I Unintentionally Became Her Kitten Chapter 39: The Advisor

Nicco requested my presence during a discussion Alisha and him needed to have.

I didn’t know why he would want to et . Angela made sense, but Nicco should have no interest in at all. I wasn’t involved in the business so there was no reason for to need to et her business associates. But it was still a request. Alisha assured I didn’t have to go if I didn’t want to. Nicco wasn’t so much of a wild card as her mom was and she could handle his discontentnt without much trouble, but I agreed anyway. I was learning the more problems I tried to put off, the more they snowballed into sothing bigger. Like my parents calling the police after getting blocked and after the police couldn’t do anything, showing up in person in an attempt to drag back ho.

So I agreed to go and got dressed in my nicer casual clothes, since Alisha was also going in her usual. I made sure I was clean and at least looked fairly well grood, running a bit of product in my hair to soothe any stray frizz, and curled the different layers around my fingers like Stella had done. It wasn’t as polished as when she had taken care of it but it was good enough.

Tye was Alisha’s security companion for this trip and drove us in the Escapade, the big black SUV-type that Alisha always took and was apparently bulletproof. As far as I knew, no one had ever taken a shot at her but between her having a scar from so kind of assault and the long history of violence in her work, I didn’t bla her for being a little paranoid.

We arrived at another office building, not the laundromat but it was similarly vacant once we went inside. Another fake secretary staring at caras only glanced up as we passed by.

The set up beyond the entrance was different however. Instead of the large open office space, there were separate rooms with frosted glass doors and windows to let light in and out but still obscured what might be happening on the other side.

Alisha knocked on one of these glass doors before opening it a second later. Tye went in the room but stayed by the door as Alisha led to a conference table.

There was a man there, hands folded in front of him patiently.

“Alisha,” he greeted warmly, but it was almost too warmly and made hesitate to trust his intentions here. “And your new girl,” he continued as his gaze slid over to .

There was that familiar sense of being sized up as he looked over.

I tried not to stare back but still made an effort to observe him. His hair was trimd short and was greying. All facial hair had been shaved very recently and I could sll sothing like sandalwood and nthol coming off his shirt.

Alisha pulled a chair out for herself and then offered one to .

I sat, feeling uncomfortable. There was absolutely nothing in this room other than the table and the people. I beca aware of another guard by the door, opposite Tye. There were no words or even looks exchanged between them but there was definitely a sense of familiarity with the situation for everyone here… except .

Nicco, I presud, continued to look at until Alisha rested her hands on the table.

“This is Kit,” she introduced as. “My partner.”

I nodded. “It’s nice to et you,” I told him.

His gaze lingered before there was an intake of breath. “And you have been spending a lot of ti with Alisha?” he asked.

I nodded, unsure of why this was the first thing he had to say to .

He sighed and finally looked at Alisha. “Are you trying to destroy everything?” he asked.

Alisha’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know what you’re implying.”

I shrank into myself a little, recognizing this situation all too well from her mother.

“I have no problem with you taking on a partner, but this little thing is a liability,” he explained.

Alisha scowled. “There is nothing wrong with her,” she stated. “She knows what happens to rats and so far she’s proved herself trustworthy.”

I swallowed. Alisha’s word was usually law, but here… I had a feeling Nicco had a similar sway among their underlings.

“I don’t like hearing that you punished Sergei because of her.”

“That’s not what happened,” Alisha stated. “He made a sexual comnt about her and after I told him to knock it off, he continued to be… inappropriate,” she explained.

“So you cut out his balls?” Nicco leaned back, folding his arms as he did so. “Is that really fair?”

Alisha glared. “I know you personally put a bullet in soone's dick for making eyes at your wife.”

“That’s different,” Nicco said. “That’s my wife, not so low-class fling.”

I kept myself very still, but inside there was a racing in my blood.

Alisha composed herself very carefully before continuing. “I don’t appreciate you talking about my partner in such a way,” she said. “And even if she wasn’t involved, Sergei was being disobedient. There needed to be repercussions. I’m not so cruel to kill him or even take… both, but he’d continued to be a problem until I took action. Now he’s obedient, and things are calm.”

Nicco looked at . “And do you think this was a fair punishnt?” he asked .

I didn’t know what I should answer. “Uhm,” I filled the quiet at least as my brain scrambled. “I an, it’s harsh but… he was being deliberately uncooperative and there were more incidents leading up to that situation.”

This man seed dissatisfied with my answer but he said, “I see. That’s reasonable.”

I looked up. Had I said sothing helpful for once?

Nicco sighed and pulled a stray hair free of his shirt, dropping it to the floor as Alisha watched.

“Be careful, Alisha,” he said. “I know we have our differences. I do what I can to reinforce your control but I can only do so much. I just want you to make the right choices.”

“There is sothing I wanted to discuss with you,” Alisha told him, dismissing the comnt.

“Your mother?” he guessed.

“Yes. You want to talk about my relationships, how about we talk about yours as well.”

Nicco went very still. “I don’t know what you an,” he said.

“You can be as sneaky as you want but I know my mother very well. She tends to chatter about her partners, whether they’re secret or not.”

He scowled. “That’s my business, not yours,” he said.

“It is my business,” Alisha said. She didn’t speak loudly or even forcefully but there was still a weight to her words that kept Nicco quiet as she continued. “If you think getting an unassociated partner is a problem, what do you think soone is going to say if they find out you're sleeping with the boss’ mother? Or your forr boss’ wife? Do you really think that’s going to go well in the future?”

