NALEDI’S POV
I woke up with a determination to get my job on the roll.
After spending time touring the house of Amara Cordel, who happens to be yours truly, I retired to my room, exhausted but ready to begin my new and exciting life.
I walked down the stairs, dressed in a black corset gown, with a cup of coffee in my hands. Ms Elizabeth was efficient in her role as housekeeper. I loved waking up to the scent of breakfast placed by my bedside.
It was an early morning, because Marcus and Korah were already downstairs, waiting for my appearance. Did I forget to mention I had asked them to come for a meeting early this morning?
What can I say? I took my business seriously.
“Marcus! Did you have a good night?” I said as I descended the stairs.
“Why is she asking about your night, Marcus?” I heard the voice of Caellum and did a double take.
“I did not just hear the voice Caellum in my head,” I muttered with a wary look.
“Can you get down already? We don’t have all day.” His tone was impatient.
I looked around like a fool. Flickering between Marcus and Korah.
“What is going on?” I said as soon as I got to the sitting room. “How is he…”
Korah motioned to an open laptop that held a picture of Caellum seated in his office, looking grim.
“The Alpha is on the line.” Marcus casted the video on the television in front of us.
A video call. “I don’t remember calling,” I said as I sat on one of the chairs.
“Good morning to you too, Naledi.”
“Good morning, Alpha.” I said with a sweet smile. “Why are you on the line this morning?”
He relaxed on his chair. “Why? I heard you wanted to discuss the mission this morning. I thought I’d clear my schedule and see that you got off the right foot.”
“Who told you?” My gaze flickered between the two in front of me. “We can hold up here just fine.”
“No.” He tutted, “I will be with you every step of the way darling. I told you. What that means is that everything passes through me. Including the little bits of you allowing Korah to sleep in the house with you.”
I nearly pulled my hair out. “You don’t expect her to stay out with the men, do you?”
“I made provision for a lot of rooms. You just choose to defy my orders.”
“How do you know she did spend the night in the house? I mean, she could have returned to the workers’ quarters later in the night.”
“But she didn’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
“How?”
“That is for me to know.”
I shot Marcus a dirty look. “I don’t appreciate snitches on my team.”
Marcus looked lost. “I had nothing to do with that.” He denied.
“The Alpha sees everything,” Korah said, and my eyes perked.
“What do you mean?”
“The house you live in has top-notch security. And feed.”
Feed? I looked around the sitting room, and that’s when I saw it. CCTV cameras placed in strategic places. My eyes widened.
“This is an invasion of privacy..”
“It’s hardly an invasion when it’s my house, Naledi.”
I felt disgusted. “Just how many places do you have the cameras set up? The bathroom? My room? You’ve been watching me all along?”
“Don’t accuse me of something I didn’t do.”
“Or what?”
“I might be tempted to do just that.”
“The cameras are not placed in the private rooms,” Korah said and I snapped.
“And how do you know that? Let me guess, you have been here with him one time as a maid?”
I regretted that as soon as it went out my lips. But I couldn’t weep over spilt milk.
“Korah has been here with me on a mission. Is there a problem with that?” Silence. “Now if you are done throwing a hissy fit, get to the meeting, I don’t have time to waste.”
“There’s news on Luka Donatello.” Marcus started, while I listened intently. “He’s been spotted in one of the Casinos in the city. According to news, that’s where he lives these days as he prepares for the big event he plans to host this weekend.”
“These past few days have been filled with a lot of meetings with people who I believe are interested in partnering with him on a business he plans to launch soon.”
“What business?” I asked.
“That’s the problem. We have no idea what he plans to launch. Word on the streets is that the business is more profitable than pushing coke.”
I shook my head. “That’s a lie.”
“I thought the same when I heard it,” Caellum said. “I took the liberty to ask him what was going on but he said it was nothing to be worried about.”
“What does ‘nothing to be worried about’ means?” I asked with a confused look.
“The Alpha has a standing law against trafficking humans in the underworld,” Korah said and my eyes perked at the amount of information she had about Caellum.
“You think he is trafficking humans?” I asked, hating the sound of killing innocent people for personal gain.
That was just wrong.
“I have made my stance clear to Luka on the kinds of businesses that will not be accepted on my turf.” Caellum said, “I made that clear the moment he submitted to me, and decided to build his business in my territory. If I find out he has lied, he will sorely regret it.”
“And how do I come in?”
“We need to find out what new business of his is more profitable than selling coke. The only way to tell is if we have one of our own partnering in said business.”
I nodded my head, getting the point.
“You have to meet him during the event and ensure you return as a partner,” Korah added.
A light bulb went off my head and I asked, “You said he lived in a casino?”
“Yes,”
I got on my feet, “Why wait till the weekend when we can meet him now?”