Giving him a skeptical look I fidget a little in the chair. It was weird to have

 him so close to me.

 “Why so much money for one? You don’t expect me to do anything illegal

do you?”

 Samuel leans back laughing. His tough face seemed so much gentler.

 “Don’t worry it is not dangerous at least for you. The pay is so high since

 you will be around a shit load of gangsters. I’ve heard you refer to us in 

this term.”

 It seems that this man actually payed more attention to us employee’s then I

 first thought. Should that scare me or should I be flattered? Placing my

 finger to my lip, I ponder his question for a moment. 

“Alright I will take the job. I will have to pick up my little brother after 

work. You will have to wait for me to find a babysitter for him.”

 Samuel gave me a smile finishing off his coffee. 

“You have a deal Miss Katerina.”

 Somehow I still felt a little uneasy about this whole situation.

Ignoring myself work still needed to be done. Time passed quickly the rest of 

the day. When it was my shift end I hugged the owner for the birthday 

present. Tonight was going to be super special with Abel. I felt excited as I 

walked up to his school. That excitement faded away when I saw our mother

 standing there. She had Abel’s arm in her hand. He was trying to pull away 

with all his might. Quickly I run up getting him away.

 “Really you little slut. You dare take my own child from my hands.”

 Did she forget I was her child as well. Letting out a laugh I pull Abel behind 

me.

 “Yeah I dare you bitch. You want to act like a mother right now that is 

hilarious. Let me guess grandpa said if you don’t bring Abel you will be cut 

off.”

 Mother slapped me hard as I stood my ground. The teacher flinched seeing 

the abuse in person.

 “Don’t even think of coming back to my home you slut. If you want him 

that bad take him. I’ll tell the old fossil you ran away with Abel.” 

Did she even give one ounce about us? Seriously I couldn’t understand her 

even if we were forced. Mother’s were supposed to love their children...yet 

ours only held contempt for our existence. Our mother turns walking away, 

not even glancing back at us.

Abel’s teacher ran over making sure I was alright. Giving her a smile I pick my

 brother up walking the other direction. There was nothing in that god 

forsaken house we needed. If Samuel’s job went well I could pay rent for a 

while on a place. Tonight we would eat then rent a hotel room. My brother 

tugged on my shirt crying some.

 “Why does she always have to hurt you?”

 Looking down the tears he shed hurt my heart.

 “It is complicated. Don’t worry alright little brat. Tonight we are going to 

eat some place yummy. Then we’ll have a sleepover in the nice hotel.”

 He looked up wiping his eyes trying not to cry any longer. It was probably

 the thought of yummy food. We went to a restaurant that had all of his

 favorite food. After eating the hotel room and dinner left me with one 

thousand five hundred. This job better not be a bust or else Samuel would 

have me knocking down his damn door.

Once in the hotel I made sure Abel took a bath then got into bed. We had 

stopped at a corner store buying some extra clothes for him and I. As he lay

 there sleeping my mind kept wandering. If our mother meant her words it 

was great. If not then this could backfire in my face. That bitch had a bad 

habit of using people as leverage. Ever since Abel was born I wanted to 

protect him from having the same pain. This wasn’t the time to worry about 

her. In the morning I took Abel to work with me. The shop owner looked 

confused as I sat him on a chair.

 “Watch him for a moment please.”

 If only my mother had realized that after he was born I’d gotten legal papers 

filed. She had no rights to my brother. 

The things you can get away with when someone is always too drunk. To 

make sure the papers were safe they stayed in my locker at work. Walking

 out the owner pointed to my brother. He was digging into a plate of food the

 owner made. 

“Look I am sorry. She was trying to pull something again. At least this time

 she said I could take him away. Wonder how pissed off she will be knowing

 she gave me custody of him at fourteen. Although she really didn’t notice I 

had gotten myself legally emancipated at the same age.”

 Although I’d been considered an adult all this time, I had to still live with her. 

It was solely since my money was always taken away by her.

Abel looked up with some food dripping off his chin. Letting out a sigh I grab

some napkins cleaning him up.

 “So would you and your wife like to babysit for me pretty please?”

 I tried doing a cutesy face for him. He started to laugh sitting down next to 

Abel.

 “Yeah we can watch him for you. Now when are you going to start calling 

me Gabe? You always call me owner...it is going to hurt my feelings.”

 He acted like tears were falling then laughed. He was more dramatic than 

any teen I knew. Although he had a heart of gold there was no doubt about 

that.

 “Abel you are going to stay with Gabe while big sister goes to another job 

alright? I promise after this we will find a new place to live.” 

Abel jumped from his chair into my arms hugging me tightly.

 “O..kay sissy.”

 In our new home I would make sure he got all the proper schooling that was

 needed. Even if I needed to sell my soul he would live a better life.

Speak of the devil and he shall show himself. I couldn’t help but laugh seeing

 Samuel walking into the shop. My brother and Gabe both looked at me 

weird. Placing my brother down I give him a kiss on the forehead. 

“Be good or else I will bop you on the head.”

 Abel stuck his tongue out at me giggling. Samuel put out a hand for me as I 

walked over. Was this his attempt at being a gentleman? If so I really didn’t

 need it. We took his black sports car to one of the more expensive malls in

 the area. He led me to a store that usually would have never been on my 

radar.

