Some Thorns, Some Roses

XXVIII | The Order of Operation

 When I woke up, I nearly jumped in surprise. I wasn't used to be woken up so abruptly so the instant light acted as a shock to my system. 

What the hell? 

I immediately blocked the light from the light bulb with my hand and groaned. "What the hell?" I questioned Beau and what he was trying to do. 

It had been a couple of days since we took that nap together and ever since we had been sleeping together. No, not sex. But just innocent sleeping and occasional cuddling. 

So I was by now used to sharing a space with him. I knew that he woke up earlier than me on most days, but he was always respectful of me. Today was different and I wasn't used to such harsh behavior. 

I grimaced at him as he handed me some clothes and lastly spoke at me. "Get dressed, Phase One starts now. You have five minutes." he told me and I wanted to roll my eyes. 

Instead, I sighed heavily and looked over at my clock. It showed 4am and my eyes nearly popped out of my head. No one purposefully wakes up this early. No one in their right minds at least. 

It was still dark outside and I knew in that moment, he was absolutely insane. I could've really used the extra hours of sleep because Quincy was coming in this weekend for the game. I could have really used the extra hours of sleep to make up for the hours I was sure to lose at night. 

I rubbed both of my eyes slowly and apparently I wasn't moving fast enough for his liking. So he reminded me, "You have three minutes." 

Well shit, let's get moving. 

"Shit, okay." I got up swiftly, now I was aggravated at this point. "I'm moving." 

I quickly washed up, peed, and changed. When I came out, it wasn't just him standing in our room. I felt kinda exposed. 

Thankfully, the stranger in the room was friendly-looking despite his large figure. He looked like he could snap me in half with the blink of an eye. But I wasn't too scared because I always have Beau beside me and surely he wouldn't leave me alone with some dangerous man, right? 

I was wrong. 

Beau explained to me, "This is Lamar. He's a good guy, sweet guy. He is going to be conducting Phase One." 

I opened my mouth to protest and he anticipated my words. "I would love to conduct the different phases, Serena, trust me. But firstly, I have a lot to do today on this early Saturday morning. And.... I don't do it for the other recruits, therefore, I can't do it for you. But I'll be there for initiation so don't worry." He promised me with a gentle smile on his lips. 

Lamar did look nice, but in my eyes, all men who work in this line of business were far from nice. Well except for my cousins and Perris. They are nice. Hell, I don't even think Beau is nice, I just trust him because of time. If I would have known that he was the head of an organization like this, I wouldn't have trusted him in the first place. 

"Come on sweetheart." he winked at me with a welcoming smile. He wasn't being flirty rather personable. "We have a lot to cover and you want to be done by the game, right?" 

I nodded my head and walked towards him. Before we even left the room, Beau was engrossed in his phone, answering more messages. 

I sighed and stopped looking at him. 

"There's nothing to worry about. This is the easy Phase. You'll just be learning information." he promised me and I nodded in response. 

Just information. Nothing to worry about.