"New York City, the big apple, the empire state, the city so nice they named it twice, and some other slogan bullshit. The town of Broadway, Wallstreet, and loads of heinous crimes. I have called this lovely city home since I was in diapers. When I...
"That cop is cutting it close. Toma, bringing her out on short notice is risky." Zhen slowly paced in front of me with a fountain of complaints spilling out. "Who knows what stunt she will pull, Are you sure the cop won't try anything?"
"She would be very foolish to try to do anything but what she is told. She is stubborn, however I have a feeling the cop with cooperate." I answer, glancing at my watch again.
Zhen disagrees, "Easy for you to say when you're not the one that has to retrieve her. You saw what she's done to my face."
I don't even spare him a glance, "I'd say it's an improvement."
My humor wasn't received well by my friend, and he shoved my shoulder. Now I glare at him for touching me. Zhen gets the warning and takes a step back with his hands in his pockets.
"How can you be sure she won't do anything stupid?" He asked, harping over the same subject.
"Survival."
Zhen gave me a confused look, and I rolled my eyes.
"She's a handful, but I believe she'll do what she's told to survive. I'm sure we may face some resistance from her; however, with her life on the line, she will listen. The cop has no other choice but to do as I say."
With the shake of his head, he called me crazy in a mumbled and resumed his annoying pacing. His constant walking back and forth in front of me started to drive me insane.
"Why don't you retrieve the car," I order rather than suggest.
Zhen scoffed again in my face and began to turn away. Instead, he freezes on the spot, gazing across the lobby. Still, whatever captured his attention certainly did an excellent job of shutting him up.
I turned around for a better look and gazed back into the lobby at the beautiful woman walking over to me. I did a double-take at the stunning woman. At first, I didn't recognize the cop, I didn't think she could look so.....different.
Long dark hair curled down to the curve of her waist, with her shoulders back and her head held high. The cop looked like a work of art, making her way to me.
As the cop walked, she seemed to trip awkwardly before catching her next step. Then, she regained balance to pull down the hem of the dress closer to her knees. Others had witnessed the clumsy moment holding in their laughter. Then she resumed walking yet avoided my eyes by looking just about everywhere else.
I pry my eyes away from the cop, mentally scolding myself for admiring her so fondly. But then, her long tan legs stop right in my view, and I slowly trail my eyes up the length of her body until I meet her deep brown eyes. The cop's face is blank with a subtle spec of annoyance.
In the corner of my eye, I catch Zhen openly gawking at the woman, so I glare at him as a warning.
Feeling the burning heat of my eyes, Zhen finally snapped out of his trance and scratched the back of his head.
"I'll bring the car around." At that, he walked out the front doors of the hotel.
He disappeared around the corner, leaving me alone with the cop who stood rigid beside me and witnessed Zhen's awkward leave. I turned back to face Alice, not before catching her wandering eyes, before she quickly looked away completely.
"Now, for this meeting you're are pretending to be my mistress," I explain, and she simply nods. "That means you don't speak, don't try anything stupid, and don't piss off the people we are meeting."
At my last comment, she looked at me irritated, "Ah, the be seen and not heard crap. I'm not a child, I can handle myself. "
"I'm sure you can, but I don't think you want to mouth off to the Italian mafia." I point out before turning away and walking to the SUV.
The cop grabbed my upper arm and glared at her, but that didn't stop her.
"The Italians, seriously?" She babbled. "I can't do this."
Worry creased her forehead, giving away fear she's been holding back for some time. My fist balled up at the cop's ramblings, growing tired by the second and the agreement has barely been in effect.
Through my suit-clad arm, I felt warmth seep down, caressing my skin. At my limit, I place my hand on hers, prying the small, delicate fingers off of me. The cop ceased her excessive nagging, pulling her hand away before taking a step back visibly inhaling shaky breath.
"Too late to back out now," I open the back passenger door and glanced back at Alice. "We have an arrangement, you are my mistress, so get in the car, now."
The cop mumbled, appalling swears while climbing into the SUV, and she hiked up her dress, exposing more of her tanned thighs. Embarrassed, she scooted all the way down the back seat and settled behind the drivers seat. She nervously peered out of the window, pulling her dress down.
I climbed into finding Zhen's heated eyes on her. Slamming the vehicle door, I break his trance, catching his eyes with my glare.
"You may drive now," I barked.
Thanks for reading. 📚
10/2/23
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