The Viper's POV
I took a swing of my vodka as I sat comfortably on my gold chair. Getting moles within Ryan's ranks was so easy. Most of them were a greedy lot who wanted more. All I want to see is him broken and helpless then dead.
A knock on the door of my office pulled me from my dark thoughts. "Come in."
"Boss, Miss Ericsson is here to see you." Donald, my second in command, muttered from outside the door.
I took a deep breath in exasperation, she's getting too clingy and more useless by the day. Anyways, I still need her to tear Ryan and his betrothed apart.
"Let her in."
His footsteps slowly disappeared for sometime before I started hearing footsteps in the hallway. My door knob was twisted open and the door pushed open.
Heavy boots appeared first then the flicking of heels reached my ears. Monalisa looks ravishing tonight, with her red lipstick and dress. Most men wouldn't be able to keep their hands off her.
"Your men wouldn't let me in immediately. That's rather disrespectful." She said giving me pout I would have fallen for if I didn't know how dark her heart was.
I used a wave to dismiss Donald, he bowed slightly in respect and walked out.
"I don't have time for your whining, Monalisa. Do you have anything for me to work with other than foiling Ryan's shipments?" Irritation was clear as day in my voice.
"Look, I just got bad news." Her voice sounded urgent.
"What is it?"
"The date has been placed for the wedding. Today Charles Thorn announced it within the inner circle of the godfathers. That gives Ryan a huge advantage against us. Can't believe he is settling for that little girl."
"You seem scared of the little girl." A chuckle played on my lips.
"Watch your tone with me, Viper." Her voice filled with venom.
In seconds I had her pinned hard against the wall with my hands wrapped tightly against her throat. She dragged her long nails against my arm. I barely flicked at the sting, I loved pain.
"Don't push it, Monalisa. You better respect me, never forget your place."
She was making choking sounds but refused to succumb until her face began turning blue then she nodded.
I released my hold on her and went back to my chair as if nothing happened. I kept staring at her figure on the floor coughing profusely.
"Boss, are you okay?" One of my guards asked from outside the door.
"Everything is okay."
Then silence followed, Monalisa picked herself from the ground and tried to keep the little dignity she still had left.
"We are supposed to be partners, Viper. You shouldn't treat me like one of your whores."
A dark chuckle bubbled in my chest. "But you are my whore. I like when my women are docile and listen to simple instructions. Keep your head low and we won't have this issue again."
She rubbed her palm against her bruised neck. "I came so we can plan on how we can ruin the wedding. I want to humiliate them both and have him all to myself."
"How do you hope to achieve that?" I gave her a pointed look, filled with curiosity.
"It's easy, just leave it to me. She is a naive little flower. Saw us have a moment and didn't even do anything, I'll enjoy tormenting her."
"Heard that she's a spitfire but good luck. Don't push too hard so you don't pull the unnecessary attention of her father. He may look good on the surface but that man is a force to be reckoned with."
"You're scared of him?" She gave me a sly smirk that disappeared the moment my gaze met hers.
"Repeat that again."
She took a deep breath but avoided saying anything else.
"Good thing now you know when to shut up."
"Hope you have gotten in contact with our new player?"
"Yes and everything is going pretty well for now. We'll see how things go."
"Perfect, so you can leave now."
She gave me a look of irritation but bit her tongue so she didn't say anything stupid.
"I'll be on my way now." She stood up and walked out of the office after sparing me a last look.
After she left, I rolled my eyes and concentrated on other things. The paper work before me was piling up. We were slowly stealing ground from Ryan and he wasn't even noticing yet.
I've been able to steal some business allies from him. I plan on tearing him little by little.
My door was pushed open widely and I knew only one person would have the guts to do that.
"Son? Why are you awake this late? Told you to go to sleep mmm?"
A smile bloomed on my face and I stood up from my seat and walked up to her. "Mom, I've missed you too and I'll try to clear things up as soon as I can."
"You say that and don't get any sleep. I'll wait for you here so I'll be sure you'll come up early."
I chuckled lightly and chose to wrap things up and walked towards her hand in hand. It was so hard for her to walk but I'm glad she is no longer on a wheelchair.
She held my hand and gently pulled me towards the dining table. In minutes we were sitting with a large array of dishes. I salivated at just the sight of it. One thing my Mom always enjoyed was to cook.
"Thank you for taking care of me, pretty lady." I gave her a wink and smile.
She laughed out heartily. "I'm no longer as beautiful as I used to be but thank you anyways son."
She then looked around the dining table and stood up abruptly. "You can start up, I forgot to bring dessert."
"I'd wait for you." She rushed as much as she could then something dropped from her pocket and I picked it up after she had left.
It was a picture of HIM! I've always hated that mad man
though he is dead and gone. I squeezed the measly photograph in my hands. Fury blazing in my veins.