The Love Of Money - Episode 256
14-08-25 (17:57)
Carla leveled a gaze at me, her smug little smile fading.
"I'm not stupid, Marcus. He was just trying to shut me
up, but whatever. I like diamonds more, but two
percent of one of the largest companies in the world is
a really nice present."
"Why the fuck would Hiro give you something like that,
even if it's only two percent?" I asked, finding it hard to
believe. "There's no way he got that desperate for sex.
Couldn't he have just... I don't know... cheated?"
"I doubt there's a whore in Japan that can make Hiro
feel as good as I can," Carla said with a level of
confidence I'd never seen.
Erin and I looked at each other, and I could tell my
assistant was impressed.
"So, you've been planning something like this for
months?" I asked, hardly believing that the bottle
blonde could be this much of a mastermind.
She laughed and said, "I wish! No... I was just hoping to
build a little something for myself! Hiro doesn't give me
money, so I've been finding different ways of
squirreling it away. I have jewelry. shoes... clothes, and
stock. It's not, like, life-changing or anything, but it's
enough so I don't have to grovel to his snotty kids after
he's gone." She gave me a predatory look, "Or enough
to get away from him long enough to find someone
who appreciates me more."
Then she continued, "Hiro told me about the vote and
that you wanted Chandler to be CEO. He said he was
gonna side with you. Then Amber showed up for dinner
last night, and they talked in his office for a while. After
she left, he said that we were voting for Kelly."
Carla shrugged. "I just did a little math and realized that
if the numbers were right, I could make the vote a tie.
When you and Astrid got back, I asked her what would
happen if there was a tie, and she said Chandler would
get to decide."
"You swiped my number off my phone on the off-
chance you might want to text me?"
"No," Carla said. "I stole your number because you
never texted me! I was just gonna vote for Chandler
and hope you'd take care of me. I didn't think about
messaging you till I saw your and Chandler's faces
after Hiro voted."
"So... you didn't plan all this? You just got lucky?" I
asked.
"Luck is the fruit of the patient and the harvest of the
diligent," Carla said.
"What is that? Henry David Thoreaux? Gandhi?"
"Sierra," she replied.
A pop singer/actress. That scanned.
'So, what now?" I asked.
"Now, you keep up your end, Carla said. "Like I said, I
went out on a limb. You think can go home?"
"Fuck," I muttered, turned my back on her, and started
pacing the room. "How mad is he?"
"Hiro?" Carla asked. 'Pretty mad. We just screwed him
out of all the stuff Kelly promised him, the stuff you
promised him.. and a wife."
I whirled to face her. "A wife?"
Carla looked up at me with those soulful hazel eyes.
"Like I said. you think I can go home?"
'So, you're getting a divorce," I said.
"I'm pretty sure he'd prefer being a widower over a
divorcee, Carla responded. I saw Chloe raise an
eyebrow at that, and Erin gaped. Carla looked at the
two of them and then back at me. "Well, It's true. Hiro
has ties to all sorts of gangs and criminals and stuff."
'Why'd you marry this guy if you thought he was the
type who would be willing to kill you?" Erin asked.
"Well, I didn't know at the time. Besides, Carla said,
leaning forward to display a tantalizing amount of
cleavage as she stared at my assistant, and I caught
Erin fighting to not look at the glorious sight in front of
her. "Have you seen Hiro's bank account?"
Erin snorted, hazarded a glance at Carla's chest, and
said, "Can't spend it if you're dead. And I'm sure it's
impressive." She hiked a thumb at me. "Mine has a
bigger one."
It was my turn to gape at Erin. Where the fuck did that
come from?
Carla gave Erin a half smile, sat up straight, and looked
back at me, 'Oh. I know. Why do vou think I turned on
Hiro?"
"The disrespect and potential danger?" I suggested.
Carla shrugged, crossed one leg over the other, and sat
back in her seat as she rested her hands on one knee
like a proper princess. There was a tantalizing amount
of bare thighs in full view. She looked me up and down
like a piece of meat, gave me a prim smile, and said,
"You owe me a job... and a date."
I know I would have failed to keep Chandler's position
without her, but still... fuck the day I met Carla Tanaka.
Monday 6:05 pm
"Goddammit. You too?" asked.
Natashya was just zipping an overnight bag shut, but
I'd come into the room just in time to catch a glimpse
of clothes and tolletries. As I said the words, she looked
over her shoulder at me-her mahogany eyes were the
only thing I could see around the bush of wild hair and
dreads as she peered my way, Irises shone with
emotion... I just couldn't tell what kind of emotion it
was.
I hadn't expected Emily to actually pack up and leave
the apartment while I was away, but most of her stuff
was missing, and with Natashya's belongings hidden
away in a bag, the room had a vacant feel to it. I hated
it.
"Where is she?" asked, not bothering to clarify who I
was talking about. The dancer knew very well who I
was referring to
"She was going to stay with a friend," Natashya said,
most of her face still hidden behind her shoulder and
hair, so couldn't quite get a feel for how much of the
doghouse I was in. "I got a hotel room near The
Starlight and told her to meet me there. I didn't want
her crashing with a friend, but she wouldn't have
stayed at a hotel without me."
I wasn't about to argue without knowing how she felt
about the situation. "Let me pay for the room," said.
"You've done enough," she replied, returning to her bag.
"Natashya..."
She slung the bag back over her shoulder and then
turned to look at me, eyebrows raised. She wasn't
smirking at me like she usually did, but she wasn't
scowling at me like I was week-old roadkill elther. Don't forget to leave a Comment 
