Unexpected encounter
Franklin Nelson had always thought of himself as a rather patient man. He also thought that he was a good friend. To his credit, he was indeed both of those things. That was why he had endured his best friend’s constant ranting about the woman downstairs for as long as he did and only appealed to his reason by telling him that he was being a bit creepy in his way of doing. It worked, for maybe a day or two.
Then he’d had to remind Matt that they were all actively trying not to break the law and begged him to leave Rose alone after he hallucinated her perfume on a woman who had been assaulted in the street. He went as far as suggesting that Matt simply asked her out since he was so clearly obsessed with her. That did the trick, and Matt stopped. For a few days now, he hadn’t been bringing Rose’s supposed criminal activities into any of their conversations. It was a nice change, and Foggy thought that these days were finally over.
That was until Rose knocked on their door that morning, bringing them coffee and hoping to trade it for some legal advice on camera surveillance and shop owners’ protections. She was aware of the crime rate in the area and told them that she’d feel safer if people knew she was being monitored. Since she wasn’t from New York, she was thinking of asking about what the law was saying about all this before doing anything wrong and being sued.
Foggy had been getting ready to inform her of her rights on that front, glad to see someone who was ready to ask about the law before getting in trouble, when Matt had taken control of the conversation.
For the sake of their practice, as well as their friendship’s, Foggy had refrained from saying anything until Matt was done with whatever he was trying to achieve here and Rose had left their offices. But she was now gone, and Foggy was furious. Matt knew about that, and handed his friend a fresh cup of coffee. The one Rose brought with her was much better, but that was far from being the point here.
“I know what you’re about to say,” Matt started, ready to defend himself. “I can explain.”
“You better be very convincing, because the jury is very hostile here,” Foggy replied, crossing his arms and refusing the peace offering. “A license, really ? Weeks to get it done ? Are you out of your mind ?” he shouted at his friend. “I thought this was over, and you lied to her, Matt.”
Karen let go of her current research and looked at the two men. “What happened ?” she asked. “She seemed satisfied when she left.”
“He gave her fake legal advice,” Foggy immediately replied. “That’s what happened. And she was satisfied because she trusted us and she had no way of knowing that I let him lie to her.”
“I bought myself some time,” Matt argued, cutting Karen off before she could side with Foggy again. “If she puts cameras in her shop and the apartment in the back, she might catch me on video. With the suit,” he added.
Foggy let out a heavy sigh. “That’s why you have your own place, Matt. You must be aware, since I’m now convinced that you’ve never stopped stalking her, that she doesn’t only work downstairs. She lives here, too. She’s a woman, alone in Hell’s Kitchen, where other women are being attacked in every dark corner of every street. I’m pretty confident that the cameras aren’t meant to spy on you.”
“You said you’d stopped,” Karen said in a quiet voice. “You promised us.”
“I’m not sure she can be trusted.”
“I’m starting to think the same about you,” Foggy sighed, not even trying to hide his disappointment. “I’m gonna try to find something to tell her to cover for you, but this is the last time,” he warned Matt. “No more stalking, and if you can’t behave normally around her, then stop being around her at all. You leave her and her pretended calm heart alone. And you don’t,” he added, pointing his finger at him, “under any circumstance, give her any legal advice. She doesn’t need a license to put up some cameras in a shop she owns, Matt. But guess who does to practice law ? We do,” he answered to himself. “You’d do well to remember that before trying to get us disbarred, again.”
Foggy had reached the limits of his patience. There wouldn’t be any more talk about Rose Parsons being suspicious in this office. Lying to a potential client, when their whole brand was that they were two of the most trustworthy lawyers in New York, that was too much. Matt crossed a line today, and once again Foggy had to set things straight, which he was more than tired of doing.
***
Back in her shop, far from questioning any of the advice she’d received earlier, Rose was getting ready for her first delivery. She only had a couple days before the big day, and now that the plants and flowers were about to arrive, it all started to seem very real, more so than all the money she’d spent on setting the place up. She was actually opening a flower shop, something she’d wanted for herself for years.
She got a pot of coffee ready and made sure to have another one ready to go. She didn’t know where the law firm was getting their coffee from, but it sure tasted like an insult to every coffee bean to have ever existed. She’d bring them some real coffee to thank them for their help, and if she was lucky they’d accept it as payment.
