VEE BETA ( Book1 of the BETA Series)

CHAPTER 2

     "Are you done?" 

    "Yeah," I murmured.

     "Good. Now, get out ." 

     I exited the car with an intent to kill. I watched the car carrying The Bitch as it sped away into heavy traffic. Henry was a dead man. 

     "Go fuck yourself," I shouted as he tried to approach me.

      "I'm sorry," he apoligized.     

     "Whose side are you on anyways,  Henry?" I glared at him.  

    He responded with a light smile,"I'm on your side. You know that."

      "Bullshit! You're on the side that gets you laid faster," I said, blunt and unforgiving. 

     "Which is exactly why I said I was on your side," he grinned perversely.  "Alright, alright. I'm sorry. Truly sorry. However, in my defense, if I would have said she wanted to see you would you have gone?"

      "Fuck no!" 

      "See what I mean," he placed both his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. I was forced to really look at him.  I hated that. I hated that we connected on a level that only we were on. "Look on the bright side. the job is in Paris. We'll go sight seeing , have hot sex, and kill some people. It'll be amazing."  

    Typical Henry.

    "Minus the sex," I warned.  

    "Aww, its cute that you think I'm resistible," Henry cooed. 

     "We tried the sex thing, remember, Casanova?" 

     "That was when we were young and inexperience ," He paused.  "We're different now. Trust me, I'll rock your world ." Henry reached up and brushed a loose strand of hair from my face. "Now, go home, get changed, and get packing. I'm picking you up at eight." 

 * * * * 

     "You're leaving!?" 

     Why did I ever think that she'd take the news well? Charlotte stalked behind me as I tried to gather my things. She held a bottle of scotch in one hand, and a cigarette sat loosely between two fingers in her other hand. Her normally tame red hair was now a mop of wet messy curls, and her lipstick was severely smudged. 

     "You look like shit." 

     "I feel like shit!" she exclaimed as she tipped back the bottle of scotch and followed it with her cingarette. "I've had a rough day."  

    Trust me I could relate.  I started the day off by getting knocked on my ass, bossed around, man handled, bossed around again, and now I have to fly to another country. 

     "Can you believe him?" Charlotte slurred. She was definitely drunk now.  I knew the 'him' she was referring to. Maxwell Radigon, her boyfriend, and the man of her dreams. He was her rich, smart, sexy,and married boss.    

     "What did Max do this time?" I checked my watch and calculated how much time I could waste listening to her boy troubles. 

     "There's a company party tonight... the one you're suppose to be going to with me ," Charlottle complained, pointing her finger at me.    

     "He's taking his wife!" 

     "Darn him!" I exclaimed, my voice full of sarcasm. I could care less about her married boy troubles.    

     "I know right!? "

    It was time to take the scotch away because drunk Charlotte liked to break things.

     "That jerk had the balls to tell me this after we had sex. Can you believe him?" she bitched.

     Actually, yes I can. If he had said something beforehand, there would have been no sex. That's how men work. How was I to get that through Charlotte's thick skull? Should I have made her a picket sign? Maybe, I could have tweeted her or wrote her a letter on fancy paper to get the point across.   

    

    Dear Charlotte

    You're a side piece.

    Sincerely, Vee

    

     "I need you to go with me ," Charlotte whined.

     "You know I can't go," I reminded her.  As much as I didn't want to go on this mission, wasting a night being 'eye fucked' by a bunch a tech nerds didn't sound like fun either. I glanced around my room to see if I was forgetting anything.  Passport. Check.  Phone. Check.  Shoes. Check.  

    "What happened to your shoes?"Charlotte, still wasted, asked. She was referring to the hideous flats I had to wear after my 'accident' at Central Park.  

    "Don't question it," I replied. She plopped down on my bed and buried her face in my favorite pillow.    "Forget the party. Stay here and sleep . Mkay?" 

     "Mkay," she slurred.  I waited until she dozed off to retrieve my 9mm pistol. I had a lovely little hiding post for it under the kitchen sink. Charlotte had no clue what I did for a living, and she wasn't going to find out tonight. She was under the impression that I was an art dealer. What? I could be a fucking art dealer.  Although Charlotte was a hot mess , I needed her. She made me look normal. She made me feel normal. She was valuable, a pain in the ass, but valuable  I returned to my bed room, and I found Charlotte knocked out cold. Her cigarette was burning a hole in my sheets. I groaned .  I gently tucked her in and threw her cigarette in the trash. 

    It was eight o'clock on the dot when Henry arrived. He sent a text saying he was outside. After taking another glance at Charlotte, I decided to leave her a note. I wanted to leave her a little something to make her feel special; something that said 'I appreciate you'. Maybe I should write that? No way. I tore a piece of paper from a book I found laying around, and I decided to scribble down whatever came to mind first.

      

    Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone.

    Love, Vee

 Eh, I could live without the 'love' part.I crumpled up the paper, and I tried again.  

    Take care. Don't do anything stupid

    -Vee

  Perfect.