Part 1: Chapter 1
Part 1: Kiss Her Slowly
Erin
There was only one reason for the rapid click-clack of Gigi’s heels. Not the promise of a million dollars nor the scorch of a fire could ever make the woman move faster. Vee found herself bracing for the words before they came.
“Vee! The boss wants to talk to you… again.”
She swiveled her chair around, putting her scrunched expression on full display. “When you say boss, do you mean Matt or…”
Gigi’s head shook frantically. “You wish,” someone mumbled under their breath, and she couldn’t argue because it was true. She did wish for that very thing several times, but there was no one around intent on granting it.
“Again?” Joe asked from his desk. He lived for anything that made the day less boring. Vee in Trouble was his favorite show, especially since he knew she was unable to escape his running commentary. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but you should stop.”
Gigi was kind enough to send a glare his way, though she didn’t bother refuting.
“Did she seem mad?” Vee asked, ignoring Joe completely in place of tracking Gigi’s constantly wringing hands.
“Does she have other emotions?”
This was a fair question. She was almost certain she’d seen Mother smile a single time during work hours and that had caused more of a frenzy than the alternative.
“Mom mad or HR mad?” she asked anyway.
Gigi thought for a long moment, seeming distressed for the whole of it, before answering finally, “Both, maybe. It’s unclear. My mom was never mad like this.”
“Okay. I’ll go see. Thanks, Gigi.”
“So polite. You’ll be missed,” Joe replied absently, scribbling circles on his page. He let out a frustrated grunt, flinging the object across the room several feet from the trash can. “Hey, if she kills you, can I have your pens?”
“Joe!”
“What? It’s not like she’ll need them.”
She thought very seriously about dumping the cup of gel pens over his head, but settled for reaching over to hand him one instead. They were already causing more of a scene than usual.
“I’ll be right back,” she assured Gigi as she stood, though the smile on her face was forced.
“Thanks for the pen. Good luck!” Joe called to her back, then a quieter, “She’s a goner.”
She trudged down the hall, feeling the eyes still on her as she left. Everyone was familiar with the routine by now: the soundtrack of Gigi’s panic precedes her, Joe takes a minute to enjoy the timbre of his own voice, and Vee—poor Vee—disappears behind a door to meet her fate.
What happened behind the door was anyone’s guess.
They’d all guess wrong.
She let out a shaky exhale, and then she was staring into Mother’s piercing eyes. Despite what everyone in the office thought, this room was her favorite place in the building. In this room, with the door closed, there was no one to play the part for.
“People are starting to get suspicious,” Erin offered in lieu of a greeting. “You have to stop calling me out in front of them.”
She couldn’t stop the roll of her shoulders as the weight of being Vee dropped away.
“Do I?”
She realized her mistake only after she’d made it. Her gaze fell to the ground, the slick linoleum suddenly becoming more interesting by leaps and bounds.
“What I meant was-”
“Have you been giving them reason to?”
The fact that she’d gotten a follow-up question and not a slap in the face was a good sign. Even if she wasn’t actually meant to answer it.
Mother went on, “It certainly can’t be me. They think I’m an attentive parent going after her insolent child. I’d say it’s not far off. And if they happen to think something else, then it doesn’t matter. Just keep up the act, and they’ll come to the most logical conclusion eventually. Now get over here.”
Erin complied automatically, closing their distance in a few short strides. Her eyes locked on the manila folder on the middle of the desk. “Who’s the target?”
Mother’s freshly manicured hand flipped it open and slid it forward in two swift, precise motions. Sandwiched between a paper clip and a single sheet detailing everything she needed to know to complete the job was a picture. The woman in it was objectively pretty, but what caught Erin’s attention more was the location.
“A singer?”
But who’d taken this picture? They’d have to have been just in front of the stage to get this angle. She could see the definition of the woman’s curls. The way the stage lights beat down on her brown skin revealing an effect probably caused by body glitter. She could even make out the chips in the nail polish on the hand holding the mic stand.
It couldn’t have been Wade. This was not the way he did things.
“Her name is Sasha Bernard, known professionally as Sassy B. She made her start from videos posted of her singing at open mics. Now she’s an up-and-coming musician at a small label. Her fanbase is fairly insignificant for now, but it’s growing fast. We should make our move before she’s surrounded by bodyguards 24/7.”
Erin picked up the sheet, reading over the information three times, sure she must’ve missed something.
“I don’t understand. You want me to kill a nobody pop star?”
She didn’t need a reason or a menacing background to complete a mission; she’d kill the barista up the street if she was asked to, but Mother was very strict about killing indiscriminately. It drew too much attention to them to do it at all, so Erin was only brought in for jobs when someone deserved her attention. Her attention is not what anyone who aimed to stay alive wanted.
“No. Not this one. I want you to get intel. Get close to her. Make her trust you.”
Erin kept her face from screwing up, but just barely. “I don’t do long cons. This is what we have Wade and the twins for.”
“The twins are out of the country, Wade is not suited for this assignment, and you do whatever I tell you,” Mother replied, sternly. There was no room for argument. This was what she’d be doing.
“Who ordered this?” It was not too bold to ask. If anything, it was unusual to not know by this point. The why was often too interconnected with the who to leave it out. Nothing about this was like the routine they’d built over the years.
Especially not the way Mother’s eyes narrowed at the question.
“That is none of your concern. Take the file.” The demanding bark only created questions Erin knew better than to ask. All too slowly, Mother’s expression morphed into something colder. “Unless you’re interested in early retirement?”
She flinched before she could think better of it. She still remembered witnessing one like it was yesterday. The long silence and then the sound of the body hitting the water were almost the worst things in her head.
Almost being the operative word.
It was worse to imagine it being her.
“Are you threatening me?”
The woman leaned back in her chair, smiling as though Erin had misunderstood. She knew she hadn’t. They both did. The reply was just as reassuring, “No, dear. I’m telling you to take the file.”
