Fated to be a Mafian Queen

A Surprise Phone Call

“Pidera! Piedra! Come on, you have a call,” Santos called out to Catalina. She had just begun her shift and was surprised at the interruption. Who could be calling her? She checked her mobile to see if Javier or Paulo had called her but there were no missed calls on her mobile. Did Javier decide to call her through the club’s phone? She paused for a moment and then proceeded to answer the call in Santos’ office.

“Hello, Piedra?” She recognized the voice and it made her shudder with goosebumps all over. It was Manuel. The man she could not get out of her head.

She was still recovering from the fight at the club from two nights before, her body ached with every movement she made, but she could not forget the man who had made her feel a way she had never felt before. Why was she so drawn to this stranger? She was sure he did not fancy her because she was way beneath the kind of woman he would be attracted to.

The event in his office replayed in her mind like a tape on repeat. His words echoing in her ears, his smell, and the way he was so close to her fueled her curiosity and intrigue. There was something about this man that made her find him so irresistible, falling for him would mean playing with fire, but deep down she was ready to get burned.

“Hello Sir,” she replied to him. Her heart began to pound as it did when he was close to her the day before.

“Manuel, Piedra. Just Manuel,” he said.

“Hello Manuel,” she replied to him, her voice sounding as though she had a huge lump in her throat that she could not swallow. She needed to get a hold of herself, get a grasp of things as she always did, but this man made her weak from the inside out. She had fallen for him, something she did not plan for.

“You will not be working at the club today. I need you to come to the HQ. I sent a car to get you, Okay?” Manuel told her.

“Alright, Sir– Manuel,” she replied with a stutter. He ended the call. She breathe a very huge sigh of relief as though her breath was trapped in her lungs all the while she spoke to him. She adjusted herself as she proceeded to inform Santos of the new development.

As she proceeds to the changing room, she informs Mia that she would be going to the head office for a meeting with Manuel. Mia’s face showed concern and as she tried to inquire on what the issue could be, she told Catalina to be careful.

She smiled and told Mia, “I can take care of myself, Mia, don’t worry.” They hug each other and she proceeds to exit the building to the waiting SUV.

The driver opened the door for her to get in, but she hesitated for a moment, her mind racing with possible scenarios. She proceeds into the back of the vehicle, but she kept wondering what he could possibly want to discuss with her. Did he know that she had feelings for him? Why would he choose someone who is new at the job? Her mind was filled with both uncertainty and anticipation as she sat in the vehicle looking out the window.

As she stepped out of the vehicle, she realized that it was not the entry they had used the day before, they had entered an underground garage. She was in awe of the grandeur of the building as they made their way in. She couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the air of secrecy that surrounded the place.

There were guards keeping watch at every corner, their eyes were scanning the area. The way the men looked, no one would dare to enter she thought to herself. She felt a mix of fear and excitement. She knew that her life had been forever changed by this encounter as she stepped into the elevator with the man who had driven her there.

In the elevator, she asked the man, “What’s your name?” He looked at her with a stern face before looking away. She smiled, “I’m Piedra.” the man ignored her and in a few seconds, the elevator bell rang and the doors opened.

As they stepped out, Manuel was waiting with a few men. He was more handsome than he was the previous day. He greeted her with a warm smile that drew her eyes to his lips. His eyes were shining with a hint of mischief.

“Welcome, Piedra. Glad you could make it,” he said as he moved closer to take her arm into his.

“You didn’t give me much of a choice, did you?” she muttered to herself.

Manuel smiled. Although he masked it very well, he was intrigued by the woman whose hand was locked in his.

“You will get a briefing shortly. I want you to accompany me on a little errand tonight,” Manuel informed her. She nodded her head in agreement. Her mind was clouded by his romantic smell and the feel of his body against hers.

“Did you hear me, Piedra?” Manuel asked, unsure of whether she had heard him the first time. “Piedra?”

She jolted and unlocked her arm from his, her heart skipped a beat.

“I heard you, S– Manuel. I just had a lot of thoughts running through my mind. Apologies,” she responded.

“I want you to be prepared for tonight. We have an errand to run and I’m pretty sure you will be quite helpful there,” Manuel told her.

“Errand? What kind of errand?” she asked him innocently, her curiosity getting the best of her. She imagined quite a number of scenarios playing in her head.

“Patience, Senorita,” Manuel chuckled, his lips curling into a beautiful smile. “You can trust me, Piedra. Just come with me and you will find out,” he replied, his voice having a tinge of excitement.

