Dangerous Contract, Part 1 (The Cattaneo Crime Family)

Chapter One

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MONIQUE

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Divorced.

I’m divorced. I’m a divorcee. I’m no longer married.

Monique Rose held in her sigh. No matter how she said it, it all meant the same thing: her marriage had failed. And tonight, if she ran into any of her old college friends, the first thing they would ask her was, “Are you and your college sweetheart still together?”

Bitch, does it look like it?

Bitch, does it matter?

Bitch, why?

Maybe if she left the bitch part off, one of those responses would work. Who was she kidding? None of those would work. She was the polite, sweet, and always considerate of others’ feelings, Monique Rose. Saying what was on her mind wasn’t what people expected from her.

If she had a grievance, they expected her to grin and bear it. If someone said something to upset her, they expected her to turn the other cheek and pretend it hadn’t happened. So, tonight, she’d do what she’d done all her life.

She’d smile and pretend all was right in her world. And when or if she was asked about her marriage, she’d say, “Marriage is beautiful. But even beauty fades. In the end, it hadn’t worked out, but we’re still friends.”

Which was a lie. She and her ex-husband were not friends. She hated him. She loathed him. If he were to fall down, choking in front of her, she’d step over him and pretend she’d never seen him fall.

Ugh! Why was she thinking about him at all? Tonight was all about her. Tonight was about her beginning the next stage of her life. What better way to usher in that new phase than with a ladies’ night with her two besties?

This would be her first girls’ night out in years. Sure, it had already gotten off to a rocky start. And she’d cried two times in the bathroom already. That didn’t mean it wouldn’t end on a high note. She really needed it to end on a high note.

Currently, her besties were mad because it had taken her over two hours to figure out what to put on. To their dismay, she was now considering changing outfits again. In her defense, she didn’t know what to wear.

All of her club clothes from the good ole days had been tossed out years ago. Many, many years ago. The cute outfits she’d purchased on a whim a few years ago no longer fit. Everything else in her closet screamed, I’m over forty, I no longer have Megan thee stallion knees, and I have a bedtime.

However, there was one dress in her closet that would be perfect for tonight. It was black and form-fitting. Its material felt good against her skin. Plus, it complimented her curves while also hiding her love handles.

It was the perfect dress. It was also the dress she’d purchased last year for her anniversary date with her now ex-husband. That had been their last night together. And it had been her first and last time wearing that dress.

After that night, her entire world fell apart. Monique had no intention of wearing that dress ever again. She only kept it around to remind herself never to let a man make her feel that worthless again. Swallowing back tears, Monique turned to the side as she stared into her full-length mirror.

“I don’t think this outfit will work either,” she told her friends, who were seated on her bed, waiting for her to choose an outfit.

“Ugh!” Temeka and Latoya both groaned.

“It’s too tight, isn’t it?” Monique asked.

“It’s supposed to be too tight,” Toya told her.

Monique turned to look at her backside. “Yeah, but this is so tight, you can see my butt dimples.”

“Men love butt dimples,” Meka told her.

“Liar.” Monique rolled her eyes.

If men loved butt dimples, her ex-husband wouldn’t have told her that one of the reasons he was leaving was because she’d let herself go and gained weight. Monique tried to push that thought away before she did something silly, like rushing off to the bathroom to cry again.

No more tears!

She had to quit allowing her ex’s parting words to bring her down. Instead, she should focus on her parting words to him. She’d never forget the look on his face when she told him she could always lose weight, but his dick would remain tiny forever.

He’d stared at her as if she’d just crushed his soul. Her chatter-box of an ex-husband had gone speechless after hearing that. Monique smiled, something she used to do a lot but hadn’t done much of over the last few months.

Recalling that shocked and hurt expression her ex had worn after hearing her parting words always made her feel a little better. Perhaps her friends were right. Maybe to get over a little dick, she needed to find a bigger one.

Should she make that her mission for tonight? Monique rolled her eyes at her reflection. Big dick? What was she thinking? What would she do with a big dick? Look at it? Tap it to see if it was real?

