The Retribution Chronicles

M i r i a m | e i g h t

Miriam was strewn across Abi's bed when she got the call. Her feet were plastered to the wall, head dangling off the edge, and she groped beside her left thigh until she found the sticky warmth of her phone case, overheated from the charging device. "Hello," she said, voice slightly muffled from blood loss.

"Hey Mer," Grace's voice danced along the line.

Miriam shot up. A wave of dizziness floated down her body and disappeared as Abi walked into the room. "Who is it?" she asked.

"Grace," Miriam mouthed.

"Put it on speaker."

Miriam shook her head then returned her attention to the call. "What's up?" she asked.

"I was just wondering how this works," Grace said.

"As in the whole revenge thing?"

"Yeah, well, no. What I mean is, how do I pay you?"

Miriam almost always forgot about this part.

"Is there a set fee?" Grace continued. "Do you like paypal, bank transfer?"

"I don't mind," Miriam said, laying back down. "Some people pay me in cash, some in coffee, whatever works for you."

"Seriously?" Grace's voice fell flat, expectation bleeding down the line.

"Yeah, I don't do this for the money," Miriam said. "I mean it's nice, but I doubt any of you could pay me what I'm worth."

"Oh, right, well when do you want me to pay you?"

"When I finish."

"I thought you had," Grace said.

Miriam resisted the urge to laugh, modulating her voice as best as she could, and instead said, "What would make you think that?"

"He apologised."

"Ade?"

"Yeah."

An apology was certainly something, but Miriam didn't trust it. "That's a step in the right direction," she said diplomatically, "but I doubt he's learned his lesson."

Grace was quiet for a moment. "I guess you're the expert," she said.

"If you're having second thoughts—"

"No, you're right. Payment tbc?"

"Payment tbc," Miriam agreed.

Grace hung up and Miriam threw her phone across the bed while Abi clambered beside her. "What was that all about?" she asked, lining her feet up next to Miriam's.

"Payment."

"How much do you want to bet she gets you a caramel macchiato and calls it even?" Abi cackled.

"Maybe that's all I deserve."

"Are you serious?" Abi shoved Miriam's shoulder.

"I guess. Ade's the hardest guy I've ever worked on, and I have two people counting on me."

"But he's obsessed with you," Abi said.

"That's not enough.  Some guys would break from me ignoring them, but Ade seems to thrive off it. It's like the less interested I am, the more interested he is."

"Maybe he likes the chase," Abi guessed.

"Clearly, I think I just underestimated how much." Usually, by now, Miriam had them eating out of the palm of her hand. Ade was definitely sniffing at it, testing the boundaries, but one wrong move and he'd be in somebody else's watering hole making a mess. Somebody else who may just take his shit without a second thought.