Chapter 1: Flower Vase

"Amanda."

I covered my face with a pillow. I have been called several times by a woman whose voice is unfamiliar. I don’t know where she came from or how she got into my room. But if she’s here to harm me in the first place, she wouldn’t let me notice her presence. Must be the boss' asset.

"Just give me a few more hours...or days. I need to de-stress." I don’t have the energy to report yet. I am still facing the huge humiliation of what I did last night. I even answered without looking at her.

"I really admire how hard-headed you are, even with the boss’ orders."

I immediately woke up when I heard that familiar, brusque voice. When I looked around, I saw two people in my room. One is a woman I don't know, and one is someone I've known for quite some time.

"He wants to talk about what happened last night. He has a lot of questions, so don't wait for him to get hot-headed and personally come here."

The ranting man beside my bed is Marc. I met him on a mission that we were assigned to do together a year ago. He’s a trusted accomplice of that casino’s owner, and he’s also the person who referred me for that job.

"I am not his accomplice, Marc. I just did what he ordered, but I do not belong under his organization. Nobody owns me, as much as bossing me around when I am trying to have my personal time," I spat like a brat. This is frustrating. Can’t they even allow me to rest after the huge incident last night?

"He's thinking of a way to compensate you," he added.

My brows furrowed as I stared at him with annoyance. He remained calm, as if my attitude were nothing. Yeah, he’s always unbothered by things he doesn’t deem important.

“This is Yanna, a newly hired assassin. She’s here as part of her training.

I looked at him questionably.

“Well, the task was to intrude without being noticed, but seeing how you reacted earlier, I am sure that you noticed her presence," he explained to ease my doubting face.

“Uh huh. I felt her presence even before she passed through the window,” and I pointed to my room’s window. Marc nodded and stared at Yanna as if he were saying something important.

Looking at her, she's definitely not someone I'd have a casual interaction with. She looks at me with bitterness. She seems angry, and I don’t know why; I don’t care.

"I'll think about it," I answered, then got up, bringing back the topic of compensation.

I stood up wearing only my silk lingerie. I saw Marc gasp for air and look away from me. My brows curled; he’s reacting in that way when it’s not too revealing. I even sleep naked sometimes. I smiled sheepishly. "Never fucked someone? Are you a virgin?" I teased.

"What the hell, Amanda?" he snorted in disbelief.

Well, speaking of fucking, the disaster last night came flashing in my mind again. Not only did I fail my mission, but I also even let a random man do it with me. Although my work is not that honorable, I never let my target exceed the extent of having a steamy encounter. I just don't know. I feel like I was a loser last night because I gave in, and it hurts my sanity and pride.

"Damn it."

My annoyance returned. I turned back to Marc as I put on my robe and invited them for a tea.

"We will figure out who gave you the wrong photo, he said, annoyed because I had been whining about it since we started drinking tea.

"As you should! I cannot even condone what happened. You're saying it’s accidental, but I don't think so. That was intentional. And who the fuck was that man? I bet you know him since he's a regular customer there..." I calmed down as I remembered something. "Well, according to him, I was the first person to beat him in poker, so I guess he's a regular."

"He's the person you should've avoided the most," is everything he could say.

"And what the heck does that mean?" I answered, getting a little nervous.

Yanna massaged her head. Oh, she’s starting to annoy me. I raised an eyebrow, piercing my stare at her.

"His code name's Pierre. We don't know what his real name is. His background and everything about his life is basically invisible, and only a few personnel saw him in person. Well, in Boss' den, he walks freely, but anyone who dares to disclose any information about him, as much as spreading his photos, dies before even doing it.

"Don't stare at me like that, Marc." I felt my heart racing its beats. Marc has no reason to lie, and it is not in his personality to joke. He's spitting facts, and I refuse to absorb the fact that I just fell into a doomed situation.

"He's a mafia leader, Amanda, Marc whispered, as if there was someone listening aside from me and Yanna.

My eyes widened. "Well, he would think of it as a one-night pleasure. Maybe he doesn't care about me now."

I tried to gaslight my own mind. After all, he was very handsome. I bet he already has many women groveling over him. I don’t think a man with that status would waste his time for me.

Marc started ranting like a father, stating advice that tingles my eardrums. He also explained the terms of our contract regarding the mission and said that I would only receive half of the reward. But our little chitty chat was interrupted as we all noticed someone’s, no, a few people's presence nearby.

"Duck!" Marc’s panicking voice lingered in my ears.

"What the!" The rain of bullets interrupted the word I was about to say.

"Oh damn it, my garden!" I screamed in annoyance, then pointed my gun, trying to find where the shooter was. Marc also has guns with him and is already exchanging bullets with the people who have already entered my lawn.

"Ahhhhh!!!" I screamed loudly when I saw my favorite flowerpot hit by a bullet and shattered into pieces. Even Marc covered his ears and stared at me annoyingly.

The man who shot the pot received a head shot from yours truly. I kept cussing him and even managed to get close enough to kick him because of my annoyance. My favorite pot was more expensive than his life! This dumb shit!

"Amanda!"

Marc got my attention, causing me to turn around and get distracted. The next thing I knew, someone covered my mouth with a handkerchief, but he failed to make me unconscious right away. I fought; I can fight with my bare hands, but he can, too. Fists and kicks because I dropped the gun I was holding, but then he picked it up and immediately pointed it at me.

"Try to move or scream. I'll turn your brain into corned beef. Hands in the air, bitch."

"What the fuck?" I answered in disgust, then raised my two hands.

"Amanda!" Marc shouted from afar. I slightly tilted my eyes in his direction and instructed him not to come closer. My vision suddenly went blurry.

"Damn you," I said when the sleeping chemical was starting to take effect on me.

Later on, the last thing I remembered was falling to the ground. I felt terrible because I wasn’t able to strike a sexy falling pose, and on top of that, I am not even wearing makeup, and they’re about to kidnap me in this state.