Dirty Business by Huck Pilgrim Page A

fall over shoulder, stroking it as she approached the table.
     
    “I don’t have to leave,” she said. “I can do whatever I want.”
     
    Donnell did not look up. If his lack of interest shook Veronica’s confidence, she didn’t let it show. Gliding across the room, her self-assurance impressed Joe. She leaned toward Donnell’s ear. Still toying with her hair, she whispered something so low Joe couldn’t make it out. Her eyes glittered as she spoke.
     
    Donnell tilted his head towards her. Listened quietly.
     
    The boy wearing the fedora put his hands on his hips, a look of mild contempt his face. Joe fought to suppress a grin. He wondered how much dope the boy had packed into Veronica’s pretty little nostrils tonight.
     
    Veronica finished whispering to Donnell and then stood up. Donnell continued to look at the paperwork in front of him. Rubbing her hands on her thighs, she seemed to enjoy the sensation of her own touch on the slippery material of her tights. She bit her lip and kept her eyes on Donnell’s strong hands.
     
    “Anything?” Donnell asked. His voice was flat. He had still not looked up.
     
    Veronica’s face broke into a wide grin. Looking up, she noticed Joe at the table. A glint of recognition passed over her eyes and her face flushed with shame. Biting her lip, she pressed her hands into her groin. Took a deep breath.
     
    “Sure,” she said to Donnell. “Sure.” Her voice sounded squeaky, high pitched.
     
    Donnell snorted, shook his head. Looking up into her face, he chuckled. “You’re going to have to do a little better than that.”
     
    Veronica laughed, a nervous titter. Donnell’s large brown eyes seemed to bore into her, as if he were looking inside her, searching her very soul. He kept his eyes on her face, a little half smile playing on his lips.
     
    Joe watched Veronica’s nipples harden, her face flush a deeper shade of red.
     
    She was going to fuck Donnell. As soon as Joe thought it, he knew it was true. He smelled something burning, a faint, faraway smell. His cock stirred to life in his pants, even as the rest of his body went on high alert. The smell was a familiar odor: in some ways comforting to Joe, in others ways terrifying. He leaned into the table, hiding his arousal. That would only complicate things. Put his commission at risk.
     
    Veronica took a deep breath, letting her chest swell.
     
    “Anything,” she said. Now her voice rang with confidence. She made a funny face at Joe and stuck out her tongue. She drew her shoulders together and laughed. This time, the titter was gone.
     
    Donnell rapped twice on the table.
     
    Cutter scooped a generous amount of powder onto his playing card, then laid it out for her at an empty place on the table. Tapping the card on the table, he cleared it. The room grew silent. Veronica pulled the heavy chair back, its feet scraping the tile.
     
    A clock ticked loudly on the wall.
     
    She took her seat at the table. Bowing her head, she helped herself to a generous amount of the powder that lay before her.
     
    Cutter’s eyes glittered. He glanced at Donnell, then went back to work. Donnell asked Joe a question about the property. After Joe answered, Donnell asked something else. The boys Veronica had come in with began to talk amongst themselves in low tones. Veronica sat in silence. Several times she tried to make eye contact with Joe, but he wouldn’t allow it.
     
    Joe wondered if she even understood what she had just signed herself up for.
     
    If she felt any regret about her arrangement with Donnell, she didn’t show it. She just sat quietly. Waited. She steadfastly refused to look at either of the boys she had come in with. Joe wondered if she even knew their names. Clearly she did not understand, as Joe did, that they were Donnell’s lieutenants.
     
    Some unspoken communication passed between Donnell and his boys.
     
    Joe pretended not to notice.
     
    “You ready?” Donnell asked Veronica. He put his