Alisha got ready to see Nico and I volunteered to accompany her for this. We showered together, though it was an even more casual experience than the last ti. Alisha wasn’t summoned by her phone, though and did her full shower routine which included washing her hair and face, then her body and finally shaving her legs with a speed I admired as my shaving routine usually took a while. She was fast about it, gliding a razor over the smooth skin in a practiced motion she didn’t even have to watch as she perford.
When she was done, she got out of the shower, giving a teasing kiss on the lips on her way before wrapping herself up in a towel and heading out to get dressed.
I hurried to finish my own cleaning ritual, taking extra care of my privates as they had been through quite a bit this morning. There was still an oversensitive feeling between my legs, but it was tolerable to simply wash down there and then scrub the rest of my skin clean, removing any lingering sll of my parent’s house off of and replacing it with Alisha’s soap.
I got out and got dressed, finding Alisha downstairs where the sll of coffee was filling the room. She had a mug and was talking with Tye about the plans for today, which included seeing Nico and then paying a visit to Sergei. I reconsidered my decision to accompany her since seeing Sergei was sothing I'd rather avoid. At the sa ti, I trusted Alisha to keep the situation under control, whatever happened.
Tye looked up as I entered the kitchen and there was almost a relieved smile on his face to see unhard but I had half a thought he didn’t even know how to smile anymore. I gave him a friendly nod on my way to the coffee pot and poured myself a mug before adding so milk to it.
I sipped at it, once again letting it take over the process of getting moving for the day, though I was mostly ready already. Alisha had done a good job of waking up. If we had more energy and perhaps more libido it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start every day like that, but we were just human beings.
Alisha reached over to pull a bit closer, though she didn’t go further than that. “Are you sure you want to co with today, Kitten?” she asked. “It’s not going to be the most pleasant of conversations.”
“I know. But I can handle it,” I reassured her.
“I would like having you there,” Alisha said.
Tye gave her one of those glares again. “Are you sure you want to be involved in this?” he asked .
I nodded. “I understand the risks and the ntal toll. But it's worth it to to support her.”
He nodded, though this was obviously not the answer he wanted to hear.
“You're very sweet, Kitten, but know I'll never expect you to witness these things,” she reassured .
“I know.” I finished my coffee and set the mug in the sink.
“Ready?” Alisha asked.
I nodded. “Just let grab my shoes.”
Tye drove us to the laundromat-like office and we went up to the empty floor. Nico was sitting as before at that conference table and Tye took his spot next to the other bodyguard by the door.
I pulled a chair out for Alisha this ti, feeling like maybe I should start doing things like that since she was technically of a higher social and economic status than I. It hadn't really co up but perhaps behaving this way would help soothe the lash back from her getting a ‘low class girl’ as a partner.
She gave a nod and took a seat and I pulled out my own chair to sit down. There wasn't a good sense of whether or not I should sit at the table. But if anything this eting did have so extended relation to so it wouldn't be entirely uncouth for to be involved.
Nico waited as we got settled, his eyes not entirely registering my existence once Alisha was seated.
“What was it you wanted to talk to about?” he asked.
“I'll show you,” Alisha told him, selecting a few screenshots on her phone before sliding it over to him.
He looked it over, furrowing his brow. “A list of our fronts?” he asked.
“Yes. Sent to an unassociated person’s phone,” she elaborated.
“Why…?” He furrowed his brow more, squinting at the fine text.
“I'm not an idiot, Nico,” Alisha stated. There was a furious calmness to her voice that sent a chill down my spine. It was the sa kind of calmness she used before cutting out one of Sergei’s testicles.
“I don't understand,” he said.
“There are three people who have a complete set of the business fronts. , you, and Joseph. Normally I wouldn't assu it was you except that number there belongs to a certain soone.”
I saw Nico’s face pale a little as this processed.
“I know Joseph doesn't know Angela,” Alisha continued. “Which leaves you and and if it was who gave her that list I wouldn't have to be sitting here, now would I?”
