Bottom's Up To The Mafia Boss (MXM Novel)

Chapter Five: Meeting El Fénix

The puzzles were starting to click together. It was evident that their boss, who they called, "The Phoenix" in Spanish was the main man. He was someone that dabbled in all trades, and while I had come in to confirm and obtain the drugs initially, the backroom had revealed much, much more than I realized.

"Ten million is a lot," I admitted to José after the men had left.

He crossed his arms and eyed me closely, his expression hardening. He didn't look pleased with my remark, and the suspicion in his eyes had renewed. He shot a glare at Ricardo, who promptly left the room to leave us to speak privately.

"I thought you had a lot of money to spend," he stated coldly, looking me up and down.

"I do," I admitted with another smile. "But, that dagger cost two and half million in market value and you're selling it at quintuple the price. That is not something I can conjure in a week's time, you have to understand."

"The Gem of the Orient is very rare and available to exclusive buyers–and now you tell me that you cannot afford it?"

"I can," I replied quickly, raising a brow coolly at him. "But, not within a week. So I have an offer to make with you." Ten million–was he testing me or something?

"Which is?"

I hesitated for a second, wondering if I was moving too fast. It was only the first week, but I needed to move quickly. I had to pick my next words carefully, and in a way that it would not stir his existing reservations. My second step was to infiltrate and become one of them and if they saw me as a buyer, I could also reveal to them that I was more than just that. I could be used as an asset in their organization, and from there on, I could move up on the chains of command.

"Remember when I mentioned that I get my money from other sources as well? I have my ways, you see, and I know I would be an excellent candidate for whatever you all are dealing with," I informed him with a sly smile.

His brows furrowed in concentration, trying to decipher the insinuation in my statement. His eyes suddenly sparked in understanding as he registered my meaning. Now, he could take it the wrong way but something in his expression told me that he was intrigued by the idea.

"Dime," he finally said.

"I can give you two million up front, and provide my services to el fénix however long he needs or at least until he no longer needs me."

"And you said you were an accountant," he muttered slowly, the gears in his head whirring in action.

"I am sure you deal with dirty money here and there, but I can clean them easily," I added emphatically.

"You look like you have done this before," he observed with a raised brow.

"I have."

"So, you have experience with money laundering then?"

"I do."

He stroked his chin thoughtfully, gazing off at the distance with a calculating expression before returning his cunning gaze to me.

"I'll see if I can bring this up to el fénix, pero you better not make me regret it."

This time, my smile was genuine and I nodded eagerly.

"I won't."

🗡🗡🗡

A Week Later

José and I exchanged contact numbers that fateful night and his exact instructions were: Come back here at one in the morning a week from now. Come alone, and bring the two million with you. Do not tell Ricardo.