LA, LA, LALIANA

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

                            
                           The Supreme Lounge must have been one of the biggest and most talked of joint in the big Apple. The name could not have described it any better. Everything inside and out was top dollar. Valet parking services, red and velvet carpet ,not to forget the beefed up male bouncers in well fitting suits. Inside, was in the grey area between a party house and just a chill out zone. Yellow fairy lights hung on the naked wooden beams holding the roof which was by the way, made of super strong transparent glass. There was a stage where different artists would perform but at the left corner was a booth for the disk jockey who was then busy on the decks playing a mashup of upbeat music.
                              The benches , tables,bar stools and every sort of furniture in there appeared to be made from thick and strong hardwood. The walls were made of pieces of the same dark brown wood as the furniture. They were arranged in a parallel manner to give the place a comfy feel yet the floor was vibrant with colourful with shiny star shaped slip proof tiles. Framed pictures of famous celebrities that once or maybe a couple of times ,came there were mounted high up on the walls.
                                     Behind the shiny and dark marble countertops was a pretty young and petite woman doing what she does best as a mixologist. It was quite entertaining to see her mixing and making different and colourful alcoholic cocktails using those metallic cups. The shelves behind her were full of ONLY the expensive kind of liquor. The royal blue lights that shone at each corner of the shelves and under the counter table made the bar look futuristic.
                               At the centre was a spacious dance floor which was sunken.  As it's name, people were doing nothing other than dancing on the artistically styled tiled floor. The natural disco ball was the numerous stars shimmering through the transparent roof . The mixture of sweat , expensive perfume and alcohol, that came from there,gave out a smell that made Laliana nauseous.

                                .........

                               Laliana was just done placing the third order of drinks to a bench carrying four smartly dressed women. They were all in pant suits.  They all looked like they held important positions at their various work stations. Laliana watched as the sophisticated ladies sip from their glasses with their legs crossed like royalty. They all seemed relaxed after probably having a stressful day at work. Laliana wished to be like them one day.
                                       "Are you going to stand there and look at us or continue with your work," One of the women said in an authoritative tone. Laliana did not realise she was still staring at the women. "Sorry , I was just admiring you...I mean..." "Sorry ladies, she's new here. Don't mind what she said. enjoy your drinks!" Maureen swiftly rescued Laliana from the awkward situation she was in.
                                    "Thanks for saving me Maureen, I think I need some more of your special tablets," Laliana said to Maureen while holding an empty tray. Maureen pulled Laliana to a corner where no one could hear them. "Lala, those tablets are not to be taken willynilly. You've had enough already!" She scolded Laliana. "But ever since I took them, my pains have reduced by a large percentage...." "Shhhh! Lala, let's just get back to work before the manager..." "You mean your aunt..." "... BEFORE the manager spots us not doing anything. Remember, don't interact with the customers. Just serve , smile and leave. Got it!" Laliana reluctantly nodded. They both dispersed in different directions.
                                 On her way to another bench to get more orders, she saw a woman who was seated on one of the bar stools ahead. She had on a straight and long pink wig and a short red dress that exposed her tattooed thighs. She was discretely putting a white powdery substance in a certain glass that contained golden brown brandy. Next to her was a man whom Laliana could not recognise as his back was facing her. His hair was although put in a familiar ponytail.
                                    The pink-wigged lady had her own glass of alcohol. She was sipping it slowly while seductively rubbing the man's shoulder who was seriously talking to another man who was seated facing him. Laliana  recognised the second man immediately she saw the half of his face. Officer red beard!
                                     "Stop! Don't drink that! She put something in your drink!" Laliana stopped the man who was just about to drink the brandy. She shocked herself how she had arrived where the man was that quickly. Both men were startled by Laliana's actions especially officer red beard. His eyes bulged out but Laliana wasn't sure whether he was shocked or just utterly annoyed.
                                     The man slowly and calmly turned back to see who was hysterically warning him. Laliana's heart started beating hard against her chest the moment she noticed who the man was. It was detective Smith. At that time he had his red tie hung loose around his neck and the sleeves of his white shirt was rolled up to his elbows exposing his hairy yet muscly forearms. Laliana could feel her knees slightly wobble.
                                  "Don't believe her baby, she's just jealous," The pink-wigged lady retorted. Laliana did not hesitate but took the lady's handbag which was on the counter. "Hey give it back!" Laliana emptied the bag on the counter before the lady snatched it from her hand. There it was, the small transparent plastic bag that contained the white substance.
                                  The lady ran as fast as she could the second she realised she was busted. "An officer's job is never done," officer red beard said then jumped from his seat and ran after the pink wigged lady. Laliana watched as he sprinted like a cheetah in pursuit of the pink wigged lady. She then turned her eyes back to detective Smith who was already eying her from her head to her boots. " Are you all right mister?" Laliana tried to sound as professional as ever even though she knew his name or rather his surname.
                                Abrupt cheers and shouts suddenly filled the place scaring Laliana. She quickly came to realise that those cheers were for a young male performer  with an acoustic guitar in his hands. By then the disk jockey booth was an empty shell and it was only the performer on the stage. Laliana was not well vast in the knowledge of Western music but she could tell that the lad performing there was a big shot.  His smooth voice blended well with his smooth guitar plucking as he sang an  acoustic version of his song. Soon everybody was dancing two by two to the slow song.
                               Detective Smith slowly stood up from his seat. Laliana had a familiar feeling when he towered over her. With their eyes still locked to each other, Mr Smith reached out to hold Laliana's hand. "This is my favourite song, care to dance miss?" He asked in his deep husky voice. Laliana nodded involuntarily. She was hypnotized by the man's charm that she did not think twice of her choices. She could feel herself being slowly dragged to the dancefloor by Mr Smith.
                 The two danced sensationally , Laliana to be specific. Mr Smith had also fallen victim to her intriguing moves. He enjoyed being her dance partner even though she was still a mystery to him.