“My work and sex life are separate,” he defended. “She has nothing to do with my decisions here.”

“And yet we wouldn’t be having this conversation if she hadn’t run to you.” Alisha folded her hands, elbows on the table and stared him down from over them. “And what about your wife?” she asked. “Does she know? Have you opened your relationship up or am I going to get a call in the middle of the night hearing that sobody got murdered in a jealous rage?”

Nicco was silent.

“From now on, I’m letting my mother be your problem,” Alisha said. “Keep her in check or it's going to be your head. Do I make myself clear?”

The man that had started this conversation full of confidence and pride was now looking at the table intensely.

“Am I clear?” Alisha repeated more forcefully this ti.

“Yes,” Nicco agreed. “I understand.”

Alisha relaxed a little. “Good,” she said. “Now, are you going to be calling stupid for having a relationship with soone unassociated?”

“I never said that,” he defended.

Alisha glared him down, simply waiting.

“No,” he agreed. “I won’t talk about your relationship with other people,” he said.

Alisha’s mouth twitched into a little bit of a sneer. “Good,” she said icily. “Then I’ll be on my way. I trust you to handle your drama with discretion.”

Alisha stood and I followed her, the chair easily rolling away once I was up.

Tye pushed off from the wall, ready to drive us again.

“Alisha,” Nicco said.

She paused and looked back at him.

“I don’t want us to be at odds,” he said.

“You should rember that the next ti you want to comnt on my personal life,” she told him and turned her back once again.

I followed her, glancing back to see Nicco staring after her, his hands resting on the table contemplatively.

The door closed behind us with a click. Alisha maintained her pace, the heels of her shoes clacking loudly on the linoleum tiles.

I could see one of her fists balled up tightly, but it was the only expression of frustration until we were safely inside the car once again, where she finally sighed.

“I’m sorry my presence is complicating things,” I told her.

“It’s not you,” she said. “It’s never you. It’s them… being stupid.” She shook her head. “The absolute gall of that man. He wants to make feel like I can’t be in a relationship? Seriously?” Her hand fell to the seat limply.

I reached over and rested mine on top of hers.

She smiled softly and pulled it away, instead pushing my hair back into place. Her fingers lingered behind my ear after.

Tye started to drive us away again. I glanced at him and wondered if we should talk openly about this with him there… but he had witnessed the entire conversation already.

“Your mom really is sleeping with him,” I comnted.

She nodded. “Yes. That could beco a major problem.”

“Is it because of… bias?” I guessed. “Or…?”

“It’s a bold move politically speaking. I’m sure my mother was the one flirting with him, not the other way around. She does have a thing for n in powerful positions. Nicco has enough of a brain not to initiate sothing like that, but he’s still one of those n.”

I nodded. Being one of those n did suit him.

“There's so much that could go wrong with this,” she said. She fixed her hair briefly, straightening a single strand that had moved to the wrong side of her part.

I nodded along.

“Murder is a big concern. Our type of people isn’t exactly known for being peaceable and working things out calmly. But a murder between upper ranking mobsters will draw attention. It’s far easier for the police to make a case to dig into a cri of passion like that and whatever gets dredged up during their investigation is viable ammo for more investigations. On the flip side, either party can run to the police for the sake of hurting the institution as a whole because of hatred for a part. Which is equally as bad.”

“I see,” I said. “So this puts the entire family at risk,” I followed.

She nodded, grim.

I hesitated to ask. “Did you know for sure they were sleeping together?”

She shook her head. “Not until today. But I could tell they had a detailed chat about you last night. It just didn’t feel right if they weren’t closer than they should be.”

I looked at my hands. “I know I ask this a lot but… are you sure it's okay for us to be together like this? He does have a point I am… a liability.”

“Everyone is a liability,” Alisha said without hesitation. “And I’m the one that’s going to fall the furthest if things go wrong. I’m more worried about your safety. The more you learn of this business and the more people get to know your face, the more the blood is going to mix with yours, and the harder it’ll be to walk away.”

I felt my heart sink a little bit. There was a price to pay for staying here like this. For both of us.

“I’ll stay,” I told her. “I’m not afraid of you… but I do worry about bringing unwanted attention to you… and I am afraid of this business sotis.”

“I know, Kitten. I wish I could say that it gets better.” She leaned against the seat, closing her eyes for a mont and then they slitted back open. “Unfortunately every ti I think I’ve seen the worst of this place, sothing cos along that’s bigger and badder. I an, I’m at the point where I’ve murdered one parent and the other…” she trailed off hesitating to continue. “My mother knows the risks,” she said finally. “She’s bringing whatever happens onto herself.”

I knew Alisha didn’t get along with her mother, but there was still a glassiness in her eyes after she said this and she rubbed at them briefly. I leaned against her.

“I wouldn’t want my parents hurt either,” I told her. “Even with everything they’ve done… they’re still my parents.”

She shifted so I could lean flush against her, and pulled a little closer. “Do you want to get so lunch out?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t mind,” I told her. The way her hands were resting on was making hungry in a confused mix of signals. I refused to get turned on in the back of the car, but the temptation was there. Maybe I’d try looking cute for her later; curl up on the bed a bit scantily dressed and give her my best innocent look.

For now, I’d settle for food.