Rose had thought for a while that Matt didn’t exactly like her. The way he was always asking her weird questions about herself before going home at night was endearing the first few days, but then she’d started thinking that he had every intention of writing her bio. Now, with how nice he’d been to her earlier, she thought that maybe he only had a very unconventional way of flirting with her, which she didn’t mind that much. She still had no intention of pursuing him, but getting that kind of attention from a cute lawyer, in her own personal words, was not something she’d refuse. He was also one of the good ones, which was a nice change for Rose. Anyway, she intended on thanking him with a lot of coffee that wouldn’t turn his insides upside down or give him ulcers.
She spotted the first delivery truck of the day, the only one she was supposed to meet before lunch, and checked that her tray was correctly put together before walking to the door to welcome her first business partners. It may have only been the delivery people, but it was always good to get along with them.
Only one man got out of the truck, and Rose hurried to meet him outside. She would offer to help unload the whole thing, give him coffee afterwards, tip him and make sure to be very nice, and then she’d be moved to the top of the priority list. Just like that, she had planned everything.
What she hadn’t planned however, was that the man who was getting the large potted plants from the back of the truck was not a stranger to her or this city. She didn’t know who was the first person to ever think that a pair of glasses and a baseball cap were a decent disguise, but it was surely not enough to fool her.
Rose caught herself right on time and smiled at the man. “Hi,” she joyfully said. “I’m Rose, the owner. Do you need help ? I’d be happy to.”
***
Dex smiled back at Rose and swiftly closed the backdoor of the truck before she could notice the bodies of the two men who had the bad luck of being on his way. “Don’t tire yourself,” he replied. “That’s my job.”
“Okay, then,” she said, holding the door open for him. “Just put them wherever, I’ll sort it all out later.”
She sounded nice. Vanessa hadn’t given him much time to find out about that new woman in Matt Murdock’s life, but he could see why he might’ve chosen her. The depth of the man’s blindness was still a gray area for Dex, but surely he’d noticed how attractive she was. Dex himself did, and he wasn’t exactly interested in her whatsoever. There was something refreshing about her and the way he could hear her smile in her tone of voice. Something comforting, also. Something Dex was craving and had been taken from him. Something he had to block out, knowing very well what would happen if he let these thoughts take over his mind.
As he was emptying the vehicle and leaving everything in the middle of the small shop, he felt Rose’s eyes on him. So far, he’d had no proof that she’d been seeing the lawyer outside of his daily stops by the door before going back to his place, or saving the streets, or whatever. But as she was looking at him like that, his suspicions were only being confirmed. He’d have to find another way to ruin the man’s life, and he only had to pick from that pathetic law firm he had. Still, Rose couldn’t be written off yet, no matter what Vanessa commanded.
A cab honked back in the street, making Rose sigh. “Can’t they see you’re working ?”
“Welcome to New York,” Dex replied. “Where are you from ?”
“Not here,” she scoffed. “You’re sure you don’t need help ? I really thought you were working in pairs.”
He refrained from commenting on the lack of muscle on her arms. He already knew she was more of a runner. He’d seen her on her morning run every single day since he’d come back, but that was as far as it got. “I’m good. Almost done.”
“Wish I was a little stronger,” she said.
He smiled and put down another box of potted plants. “I can point you in the direction of the nearest gym.”
“I don’t think I’ll have that kind of time on my hands,” Rose chuckled. “And there’s no way I’m trading my morning run for weight lifting.”
That woman was an open book. She wasn’t even trying to hide anything from him. Dex came back with the last of the boxes and handed her the only piece of the receipt that wasn’t covered in fresh blood. She didn’t notice that a few things were missing, signed the paper and gave it back to him, as well as some money on the side.
“I think delivery was included in the price,” he informed her.
“And I think you’re not being paid enough,” she replied with a smile. “Coffee for the road ?”
“Next time,” he simply said. “If you buy from us again.”
“I will,” Rose promised as she was closing the door behind him.
He walked back to the driver’s seat, waved at her and quickly drove away. There was no way that she was having an affair with Murdock, not when she’d been so openly flirting with him. Dex didn’t care that she was interested in him, only that she wasn’t after the one man he wanted to destroy.
