Page 35 of When Sinners Hate
Hangover from hell annoying the fuck out of me, and I pull up and get out of the car. Not my usual one, because Alexia took it home and left me as requested. I look up at the building and sink some soda, trying to get sugar flowing through me in an attempt to get this headache gone. It doesn't work, and by the time I’m up to the door I’m aiming at, my body is telling me to sit the fuck down for a while and relax.
“Hello, Brother.” I walk past Mariana and look around the large penthouse apartment she’s in. The door closes behind me, and I keep moving around the luxury space. Elegance and finery drips from every surface, with only the most lavish finish put to everything she’s created. “Will it do?”
I keep walking, checking every detail and corner. A large bar nestles on the far side of the open-plan space, with several leather couches close by to corner a modern fire. A single gold pole dominates the other side of the room for dancers, bolted tight into the floor and ceiling. I head off through the hall, opening doors to the bedrooms, and then make my way to the master suite. A king-size bed dominates on a stepped platform, with gold sheets and dark blue accessories and yet more luxury. Marble lines the bathroom, and more gold embellishments finish the look. Effective. And hopefully, considering the spend, profitable.
“Is there any food here?”
She giggles and turns on her heels, leading us out of the other end of the bedroom. “All this work to create the correct ambience and you’re talking about food. Do you ever think of romance?”
“No. And I doubt it’ll be thought about here either.”
She points at a doorway in the hall. “That’s the private elevator for clients by the way. They can park undergroundand access this without anyone knowing.” Clever. I watch her walking in front of me, a smile on my face that she won’t see. She gets better at being one of us year by year. More astute. More demanding. More persuasive in nature. “It’s ready as soon as you want to begin using it. There’s a list of suitable men who are more than ready to get their money out.”
“How much have you told them they'll have to pay?”
“Five thousand an hour.” I chuckle.
“And what kind of uptown dick pays that much for an hour?”
“The kind of dick that likes what he sees when I offer class to the service.” She spins to look at me, as she opens the refrigerator in the kitchen area. “Unless you haven't noticed, you're a little like them the last few years.” She looks over my suit, smirking to herself. “Quite refined these days really.” No, I'm not. This is just a pretty outlook. “Anyway, I told you it would work. They’re from all over the States. I’ve already expressed interest in other apartments in Austin and Dallas.”
“How many clients do you have lined up?”
She nods at a couple of black notebooks on the countertop. “See for yourself. The small one first.”
I pick it up while she begins making us some lunch, and flick through the pages. They’re all filled with photos of clients and their names and addresses, even bank account details for some. Knox helped with that, no doubt. Not that we’ll be taking anything but cold, hard cash from them, but access is always useful. “A little black book. Amusing.”
“Hmm. And now look at the other one.”
I drop the first and pick up the next. It’s as meticulous and in depth as Knox’s would be if it was his notes. Cost of purchase. Cost of refurbishment. Any associated monies needed or used. Planning consent from the city for alternations. I keep scanning the information. Not necessarily because I need to,but because I want to make sure she knows I’m always at her shoulder when it comes to anything she does for us. She hasn’t let me down yet, but this is her new venture, one that apparently elevates us out of the trash.
“This isn’t the purchase cost we discussed, Mariana.”
“No, but I needed the floor underneath this one.”
“Why?”
She motions me to the dining table and places a plate of food down, pushing it in my direction. “The elevator? The original structure made that difficult so I had to move things around.”
My brow arches. “You needed another eight hundred thousand dollars for an elevator?”
“Kind of.” I keep staring and pick up a sandwich to eat. “And there could be two more apartments fitted into the space now I’ve put the elevator in so it’s not a bad investment, certainly not in this part of the city. One large one would be even better. Probably worth double what we paid. Knox was okay with it when I asked for the money.” I chew and swallow. That isn’t the reason she’s bought the floor underneath this one. “And it’s got really nice views over the city.”
“No.”
“Oh, Abel, please. I can keep an eye on this side of the business and be on call for the girls.”
“No.”
She stands and starts aggravating herself with my stance on this. “Why are you being such an ass about this? I can’t live with her any longer!” Yes, she can. “You don’t know what it’s like. Every damn day she’s in my face and making my life hell. God, she’s such a bitch.”
“Careful, Mariana. I’m in no mood for this shit this morning.”
“No. I’m done. Everyone else gets their own place. Even Shaw, and he can barely shave his goddamn face without slitting his throat. Which I wish he fucking would on most days.” I lean back and keep eating, watching her storm around the place. “Look at what I’ve done here! It’s immaculate, and I’m perfectly capable of dealing with this side of the business if you let me.”
“I know that.”
“Then why not let me move in? I can get the place downstairs refurbished and deal with it all from here.”