54. Leona #2
I grabbed a couple of thick paper towels and ran them under the sink water. After ringing them out, I pulled up the front of my dress and gently wiped down my legs.
“Finally,” I exhaled in relief. No more sticky. Being covered in cum at home was one thing, but at the party was a different story entirely. Sensory fucking nightmare.
The toilet in the far stall flushed, and shortly after, the strappy-heels woman walked out, pausing slightly as she saw me bent over, paper towels in hand, dress hiked to my hips. At least the paper towels blocked me from totally flashing her.
“Uhhhhhh,” I mumbled, a perfect picture of elegance as I awkwardly turned away. “This is not what it looks like…Well, I don’t know what it looks like, but it’s not weird. Um, well, maybe it is weird? I don’t—”
The woman laughed. “Looks like we’ve got a situation here.”
“A situation,” I repeated, frantically finishing up my cleaning hack-job. I tossed the paper towel into the trash can and dropped the dress. “Whew. That’s a great way to describe it. A situation.”
“Apparently, you’ve got it handled.”
“I’m very good at handling situations,” I said while I rearranged the fabric. My eyes flicked up, and I froze. “Oh, shit.”
Josephine Zambani. The mayor.
She smiled brightly. “Not expecting me?”
Her brown bob floated just above her shoulders, and the loose waves made her appear pretty and relaxed.
Her black sheath dress was both professional and elegant, accented by sparkling jewels that swished like waves across the bodice and down one side of the skirt.
Plus, those strappy heels were sleek and gorgeous.
I swallowed. “Not when I’m wiping cum from my legs, no.”
Her eyes widened. “Sorry, what was that?”
“Just my boyfriend being a little over-enthusiastic,” I said before I cleared my throat. “You know what? We should forget that ever happened. Can we forget that happened?”
She laughed and walked over to the sink to wash her hands. “Sure. Already forgotten. Don’t worry about it.”
How the fuck was I supposed to salvage this interaction?
I cleared my throat while I washed my hands, too. “My name is Leona Vero. It’s nice to meet you, Mayor Zambani.”
She tossed her paper towels into the trash. “Leona Vero? Any relation to Luciano Vero?”
I nodded carefully. “He was my father.”
“Ah,” she said. She leaned closer to the mirror to inspect her makeup, but she watched me out of the corner of her eye. “He recently passed, didn’t he? Please accept my condolences.”
“Unnecessary, but thank you.” No sense in denying it. “We both know who my father was, and let me assure you, Mayor Zambani, he doesn’t deserve your condolences.”
Her mouth quirked up in the corner while our eyes locked in the mirror. “Please call me Josephine.”
Once my hands were dry, I extended one. She grabbed it for a firm handshake.
Her look was shrewd and appraising. The more she spoke, the more I got the impression that she was actually quite intelligent and probably not just a political figurehead put in place by powerful people who planned to use her for their own ends.
Plus, if she knew who my father was, she more than likely had heard of Greco before.
“Besides our family name, my father and I don’t share any other similarities,” I said. “Especially not in business.”
Her head tilted to the side. “That’s a relief, Miss Vero. He had quite a reputation.”
“I’ll build my own,” I said, smiling. “Starting right here in this bathroom, when the mayor sees me with my skirt up. And please, call me Leona.”
“Leona, then,” she responded with a laugh. “Don’t worry, we forgot about that.”
“Thank God,” I said. “Actually, I hoped that we’d get a chance to meet.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
A fist pounded on the door. Both of us jumped, but I instantly had my fingers around my knife and my arm in front of Josephine.
“Baby girl?” Ciel’s voice called. “Is everything all right?”
I let out a breath and relaxed. “Fine, Ciel!” I called. “Sorry, almost done!”
“That’s the boyfriend?” she asked.
I laughed. “One of them.”
Her eyebrow raised.
“Do we need to come in?” Ciel called again. “Someone out here is getting antsy about how quiet you are.”
Shit. My ear comms were still off. “Got it! Anyway, Josephine, I’m glad we met. I’ll get right to the point. I was just curious if you knew who was throwing this event?”
She clasped her hands in front of her dress. “Cornerstone Industries is throwing the fundraiser.”
“Yeah, but do you know who owns it?”
“Piero Greco,” she responded. Her lips pursed. “If you’re asking if I know who he is, I’m aware.”
She knew, and she still showed up to feed into the pomp and circumstance. Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow. “And do you plan to accept his funding tonight? Or funding from the donors he’s collected?”
“I’m not sure that’s any of your business, Miss Vero.”
“It’s not, but he’s a dangerous man—”
“Like your father,” she interrupted.