If Rose Parsons was a dead end, then he’d have to go back to a staple of Daredevil’s life. Karen Page would get a visit from an old friend soon.
***
Rose needed a shower very badly. Preferably one that involved a very dangerous amount of bleach. Everything had been great so far, and that awful man had to show up and ruin everything. She didn’t have to think for long to guess what had happened to the two men she’d met when she visited her business partners a few weeks back. One of them had mentioned being married. The other one had said something about enjoying the single life. None of them deserved to die, and she’d just been kept far from the back of the truck the whole time. She had to leave. She’d take care of the plants scattered in the shop later. She put on the AC because she still didn’t want them to suffer from the heat, and grabbed her car keys.
Before she could leave from the back of her apartment, someone knocked on the shop’s door. She feared for a second that he came back, but still checked up on who it was. She sighed, relieved that it was only Karen.
Rose ran to unlock the door and smiled at her. “You almost missed me,” she said with a smile. “I was about to go.”
“Something’s wrong ?”
A lot of things were now wrong, Rose thought, but she simply shook her head and added an eye roll for good measure. “One of my deliveries has been canceled, I either have to go get it myself or wait another week.”
“Oh, I’m sorry about that,” Karen immediately replied. “Do you need help to get it ? I can clear my schedule and come along.”
“That’s very nice, but I’m hoping to use that to get a very large discount on my next order, and I’d like you to still like me after that happens,” Rose laughed. “By the way, thank you again for this morning, you guys really helped.”
Karen gave her an embarrassed smile, knowing what had happened and how cold things still were upstairs. “Foggy said he’d make sure to speed up the process,” she said, repeating what he’d told her a few minutes before. “Free of charge, except for the drinks you’re going to get me tonight when I get you out of this shop.”
Rose hadn’t forgotten about this, and was immensely glad that Karen was bringing that up. “Tonight ?”
“If that’s okay with you.”
“That’s great,” she happily replied. “I’ll come get you when I’m done here ?”
“That’s a date,” Karen scoffed. “Good luck getting your discount.”
Karen left, happy to have been able to help Foggy deal with Matt’s mess and to have set up something with a potential friend, if Matt kept his word to leave her alone. Rose locked the door and ran back to her apartment in the back, locked the door behind her, and jumped into her own car.
She was too distracted to give the other cars any thought, and she missed the white one that drove right past her, the one Eva Duchamp had rented when she got to New York after finding out about one article that mentioned her daughter. A botanic conference that happened years ago in Manhattan, where Fleur Penquist had been mentioned and pictured with the host.
***
Eva herself had been too focused on trying to follow her GPS’s instructions through the streets of New York and hadn’t noticed the black car Rose Parsons had been driving. The name wouldn’t have rang any bell in her mind, but her face might have. She would’ve recognized her own eyes in that woman, and her hair, as well as Edward’s jaw.
Eva was on her way to the apparently only PI in New York who wouldn’t mind crossing her ex-husband’s employer. She’d read many reviews on Yelp, and Jessica Jones seemed to be the right woman for the job. She’d find Fleur and help get her away from the life her father chose for her. When the GPS’s voice told her that she had now arrived at her destination, Eva stopped the car and checked her surroundings. This didn’t look like she had imagined it, but as long as the person she was looking for was there, she didn’t mind.
She climbed the stairs all the way to the second floor and stopped in front of the door in the back of the hallway. Alias Investigations. That was what she was looking for. Eva took a deep breath and knocked.
No one came to the door. She was pretty sure she’d heard something inside, though. She knocked again, harder, thinking that she hadn’t been heard the first time. There was definitely someone inside. Eva could hear the footsteps. She took another deep breath, reminded herself that she was doing it for her daughter, and cleared her throat.
“Miss Jones ?” she asked, her face almost touching the door. “I’d like to talk to you. To uh… pay you ? To work for me, I mean.” She rolled her eyes and winced. “Miss Jones, I can hear you.”
The door slammed open. Eva jumped back and gave a good look at the young woman standing in front of her. “I heard when you knocked,” she said, apparently very annoyed. “Usually when people don’t open the door, it’s because they don’t want to talk to you. It’s early.”
