Expresso, Macchiato and Latte. Three gorgeous ladies sat next to the other in the middle of a luxurious kitchen, with different dispositions.
"I told you I wanted water" Gaby tapped her finger, annoyed Nevertheless she still drank her latte which by the way, was delicious.
"There wasn't any water in the fridge" Gloria sipped on her expresso with a delighted expression, as if enjoying every droplet.
"You're always like this, Gloria... doing whatever you want, imposing yourself on others... someday someone will take you down from that throne and trust me, I'm going to have a nice and extensive laugh".
"Perhaps... but that day is not today and if that happens, you're coming down with me~"
"Would you stop beating around the bush and tell me who this Bufford is? Also, I have a few questions to ask about the Belles" Beatrice growled, she picked up her cup to see a beautiful dark brownish drink. Deciding to finish it quickly, she took a long and prolonged gulp and downed the whole thing as if it was a cup of vodka.
'I-It is not that bad...'
"That's good and all but you haven't touched your Macchiato-" Gloria started but upon seeing the beauty down the whole cup in one go, she frowned in dismay. Even Gaby glared at Beatrice as if she just committed the worst sacrilege.
'As always, you always waste every moment...'
"I don't like strong coffee anyway!"
"Is that so? Would you have preferred a latte?"
"I would, but that's beyond the poi-"
Gloria waved her hands and the cups started to float until the latte originally in front of Gaby, exchanged places with Beatrice's empty Macchiato cup.
"..." Beatrice's eyebrows twitched in disbelief much like Gaby but for different reasons.
"Why do you give her my coffee!?"
"Make sure to slowly enjoy the moment this time, Beatrice... you never know if you'll ever have the chance" Gloria declared, uncaring of her own little display.
"W-What did you-"
"Why do you show her this?" Gaby growled in annoyance, checking her empty cup with nothing but a moderate lipstick mark, she twitched her tongue, picked up Gloria's cup and drank it in a single gurgle.
"…"
Gloria's eyebrows twitched, she saw that Gaby placed her lips exactly on the pot she had been drinking from. All she got from the actress was a wicked grin and a wink.
After licking her lips a little, she spoke.
"She knows about ghosts anyway... this much shouldn't-"
"What in the f***!?" Beatrice was still astonished enough to interrupter, after all… she just witnessed true magic.
"Why are you so surprised? I thought you had been living with that ghost girl and Andrew all this time".
"What does that have to do with this?! how do you know about her!? how did you do that?!"
"..."
"You just introduced someone innocent to the supernatural, just like that..." Gaby sighed, wondering why Gloria did that and more so, why she had to be here.
"Are you a ghost? That's impossible... you're alive!" Beatrice could only conceive that she was capable of pulling out those tricks because she was a ghost - just like Sophia.
"This conversation would be too extensive, suffice for you to know that the two of us are not common".
"Why are you revealing this?".
"Because the three of us have the same interest, Andrew".
The atmosphere stagnated, Beatrice stood up and took a few steps back… that was a statement she definitely didn't want to hear. Like a cold buck thrown on her head, she was immediately on guard.
"What do the two of you want with Andrew?".
"No need to get defensive, darling... if we wanted to do anything dubious, we would have already done so~".
"That's right" Gaby nodded in confirmation, exchanging the position of her legs.
"You must at least tell me what you are if you want my trust. I can be at ease knowing that there are two beings that I don't know anything about… preying after Andrew".
"Preying is not quite the nice word" Gloria pouted and eventually relented, "With your resources, you could be a nice addition… do you know what a Drought and a Succubus are?".
"Drought? I don't know any entity with that name. But a succubus…" Beatrice instinctively glanced at a nonchalant Gaby until her countenance transformed into one of outright disgust.
"Why do you assume I'm the succubus!?"
"Instinct…"
"Hahaha! Correct!~ I'm the drought and she's the succubus. I hope you ask no more for you can't understand further".
"One last question, could it be that all the girls in the yoga class…"
"Yes~ they're all not human, the majority are succubus".
"…" Beatrice slumped back on her chair, recalling that Andrew is supposed to be with Maya and Alicia right now, 'c-could it be… Maya too!?'
"We're not humans, that's all you need to know for now. Gaby... the Bufford Group may be the one behind this girl Sasha's murder. In case you don't know, Beatrice... the Bufford Group is a huge underworld organisation, secret to the world, based in New York... have you ever heard of the deep state?".
"Yes..." Beatrice got bombarded with clusters of new information which she couldn't process at the moment.
"The deep state can only remain in power because of entities such as the Bufford Group. They're a huge mafia with many branches. One of those branches is precisely those that make sure to clean a 'crime' and the Belles are one of their sponsors".
"What are you trying to say with all this?" She needed a summary before she could end this conversation, look for Andrew and pull him into their bed to sleep just to wake up and know that ghosts, succubi and droughts didn't exist.
Alas, that would never happen.
"Let's become allies~ you want to protect the boy just like I do. Aside from that I want to take down the Bufford Group and the Belles, it is within my interest. I don't give a crap about Sasha Brooks or Sophia Jones... with this case, we could sort out a lot of issues".
"That's why you called me," Gaby remarked.
"That's right, you're indebted to the Bufford Group, aren't you? if we take them down that is within your interest as well".
"I can't deny that... but you should know Bufford won't fall that easily... even if the Belles fall".
"We don't need to defeat them, all we have to do is expose them, you should know what will happen then~ the paranormal scheme will take action"
"The treaty..."
"I'm not understanding anything you're saying and I won't involve Andrew on myself in something I don't have complete assurance of!".
"I guess I understand what you mean, but... you don't have much of a choice. Andrew going against the Belles was an irresponsible act that you and Christian should have stopped... your Archonte and the Mayers may be wealthy, one of the wealthiest indeed... but you have no power in the great scheme of things. There are things that money can't buy".
Beatrice frowned, she knew this was not a good decision but planned to stick around with anything he choose.
"And what exactly money can't buy?" Beatrice openly mocked, given the life she had partaken into so far, she felt forced to berate the authenticity of that statement.
Gaby smirked and lifted up her hand, there was an odd reddish energy contorted around her arm before it transformed into something more demolish, a claw.
"Power" was her answer for Beatrice who could only stand up there, recalling all her deployments as a veteran and realising she didn't know anything about this world.
"I'm not interested in Archonte".
"…"
"I'm interested in the power that Andrew Mayers holds deep within himself" Gloria declared, she snapped her fingers and just like that she looked aghast at the cups of coffee, once again filled with her Latte, Gloria's expression and Gaby's Macchiato.
"If his power were to go public, you have no idea how hell would break loose, literally. You have my hundred per cent assurance on this… Andrew would die, no, he'd get slaughtered".