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When it came to women and the phrase 'I'm not mad' CJ fully knew the score. After explaining the situation to Cheryl before dropping her off, CJ had sensed a slight lenience. Although it was a good sign that her notoriously fiery anger had been partially extinguished, he still thought it was best to leave a short period of time for her to stew before he began grovelling like a little bitch. Lord... even though CJ missed Verne at the House, he was definitely relieved that his fellow Ghoulie wasn't around to make fun of the situation, as he knew he had some pathetic begging for forgiveness and expensive gift giving to do.
Luckily, the time of the year was perfect for present purchases; Christmas had come around faster than an opposite of festive - yet much better looking - grinch (also known as CJ Jones) would've liked. He hoped to entirely avoid the obnoxious cheer of the holiday season and the low-key putrid bubbles of jealousy he felt every time he saw a united, happy family enjoying their time together.
In an effort to hide, CJ spent his time moving between taking care of finances at the House of the Dead and talking business with Simone at the Ho Zone... the only negative of the latter being the cringeworthy festive themed outfits the girls had chosen to wear (not that CJ bothered to look for longer than a few moments, of course).
The morning of the last day of school was spent at the Ho Zone, naturally, and CJ couldn't work out if it was his own paranoia that sensed a slight change in Simone as of late, or if there was actually something dark going on behind the burgundy curtains of the Southside's most popular club. It wasn't a dramatic change and was likely unnoticeable to most, however CJ no longer considered himself most people. He was the new leader of the Ghoulies for one, and a grand total of two warning texts from the Black Hood made him a complete sceptic.
"You seem tense." CJ commented slowly, sitting back in the chair opposite Simone's desk as he placed his right ankle on top of his other knee. Simone's plucked brow twitched at the casual remark while she glanced behind CJ.
"Ask your boy to close the door," She instructed. "And tell him not to let anyone in." CJ nodded at the request, fully aware that the situation was incredibly serious, and called Adam in without question. After the door was slammed shut, Simone let out a sigh and began to shrug off her fur coat.
"What's goin' on, S?" CJ asked. He kept his eyes fixed on her back when she rose from the seat and moved over to her classic liquor cabinet.
"Something to drink?" Simone completely ignored his question for the time being, instead flashing him a bottle of Bombay Sapphire.
"I've never been one for gin."
"Maybe just this once?" She insisted, pouring it into two large glasses. "I brought this back from London with me last time I travelled and it'd be a shame not to drink it." CJ frowned in confusion but accepted the glass nonetheless, sipping on the gin - with what was likely the bare minimum of tonic - as Simone sat back down. She placed her glass down on the desk before opening up one of the drawers to her left; to CJ's utter surprise Simone pulled out a letter, looking down at it with hesitance before she slid it across to her business associate. "I've recently received this wonderful item, and I've been playing it off as a petty threat from one of the lowlife scum we kick out of here on a daily basis..."
