Chapter 2
Woking up feeling lazy. Should I close the shop for the day? Nope, I don't have anything else to do. I sighed and rose from the bed. I made my way to the bathroom and took a shower. After taking a shower, I went to my walk-in closet and picked my favorite black jeans, and wore a black fitted crop top shirt. I wore my black boots and took my denim jacket. After seeing myself in the mirror, I was satisfied with my outfit, so I went downstairs. My building has three floors—my shop on the first floor and my own private space on the second. The third one is a secret floor that contains numerous things that only I should know.
Walking downstairs, I saw Mia entering the shop looking distressed. "Good morning, you're early," I said.
"Oh, you don't know what I have been through," She said, exaggerating her voice. Mia put down her bag at the kitchen counter and faced me. She looked exhausted and smelled like alcohol, and I squinted my nose at her smell.
"Where have you been? You reek, dude!" I said, pushing her far away from me.
"You-" She was about to retort, but we heard the door chimes and glanced at the door simultaneously. Looking at the door, you can see two grown men entering, and at first look, you can see that they are twins. The first man had defined cheekbones and a hawkish nose, while the other man had a concrete jaw and bristly eyebrows. They both smiled while walking toward the counter, and I ran around to hug them both.
"How are you!" I asked while scanning their faces. The twins that are standing in front of me are my brothers. "Mom and dad didn't mention that you're both coming back with them," I added.
"We saw them at Worlington. That place is our last on the list before coming back here, and we didn't expect they were also there," My brother said, hugging me back.
After some hugs, I saw them looking at someone from the back and saw Mia standing there with her mouth open. I walked towards her and grabbed her by the wrist to bring her closer to my brothers.
"This is Mia, one of the people I trust. I met her exactly three years ago when you both decided to travel, and our parents also went out of town," I introduced her.
"This is my brother Brian and Sander" I also introduced the twins to Mia while pointing at each of them.
"Sis, It's Sandy," Sander corrected his name. Sander is part of the LGBT and came out ever since he knew, and we love him either way and are proud to have him.
I rolled my eyes at Sander and faced Mia, who was not responding. She keeps looking at Brian, who is looking down at her, and Brian looks like a giant beside Mia. I nudged Mia, and she shook her head and extended her arms to Brian.
"Hi, I'm Mia" She introduced herself using her flirtatious voice. Brian looked at her, walked towards the nearby table, and sat down. Watching Brian's reaction, I stopped myself from laughing at Mia.
Speechless at what happened, Mia stood there with her arms in the air. Sander and I tried to suppress our laughter but failed. Mia scoffed and stormed to the kitchen, shouting, "There's no food for that guy!"
I faced the twins while laughing. Sander and I followed Brian to the table and sat down. "Mom and Dad should have told me you were coming and that I prepared something for you guys," I said while sitting down.
"You don't have to. You have terrible taste, girl," Sander said while rolling his eyes at me.
"I do not, and you guys loved my gifts! Right, Brian?" I retorted and asked Brian as a signal to back me up, but this traitor ignored it. "Miss Mia! Are you not going to take our order? What kind of customer service is this?" Brian shouted for Mia to hear it at the back of the kitchen.
"I can't hear anything!" Mia shouted back, and you could hear the irritation in her voice. Brian looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. I mouthed the word traitor to Brian, and he just laughed. I rolled my eyes at him. "Anyways, do you got anything for me?" I asked them, smirking.
"Of course," Sander replied with his serious face. Brian then gave me a brown envelope. "It seems that the big fat guy is lying to you," Brian said with a disgusted look.
"Did you make a deal with him, sister?" Sander then asked, curious. "He's been a regular for the past years, but I got suspicious last year. Coincidentally, you guys sent me a postcard saying you guys are in New Jersey. That's why I messaged you about this," I explained to them.
"Luckily, I didn't sign the contract yet," I added. "I see," Sander replied. I scanned through the papers one more time and returned them to the envelope. "I'll take this upstairs while you two feel at home," I said, dismissing them. "No need, girl, we'll come back later. We have things to do," Sander said, saying his goodbye. Brian then nodded at me, and they both left. I made my way to the third floor and opened one of the cabinets with multiple files. The files were arranged in alphabetical order, so I needed to organize the new information I got. After ensuring that the cabinets were locked, I returned to the shop.
I removed the card that said that we were closed. I made my way to the counter and wore my apron.
~~~~~~~
"The most beautiful is here!" Sander shouted as he entered the shop, holding a bag that contained numerous chips. Seeing the chips, I know what comes next. As expected, my other brother Brian is carrying one case of beer. I shook my head at their actions. Why would I be surrounded by a bunch of people who love to drink?
I finished wiping the tables, set aside the cleaning tools, and removed my apron. We moved the tables and combined them for more space.
Mia, who had finished cleaning the kitchen, came out and saw what was happening. She got excited when she saw the beer and was instantly irritated when she saw Brian.
"Why do we have a monkey here?" Mia said, crossing her arms.
"Shut up, ugly and help set up the table," Brian said. "Hey, that's not a nice way to talk to a lady," I told, scolding my brother. That's not a way to talk. Mia stuck out her tongue to piss off Brian.
Kids, I thought. Mia still helped in preparing everything while bickering with Brian. They just met earlier, and why do these two bicker like they have known each other for years?
After setting up the table and closing the door with the card closed, hanged on the door handle. We four sat facing each other with beers in our hands. "Ugh, how I missed drinking with you, sis," Sander said, raising his beer to cheers with me. I also raised mine and returned his greeting.
We drank until late at night. Our drinking session was full of laughter, and the leading cause of our laughter was how Brian and Mia bicker like a pair of newlyweds, but I'm not going to deny it. They looked good together, and I hope all their irritation for each other will be gone if they hang out more often. I'm pleased to see my brothers again and am glad they returned safely. In our lifestyle, anything can be possible. You can live now and be dead tomorrow, and it's not that different. My life here and my lifestyle then.
Brian carried his twin brother Sander to take him home because he started sleeping on the floor. While he was making his way out of the shop, he glanced back at Mia. "You're not going home? Why? You live with my sister?" Brian asked. You can see that he is trying to piss off Mia for the last time before they go home. I glanced at Mia, and her face was flushed. "I have my space, doofus!" Mia retorted and went to the staff room to get her stuff. Seeing her reaction, Brian smirked, feeling satisfied, dragged Sander to their car, and went home. Mia came back shortly after with her bag in her arm. She was about to drop her bag again to help me clean, but I stopped her and pushed her outside the shop, saying I can manage cleaning.
I cleaned the table we used and moved them back to its original place. Afterward, I walked towards the counter cabinet to store the cleaning tools. I heard the door chime when I was about to walk toward the light switch, and there I saw a wounded man pointing a gun at me.
"Don't you dare shout," He said, warning me. I raised both of my hands to show surrender. Looking at him and observing him from head to toe, I could see who this man was—one of the Billionaires in town, Ax Farrel.