Time to bury the meek, divorced kindergarten teacher she used to be—the one she kind of hated right now—once and for all and become the…what would she be when she married Nico? A moll? A godmother?
She gave her head a hard shake. That wasn’t the point. Point was, it was time to become the main character in her own story once and for all. A boss bitch. The HBIC. Queen of?—
Now she was just procrastinating.
Giving her skirt one last tug, she flushed and shoved her stall door open with more force than was necessary. The scrawny mean girls flinched like a gun had gone off, which made River way happier than it should’ve.
Head held high, she moved between them to the sink. Without giving either of them a glance, she calmly washed her hands and asked, “Do you ladies have any questions for me?”
What’s-her-name stuttered a bit, but Stacia tossed her hair back over her shoulder and caught River’s gaze in the mirror. The bitch had the audacity to smirk at her. “Come, now, friend. It’s obvious that you and Nico don’t seem to have…much in common.”
Of all the smug, arrogant, snotty displays of asshattery. River shrugged. “If Nico doesn’t mind, neither do I.”
Stacia’s enhanced lips curved (well, as much as they could curve when they were full of Botox) in what she probably thought was a sardonic smile. It actually looked more like a dog that had yawned too big and got its lip caught on its fang. “Just between us girls,” she began conspiratorially, “how did you convince him to marry you?”
She could’ve told her the truth about their meeting at the club. Or, she could’ve told them the half-truth that Tenley suggested (that she came to Nico to help settle her ex’s debts and he fell for her at first sight), which sounded more plausible than the truth.
But she didn’t say either of those things.
Instead, she looked Stacia right in the eye and said, “Oh, I didn’t do anything. The whole marriage thing was his idea. He was rather insistent. Why? What did you have to do to get Alexi to marry you?”
She already knew the answer. Enzo had spilled all the mafia tea for her, because as Van had told her, Enzo did, in fact, gossip like an old lady. Alexi hadn’t wanted to marry anyone. He’d been forced by his father, who’d been head of the Bratva at the time, into an arranged marriage with this pit viper to secure an heir. And based on what she’d seen tonight, he rarely bothered to hide his disdain for Stacia…or his sexual interest in the other mafia wives. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise her at all if Alexi and good old what’s-her-name had done the horizontal mambo a time or two.
Speaking of old what’s-her-name…she made a sound that reminded River of a cat getting ready to puke up a hairball. But Stacia’s icy blue eyes narrowed. “Even you have to admit you and Nico aren’t on the same level.”
It was a statement that might’ve made her cry a few weeks ago. But now? Pfftttt. After everything she’d been through, this bitch was going to have to work harder than that to hurt her feelings. She shrugged and did a quick lipstick check. “I’m not the type of person who puts a lot of thought into levels. I’ve just never been shallow like that.”
Implying that Stacia was not only a mean girl, but a shallow cuntbag, as well.
Old what’s-her-name made another sick cat noise. Stacia’s cheeks reddened and for a second, River thought she was about to get slapped.
I fucking dare you.
“Besides,” River went on, fluffing her hair. “I didn’t hear any complaints from Nico about my level when he had his tongue buried in my pussy earlier tonight, and I doubt he’ll have any when I’m riding his cock at home. So, maybe, going forward, you should worry about your own marriage instead of sticking your surgically altered nose into mine, yeah?”
Stacia grabbed old what’s-her-name’s hand and muttered, “Well, I never,” before stalking to the door.
River shrugged. “You should try it sometime. Might improve your attitude.”
Once they were gone, Tenley stepped out of her stall and gave her a slow clap before wiping away an imaginary tear. “I’m a proud momma,” she said. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
“Aw, thanks. Coming from you, that means a lot.”
Tenley handed her a diamond tennis bracelet. “Here. You’ve earned it.”
River frowned. “What’s this?”
“It’s Stacia’s. I stole it from her when she first got here. I’d give you her friend’s diamond earrings, too, but after that little display, I’m going to plant those on Alexi before he leaves. Stacia will find them and figure out that her best friend and husband have been fucking behind her back for the past three months.”
“I knew it!”
Tenley nodded. “Always trust your gut.”
It was good advice. And right now, her gut was telling her to find Nico and figure out what was bothering him.
Too bad her gut had zero advice for what to do if she was the thing that was bothering him.
Gulp.
