CHAPTER HUNDRED AND TWENTY - ONE - THE PROPOSAL.

Mateo sat in the plush hotel room, sipping on a glass of rich, full-bodied scotch, his eyes fixed on the amber liquid as he swirled it around in the glass. His mind was elsewhere, ruminating on the proposal he was about to make. He was about to take a risk, one that could either yield a huge payoff or blow up in his face. As he sat there, lost in thought, the soft hum of the air conditioning and the muffled sounds of the city outside created a sense of anticipation. He checked his watch for what felt like the hundredth time, his patience wearing thin. He had told her 7pm on the dot, and had added the fact that she should not be late. This was almost eight, and there was still no sight of her. What if she had remembered what actually happened that day at the office and was planning to catch him in a trap? Mateo took a sip from the glass in his hands and shaked his head. That was not possible. The drug that had been added to her wine at the vineyard was a strong hallucinati