“That’s not fair, why not? I’m getting ridiculously bored, stuck in this mansion every day, Marlen. I’m going crazy alone here,” I plead.
He shakes his head again. “No, Stef, it’s too risky,” he says sternly, pulling clothes from his closet.
“Risky how? I’m not going to try and escape. If I were going to do that, I wouldn’t have accepted Simon’s offer. Andyou’ll be with me the whole time. I don’t understand what’s so risky about it,” I argue. “I want to see what you do. My brothers never let me go to the businesses.”
Marlen groans, hanging his head for a second.
“Fine,” he huffs. “But you need to be ready in twenty minutes. There’s no time for coffee,” he says sternly.
“We can get coffee on the way!” I say excitedly, jumping out of bed and running out of the room to get dressed in my own room.
I hear Marlen chuckle.
***
To my disappointment, Marlen decides to take me to one of his legitimate businesses. He leads me into the beauty clinic and shows me around, explaining that the beauty industry is one of the best investments because egos will never fade. There will always be demand for Botox, lip fillers, and facelifts.
I follow him around, touring the consulting rooms and their state-of-the-art facilities, but when it seems that that’s all there is, I frown and ask, “What is this business covering for?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing, this is it,” he says, gesturing around. I tilt my head to the side and pout. “I wanted to see… You know… the other businesses,” I sulk. “The dirty side of things,” I add to clarify with a glitter of mischief in my eyes.
Marlen grimaces. “Stef, I don’t know if it’s a good idea. The people who come and go…”
“I’ll stay hidden. I’ll listen to whatever you say. Please let me see it.”
My wide-eyed, hopeful stare works like a charm, and he rolls his eyes and agrees.
On the way to the next business, he stops and gets us coffee. I get the feeling he’s delaying the inevitable. But the coffee is much appreciated—rich and creamy, exactly what I needed.
“How far is it?” I ask, sitting in the passenger seat, sipping the takeaway cup.
“Just down the road here, he gestures with his chin. “That grey building.”
“Harbor Food Inc?” I ask, reading the lettering on the building.
“That’s the one.”
He pulls into a side road, drives directly toward the building, then parks outside and shuts off the engine. “Stay close to me, and do as I say,” he warns me.
I nod, smiling.
He clenches his jaw for a second, then climbs out and opens my door for me.
Inside the massive building is a symphony of shouts, machinery, forklifts, men, and chaos that is incredibly structured.
“What is this place?” I ask loudly.
“This is a food distribution company. We import and export all kinds of foods across the world,” he says, pulling me closer as a forklift picks up a heavy crate near us. “Come on, let’s head to the office,” he says, guiding me through the noise.
Inside the office, it’s quieter, but soundproof. I can still hear the sounds of machines and men working to pack and readythe food orders. It’s a long, rectangular shape. Both the longest walls are tinted glass. Too dark to see through.
Marlen walks over to the desk and picks up a remote control. He presses a button, and one of the windows clears to a lighter tint. “Oh, wow, that’s cool,” I say, walking over to look through it onto the warehouse floor where we just came through.
“It’s one-way glass. You can see them, but they can’t see you,” he explains.
“And on the other side…” Marlen says, drawing my attention to the opposite tinted glass wall. He presses another button, and this wall fades from dark tint to light tint, and another warehouse floor comes into view. Smaller than the first, but not small by any means.
“This is thedirtyside of things,” he says, glancing at me.
