The Baker And The Queen Pin

07.) Open Doors/Closed Hearts

~~~Maria:

May 1st, 2019

I sit in my law firm, talking to all the lawyers. My cover job was the fact that I was a frugal business woman who decided to invest in properties. I decided to invest I multiple properties though all of these properties were attached to funds or strip-clubs. I needed law-firms in order to help me get by and a lot of these guys needed new buildings. As long as these guys were on my pay-roll, it was fine.

I had other people on it and I could honestly say it was nice spending the money to keep my properties private. It was nice spending the money knowing that any time these police officers harassed or destroy the property, there would be someone who could charge them. Of course, none of my lawyers lived in the building, they all worked separately. These lawyers were just some up and coming gentlemen who wanted to establish a firm and they knew someone who wanted to help them out.

I sit in my office building and I organize my papers for all my legit work. As I finish the paperwork, I collect the funds from the lawyers. 'Thank you, Ms. Smirnoff for the building and for giving us a fair rent,' one of the young men say. I smile as I say to them, "Thank you for being valued tenants. 'Will you be coming to the Christmas party this year?' I hear another one pipe up, "No unfortunately not. As much as I'd love to see your gentleman in action, I don't think it'd be in my best interest to be there or yours. I don't want to cause a conflict of interest,"

One of the young men smile and for the life of me, I can only remember two of their names. The overweight one was named Charles Whitiger, the other one's name was Michael Heinz and the third guy, I couldn't tell you. Michael was bland and oozed a prep vibe, I bet his father could sue me for hundreds of thousands of dollars if I even so much as smacked Michael. The third gentleman is the one who was chatting me up, I couldn't remember his name and I didn't want to waste my time, trying to.

It's then that his friend says, 'Now Ivan, you know how Ms. Smirnoff gets when you talk too much, lest you forget the past,' The fatter one said in an old-man wise tone. I chuckle as I turn a bit red, "Unfortunately, everything's okay. I was just out-of-character that time," I hate when people have nothing better to say, I know he liked me but didn't want to admit it. It's okay to like someone, just don't waste their time. I take it because he might be young but he looks like the type who doesn't like to speak his mind.

Ivan was a nice gentleman, he just wasn't my type. My father killed any notion of me liking anyone Russian. I did try it, dating within my race once or twice, but no, it wasn't worth it, not when they only wanted the power I had. I find myself, drifting off to Booker, I find myself thinking about him every part of these last couple days. Hours pass and I look this young man in the face, I had already left the law firm and I had an urgent call.

A snitch was in my group, I pushed the thoughts of Booker out of my head and look at this man, look at another one of my trusted men who betrayed me. 'Ms. Smirnoff, it's not what it looks like,' We sit in his house, I sit on his comfortable couch while I look at all the things my money afforded him. He lived in the suburbs, a place for his wife and his son. He was one of my lawyers before I fired him a while ago, apparently he didn't take client secrecy to heart. "So, then why am I here, Alexander? If you didn't tell them anything, why am I here?" 'I swear on my mom's life,' "Your mother no longer has a life to wager,"

He looks at her body, laying strewn with her blood painting a very grisly tale. 'Why did you shoot her?' He said in a pleading voice before he got back to begging. I then looked at him and said, "Why? Because I know she was an addict, because I know you started helping me out because of her. You had been helping me for the last ten years back in my earlier years," Alexander was a man in his 40's, he had saw what I grew up in and saw how I handled the coup d'état as a young woman. I was groomed to be the leader of my father's gang, the American pronunciation is the Boogie Man's Killers.