The Russians part 2

MARGAUX

"You're fired," Felix said in between gritted teeth. He had gone all out for the Russian Mafia guy to accept the apology. Mister Russian eventually accepted it at the expense that he got rid of me. In all honesty, I did not care.

Pulling out the nameplate that was attached to the white blouse that I was wearing, I grabbed Felix's hand and dropped it there.

"My father taught me the value of dignity and values in general. Too bad, you don't seem to have either of the two," I said, smirking right after as I made my exit out of Felix's office. I heard him mutter a curse before the door had officially closed behind me.

Upon exiting Felix's office, Mary instantly came to my side. I grinned widely.

"Guess who had the last word?" Mary shook her head towards me. I linked my arms to hers, pulling her close..

"Does this mean that I should hand in my resignation already?" I shrugged.

Mary and I never intended to stay that long with this job. We were undergraduates after all. Both of us should have been in school. But all thanks to our dear old nemesis, it was impossible for me and Mary to continue.

Compared to faking resumes and getting a job, getting into universities was harder. They tend to be stricter. Plus, it was not easy to disappear, if Mary and I had decided to enter into one. On the one hand, when things go south, Mary and I could simply ditch our jobs and find another, probably in the next city or the city further away from the current one.

That's how we had been for a year. I think this was the most that I had come across from one city to another. Back then, I wouldn't have stepped foot in another city further from where we were unless we had to visit some distant relative or a friend. One could say that despite my desire for an adventure, I was stuck having to stick close to where my parents were.

I stared at Mary, placing my focus back on her.

"That is up to you Mary, but I would rather you should. This restaurant has taken us for granted. Our beautiful faces deserve to be somewhere else other than here," I watch Mary shake her head once more, the two of us chuckling right after.

"I don't think I would need to hand in anything. You and I are a package deal after all,"

--

KEVIN

"Catch!" I expertly caught the Christmas ornament that Astherielle had tossed my way.

If I had a better case for argument, I wouldn't even agree to do this kind of thing. But given that I did not want to argue with Astherielle, I had no choice but to humor her as we set up and designed the new location for Rhythm.

I smirked at the thought that this Ryuji guy would have probably figured out by now that we weren't some careless newbie in town. I had learned a few tricks here and there. Plus with Nico and Astherielle's head combined, the three of us pretty much make a good team.

Placing the last item in check, I stepped back and stared at our handiwork.

"Not bad," Astherielle commented while I scoffed and shook my head.

"Nice touch, Kev. Too bad, this will probably be the nth Christmas that you are still single," I turned towards Nico.

"Yeah, right. And this was said by someone who has an on and off relationship with an ex that is not even an ex. Dude, that seems even more sad compared to me who is single,"

"At least I have someone to spend Christmas eve with and on lonely nights, even when we are on and off,"

"Ugh, gross," Astherielle commented, looking at her cousin incredulously. "At least find someone decent, Nico."

"Decent like your fling, Elle?"

I raised a brow towards Astherielle. I did not know that she was seeing anyone lately. Her last relationship had been over a year ago and she had vowed to stay single for the next years or so. To say the least, my curiosity was piqued.

I opened my mouth to inquire further when my eyes caught sight of the new people coming through the entrance. I instantly excused myself to take a better look and also to make sure that I was not seeing things.

"Kevin!" The thick Russian accent instantly confirmed my suspicion. I smiled as the big Russian guy pulled me in a brief hug.

"Long time no see, Maxim. You should have called me," I stated as soon as he let me go.

"That won't be a surprise anymore, yes? Besides, I am only here for a brief period. I just needed to take care of a few things,"

By 'things' he meant business, mafia business and I did not need to know the full details of it.

"Ah, but how did you even know where I'm at?" Maxim clucked his tongue while I waited for his response.

"I have my ways, my friend," he replied, pointing a finger gun towards me. I chuckled, gesturing for him to follow me.

"Come, let me introduce you to my friends," following my lead, the rest of Maxim's crew tag behind. I briefly made the introductions upon coming back towards where Nico and Astherielle were before inviting Maxim and his friends to one of the booths and ordered some drinks.

"Why, this lady friend of yours seems a lot nicer than the lady I met earlier," Maxim remarked, gesturing at Astherielle.

"Why, what happened Maxim? Did you get rejected by a lady?"

I watch Maxim shake his head vehemently.

"No, no. I was at this restaurant, me and my boys when I accidentally touched this lady server's thigh. She rudely splashed the glass of beverage on my face. I got mad."

"Well, was it really an accident though?" Maxim caught my stare.

"Eh, maybe," I shook my head.

"Ah, Maxim, you never changed."

"But this server lady has angst, my friend, she was hardly unfazed by me. Can you imagine? Me, Maxim, is not feared by someone like her?"

For some reason, I have no idea why the lady in his description seemed familiar. I suddenly thought of Rose.

This got me suddenly very interested to know where this restaurant was. If my instinct was not mistaken, I may now have somewhere to begin looking for her.