My brain worked through this puzzle. Angela’s number had sent a list of fronts to my father. Which ant…
“Angela told my father how to blackmail us?” I blurted.
Alisha put her hand on my knee under the table and turned her head slowly.
I bit my lip, realizing that was a bit out of turn for .
“Yes,” she said simply.
Nico was watching this interaction. “I see,” he said. “Now that is quite a problem.”
There was sothing I didn't catch in this interaction that frustrated Alisha. I shouldn't have said anything, but I didn't entirely understand why.
“I’m assuming then that this little thing’s father has been taken care of?” Nico asked.
Alisha scowled. “He will no longer be any problem to us… but we do need to move all of the fronts listed in these ssages.”
“Which ans you didn’t take care of him,” Nico concluded. “I see.” He steepled his fingers together at this. “You’d rather pay the cost of moving every business front over the cost of a staged accident?”
Alisha gave him that dangerously thin smile as I felt my heart rate start to pick up. This was not the outco I wanted. I shouldn’t have said anything.
“The thing is,” Alisha stated calmly. “Is that the police would be very thorough in any investigation of her father’s death. He could catch the flu and die of neumonia and they’d still poke and prod hoping for sothing to co loose. So I am forbidding you now from touching him.”
“And yet Mr. Bauer attempted to blackmail you,” he said frustratedly. “And now you’re protecting him?”
“I’m protecting this organization. Believe , I would love to skin that man alive myself for the things…” She glanced at at this. “Regardless,” she turned her attention away from that topic. “He doesn’t know what he received in that ssage. And how Angela got his number, I doubt I’ll never know, but the more pressing matter is Angela. She’s beco a problem.”
“Right. I don’t know how she might’ve co across Mr. Bauer’s information.”
Alisha gently squeezed my knee before withdrawing her hand again, just to put both of them on the table. “Why did you give Angela the list of fronts in the first place?” she asked. “That’s quite sensitive information.”
“I thought she wanted it to try and hook up with the captains. I didn’t know she had ulterior motives.”
Alisha nodded slowly. “You couldn’t have just brought her along on your rounds?”
“Where my wife could hear about it?” he asked.
“Right, your wife. I forgot you still cared about her,” Alisha comnted. “In any case, she needs to be disposed of.”
“Angela?” Nico asked.
“Yes, Angela.”
Nico gave her a second disbelieving look, his mouth a bit open as he did so. “A-are you okay, Alisha?” he asked.
“Frankly, no I’m not. I have a lot of paperwork to go through to move businesses around. You know the kind of cost that’s going to be and the dent in this month’s profits it’s going to make. The captains are not going to be happy that their cuts are gonna be shit and the one who’s going to get blad for it will be .”
Still, I looked at her with an expression I was sure wasn’t unlike Nico’s.
“Alisha,” he protested.
“I’ve made my decision,” Alisha stopped him. “And I expect you to take care of it swiftly.”
“?” he asked. He shifted suddenly to lean more against the table, giving her an almost pleading expression.
“Yes, you. I told you she was your problem to deal with and you couldn’t be bothered. I expect you to clean up your ss. Is that clear?” Alisha refused to break eye contact with him. The mont was tense enough the silence was deafening.
“You won’t even take care of it yourself?” he asked.
Alisha’s scowl deepened. “Did I stutter?” she asked slowly.
Nico sat back, slowly, looking like she had punched him in the gut. “I-I’ll take care of it,” he agreed, a tremor in his voice now.
I looked at Alisha, finding her gaze still fixing him in an icy glare. There was no trace of regret or remorse but there was no feasible way she was okay with this.
“Good,” she told Nico and took her phone back, putting it away in her purse.
I recognized this as a cue to leave and stood, sending my chair backwards loudly.
Nico gazed at then, a defeated expression on his face. I gave him my best sympathetic nod as Alisha stood next to . Her body swayed with the motion, the elegant willowiness of her figure ever present.
She simply left, leaving Tye and I to hurry after her.
I didn’t ask a question, knowing it wouldn’t be right. I had to at least wait until we got to the car where there was no risk of being overheard.
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