19 - Hidden Assets

The customer frowned. He put his purchases in his backpack and walked away from the counter. The bell tingled with the door announcing his exit.

Val watched him leave flatly. She belonged to a man. From her ovaries to her smile. She didn’t have to give that out anymore. She yawned.

Another text from Kirk vibrated her phone across the glass display case in front of her. He was extremely needy today. Everything was an emergency. Like he was away on one of his trips without her. He needed sex to even his keel. She’d have a headache again tonight.

The bell didn’t even catch her attention. She waited until the woman walked in front of her and she looked up. Her features froze, her shoulders squared, and her smile blossomed.

“Hello!” She said. He was tall. She liked tall. A bit too square. That bruised eye and cast made him look more a vagrant than a warrior. “It’s Owen, right?”

“It is,” he said. He had that glasses French bimbo at his side. Val ignored Giselle. “Um ... I’m thinking Valerie? Frieda told me and I forget.”

“Just Val.” She said. “Are you looking for Kirk?”

“No.” He shook his head and smiled. “I’m looking for you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah.” He slipped his arm around Giselle’s hips. She smiled. Val kept her eyes from rolling. Owen said: “I’ve had such beautiful women at my disposal. It’s wrong to waste that.”

“So true!” Val leaned forward on her elbows. “I’m really fucking horny. Can we go in the back room and fuck?”

“Are there cameras?” Owen asked.

“No.”

“Good, I don’t really want to piss off your fiance before this is settled.” Owen nodded. “Have you ever met Mr Le Carre?”

“No,” Val shook her head.

“The two of us in the back office?” Giselle tried to look around Val’s shoulders to see, but there was no looking deep into the back of the store.

“No, honey,” Val smiled. “This was an invitation for Owen.”

Giselle pushed her glasses further up her nose. “Pauvre femme stupide. Vous pensez que vous avez le choix.”

Val and Giselle stared at each other with no animosity Owen could see. Val was surprised she didn’t set Giselle on fire. Val would not admit she had no idea what Giselle had said.

“Let me just flip the open/closed sign,” Val said. She stepped around the glass case. “You can run across the street and get us coffee and sandwiches for after. That’s your job, right? To go fetch coffee?”

“I am the personal assistante of Maxim le Carre,” Giselle said. “I do procure coffee from time to time.”

Owen was looking over Val and Giselle. He was thinking hard. Val had a ‘hot-for-teacher’ body and carriage that screamed sex. She was older than Owen but less than forty and he doubted most of his girls would look near that good at thirty. She had short red hair, large breasts under a tight sweater, and a long black skirt over tight calves in short heels.She smiled over her shoulder as she threw the deadbolt. Her eyes exclaimed how excited she was for him.

He felt like a god.

Giselle was almost perfect. She was the exception to Val. At near-30 she was as fit and gorgeous as any woman he had ever met. Her hair tied tightly back, the glasses, her soft winter coat was built for her figure. He knew the professional blouse and open cleavage she had on under that.

He was due both. Yet he was tempted away from a threesome. If they hadn’t come straight from the restaurant, he might have sent her for a sandwich and coffee. He didn’t believe himself, but he smiled for it.

He took a deep breath. Buying women and their bodies was not something he was made to handle.

“Have you ever been with a woman?” He asked Val.

“Oui,” Giselle said.

“No,” Val said. “You’ll find me at my best when--”

“When you’re open to new things,” he said, lifting her chin.

She smiled. He was due that, but her eyes were trying to start fires again.

“Oh, merci, uh, I should say, thank you, thank you!” Natasha clasped the maid’s hand after she had opened the door. Hafnan stood aside, her eyes downcast, behind her hand. She sobbed and shook her shoulders but couldn’t make tears fall. Natasha kicked Hafnan with the back of her ankle.

“It’s not trouble, sweetheart. Take care of your friend,” the maid said, and returned to her cart and moved on down the hallway.

Natasha dragged Hafnan inside.

“You embarrassed me.” Natasha said.

“Je suis deso--”

“Shut up,” Natasha said. She looked up and down the room. Everything was in its place. Giselle’s luggage was in the closet. Natasha pointed. Hafnan rushed over and began wheeling it out. “Remember how it was exactly.”

“Um...” Hafnan worried.

“Don’t slow down, put the suitcase on the bed.”

“Ou--Yes, Natasha.” Hafnan squeaked. It was bold but Natasha didn’t seem to respond poorly to hearing her name. Hafnan tried not to stare. She unzipped the bag.

“Clothes. Clothes. Remember how everything was packed,” Natasha said, as she watched Hafnan pick out everything and lay it down.