Eva checked her watch. “It’s 11am.”
“I said what I said.”
“Okay,” Eva said, rather confused. She was a little on the fence about all these reviews she’d read now. “Like I said, I’d really need your help.”
Jessica let out a very long and very heavy sigh, hoping that the woman would get the message. She didn’t. She gave up and opened the door to let her in. “Can you explain it in less than a sentence ?”
“I can,” Eva assured her. “I need help to find my daughter.”
Jessica sat behind her desk and crossed her arms. “Have you tried calling her ?”
“It’s a little complicated,” she replied. “I haven’t seen her in a very long time, and I don’t have a good relationship with her father. He’s keeping her away from me.”
“Wait,” Jessica stopped her, studying the woman’s looks. “How old is she ?”
“She’s uh…” Eva looked down. That wasn’t going to help her at all. “She’s 32.”
Jessica scoffed. “And so what ? She’s in a cult or something ?” she asked. “Pretty sure she can make her own decisions now. Just call her.”
“Get me her phone number, then,” Eva snapped back, frustrated by the lack of empathy of that woman. “All I have is the high school she was attending when she was 16 and I abandoned her, and they won’t tell me anything. If I try anything to find her, her father will find out. His employers will find out. I have one press article from 11 years ago, and nothing else. She’s a ghost, and I need to get her away from all this. I’m sure they already know that I found it.”
Jessica leaned forward. “They flagged her ?” Eva nodded, tears already threatening to fall. “Why ? You don’t get flagged like that for no reason.”
“They’re… they’re pretty high in the hierarchy.”
“What kind of hierarchy ?” Jessica asked. Faced with Eva’s silence, she understood how frightened she was and considered her request. “You can pay ?” Eva looked back at her and nodded. “Where’s that school ?”
“DC.”
“As in Washington DC ?” Jessica asked, rolling her eyes at the woman. “You should have started there, that’s too far for-”
“I’ll pay double, and the article is from New York,” Eva insisted. “Please, Miss Jones. I just want to see my daughter.”
Jessica shrugged. That woman was clearly sad, and she didn’t want to add a few more questions right now, like ‘Why did you leave her if it was so dangerous for her ?’, ‘Why now ?’, or ‘Thanks for putting me in danger, then,” which was more of a fact than a question but was still worth mentioning too. Instead, she took a notepad out and asked her to tell her everything she had on her daughter, starting with her name.
***
“So she’s no one,” Vanessa concluded after hearing what Dex had to say. She left him to look into that woman, and not only did he find nothing of interest, but he came back with two dead bodies that she’d have to deal with. “Do you think no one will ask questions about them ?” she asked, looking at the security cameras from the underground parking lot. “First that guy you killed in the street, and now them. Are you here to help me or make my life harder ?”
“He had to die,” Dex justified himself, talking about the man Matt had left tied up to the lamp post. Actually, it was like he was asking for him to dispose of this man’s life because he couldn’t do it himself. “People will still think Daredevil is a threat. It needs to stay that way.”
“And I agree, but I’d like you to take care of your bodies yourself from now on,” Vanessa decided. “I don’t want the police to stop by and ask questions. I have other things to think about. And you’ll leave that girl alone. I don’t want Nelson, Murdock and Page to see you. They’ll either take care of you themselves or alert the authorities. And we want the authorities-”
“Far away from you,” Dex finished, forcing himself to smile. “Understood.”
He didn’t exactly care. He’d take care of the bodies since it was what she wanted, but he wanted to keep watching Rose Parsons, and that was what he would be doing in his free time. He didn’t have to report all of his whereabouts to Vanessa. She’d deal with Fisk’s spawn, and he’d take care of Daredevil and his allies.
Vanessa gave a second thought to what he’d said about Daredevil running to check up on that woman after a fight she’d nothing to do with. There might not have been anything between them, but it could’ve been a one sided thing. Something he was hoping to see happening. She wouldn’t let that happen. He was the reason why she lost the man she loved, and she intended on returning the favor. “Fine,” she sighed. “Keep watching her. If you think at any time that she might be of interest, you tell me.”
“And then ?”
“Then I’ll drive her very far away from him,” she replied with a smile. “To let him know how that feels.”
