He pulls me up and wraps his arms around me. He holds me tight and I nuzzle up against his chest. He sits with me in his lap, curled up against him. I feel so safe and protected, still floating from my orgasm. We’re naked, sweating, and I haven’t felt so good in a long time, maybe ever.
“I knew you’d taste perfect,” he whispers in my ear.
“Yeah?” I kiss his chest. “I knew you would too.”
“But this is a risk, you know.”
I look up into his eyes. His expression is hard. “I know.”
“It might be better if we stopped. But you can’t do that, can you?”
“I don’t think you can, either.”
He smiles and kisses me. “No, I can’t. And I don’t want to. But I want to give you that option.”
“I know what I’m getting myself into.”
His laugh is soft and dark. “You have no clue, little Valerie. But you will.”
He holds me tight and I know that’s true.16JacobAfter that night at her apartment, we get to work for real.
At first, it means onboarding the Carmine account. I fill out the bare minimum of paperwork and leave key details missing: socials, phone numbers, addresses. I’m given a single name, World Waste, LLC, and use that on everything I possibly can. Where a form’s simply not possible to fill out, I leave it blank.
Except in a few spots. Just to be careful, I put down a little more information than I bet they’re comfortable with. Bank account numbers, real names, things like that.
Just in case.
Once they’re in the system, I give the account over to Val.
“What do you think?”
She shakes her head. I lean over her and look down at her computer. “Well, I’ll start with a pretty normal portfolio. Keep it balanced.”
“I think Darin wants some pretty aggressive returns.”
She makes a face. “Of course he does.”
“They probably want that, too.”
“The market’s good.” Brian stands up and looks at us. “Might not hurt to go all-in on stocks.”
Val frowns at him. “That would be aggressive.”
“I have some picks,” he offers.
I gave him a flat look. “No, thanks.”
He grins and shrugs. “You’re the boss.” He sits back down.
I look at Val and she rolls her eyes. I can’t help but grin.
“So I do have some ideas,” she says. “Some are riskier than others. How much risk are we playing with here?”
“Let’s say, we can’t lose it all.”
She laughs. “Okay then. Pretty fast and loose.”
“I suspect that’s how they like it.”
She grins and turns to her computer. I watch her work, selecting certain stocks, building up a portfolio. I nod to myself, happy to choose her, and head back to my office.
It goes like that for a few weeks. The office begins to hum along, functioning like any other office. I hire more staff, fill out the positions, and soon I realize my job’s nearly complete.
I’ll still stick around in Philly for a while longer. Maybe a few more months, maybe as long as a year. I want to make sure that it’s in good hands once I finally leave.
And I want to make sure this Darin thing is totally resolved.
No news is good news, and I buzz through the hours. I don’t get to spend as much time with Val as I like, but we sneak off into my office sometimes. I kiss her, whisper in her ear, slip my hand between her legs. We don’t push it though, because we both remember Aimee nearly catching us last time.* * *On Monday, I come into the office, and Val’s already there. She comes to my door and knocks before coming inside and closing it behind her.
“What’s up?” I ask. “You’re in early.”
“Bad news.”
“What happened?”
“Lost that account some money.”
I frown a little. “How much?”
“Not too much. About half a million.”
I whistle. “They won’t like that.”
“No, they won’t.” She gives me a flat look. “I wonder how they’ll react.”
I stare at her for a long moment. “Valerie, did you lose that money on purpose?”
“I would never do that. It’s unethical.”
I sigh and rub my eyes. “Valerie.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” she says slowly. “But I also wasn’t very careful.”
“You need to tell me before you do something like that.”
“I’ve been getting pressure.”
“What kind of pressure?”
She stares at me for a beat. “You know.”
“Tell your boss to go fuck himself.” I stand up. “We can’t mess with these guys.”
“We need to do something. Otherwise, they’re just going to sit around and let the money grow. We need more information.”
I close my eyes for a second then come around the desk. I sit on the corner and watch her. “I’ll admit, it’s not a bad plan. And if they’re mobsters, I don’t feel bad about losing them some money.”
She grins. “If they’re not?”
“If they’re not, I’ll replace what we lost personally.”
She blinks rapidly. “You… can do that?”