Chapter Thirty-Two
The silence stretched as she stood by the door. And then there was also Ahmet's reaction and feeling. He was proud of how the others mellowed at her presence and the fear in their eyes. This was the first time they were seeing her. With her charisma and movement, everyone knew she was the one they were waiting for.
One person cleared his throat and began to speak, "Since… everyone is here…" he stammered as Asli was looking him in the eye without even batting.
Did she hear one of them calling her a deadly storm and a loose chain who killed everyone on sight or not? Ahmet subconsciously asked. Even if she heard the man, was she supposed to do anything? After all, she was a killer machine.
Another man started speaking when he realized what was going on. "We are all colleagues. Co equals, let's… co-equals… co," but also found himself stammering immediately after she moved her gaze to his. Asli was the boss everyone knew her to be.
Everyone could feel the tension in the room. They were all Mafia men with the highest amount of bloodshed on their hands yet how come only one woman in their midst could render them speechless? Was she that scary? Ahmet could only find her cute and lovely… perhaps charming.
"We are not co-equals." Surprisingly she was calm but they all knew that even breathing the wrong way could have her killing them or so they had heard. Scratch that, even breathing wrongly could have them killing too but she could kill all of them in just sixty seconds… one minute.
Only Ahmet and she could do that… they all knew it. But though Ahmet would think about killing someone, she wouldn't. It was as if killing people was the only thing she was satisfied with. Ahmet's thoughts instantly returned to the meeting when he realized she had most likely missed what Maxwell had said.
"Now Maxwell, she's here, sign the documents!" Ahmet exclaimed as he attempted to divert the focus away from her, and he noticed her eyes fixed on him.
He ignored her and pointed to the document in front of the man. Ahmet was certain she wanted to know which documents the man had to sign. 'Did you have me come here so you could get something out of it?' He read them correctly through her eyes. If he asked her to come in exchange for something, it would imply that he was betting. Wouldn't it?
"Arh, right!" Maxwell signed without even glancing through. Ahmet could only hope that Maxwell had read while they were with him. But then if Maxwell had read through the documents, Ahmet was sure he wouldn't have signed. A sly smirk appeared shortly on his face when the man pushed the signed document to him after signing.
"Welcome, Asli." Another member of the meeting mentioned. How many times were they going to welcome her?
"I'm not spending more than ten minutes here," she announced with a cold tone. That was typical of her. She settled in the empty seat across from Ahmet.
"This meeting is… is to you know and talk about stuff. So the floor is open, anyone can start." Maxwell informed them as he was chairing the meeting that night.
"I have an operation next week on Tuesday night at Laguna Bank. I hope no one has a schedule there." One man mentioned and Ahmet wondered why they always had to tell them when they had missions like armed robbery. Markus always briefed him on the meeting every time he returned.
"Laguna? I heard their security is tighter now ever since Robby and his men robbed them."
"I'll send you our blueprint so you'll work on it and see where improvements are needed for your operation," Robby offered and the conversation went back and forth.
"Are you all pretending to be best buddies now?" Asli questioned with a surprised tone. "Are you all for real?"
She couldn't believe Ahmet attended 'this' meeting as well. No wonder he was hell burnt on his stupid blackmail. 'Guys, I have something on Asli. What do I do?'
'Blackmail her. Make her run to you every time you call.' She acted the convo in her head and her stomach churned. These men probably advised him to do that, didn't they? She believed.
"No. We mention things that we all are likely to be doing in the same week or have already done it. That's what alliances are." Robby tried to explain, but she wasn't convinced. Everyone seated there would shoot anyone to obtain what they wanted, so why were they pretending to discuss their plans with one another? And Ahmet, was he truly a part of this?
Ahmet, on the other hand, decided to ignore her. This was his first time attending the meeting, as was hers. Markus was busy, and he needed to ensure that Maxwell signed the documents once she came.
"I don't have anything much to do this week. Gideon is still alive and it means my men didn't do a perfect work killing him. I have to go and finish it myself. I would just choke him while he slept and blame it on the hospital to avoid any fights between his organization and mine." Another man said and Asli snapped her head to his side.
Did he mention Gideon? She knew his accident wasn't just an accident. Well, there was going to be a problem because she needed him alive.
"No." She simply declared.
"No? Good. Asli has a better way to kill Gideon than you do then." Maxwell mentioned happily.
Did he seriously think she was going to tell them if there was a better way to kill Gideon… or even anyone for that matter?
"I want him alive," she declared and they all shared glances.
"I want him dead. He tampered with my CCTV cameras and immediately, stuff from my warehouse was gone." The man explained. Oh she loved the audacity.
"Yeah, and I have far more important reason why I want him alive." She shot back. How dare he question her?
"But…"
"This meeting isn't worth my time." She announced, and they all turned to face Ahmet, who arched an eyebrow at their gaze. Why were they staring at him as if he was snatching something from them? He merely had to get her there; it wasn't said that he forced her to sit through the meeting, was it?
"Touch Gideon and you'll die!" She warned again though she was still relaxed in her chair and her voice was surprisingly also calm, the underlying threat was unmistakable.
Ahmet's eyes locked onto hers, his gaze burning with need. He was always fascinated by how she uttered her commands, and tonight wasn't any different as her confidence sent a jolt of arousal through him.
His mind began to spin out of control, consumed by the urge to claim her, to dominate the fiery spirit that burned within her. At this point, he didn't care why she wanted Gideon alive.
He shifted in his seat, his grip on the documents in his hand tightening as he struggled to maintain a semblance of composure. The meeting, the people around him, everything faded into the background as his need for Asli became all-consuming. He could almost taste the desire to rip her clothes off, and to take her right there on the table.
Ahmet's breathing grew shallow, and his heart hammered in his chest. He was aware that he was on the verge of losing control, but he couldn't force himself to be concerned.