Slowly, I nodded. “Yes. Like my father. Except so much worse.”
“And do you share any similarities with Piero Greco, Miss Vero?”
I let out a breath. “Enough to know to warn you.”
“Warn me?”
“He is not in New York for simple business, or whatever it is he’s told you. He’ll bring more crime than this city has ever seen before—”
“Let me stop you right there, Leona,” Josephine said.
“I know exactly who you are. I know who the Shadows are. I know who the Camorra is. If you’re trying to tell me you will be any better than Piero Greco, I’m going to have a hard time believing you.
Organized crime is organized crime. It’s all bad for the city. ”
“You’re not wrong,” I argued. “But he wants you under his control—”
“And you’re no different,” she countered. “I believe that meeting here in the bathroom was by chance, but you can’t pretend that you aren’t also trying to buy or control me.”
My lips pressed into a line. “I don’t give a fuck about controlling you.
I’m certainly not involved in anything criminal—” she chuckled and rolled her eyes, but I pressed on, “—but if I was, I would know we are natural enemies. That’s how this city works.
But Greco is already staking his claim on this city’s politics and its leaders. ”
“Oh, really? It’s leaders?” She bristled, scoffing. “I’m sorry, Leona, but this city has seen its fair share of the mafia. We’re not afraid of you, nor do we bend to your whims.”
“I want nothing from you except your caution,” I said. “I offer you no money or no deals. Only facts. Greco is not your friend, even if he might promise to be. I’m not your friend either, but I’m not asking to be.”
I pulled the thumb drive from its hidden place inside my dress.
“Here,” I said, extending it toward her.
“Take this. Just…look at what’s on it. Don’t agree to anything Greco wants until you’ve seen it.
You can’t trust him, and you can’t trust the men around you either.
They’re all dirty and corrupt. You seem like you’re different, otherwise I wouldn’t even be here. ”
“Yet you want me to believe I can trust you.” She hesitated, but something in my voice or face must have convinced her. Her fingers plucked the drive from my grip. “I know you employ one of the world’s most dangerous hackers. Is there anything I should be wary of on this drive?”
I shook my head. “It’s not like you’ll trust my answer, but Ciel didn’t put any virus on it, just information. Plug it in anywhere; it doesn’t matter. All we want is for you to know that there are two futures ahead of New York, and you should be able to choose which one you want to face.”
Her eyes narrowed, flicking around my face. For a second, I thought she’d throw it in the trash, but she slipped it into a pocket of her dress instead. “I will look at it.”
“Thank you,” I breathed.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” she said with a gentle smile. “I must return to the party. I also imagine your hacker, Ciel, and your men are about to break down this door.”
She gestured for me to push it open.
I cleared my throat. “One last thing. This is an offer that comes with no strings attached. If you need anything, if anything goes wrong, call me. I will help, no questions asked, no expectations in return.”
She pursed her lips. “I won’t be needing your help.”
“That’s fine,” I said. “The offer stands.”
She nodded once. After a deep breath, I pushed the bathroom door open—only to find all six of my guys waiting outside, hands in jackets on their hidden guns. I grimaced when I saw Obi frowning.
Was he frowning because I went no comms in this murder den of a gala? Or was he frowning because I cleaned my legs?
Couldn’t wait to find out.
“Sorry!” I said, making room for Josephine to exit. “It was lovely to meet you, Mayor Zambani. I hope we’ll be able to talk again later.”
She gave a little wave to all six of my guys. “The infamous boyfriends, I presume.”
I laughed. “Yeah. Ciel, Cas, Wynn, Max, Ryuji, and Obi.” I went through the semi-circle because she already knew who we were, plus I lived to make situations even more awkward and terrible.
Josephine’s eyes landed on Max. “Oh, Max Volpe. I wasn’t aware that you’d be here tonight. Good to see you again.”
He inclined his head. “Mayor Zambani. I wasn’t sure if you would remember me.”
“I remember the last conversation we had about the future of the construction industry in New York. It was very stimulating. Now, I’d love to stay and chat, but duty calls.
I did not know when I campaigned that so much of this job would be smiling while pretending to be interested in a conversation. Please excuse me.”
She gave a quick nod to me and then walked back to the crowd.
“Well, I met the mayor,” I said sheepishly. “Gave her the drive. Warned her about Greco. I’d say that the mission was successful! We can all forget about the rest, right?”
Ryuji snickered while he nudged Max’s side. Cas hid a grin behind the back of his palm.
Obi let out a breath and buttoned the front of his tuxedo. “Hmm. We shall see.”
Fuck.