Dex was really hoping that she meant ‘killing her in front of him’, but he had doubts. Rather founded, because that wasn’t what Vanessa had been implying at all. She had meant exactly what she said. She’d find a way to drive Rose Parsons away, unharmed, but away from that man if she ever thought that he cared about her.
Two men from the security team entered the room, informing Vanessa that her midwife had arrived. She asked them to get her in, and turned back to Dex. “You can leave now. I’ll let you know if I need you. In the meantime, try not to kill anyone.”
“Ma’am,” he said, excusing himself from the room.
He was gone before the midwife could see him, and that was what Vanessa had in mind for the rest of his stay. She wasn’t comfortable with him being back in her life, even if he was trying to be useful. She didn’t want anyone to link him to her if he was ever found.
She led the woman to her bedroom, just like she was always doing, and laid on the bed after taking most of her clothes off. She hadn’t been to the hospital once, ignoring the midwife’s advice. Wilson’s team would make sure she’d get the best professionals here, away from any public hospital where her child might be exploited by the media.
“Let’s see how this baby’s doing today,” the midwife said with a warm smile. “Are we trying to find out again ?”
Vanessa smiled. They’d been trying to know for a couple sessions already, and if Vanessa had to be honest she didn’t really care if it was a boy or a girl as long as the baby was healthy, but she was feeling like spending some of that money she was sitting on. She wanted motherhood to feel real, other than when she was going to the bathroom in the middle of the night or eating compulsively at any time of day without ever feeling full. She wanted to start thinking of a name for her baby, she wanted to get their room ready, she wanted to be a mother. To have someone to share life with.
She shivered when the gel touched her bare skin and waited for the midwife to look at everything she had to check before telling her if she saw anything. She knew that these sessions were important, and she was lucky to be able to see her baby each month when most mothers only had that chance three times in all of their pregnancy. The steady heartbeat she was hearing was enough to comfort her.
“Everything looks good,” the midwife calmly said after a few minutes of silence, only broken by the baby’s heartbeat. “It’s just taking a while to make all the measurements, but don’t you worry about that. Have you thought about going to the hospital ? I know many private ones that would make it their priority to respect your privacy,” she tried to convince the expecting mother. “You could ask your lawyer to-”
“I’m fine here,” Vanessa replied. “Is he growing well ?”
The midwife smiled. “It’s funny you said that. ‘He’.”
“Did you see ?”
She nodded. “I’ve always said that future mothers have a sixth sense when it comes to their child,” she replied with a knowing smile.
Vanessa sat up and stared at the small monitor next to her bed. It was a boy. Her baby was a little boy. She’d never asked for a picture so far, since it all looked too far from her, but now there was a real baby boy growing inside of her. Her son. Wilson’s son. “Can I have a picture ?” she asked without looking at the other woman in the room.
“Of course you can.” The midwife secured the captor on Vanessa’s skin and smiled at her. “I’ll let it run while I check everything, so you can watch him.” She pointed at a few points on the monitor. “Here are his feet, his hands. All toes and fingers are here.” She moved to the other side of the bed and waited for Vanessa to move her legs a bit. “Have you had contractions again?”
“I don’t know,” Vanessa mumbled, her eyes glued to her son’s feet. “I guess I’ve been a little tense lately and-”
“You have to rest when you feel them,” the midwife said. “It’s too soon for you to have contractions, and since you’re refusing to go to the hospital I’m begging you to make my job easier and rest. Can we agree on that ?”
Vanessa looked at the woman and smiled. Sure, she was paying her to be professional, but she was always feeling safe in her presence. She was nice, reassuring, and she also wanted what was best for the baby’s health. Her son. It wasn’t just a baby anymore, it was her son. “I’ll go to the hospital if I can’t reach you.”
“Thank God,” the midwife breathed out. “I’ll go to the kitchen and make myself a coffee so you can watch him a bit more.”
She walked out of the room, leaving Vanessa to bathe in the joy of being a mother.
***
Someone wasn’t bathing in any kind of joy, though. Rose stopped her car rather abruptly in front of the greenhouse that was supposed to supply her with most of her single flowers. The unpotted ones. That was the biggest part of her deliveries, and she’d have to take care of it all on her own. If only Karen hadn’t showed up on her doorsteps, she wouldn’t have had to do that.
