, I won't be able to look out for Madam, and worse, I may even confess.' she calculatedly thought to herself. 

Her boss would never forgive her if she let anything happen to Lina...and nor would she forgive herself. But she could never drunkenly let Lina know her feelings. That was a given. So she decided to pace herself. 

As Mana looked over to check Ayu's drink, she hadn't touched it beyond that small sip she took earlier. Mana frowned. 

"Ayu! You were supposed to down your drink with us! Why haven't you? Come on now, don't be a wuss and join us!" Mana urged. She couldn't have this woman making trouble tonight. She had Lila Lim to answer to, if anything went wrong. 

"No, I'd rather not...I am quite tired today--" Ayu began to say, but Mana had already come over to her side and lifted the glass to her lips. 

Just as Ayu was about to taste the alcohol, she saw Lina sway heavily from the corner of her eye. She pushed Mana's hand away immediately and jumped up. 

"Madam, are you okay!" she exclaimed throwing her arms around Lina's shoulders to support her slumping body. 

"What's wrong with her!" Ayu exclaimed, looking anxiously towards Mana, who seemed fine. 

Mana laughed breezily. 

"Don't worry, I think she just got drunk too quickly. Maybe downing the drink was a bad idea--she hasn't been drinking in a long time." Mana responded as she came over to help Ayu support the almost unconscious Lina. 

"We need to take her somewhere so she can lie down!" Ayu said, trying to hold Lina up. 

Mana nodded, seemingly agreeing. 

"I know where we can take her, come help me, this way", Mana added, trying to help Ayu support Lina and leading the way to the corner of the club. 

Frazzled and somewhat groggy, Ayu followed Mana to the corner. As she walked behind her weaving through the crowds, she thought it was odd how Mana knew so much about the ins and outs of this brand new club.

'Does she know someone on the inside? How does she have so much access?' Ayu thought to herself. 

But in that moment, she just needed a place to help Lina. She wanted some quiet, to check her pulse and her breathing. Even though Ayu was trying to be calm in the moment, deep inside, she was panicking. 

Lina was still recovering from the coma, and had she not been there to help, she wondered how much Mana could be trusted. 

As the reached the back end of the club, Mana pushed open a heavy door that almost merged into the dark wall. 

As they walked inside, the small passageway led to a narrow flight of stairs going downstairs, which seemed like a bas.e.m.e.nt. 

Ayu paused for a second before helping Mana bring Lina downstairs. The place seemed seedy. But Lina gurgled a little, as her weight pulled Ayu down a little more. She was now completely slumped, having lost consciousness. 

She decided to just follow Mana for the time being. As they walked to the end of the stair, Ayu barely able to stand anymore due to Lina's weight, Mana opened a small door to a room. 

Inside the dimly lit room, there was a mattress. Next to the mattress was a door. 

"There's a bathroom in here she can use" Mana said, huffing from helping Ayu carry Lina over. "But can you go over back to the bar and ask the bartender for a bottle of water?" 

As Ayu helped lay Lina down on the mattress, Lina's mouth moved uncomfortably. She must be parched. She needed water to feel better. 

Without a second thought, Ayu pushed back her own grogginess and ran back out of the room and up the narrow flight of stairs. 

Behind her, Mana quickly closed and locked the door. She had to act fast. 

She opened the bathroom door and peeked inside. 

A tall, dark looking man was inside. He turned to her, and smirked. 

"Is everything set up?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice.