Filed to story: Bring It On My Mafia Life Novel (Rhea & Lukas)
Rhea didn’t step out of the room after that confrontation with Winters and Mimi had already returned home to spend time with her family since she’d been sleeping over at the base in preparation for their infiltration of Daniel’s place.
Not that Lukas noticed since he was probably having fun with Winters. Moreover, his attention was the last thing Rhea wanted, especially now that she was trying to prove to everyone she wasn’t madly in love with him.
Rhea didn’t catch a wink that night and one would think that it was because she was nervous about the mission. There was just a day left, till they walked into the lion’s den. But then, it was because of Winters’ warning.
The girl must really like Lukas to have gone through all of this effort and it was a good thing, right? Winters was determined to make Lukas like her and Lukas doesn’t hate her as he does his fiancée. They would make a nice couple, right? While she would be sent away until Elijah shows up and faces Lukas’s wrath, or break her out. The thought of it made her heart squeeze in pain.
Rhea was in a dilemma. Ever since her family sold her out, it was one problem after the other. First Big Joe, then Lukas? Now choosing between Lukas and Elijah. When would her life ever get that normalcy she had once enjoyed?
Her mood didn’t improve the next morning because they had to go over the plans, meaning that she would have to meet Lukas whom she had been avoiding since last night. They were going to be in close proximity and then everyone would have their eyes on them, watching the both of them as if watching for them to pulverize or something. When did her private affair become a public issue? It was annoying.
“Fine,” Rhea took a deep breath and put herself into order before stepping into the room.
As soon as she came in, all eyes were on her, and Rhea was not even surprised to see that she was the last to arrive.
“You’re late,” Lukas said, staring at her.
…..
“I was occupied with some things,” Rhea answered, and honestly, she tried to control it, but still, a flush traveled down to her neck.
Stop behaving like a teenager falling in love for the first time! You’re a mature woman for crying out loud, she chided herself.
However, Rhea shouldn’t have bothered herself much because Winters came out of nowhere and placed a hand on Lukas’s shoulder.
That gesture she noticed sent a chill down her back and Rhea’s heart hardened as she remembered her conversation with Winters last night. The girl was intent on winning Lukas over and obviously, started working on it. Not that Lukas minded anyway since he hadn’t taken her hand off his shoulder. He must like it so much.
Focus, Rhea! You shouldn’t give them much attention. You’ve made up your mind already, Elijah would be the one you would spend the rest of your life with. Just the same way the feelings came, they would leave as well. Perhaps, it wasn’t a bad thing Winters had his attention now.
But even as Rhea told herself those words, her gaze still lingered on Winter’s action and it wasn’t until Mimi touched her that she was able to drag her sight away.
“You should sit,” Mimi told her and pulled her to the side of the table where she was settled.
Rhea was seated between Victor and Mimi which meant that she was directly facing Lukas and Winters. This was miserable, could her day not get any worse?
Lukas stood up, saying, “As we all know, today is the last day to go over the plans and I want to make sure no stone is left untouched. We can’t afford to make mistakes, else you both are doomed.” He hinted at Mimi and Rhea.
The two best friends looked at each other, anxiety in their eyes yet Rhea took her hand and intertwined it with hers. As far as they were together, they could do anything.
“The first phase of the plan was to draw my father out and of which, it worked successfully. So while the cleaners would be coming to do their work, the man of the house wouldn’t be around. This is most beneficial to you both….” Lukas referred to Rhea and Mimi since both of them were the ones going in, “Because that means that there would be fewer soldiers to stand in your way. My father has as many enemies as I have and definitely wouldn’t be traveling light. Also, servants tend to slack off when the master of the house is unavailable, so you have that to your advantage. But don’t be deceived, those men are professionally trained and wouldn’t hesitate to shoot you on the spot when they suspect something off. ” Lukas informed them.
The two of them noted his instruction, just as Victor said, “The second phase of the plan and the beginning of your difficulty is getting into the place. The cleaning company has fulfilled their part of the deal and thus….” He brought out two employee IDs from his pocket and placed them on the table.
“You’re officially their worker now from another branch abroad with three years of working experience,” Victor told them as Mimi and Rhea reached out and took the card, examining the plastic.
But Rhea pressed her lips into a thin line saying, “Don’t we make this too easy for them?”
“What?” Lukas asked.
“What if they know my identity already, they would be able to tell that I’m a fraud with a fake name. What if we altered a few things about our appearance instead, making it difficult for people familiar with our faces to recognize us. We could wear a wig and some makeup?” She suggested.
“That’s nice,” Victor said, “But you’d be more suspicious if you were to wear a wig? You forgot that you’d be searched thoroughly before you’re granted entrance, even phones are confiscated.”
“She dyes her hair then,” Mimi suggested.
“What?” Rhea jerked around, looking at her friend in surprise. She has never changed the color of her hair since her birth.
“I mean I’m going to miss your red hair, but it draws too much attention. Moreover, dying hair is the fashion these days, no one would find it suspicious compared to wearing a wig.”
The Competition
Rhea was astonished by her friend’s suggestion and she looked around the room to see who was in support of it only to see that everyone was considering it.
“Mimi is right, the dye would come off in a week or so if you are in no hurry to get your red hair back,” Lukas told her.
Rhea sighed, “I’m not that. It’s just that this is the first time I’m trying out a different color and I’m beginning to wonder if I would even look good in it?” She informed him of her fears.
“Don’t worry, you will. You’re a beautiful lady, Rhea and even if you wore a paper bag on your face, you’d still look good, trust me?” Lukas said, looking at her deeply and she returned the stare, biting down on her lower lips unsure.
This time, Rhea and Lukas didn’t only feel the sexual tension between the both of them, everyone else in that room saw that and it made Victor release a whistle deep in his throat. The connection between them both was deep and unavoidable. Those lovely dovey eyes were adorable yet nauseating at the same time.
Winters was the one who cleared her throat and went ahead to say, “It’s a nice idea. They would both dye their hair and I would have the identity card remade to match their current identity,” She then turned to Victor, “You said they would be searched thoroughly, just how many items are they allowed inside?”
“Just their cleaning equipment, why do you ask?”
“My USB can remotely accept commands from me and Rhea would need to plug it into one of the computers in the control room to work. I’m guessing the device would be confiscated as well -“
“If they were to find it,” Rhea interrupted, a smirk on her lip.
…..
“What do you mean?” Winter asked.
“If I can take your stuff without you noticing…” And as she spoke, Rhea brought out a small lighter smugly and Winters’ eyes widened upon seeing it, “Then you certainly berate me when you think I can’t slip a mere USB in,”
“Give me that!” Winters stomped over to Rhea, intending to take the lighter back. The woman must have stolen it from her when she went into her room last night.
However, since Rhea was taller, she raised it above her head and while Winters raised her hand to snatch it, she slipped the necklace around her neck as well, saying, “And this?”
If Winters had been shocked earlier, she was scared now and her eyes widened to the size of saucers. She had met many pickpockets and was very careful not to get stolen from them, but Rhea was brilliant enough to rile her up while stealing from her.
“I never knew you as a smoker, shouldn’t kids your age be under adult supervision?” Rhea taunted her and Victor unintentionally laughed by the side and he got a warning jab in the stomach from Mimi.
“That’s enough, Rhea,” Lukas noticed the joke was going too far.
“Only because you asked nicely,” Rhea finally released both items to her, placing them quietly in her palm.
Winters received them with a glare and stomped back to Lukas’s side, and Rhea guessed she hurt the girl’s feelings with the little drama when it had been merely for fun. Not if it was sensitive to her. Rhea groaned inwardly, she guessed their relationship was back to level one.