As the early hours of the morning croaked, Olivia woke Natasha up. She was enjoying her slumber as it was her first time being in a luxurious environment with a bed made from heaven.
Natasha wished that things didn't go sour for her. This was the life she was fighting to give her sister. She wanted them to have all the finest things in life.
Oh, well, it didn't go as planned. All she has now is an estranged sister, a dented name, and her past looking for her head.
"What? Is it even morning?" Natasha lazily questioned. Being away from this lifestyle for too long made it seem unbearable.
She was used to the casual life of waking up at whatever hour pleased her, running a few errands, looking homeless while eating all the unhealthy meals, and working at the club later at night. It was a miracle that she didn't put up weight with her meal plan. Adjusting to this might take time.
"I'm sorry princess, it's time," Olivia said before blowing away the sheets that kept Natasha warm, exposing her to the striking-cold room.
"My body still aches!" Indeed, it did.
The past two days have been demanding for Natasha. Luca wouldn't let her off the hook the few times he was present. She must get it right. Her walking, her talking, and her gestures, all had to be patterned. He was strict with all that.
Natasha knew that what she was doing would only benefit Luca. Getting Lorenzo out of the way will make Luca the biggest mafia lord in Italy.
The only one because, Lorenzo was his competition and he was higher than Luca. Luca didn't come close to him in domination of territories, wealth, and power. The man was well-connected. The only issue was that he was faceless.
Lorenzo Lizzo was a well-known and feared name, but only a few knew what the man looked like. Rumor had it that, the man constantly got plastic surgeries to change his looks. And that was a tale Natasha called bullshit.
For now, she was only working with clues and other information. Although Luca claimed that he had a picture of Lorenzo and would only release it to Natasha when she was ready.
They started with changing her hair color and working on her appearance, which she cared less about. Her job was usually to slit, strangle or suffocate the target and get out. It didn't matter if she wore a potato sack as an outfit. This was too exhausting.
Shooting to her feet, Natasha vigorously shook her head to stay awake. The new hair color added to the beauty of her outstanding face. She looked more like a model now. A curvy one at that.
"Do you think we can get noodles and vegetables before the suffering starts?" she questioned Olivia, giving her puppy-charming eyes.
Olivia gave her a slow nod before saying, "No. You know that what you eat is being watched. Talk to Luca if you crave noodles. Now, out of the bed."
Seeing that her protest will lead to nowhere, she got out. Her oversized-Disney pajamas made her look funny. This girl could wear nothing and still look good in them.
"Let's get this over with. I've to work later at night."
One thing she also clarified to Luca was the fact that she wouldn't be dependent on him. She insisted on keeping her job at the club which surprisingly, Luca agreed to.
She could work there at night and train during the day, so far, she was capable of merging and handling the two. Besides, her mission hadn't begun properly. Train first and wait for the command of Luca to initiate.
Natasha sluggishly walked to the bathroom and freshened up, with Olivia patiently waiting in the room.
An hour later, she emerged all dressed in black leggings, a white tank top, and black sneakers. She also held her hair in a ponytail.
"Shall we?" She didn't wait for a response before leading the way out of her expensively-decorated-Queen-sized bedroom.
The weather was chilly, as it was still early. The area was flooded with lights that shined so bright that no one would slip in or out of the compound without getting caught. The guards, armed and alert, lurking like wild dogs on the hunt.
Majestically, Natasha and Olivia passed the ogling men. They were practically drooling from viewing such great asses at that ungodly hour.
"Continue to stare at our asses, and I might as well gouge out your eyes," Natasha said out loud without turning. It was like a loud announcement followed by no emotions as she continued walking with smiling Olivia.
The men retraced and continued with their duties.
They arrived at the training session which had a gym to the side, a boutique-looking session with so many expensive wears, and an ammunition arena holding different weapons. Of all the areas, the one that got her excited was the ammunition area.
"Is Luca preparing for war or something?" She voiced as she inspected a beautiful SIG Sauer P365 micro-compact.
"You can say something like that," Olivia responded, unzipping her sweatshirt. It gave way to a black t-shirt, jean trousers, and black kicks. "Let's get to it, shall we?"
"Of course."
With Olivia's instruction, they started with a gym session, which left Natasha winded before they could successfully end their warm-ups.
Olivia, on the other hand, didn't look fazed. No wonder she was in great shape. Her strength and core level were impressive for her little nature.
Next, Olivia tried teaching Natasha about charisma, class, and poise. Each time she failed, slipping back to her old-nonchalant self.
"I don't see how all this is necessary for an assassination. Will I be shooting while wearing a Christian Louboutin on my feet or a Versace wrapped around my neck? This is a waste of time," Natasha protested.
"You'll learn the relevance soon.," Olivia simply said.
After hours and hours of torturous lectures on etiquette and manners with few eating breaks in between, the hour for Natasha's escape came. She didn't fail to seize the moment.
"It's time for my work. I guess we'll continue some other time," she excitedly informed Olivia before sprinting off.
She wanted to avoid giving room for negotiation or a change of mind. "I haven't even gotten a tour of this place. Always moving around either late at night or early in the morning," she mumbled as she greedily gulped the bottle of water in her hand in a bid to quench the scorching thirst her throat suffered.
She headed back to her room, got ready, and left for work.
* * *
Barely did she drop her bag and Natasha got dragged by the manager himself. "We're short of staff and one of our most important guests needs entertainment," he explained as he pulled her through the crowd.
"I haven't even changed yet. Moreover, what form of entertainment are we talking about?"
Natasha could do everything but offer himself to a man. That was why she didn't take on stripping, even though it paid better than being a bartender. With how disgusted she felt, if a man inappropriately touched her, she might be chopping off his hands.
"Enough with the questions. Just grab the other tray of champagne and walk with the girls," he reprimanded.
Who was this special guest that was making her boss, who for once she hasn't seen afraid of anything or anyone, tremble? The man was practically peeing his pants, and she could hear a hint of tension in his voice.
Taking a deep breath to calm her wavering hands, she obeyed her boss's command. Luckily, the girl she was next to, was Daisy. She'll give her an insight into what was going on.
Poking her back, Natasha called Daisy's attention.
"Oh, hi, Nat," she greeted. "I thought you were going to miss our lucky day of getting sent to the VIP section."
"Yeah. What's with all the fuss? And, why are they girls dressed differently?"
Studying the place, Natasha had already read that the girls being sent to this unit were the top strippers and tenders in the club.
They were all dressed in the occasional outfit designated for when extra-influential people booked out the club for entertainment. It was a miracle she and Daisy somehow found themselves there. For real. The club must have had a busy business day.
"The boss said that this man is one of the most important shareholders of the club, and we should do everything to make sure he has an entertaining night."
"You mean that all this is for one man? Not even the usual groups that gather to have their fill? He must think highly of himself," Natasha sneered.
For her, it was men like that that made young men soil their hands just to get to a level of making an entire club go crazy for them. He better be the President of some control.
"Isn't it great that we're here? We finally made it to the VIP session. I can't wait to rub it on Sugar's face. I guess she isn't the only favorite tonight," Daisy said between smiles. She was excited.
"Yeah. Indeed," Natasha absentmindedly replied.