She walked inside the greenhouse, much to her supplier’s surprise. “Hell’s Kitchen, right ?” the old man asked when he noticed her. “Wasn’t your delivery this afternoon ?”
Rose smiled at him. “Yeah, but I won’t be able to make it,” she replied. “I thought I’d collect as much as I can now and maybe we could reschedule the rest for tomorrow ?"
He took his gardening gloves off and joined her by the door. After a quick look at Rose’s car, he turned back to her. “You’re not getting much inside that thing. Get yourself a better vehicle, these are too small to be of any use to you, girl.” He took a few steps outside and cleared his throat. “Tommy,” he shouted. “Get over here and load the car, will you ?”
A teenager hurried to meet them, greeted Rose, and checked around them. “Which car ?” he asked, rather confused. The old man pointed at Rose’s car, making the boy laugh. “How many rides are you planning ? I hope you live close by,” he added.
“Hell’s Kitchen delivery,” the old man said. “Parsons, I think. Get as much as you can in that little thing, and keep the rest for tomorrow. Same time ?” he asked, looking back at Rose.
She gave him her brightest smile, ready to hug him and bake him a cake. “You’re a lifesaver, Sir. Thank you so much.”
“It’s good to see young people passionate about flowers,” he replied with a warm smile. “Gotta help if I can. You want something to drink while he’s loading your chariot ?”
“I can’t,” she sighed. “I have to try and convince the print shop to be as nice and understanding as you.”
He rolled his eyes and gave her a pat on the shoulder. “Good luck with that. Real pain, the whole lot.”
Rose burst out laughing. “I know,” she said. “Believe me I know, but I have a discount there.”
“Family or something ?”
“Worse,” she said in a whisper. “My father’s bosses.”
He looked at the young Tommy and told her about the pain of working with family. She laughed and walked away from the greenhouse. The print shop wasn’t that far, but Rose made it a bit longer by walking very slowly. She wasn’t exactly looking forward to it, mainly because it meant that not everything was under control, something that she didn’t like much.
She pushed the front door of the small offices and waited for another client to be done at the front desk. As soon as the woman walked away from the counter, Rose took a step forward and let out a long sigh. “I was expecting a delivery today, and here I am. Collecting because you weren’t able to make things right,” she said.
The man at the front desk arched a brow at her. “Oh, really ?” he asked.
“Yeah. Get me your manager.”
“Sure, of course,” he replied, rolling his eyes at her. “I’ll get her, your Highness,” he added in a whisper.
He walked away from his desk, leaving Rose alone with the other woman. They exchanged a brief look before the woman, well into her 40s, nodded in agreement. “They don’t realize we keep them fed,” she said.
“Damn right,” Rose agreed. “I had better things to do than coming to this shithole to deal with their terrible service.”
“I’m thinking about buying online.”
“As you should,” Rose said.
The manager joined them in the main room and smiled at Rose. “Ms Parsons, please accept my apologies,” she said. “Would you mind following me to my office ?”
“That’s why I drove all the way here,” Rose replied. She winked at the other woman and followed the manager down the hall.
As soon as the office’s door was closed, the manager turned to Rose and arched a brow at her. “The fuck was that ?” she asked.
Rose smiled. “Fun, because it’s not even lunch time and I’ve had a shit day.” She sat in front of the woman and took a deep breath. “Why wasn’t I informed that Benjamin Poindexter was back on American soil ?”
“Because he’s not.”
“Right,” Rose said, nodding at her. “So you should have me tested for substance abuse, then. Because I must’ve been high when I had to watch him deliver me 3 dozen potted plants this morning and had to make conversation while he was most likely hiding two bodies in the back of the delivery truck.”
The woman stared at Rose for a long minute, considering what she’d just told her. She then took the phone on her desk, under the young woman’s questioning look. “Get me Mark on the phone,” she commanded as soon as someone picked up her call. “Marianne Ballister,” she added. “New York office.”
Rose wasn’t liking any of it. These were the type of information that were supposed to be passed down between offices. She was fine risking her life on a daily basis, but only if she had all the data available to avoid actually dying on the job.
