He groans, and when I turn back to face him, he’s standing straight but holding his midsection. A tiny bit of guilt prickles my conscience, but I’m mostly okay with my actions. “What can I say? I might be intelligent, but I never claimed to be socially appropriate. Why do you think Mr. Russo keeps me down here? Come on, I’ll show you the rest.”
“There’s more?” I ask as he walks away from me, his steps not as confident as they were before. I guess I did have a good grip on his meat and two veg. A small smile crosses my lips at the thought of what I had in my hand. I mean, it felt like it might have been fairly impressive if I was into something like that, but I also enjoyed how it felt like I was taking myself back, like I didn’t have to be that devastated shell of a person I felt like this morning. In fact, I felt confident for the first time since I woke up the morning the thing with Stacey happened, like I could hold my own against him again if I needed to.
“Yeah, there’s the drying room, the curing room, and the storage and packing room.”
He leads me to another door, and we step through. I wonder how far this underground complex actually stretches. There’s another corridor, and all the rooms are labeled. “The drying room is temperature controlled to dry the harvested plants at the right temperature, then we put them into jars and leave them to cure.”
“Cure? I thought once it was dried it was good to go.”
He shakes his head vehemently. “I mean it can be, but it’s a far less superior product than the stuff we produce. By leaving it to cure, you end up with a product that’s smoother with a better taste.”
He bypasses the drying and curing room and reaches the one labeled “Storage.” He opens it and reaches in, turning on a light. Gesturing, he allows me to enter and then follows behind me. The room is packed with shelf after shelf of labeled mason jars filled with buds. He goes over to one shelf that contains a few unlabeled jars. “This is my new strain. I haven’t named it yet, but you have inspired me. I will call it Mafia Princess. It will grab you by the balls and have no mercy.”
There’s a teasing lilt in his voice, but I don’t miss the admiration in his eyes. I guess someone doesn’t mind a little bit of rough treatment. I mean, he’s cute with his unruly curly hair and dimples, but am I attracted to that or the fact that he’s being a sassy shit? It’s similar to what I felt with Tristan and Xavier, so maybe I’m just starving for any kind of friendship, though I didn’t feel the same way about Casey. Fuck, I’m so confused. I need to concentrate on what Dad wants me to learn and worry about my sexual interests once I get my head on straight.
“Tori?” I must have been lost in my head, because he’s frowning at me.
“Sorry, what were you saying?”
“Do you want to take some with you?” He shakes the glass jar when I look confused, and I quickly nod. I just realized I’m not going to have to rely on Gio for my weed anymore, especially now that my new supplier happens to live in my house and the product is in the basement. A grin spreads across my face. “Sage, I think you and I are going to be great friends.”
He looks a little wary at my announcement. “Sure, but you have to promise you’re going to keep your hands to yourself, unless you’re going to be gentler with my junk.” He tucks a jar under his arm, and we head back through the grow room to the lab. “Do you know how to roll a joint?” he asks before we get back to my family, and I shake my head. “I’ll give you a lesson this evening if you want,” he offers, and I shrug.
“I’m not sure if we’ll move in today or if it will be a few days.”
“That’s okay, I’ll show you whenever you have a free moment.”
“Ah, there you are. These projections are excellent, Sage my boy. You really are an asset to our organization.” Dad claps him on the shoulder when we return, and he beams with joy.
“Thanks, Mr. Russo.”
“Did you show her the safe room and tell her about our safety protocols?” Uncle Mickey asks, and Sage grimaces.
“No, we didn’t get that far. I got distracted.”
“You hit on her, didn’t you?” Gio asks, and Sage nods, not losing the grimace. “And what did she do?”
“She almost ripped my nuts off,” Sage mutters, and Dad and Uncle Mickey howl with laughter.
“Sage, if you need some companionship, I can send one of Lorenzo’s girls to visit you,” Dad offers, and Sage scowls.
“Why can’t I go out and find someone myself?” He has a very childish yet somewhat feminine pout to his lips as he surprisingly back talks my dad. He’s brave, or maybe it’s born from a familiarity that I don’t quite understand yet. I remember what he said about hitting on Gio too, so maybe he would prefer a male whore. Do we have male whores? I’ll have to ask Gio. It would be narrow-minded not to. Rich influential women need sex too. “Nobody knows I’m your chemist. It would be safe enough.”
Dad and Mickey exchange a glance and then look at me thoughtfully. “I have a solution which might solve all our problems, but let’s get Vicki up to speed before we put it into play.”
I cross my arms and glare at the two of them. “No, if I’m involved, I want to know what you two are thinking now.”
Dad glares at me, and I realize I just made a huge mistake. I defied him in front of an employee. Fuck.
“Oh shit, sis,” I hear Gio whisper next to me, but I stand my ground, and Mickey chuckles.
“Well, the girl’s got sass. I think she’s going to do just fine.”
“Yes, well, that sass might be okay with us, but there are people who will not take it well. I want her fully armed and proficient before we release her to the public.” They talk about me like I’m not even in the room, and I tap my foot with agitation.
“You are lucky you sassed me in front of Sage. Anyone else, and I would have had to kill them so word wouldn’t spread.”
I see Sage gulp and glare at me, but I still won’t apologize. Dad sighs.