That was about all she could do. After spending half of her life with a ‘one stroke and done’ man and his mini-me, she wouldn’t know what to do with a large cock if it smacked her in the mouth.

Why was she thinking about cocks anyway? The last thing she needed was a man in her life. Been there, done that, had the emotional scars to prove it. What she needed was to reconnect with her friends.

They’d never disappointed her. And tonight, they wanted to see her smiling and happy for a change. She wanted that also. She missed feeling like herself. She was tired of feeling down all the time.

She was tired of moping around the house, hoping her endless fatigue, hurt, and anger would disappear on its own. It was time for her to get her life back, get her joy back, get herself back.

She would do that... tonight. Monique tugged the dress down some. Did she really have to dress like this to have a good time? She continued pulling the dress. The borrowed outfit still didn’t reach mid-thigh. There was no getting around it. The dress was too short.

“It’s too short, right?” she asked.

“It’s just right,” Meka told her.

“If I bend over wrong, I will show all of my goods.”

“Men like seeing all the goods,” Toya declared.

“I still think it’s too short.”

“Bitch, it’s supposed to be short,” Toya yelled, irritated. “It wouldn’t be a freak’um dress if it was long. It would be a preacher’s daughter’s dress. And that’s not who you are tonight.”

“I’ll always be a preacher’s daughter. Literally. And I don’t plan to freak anyone tonight. Instead of a freak’um dress, how about I find a relax’em dress,” Monique muttered. “A cover-up the goods dress?”

“Look, you’ve tried on over a dozen outfits. Some yours, some ours. By the time we get to the party, it will be over,” Meka drawled.

Hmm . So, if she stalled a bit longer, she could miss the party altogether and stay home watching television.

“Heffa, that outfit looks great on you,” Toya told her. “Wear it!”

It wasn’t that the ensemble looked terrible on her. Monique simply didn’t feel like herself in it. The black dress was super tight. There was no hiding her flaws in it. The Spanx she wore underneath helped. And though it was working overtime, it wasn’t enough.

“Instead of putting these long sleeves on the dress,” Monique complained. “They should’ve added that fabric to the bottom to make the dress longer. If my arms are cold, wouldn’t my legs be cold too? Whoever designed this dress is crazy. It was probably a man who made it.”

Men were the worst!

“Yeah, yeah,” Toya sarcastically agreed. “Put the shoes on, and let’s go.”

“This really won’t work,” Monique insisted. “Toya, you’re smaller than me. Your clothing can’t fit me.”

“We used to wear the same size. Who told you to gain weight?” Toya drawled.

That heffa!

“It looks good,” Meka complimented her. “Better than good. You look hot, Mo. This looks better on you than it does on Toya.”

“Not true,” Toya disagreed. “But it does look good on you.”

Monique rolled her eyes.

“Seriously, it does,” Toya assured her. “You can’t see it because you’ve been trapped in the house for so long, catering to a man who didn’t value you, and you’ve lost the confidence you used to have. Tonight is the night you begin the journey of getting it back. This dress will help.”

“I’m confident,” Monique defended herself.

Her friends side-eyed her. Monique sighed for the hundredth time and resumed staring at herself in the mirror. They were right. She wasn’t confident. When her husband left, he took her heart, confidence, and future plans with him.

They were also right about another thing. It was time for her to get those things back. And she couldn’t do that by staying inside and wallowing in self-pity. Her husband had left her. So the fuck what?

Her life hadn’t begun with him, and it wouldn’t end with him. Unless she let it. She needed to live again. She wanted to live again. Monique took a deep breath and released it slowly.

“Okay, ladies. I’ll stick with this freak’um dress that’s much too short. I think I’m officially ready to hit the club.”

As her friends cheered, Monique smiled at her reflection. I’ve got this. I hope. Please have this, Monique. Monique finished getting ready and putting on jewelry. Temeka styled her hair in a cute updo while Toya freshened up her makeup for her. By the time they were done, it was later than they’d thought.

