I step close to the glass and watch men moving around exotic cars, pulling panels off, and hiding packages in the vehicles’ walls. “What is it?” I ask.
“It’s cash. We move large sums of money for people. Across borders. By air, sea, or land. Now and then we move illegal products, but mostly it’s cash.”
“Why cash?” I ask, confused.
“Because certain transactions should be conducted without a traceable reference. We help our clients achieve that. The moment you wire a payment, it can be tracked. No matter how good you are, there is always a way. By physically carrying cash from one point to another, there is no definitive way to prove that a payment was made.”
“Unless you’re caught red-handed,” I say, fascinated by the scene below.
“We’re too good at what we do to be caught,” he chuckles.
In the warehouse below, a massive brutish brutish-looking man storms toward another man, waving his fist in the air.
“Shit,” Marlen mutters. “Not today.”
“Who is it?” I ask.
“It’s one of our biggest clients. Unfortunately, he’s also one of the biggest pains in my ass. He’s never happy and always in a rush, and everything is always a problem with him,” he groans, walking toward the door.
“Stef, you donotleave this room!” he demands. His voice is clipped with threat, and I nod, not daring to even make a joke of it.
Marlen leaves and closes the door behind himself.
I press my face close to the window to watch. I can hear the client shouting below, swearing at Marlen’s worker, who looks anxious and stressed.
Marlen walks into the room from the left, and immediately his voice booms across the space.
“Fabio, what the hell have I told you, time and time again. I will not tolerate you speaking to my workers like that,” he snaps.
“And I told you I won’t tolerate late deliveries. Where the hell are my vehicles?” Fabio snarls. Fabio turns back to the worker and starts shouting orders. “Get my cars now, I want to see them, I want to see…”
Marlen shakes his head and steps between Fabio and the worker.
“Fabio, this is your last warning. You are a good client. We appreciate your business, but I do not appreciate your attitude or how you treat people.”
“The delivery is late…” Fabio starts arguing.
Marlen interrupts him, standing his ground. “Check the message I sent you. Go ahead and read it out loud for me,” Marlen says, his voice calmer.
“I don’t need to check any messages. I know what the plan was, and you aren’t honoring the deal we made,” Fabio snaps while pulling his phone from his pocket. He scrolls through it and aggressively starts reading the message Marlen sent him.
“Payment received. Thank you for your business. Delivery will take place Thursday evening…” His voice trails off.
Marlen folds his arms across his chest and glares at him, not saying a word.
It’s Wednesday.
Fabio growls in anger, embarrassed to be caught out.
“You can’t treat me like this. I want…”
“You will get your delivery on the agreed date, Fabio. What you want at this point doesn’t matter, and if you come into my warehouse uninvited again, we are going to cut you off. As I said, we appreciate your business, but not your attitude. I won’t tolerate anyone disrespecting my employees. Even if we were late, Fabio. You deal with me. Not my workers.”
I giggle quietly, impressed by Marlen’s bold, confident power. His unwillingness to back down. And especially how he stood up for his employees.
I watch the conversation below carry on, but my thoughts are drifting.
Marlen looks powerful, dangerous even, as he stands his ground against the other man. It spikes a feverish need in me. Something lustful and dark. I want to feel that power against my body. I want him to take me and control me.
