CHAPTER SIXTY SEVEN – THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY

"That'll be $800," he told her gruffly. Karina's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull. Lexi expected her to pay for such outrageous luxuries out of her meager paycheck? That spoiled brat truly had no concept of money's value to normal people. Fortunately, she had come prepared for just such an instance. Wordlessly, Karina withdrew one of the envelopes she'd hidden in her purse. Inside was a stack of crisp hundred-dollar bills - the first installment of the compensation she'd quietly been paid to help take down Lexi. With a small thrill of satisfaction, Karina handed the cash over to an impressed-looking bartender. Champagne paid for with the very money she was using to undermine Lexi felt like a deliciously subversive act of defiance. Bottle in hand, she turned around to see Lexi standing there impatiently tapping her foot with her arms crossed. "Well, it's about damn time! What were you doing back there, taking a bathroom break?" Biting back a retort, Karina simply held the bottle