Toya glared at Monique. “They’re probably having last call for alcohol right now.”

“Sorry,” Monique apologized. “But I’m dressed now. We’ve got to go somewhere.”

That cost her another glare from her friends.

“Soooo,” Monique hummed. “Are we staying in and watching television? I’m cool with that if you all are. That new dragon show is on. We can...”

“We’re going out,” Toya hissed, interrupting her. “I’ll think of somewhere to go. Let’s get in the car. And Monique, you owe us.”

Uh oh. She hoped it wasn’t like in the old days when they made each other do dares when they owed each other.

“I’ll choose your dare,” Toya told her.

Yep, it was just like old times.

“No,” Monique rushed to say. “We are not in our twenties anymore. Doing dares is childish.”

Both of her friends glared at her. Monique closed her mouth. Dare, it was . After getting into the passenger seat of Toya’s car, Monique’s nervous feelings returned. Tapping her high heels against the floorboard, she stared out the window. When they pulled up at Cattaneos Casino and Resort, she groaned.

“Anywhere but here,” Monique told them.

“We could’ve gone anywhere but here if you’d gotten dressed four hours ago,” Toya replied.

She hadn’t told them that this was where Trevor had taken her for their last anniversary date. This place brought back bad memories.

“This is a good spot,” Meka told her. “We can drink at the bar. We can gamble a little. Their restaurant is open all day, every day. Y’all know my thick ass likes to eat. Oh, and they have a lounge area where we can chill and listen to music. This is perfect for a first girls’ night out. This can be our tame night out. Next weekend, we can raise the bar and get a bit wilder. We’ll take baby steps for now.”

“I’m cool with the baby steps,” Toya said. “But we can get wild here too. The Cattaneo family owns this place. I swear all the men in that family are as hot as sin. Give me one night with one of them, and my last name will be Cattaneo by morning.”

Monique chuckled.

“I’m serious,” Toya told her. “I’ve been doing my Kegels and my squats. I’m sure I can bring one of them sexy Cattaneos to their knees.”

“You don’t care which one you snag, do you?” Meka asked, grinning.

Toya shook her head as she parked the car. “Any of them can get it. The last time I was here, I saw them walking through the casino. They had their suit and ties on, looking like bosses. I was like, yeah, they can get it. Even their security is fine. They can get it, too. All at the same damn time. Menage me, daddies,” Toya groaned.

Monique and Meka burst out laughing. She laughed until her stomach ached. It had been so long since she’d laughed that hard. But Toya was a damn fool. Monique dabbed the corners of her eyes, not wanting her tears to ruin her makeup.

She was crying again. This time, for a good reason. She’d almost forgotten how crazy her friends could be. She loved it. She needed it. Laughter was food for the soul. And her soul had been starving for a very long time.

Unlike Toya, Monique wasn’t interested in spending the night with a Cattaneo. But she would enjoy herself in their casino. Tonight, she’d begin rebuilding her self-confidence at the place where it had crumbled under her ex-husband’s words.

Staring out the window, Monique whispered to herself, “When I leave here in a few hours, I’ll be a new woman. I’ll leave behind the old and sad version of myself and embrace the happier version of me.”

Monique exited the car with her friends. Together, they strode up to the glass double doors of the Cattaneo Casino and Resort. She smiled at the security guard. He gave her a funny look before nodding and looking away from her.

Did he know her? Nah. He couldn’t know her. She didn’t really get out much. Toya was right, though. Even security was hot at this place. She looked back to get one last look at Mr. Sexy Security, only to find him looking back at her, also.

He had his phone to his ear as he stared at her. Was he checking her out? Smiling, she faced forward. Yup, she still had it. She was now glad her friends had talked her into wearing the freak’um dress instead of the relax’em dress.

Monique was excited about what the night would bring. However, at the time, she’d had no idea that the hot security guard wasn’t checking her out. He was actually reporting to his boss, letting him know Monique Rose had entered the casino. She’d also had no idea that she wouldn’t be leaving there with her friends in a few hours.