When your legs don't work like they used to before

                    "What's your name?" He asked while his hand was on her waist while the other was holding Laliana's hand. They were both swaying slowly to the beat with Laliana's free hand rested on Mr Smith's shoulder.

"Mhhm!"

Chuckling, " What's your name miss,

"Oh, I'm Lala....I mean Laliana"
  
And darling I will be loving you til we're  70

   "And... what's... your name?"
   
  "Well..." he spins her around, "You can     
      call me Chase,"
      
   And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall    in love in mysterious ways
   
     "You don't come from here, don't you?"
       
    "Eeeh!"
    
   "Your, accent sells you as a foreigner,"
       
    "Oh, yes I am," An awkward silence
     grew between them as the two just
     stared at each other's eyes.
     
     Take me into your loving arms
          
                     Laliana took in a deep breath and exhaled all the tension away. "I need   your help detective Smith," she said as she acknowledged Chase's occupation  with much conviction. Mr Smith gave Laliana a puzzled look. He wondered why that beautiful stranger dancing with him needed his help.

Maybe we found love right where we are
       
                  "Please help me find my children, ever since I reported of their absence two weeks ago, I haven't even gotten a single update. I think maybe it's because I'm just a foreigner rescued from traffickers as you probably know already..." Chase plastered a blank expression on his face.
                           Laliana sighed in defeat and stopped talking . She had a feeling that she was heading nowhere with her plea. What was she thinking anyway. Asking a detective who dealt with big and high profiled crimes to help look for a pathetic foreigner's children. Great, she was about to lose her job because she interacted, in fact danced with a customer. At least she could leave with assurance of help from Mr Smith but that was seeming to not happen as well.
                              The whole place suddenly started to grow dim. The stars that illuminated the dancefloor somehow stopped their shining. Laliana's breathing started becoming faint as she gasped for air. Mr Smith quickly scooped a very dizzy Laliana in his arms before she hit the floor.