“Mark, it’s me,” Marianne said. “Is Poindexter back ?” She almost immediately slammed her fist on top of her desk, making it shake. “He’s in New York, you fuckin’ idiot. Hell’s Kitchen. Send the people you have on the case to collect him, I don’t want that nut job anywhere near my people.” She stopped, and Rose noticed how hard she was clenching her jaw, as well as the deep breaths she was taking. As far as Marianne Ballister went, that wasn’t good. “He’s made contact with one of mine, so I politely suggest that you transfer everything you have about him to her before I give the order to shoot on sight, you get me ?” She hung up and let out a deep breath.
“So…” Rose started. “How long have they known ?”
“Weeks,” Marianne replied. “You have to stand down until they know what he’s coming back for, and I agree with that. No need to blow your cover and die, they’ll take care of him themselves.” She took a bottle from the first drawer of her desk as well as two glasses. “Now you’re here, tell me something good.”
“Girl’s night with Karen Page tonight.”
If Rose hadn’t know Marianne better, she would’ve sworn that she was about to smile. “What’s the plan ?”
“Usual,” Rose explained. “Hoping that she’ll talk when drunk, and seduce her if she doesn’t get drunk. Although I’m not sure she’ll be responsive.”
“Try anyway. I don’t like any of this, better be done quickly.” She pushed a glass towards Rose and gave her a serious look. “Talked to your father recently ?”
Rose shook her head. “I texted. Why ?”
“He’s working overtime. He’ll tell you.”
“Or you can tell me.”
“Do I look like your fairy godmother ?” Marianne scoffed. “Go on, drink and get out. William’s sorting your order.”
Marianne was definitely acting out, but Rose would’ve been too if bureaucracy had failed to do its one job, transmitting paperwork. Talking about her father wasn’t unusual either, since Rose suspected that Marianne had had a thing for him for years now. She almost felt bad for her that he hadn’t looked at the woman twice in the 16 years he’d been alone.
She downed her drink and gave the glass back to her boss, but Marianne stopped her from leaving. “Fleur,” she started, “just call if you need to be extracted. Don’t worry about the job, we’ll send someone else, okay ?”
Rose laughed. “Wow, you need to get tested. Why would I ask to be extracted already ? I was just pissed that no one told me about Poindexter. It’s not my first time out.”
She left the boss’ office and walked back to the front desk, rather annoyed by this lack of trust. Was that why she had to ‘talk to her father’ ? Last time Rose checked, he wasn’t in charge of her. The real client was gone, and Rose was left on her own with William. She leaned over the counter and frowned.
“She’s in a mood.”
“That’s the Penquist effect,” he replied without even looking up. “What happened ?”
“Poindexter is back in Hell’s Kitchen, and they forgot to tell her,” Rose said in a quiet voice. William dropped everything and looked at her. “Yeah. Pretty sure we already have two bodies.”
He sighed. “Stay out of his way, F. I don’t mind someone killing you, but not before you get to the bottom of this one,” he added with a smile. “By the way, what’s with your stupid cards ?” he asked, pushing a box in her direction. Rose grabbed it and immediately opened it, excited like a child on Christmas’ morning. “You think you’re funny or something ? What’s with the mimosa one ? I don’t want to read any of these stupid jokes.”
Rose scoffed. She was quite proud of that one. “Harry Potter,” she said, smiling at him. He arched a brow at her. “You’ve watched Harry Potter, right ? Well, you know, it’s the flower version of the ‘Leviosa’ thing. Except it’s with mimosa.”
“Sure,” he said, rolling his eyes at her. “Pissing my pants right now. Hey, you know it’s not a real thing, right ?”
“What ?”
“That stupid shop of yours,” he casually said, ignoring the change in her attitude. “You’re not gonna build your family’s generational wealth with it, F. You play house for a bit and then it’s over, you leave and start something else.”
“Yeah, right,” she coldly replied.
She took her box of cards she’d worked hard on for entire nights and walked away from this stupid print shop. She ignored William when he called her back. She was already gone, and she didn’t want to listen to him for one more minute.
She’d given her time for that shop. Her sweat, too. Gave up hours of sleep for it. People were now dead because of it. She knew very well that it wasn’t a real thing, but she could at least pretend since it was her job, after all.