“Yes, of course,” Hafnan said. She laid out everything methodically on the covers. It would be easy to trace her steps backwards.

“Oh, her computer! Excellent.” Natasha set out around the bed and picked up a laptop plugged in on the nightstand.

“Only clothes and toiletries, Natasha,” Hafnan said.

“What?” Dammit! I want her diary or--”

“She keeps that in her attache or in her phone and--”

“Fuck!” Natasha swore. “Passwords. How are we supposed to buy these damned coins before Papa if we don’t know how much they cost?”

“That is your plan?” Hafnan asked.

“Yes, I’m sick of his silly obsession,” Natasha grumbled. “And I want the life I was leading in university back.”

“You are a very beautiful woman,” Giselle said. “Why not ask the man who owns the coins?”

“Did you see how many beautiful women this man had?” Natasha scowled.

“I did. He is led by his--”

“Oh my god! Giselle is an idiot!” Natasha laughed. “I’m in!”

“You knew her password?”

“No, but Papa’s security did,” Natasha said. She waved her phone at Hafnan. “Good! Leave her lingerie. We’re going?”

“I should put everything back.” Hafnan started loading the bag again but Natasha grabbed her elbow as she headed for the door.

“Why bother? She’ll figure out what we did when she sees that I stole her computer.”

Hafnan frowned darkly. She felt sick to her stomach to be party to theft.

Janice smiled warmly as she laid out coffees in front of Tamara and Jewel. Her brother’s old ex was positively glowing. Jewel looked exhausted. They both thanked her warmly.

“Can I get a pick me up?” Jewel asked Janice.

“I’ll hook you up with the guy who I usually buy and sell from,” Janice said, she shook her head. “I don’t really sell much now that weed’s gone legal and I burnt out my supply for you and the twins the other day.”

“Damn,” Jewel said.

“Don’t worry.” Tamara sipped her coffee. “I’ll keep her on her toes.”

Janice smiled. She was liking this side of Tamara, but it also twisted her heart a little. Would Owen? Owen had always been a dorky pervert, and that was going well for him. But her cousin was sensitive and a hopeless romantic too. Well, that’s what she saw in him at least. She frowned and rubbed Roxxi’s shoulder as she returned to her station behind the counter.

“Time for another break?” Roxxi said cheerfully.

“No, work work work, pocket Roxxi,” Janice said. “Lots to clean and tables to bus.”

Roxxi beamed brightly and rushed out into the dining room to clear tables. Janice frowned. Zera was ice cold. Roxxi was such a tryhard pleasure slave. How had this little people-pleaser become Elizabeth’s nemesis? At least Darlene hated Janice because Darlene was a possessive envious cunt. That she understood.

Janice served a few more customers humming to herself before Roxxi rushed back.

“All done!” Roxxi saluted. She skipped to the back to get refills for the creamer and sugar station.

“Hey,” Janice stopped her.

“Oh, what?” Roxxi beamed.

She was adorable. The electric blue hair and extra piercings only showed off her cute features and young face. She’d relaxed on how much black and dark blue lipstick she wore when at work. The formless coffee shop polo all but draped her but for the two barbells sticking up her nipples.

“Trying to figure out you and Liz,” Janice said. “I mean. Look at Tamara and Jewel.”

“They’re like, almost friends, but Tamara’s still really angry.” Roxxi pointed out.

“Yeah, that’s a strangely positive way of looking at it,” Janice frowned.

“The girls liked picking on Liz and I liked making my friends happy so I guess I went hard on her,” Roxxi frowned. “I never apologized!”

“Do you feel like you did anything wrong?” Janice said.

“I was mean, but I mean, almost no? I would do it again because that’s what was wanted of me.” Roxxi sighed. “I just ... I don’t want Liz picking on me the way Tamara picks on Jewel.”

“No, no you don’t.” Janice smirked. She couldn’t picture Elizabeth clawing into anyone though. “Go refill the sugar packets. Then meet me in the backroom for another quick meeting.”

“Will do!”

Roxxi darted off. Janice smirked. Roxxi was basically the harem vibrator. Things seemed to be working out well for Owen. Darlene was mostly over Janice, right? Now that the bimbo brunette knew Janice wasn’t a threat.She licked her lips. For the moment, anyways.

Giselle hung her jacket on the peg in the back office of Kirk’s pawn shop. She had never fucked in somewhere so low-class before. She had been born into the far upper echelons of the middle class. She had gone to elite schools and world renowned universities. Her boyfriends had been classmates and richer older men.

Then she had been recruited by Maxim.

She wasn’t his prostitute. She wasn’t at his beck and call. She wasn’t a servant in bed. She was a mistress. She’d never be a wife but she expected respect, romance, and richness. She had to be seduced.