Black Romance - 2 Gaze

“Watch the mouth,” he snapped, holding up a finger to my face. “It makes a woman look cheap if she swears. And my women aren’t cheap.” Crooking his jaw, he glared at me. “Things are going to change, Jessie, not yet, but soon. And men like the ones that are coming, they’re going to be around. You need to be around them, you need to understand how to behave with them. That’s why you’re up here. Watch Val, you’ll see.”

The doorbell rang, causing Virgo to tip his head and look back over his shoulder. Lifting a finger to his lips as he twisted back in my direction, he gave me a soft smile. “Remember, no talking, not unless I tell you it’s okay. And absolutely no looking at them. That’s the most important thing right now, do not fuck it up.”

“I got it, I won’t do anything.” My tone was short, layered with teenage annoyance.

Virgo shot me a look, one that said, ‘Don’t test me, I’m not going to tell you again.’

Sometimes, I just couldn’t help it. In the past when I was younger, I had more wiggle room. But his reigns had lost slack, Virgo wasn’t letting me step out of line as much.

He had expectations for me, rules that he was holding over my head that just didn’t seem to fit. I wasn’t allowed to talk anymore unless permitted. I could only sit if he told me I could, I could only eat when he was finished.

Questions of why he was putting those rules on me had been brewing in my head for some time, but I had a feeling I might just get some unspoken answers today.

Jerking my eyes back to the floor, he whispered. “Good girl.” Standing up, he adjusted the jacket on his suit and took his seat at the table.

From the corner of my eyes, I watched his face fall flat and his back go rigid as he laid his palms down. There was a change in Virgo, it was subtle, but I could see it. He was molting what was left of his human shell for something else.

The look in his eyes was almost unrecognizable. I thought I had seen the worst in him, but right then, I knew I had barely grazed the surface.

The silence around us was deafening, causing the hair on my neck to bristle. I waited quietly, anxiously aware that this meeting was something I could never really have prepared for.

I did my best to not look, but I couldn’t stop the curiosity. Under hooded lids, I peered up, carefully keeping my head in the same position.

Val, a woman who I had only started to see recently, guided three men into the room. That happened often, women would come and go, some would stay for months, while others wouldn’t be there for very long.

I knew what had happened to one girl, but that wasn’t something I liked thinking about. Regardless, these girls were his in every sense of the word. The girls waited on him hand and foot, never uttering a word. They looked like mute robots, moving around on autopilot.

Virgo stood up, holding out his arms to great his guests. “Gentlemen, welcome.”

The woman curled her feet beneath her as she took a spot on the floor beside Virgo. She didn’t need directions, she knew what he expected. Keeping her eyes on her hands, she nervously fiddled with her fingers.

She looks so scared.

“Virgo, finally we meet.” A tall, slender man said, with shoulder length blond hair, pulled back into a low ponytail. Holding out his hand, Virgo took it and gave it a firm shake. The man took a step back, pointing to the guy at his side. “This is Fior.” Pausing, he moved his hand to the other man. “And this is Machi.”

“Yes, Hans told me you’d be bringing them. Please, sit,” Virgo said, his eyes watching the men cautiously. Opening the small box, he pulled out a cigar. “Ethan?” he asked, twisting the box in the man’s direction. “They’re the best money can buy.” Running the cigar under his nose, he inhaled a deep breath.

“We’ve been told money can buy a lot of things.” Ethan plucked a cigar from the box, flashing his brows at Virgo. “May I?”

Waving his hand, Virgo nodded. “Of course.”

Ethan moved the box down the table and the other two men took out a cigar for themselves. Lighting the tip, Virgo passed the flame so the men could light theirs.

“So,” he said, taking a heavy pull on the end. “I hear your boss is looking for. . .” His hand circled the air as he looked for the right word to use. “New merchandise.”

“That’s right. Sylvan wants to try and take his business to the next level. From what I hear, you’re the man to speak to.”

“Hans told you a little about what I deal in, did he?”

“He did.”

Glancing around the table, my eyes connected with the man on the end. Darting my eyes back into my lap, I didn’t dare move. I didn’t even blink because of the fear I felt when our eyes met.