 “Find something you would like to wear tonight Miss Katerina.” 

Walking through most of these clothes seemed made for a rich lady. Taking a 

deep breath I calm myself looking closer. A soft red dress was alone on one of

 the racks. It connected at the neck then had an open back. It went almost to

 the floor. There was a slit down one side of the dress up almost to the hip. If 

I had to play the part might as well play a little dress up. It might just be the 

little girl in me screaming put it on but I actually liked the dress. In the 

changing room I stare into the mirror in shock.

The dress looked good on me. My naturally blood red hair matched it

 perfectly. My rich brown skin tone stood out against the dress. As my light

 blue eyes seemed to pop drawing you in. For a moment I couldn’t believe this

 was really me. Slowly I walk from the changing room. Samuel stood up with

 the same shocked expression I had just given myself.

 “I do believe you picked the perfect dress. You look stunning Katerina.”

 Whoa it must have shocked him since he forgot to call me Miss. He takes my

 hand getting me new shoes, jewelry, and hair accessories. All this stuff 

almost cost the amount of the job. Did he have so much money to just throw

 away like this? Although it would be strange for me to show up in my shabby

 clothes. Samuel dressed in designer suits so this accented him nicely. After 

we left he took me to a salon to have my hair done with the accessories he’d 

bought. They placed my hair in a partial bun with small braids draping down 

the nape of my neck. They placed the small rose jewels around the bun.

Looking to the mirror it was getting harder to recognize myself. The salon 

artist turned me around facing them. Their hands were full of makeup. Oh

 dear god please not make up too. It took only a few moments before they 

finished doing the makeup. Slowly I opened my eyes to see they did a black

 eye shadow, and a soft red lip stain. Thank goodness that they didn’t go 

crazy. 

“Now I do believe you are ready.”

 It didn’t matter what he said, I love hearing his voice. That really needed to

 stop. I was crushing on him due to his voice at first but his looks didn’t hurt

 either. He led me back to his car.

 “Um...is there anything specific I should know for the gathering?”

 Looking over at the driver's seat I saw a smile on his lips.

 “Just keep your normal attitude, don’t let others bully you one bit.”

 Okay that seemed oddly easy. Would I stand a chance in a room filled with 

trained gangsters? I highly doubted my skill set was that good.

Closing my eyes I imagine all the good I can do with this money. Abel and I 

would have a home of our own. No more dealing with the drama of that 

horrible house. I’d let them suffer the wrath of our grandparents. The drive 

was relaxing as we went to a mansion out of the city. Samuel explained this 

place was rented for the occasion. It must have been the only posh thing in 

their neutral territory. I didn’t say that out loud though. As we walked to the 

entrance many of the people greeted Samuel asking about me. Each time he 

solely told them I was his lovely date. Was I supposed to be some kind of 

mystery? Once inside I really felt like a fish out of water. All the women were 

of high noble classes. I suppose that if we look at my family I was too. 

Although I lived like a super poor kid. My grandparents were of nobility on 

both sides. Although my parents made life a living hell. Samuel walks me over 

to whom I believe is his boss. He bows some to him. Instinctively I did the 

same thing.

 “Your date is lovely Samuel my boy. I must ask where you met someone 

this pretty?”

 Samuel laughs as making sure to not let go of my hand.

Should I be worried about this man? Sighing in my head I give a sweet smile 

to the man. 

“It is a pleasure to meet you Sir. Samuel and I have known one another for

 a few years now. He is a gentleman where I work. So accepting his gracious

 offer was very easy for me.”

 The man looked to Samuel then smiled wide patting him on the shoulder 

laughing. He walked off after a moment longer of speaking to Samuel.

 “Did I say something wrong?”

 I turn my head when hearing him laugh a little.

 “No you actually made him a little stunned. Those are not words usually 

spoken about me.”

 Oh great so I praised you for nothing then? As music started he led me to 

the dance floor. Bowing slightly he took my hand pulling me close to his

 body. His cologne smells like fresh woods after a rain. It brought back some 

fond memories I spent camping with my grandparents. A slight blush came to

 my cheeks feeling one of his hands resting near my butt. He held my other

 hand softly as we danced. The music was perfect for a slow dance.

We danced for two songs till I tugged on his sleeve. These shoes were killing

 my feet. Normally I’d be wearing sneakers or boots. Anyone who said 

wearing high heels was a breeze never wore a pair. These things should be 

called death traps. Samuel leads me to a table filled with many men and

 women. I did recognize a few of the men. They seemed to be clan leaders. 

Oh shit one wrong word and I might be dead. In my head I laughed thinking 

of how bad I could easily piss them all off. As I sat there in silence they talked 

of their arrangements. It appeared that recently a group had been causing all

 of them some sort of problems. What caught me off guard is when one of 

them referred to angels. Was this a code of some sort I wondered? There was

 no way they meant literal angels. Listening more it looked like Samuel 

nudged me to get up. He led me to another room.

 “What is going on?” 

He leaned down with his arm leaning against the wall behind me. 

“Tell me what do you think of what they were speaking?” 

Really this was all due to the angel talk.

 “Um...I think it sounds like make believe. Who really believes in angels and

 demons?”

 My remark had Samuel laughing hard. Did it really cause that response?