I was sitting at a coffee table drinking some warm tea. Yvonne was sitting on the opposite side of me. She was dressed rather lightly. She had on booty shorts and an oversized t-shirt. It was clear she had either just gotten up or spent the night awake. Yelena's gift was placed on the table. Her boyfriend had left us and said something about "new post I'll be off." He seemed like a nice enough guy. 

Now back onto the issue at hand.

"Alright you first."

We both had our questions but I decided to give her the floor first. She folded her legs and shifted her weight, giving out an exhale.

"Is that from Yelena?"

She pointed at the present. I nodded.

"You're probably wondering why I know Yelena?"

"Yeah."

"Well, to put it bluntly, she's my boss now."

The gears in her head seemed to stop working.

"Huh?"

"She's my boss."

She seemed to realize what I was implying. 

"No...Why?"

"What do you mean why?"

I was slightly confused. Why did she look so unhappy?

"You know about my family right. So why did you join? I didn't think you were that kind of person Adam."

She looked at me with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. Her voice slightly rose.

"If you needed money you could've just asked me! I don't have a lot but I could have still helped! I know a few people that would be willing to hire you! Please, Adam. That business isn't something you should be a part of!"

"Woah woah. Calm down, I'm not doing this for money or anything. I have my own reasons."

She gave me a deadpan.

"What in the fuck would make you join the fucking mafia?"

"Listen, there are some, ah, people I would like to remove. In order to do that I need to build up my reputation and fame. Doing it lawfully is just too much work and I'm an impatient guy. With the mafia's system, I can quickly get into a position that'll let me get rid of them without too much backlash."

I leaned back on the sofa.

"I'm actually planning on turning her group into the best one in the whole family. 'Big Sis' apparently has the worst record."

She recoiled in surprise. I wasn't sure if it was because of the way I was calling her or something else.

"N-n-no way you already joined? Did they make you fight in the ring?"

I nodded and she looked horrified.

She rushed towards me and hugged me. 

"Oh god Adam. I'm so sorry. I'll go talk to father right away to let you leave. He might not see me as anything worthwhile but I'll blackmail him into letting you go. I can't let you do this. I'll, I'll -"

She started hiccuping. 

"Look me in the eyes. Do I look like the kind of person who'd join for some half-assed reason?"

"No..."

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Once I get there, I'll even change things up so that you don't feel so terrible about the actions of the family, alright? After 'Big Sis' gets her rep back I'll be working towards the top position."

"Adam! Don't say that out loud! What if someone heard you? Also what's with that moniker?"

"I dunno, Yelena told us to call her that way." I snickered.

"Point is, I know what I'm doing alright? Anyways, I'm more worried about you. How come you haven't come to the past few shifts?"

"Oh! I've just been working on an upcoming design."

"What's it for?"

"Victoria's Secret hired me to design the fantasy bra."

"Fantasy bra? Isn't that the thing they're using in their show?"

She nodded happily.

"Yep! If the show is a hit, I'll get a ton of exposure from the event and maybe even more commissions in the future."

"Speaking of the show, are you planning on watching?"

"Yeah I'll be watching it from the TV. It's too late to get tickets and I wasn't given any."

"Oh I can ask Eve for an extra one. I'll give it to you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, we can even go together."

"I'd like that."

––––––––

I left Yvonne's house agreeing to pick her up on the day. I texted Eve to ask for an extra ticket. She said yes, though she wanted to know why. I wrote that I'd explain later. I was walking home when I ran into Valentine. I almost missed her wobbling in an alleyway with one of her heels broken. 

"Hey, you good?"

She whipped her head around at the sudden noise. She tensed up when she saw it was me.

"Yeah I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

I knelt down and lifted her foot towards me. Part of the ankle was red and swollen.

"When'd you twist it?"

"I didn't twist it!"

"C'mon it's so obvious."

She folded her arms.

"Just now. I was walking across the street when I tripped on the curb."

"Well I can't just let you walk like that."

I bent down and showed her my back.

"Hah? What the hell are you doing?"

"What else? Hop on."

"Like hell...Ow!"

She winced in pain after stepping with her injured foot. She begrudgingly got on.

"Hey! Aren't your hands a little too high up?"

I turned my head around to see her red face glaring at me. I could see what she meant. My hands were practically on her butt.

"Sorry but I'm afraid I'll accidentally drop you if I let go."

"..."

She didn't struggle after that. 

I decided to drop her off at my place. I had some first aid stuff in the linen closet and Eve would be able to help with taking her home too. We were drawing quite a bit of attention. Valentine was a well-known model, even more so than Eve, and a lot of people were taking pictures. Damn. Do they ever get tired of snooping into their personal lives? I could already see the headlines.

Asides from the occasional shout whenever Valentine almost slipped off, we spent the rest of the walk rather silently. We were passing by a small restaurant when she spoke up suddenly.

"You know, Eve is really worried about you."

"There's nothing to be worried about."

"Really? You've been looking a lot meaner lately."

"You've been paying attention to me?"

"Shut up! It's not like that."

I laughed and she yelped.

"Don't move around so much it's making me dizzy!"

"Sorry, sorry. I'm not doing it on purpose."

"I...I know."

She falls silent so I decide to make small talk instead.

"Hey, how's your preparation for the show coming along?"

"Huh? Oh, it's fine. We've started rehearsing in full dress now."

"Yeah? Eve's been practicing her poses in front of a mirror for quite a while. I can't wait to see yours."

"It's nothing special..."

"Well, I'll be waving at you in the crowd. Though I bet you won't even know."

"Of course I'll know!"

"Oh? You're saying you know me well enough to recognize me in a huge crowd?"

"That's not what I'm trying to say!"

I laughed again. I could get addicted to this. I turned back around to focus on walking. And so I missed the way she tilted her head at me with a grin, her long hair waving around her face. I also missed the way she put her arms around me, telling herself that it was to maintain her balance.

When we reached the apartment, Eve was already waiting for us. She saw Valentine still on my back and gave me a glare.

"Adam? Would you like to explain this?"

"Haha she's hurt so I had no other choice."

"Haah? Well whatever. I'll make you explain later. Right now let's fix her up."

Along the walk, Valentine had texted her, writing about her injury. The medicine kit was already laid open in the living room and I dropped her off on the couch. After bandaging up her foot, it had gotten rather late. So I took her home. Eve had protested saying that she could do it instead, but I told her it was too dangerous for two women to be walking around at night.

I took her to her high-rise in a cab. She was good enough to walk on her alone without support. When we arrived I got out and opened her door like a real gentleman. As she walked towards the entrance, I spoke.

 "You know, it makes me really happy that Eve has you guys as friends. To be honest I was a little worried. We've never really had the opportunity to socialize and so seeing her be able to be so happy and enjoy herself is quite nice for me."

She stopped with her back turned to me. I looked down. 

"I just wanted to say thanks."

I gave her as bright of a smile as I could. She replied with a shaky voice.

"Hmph. Of course, I'd care about her. She's my best friend! Just who do you take me for?"

"Ha. See you, Valentine," I waved. I also turned around, walking towards the cab that was still idling. 

"Val," she blurted. I turned around at her voice. She was looking at me and her face was beet-red with a shy expression. 

"You can call me Val."

She didn't wait for my response and rushed as fast as she could into the lobby.