She nodded, although feeling apprehensive. She had imagined scenarios of what the meeting might entail and hearing Manuel indirectly saying he was trying to win her trust made her feel so good because her plans were gradually finding fruition. She wanted to win his trust, but now he is the one putting in the effort to win hers.

They made their way to his office where he instructed his personal bodyguard to pick up the bags on the chair and add them to the ones in the car which was waiting out front. They got into the elevator that took them to the reception of the building.

They made their way to a sleek black car that was waiting just outside the entrance. Manuel’s bodyguard put the bags in the booth and as he proceeded to get into the driver’s seat, he noticed Manuel had taken the wheel with Catalina by his side causing curious glances from both him and the other guards.

Manuel gestured for him to wait for him telling him that he would be back in a couple of hours. His bodyguard reluctantly agrees. Catalina’s mind raced with questions, but Manuel’s mysterious smile extinguished any hope of getting answers before the time was right. Deep down she hoped that he had not found out her true identity and was taking her to be murdered.

The car was quiet as they drove through the city. Catalina’s curiosity burned within her like a relentless fire. She consciously fought the urge to question Manuel about their destination and the purpose of the meeting because she knew that he may not give her the answer she desired. Despite having this knowledge, she couldn’t silence the voice in her head that screamed for answers.

They finally arrive at a nondescript factory outside of town, the only sign of life being a small flickering light emanating from a dimly lit room. Manuel turned to her, his eyes filled with intensity with a stern look on his face, one she did not recognize.

“Come and take the wheel, Piedra. You can drive right?” She nodded in agreement. Her heart was now racing, she was afraid. She had become a getaway driver. What trouble was he getting into, that would warrant a getaway driver?

“Go over there, park the car and wait for me. Keep the engine running, okay?” he told her as he pointed at a place just outside the building of the old and abandoned factory. Her hands were shaking, she did not know what to expect. Everything could go wrong and he had not prepared her.

As she sat in the car with the headlamps off, disappointment washed over her like a wave crashing against the shore. She wanted to know what Manuel was going to do inside the factory, she contemplated leaving the car to get a glimpse of the activities going on inside the factory, but she knew she had to respect his boundaries if she wanted to earn his trust.

As she sat alone in the car, watching the minutes tick by, she got restless. He had been in there for over 20 minutes and there was no sound. Who was he meeting? What was the meeting about? What business deal did he go there for? The questions buzzed in her mind, a constant reminder of the life she had chosen.

She decided to step out of the car without turning off the engine, she had to see what was going on in there. This was the time to practice the stealth skills Javier had taught her all those years. She carefully opened the door of the car and snuck out, leaving the engine running. She blended very well with the darkness, sneaking through the shadows, looking around to see if the coast was clear.

She goes round back instead of through the door Manuel had entered and through a small window, she could see Manuel with three men. One wore an expensive coat with an animal skin shawl over his shoulders and the two men were armed standing beyond him as he discussed with Manuel. She could not see the man very well, but she could see that the bags Manuel had carried contained drugs and loads of dollars.

As she tried to stretch further to have a better view of the man, the wood she was trying to stand on cracked and the men turned to the window, but she had successfully hidden herself.

“Who’s there? You, go and check it out,” the man said as all four of them drew out their guns. One of the men exited the building to check what the problem was. Manuel rushed to the car, thinking that Catalina may have been watching everything going on.

As he emerges from the door, he sees Catalina behind the wheel of the car, just as he had left her. He wanted to ask if she had gotten out of the car, but he did not want her to ask him any questions so he looked around the place for anything that seemed off but could not find anything.

Catalina had cut her hand trying to return to the car without getting caught. The cut was quite deep and bleeding causing her a lot of pain, but she had to pretend to be fine so that Manuel would not notice.

He gestured for her to return to the passenger’s seat which she did. As she stepped out of the car, she notices someone looking through the shadows, but she pretended not to notice the figure. As she sat in her seat, with her sleeve rolled down to hide the injury on her arm, she noticed Manuel’s look of satisfaction and fatigue.

As they drove back to the city, a newfound resolve settled over Catalina. Manuel's secret dealings and his aloofness only fueled her desire to uncover the truth. She knew that this path would be treacherous, but her hunger for answers outweighed any fear, firmly deciding that she would no longer be a passive onlooker in this dangerous world.

She would take risks, earn Manuel's trust, and get closer to the top. The fire within her burned brighter than ever before. The journey had only just begun.