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"PLEASE STOP THAT!" Beth whined at Annie as she played on the children's swing set, letting her legs flail over. Jade was spying on them from afar, bored by their sight until she realised they were actually meeting with Rio.
She'd closely followed their whereabouts after a tipoff from Turner. It's not like she truly needed it, after all, the women were dressed in all black wearing beanies they thought would mascarade them as gangsters.
Luckily she had wasted her Tuesday night, it didn't take long for Rio to arrive with two men following closely behind him. She tried her best to listen in, her mind completely focused.
"We've been thinking," Ruby began, mumbling, "Just about our very small role in you know, your whole operation and uh we've learned so much but-"
"But it's not working for us," Beth spoke up, nonchalantly throwing Rio's associates a duffle bag. A duffle bag full of their washed cash. Jade heard the words half a million dollars.
Jade found herself disrupted by the sound of Rio's laughter, amused at how unimpressed he appeared in front of the women. Though, she noticed a spark in his eyes, one that came from Beth Boland asking for more work.
She really was in deep.
"Go big or go home right?" Beth called out when Rio didn't initially take their offer. He finally walked closer to Beth, it looked like he agreed to whatever terms she'd ask for.
It was technically officially duty for Jade, she could turn in anything she found that night. Yet, she sat back and observed. She watched the way they handle the money, the way Rio stood... the way the women panicked over the money... and the way Rio looked in the night.
The crowd slowly dispersed, Jade even waited for Rio to leave. Except he didn't. He took a short walk, one that led closer to her.
Rio coughed, a laugh following after, "You can come out now Jade. Hiding in bushes now are we?"
Jade sighed. She pulled herself from her hiding spot, revealing herself to Rio. As she reached the man, she crossed her arms, "You know, you actually kind of look good on camera."
She then lifted her phone, dangling it in his face, "You wanna see?"
"Rio 0, Jade 1," She taunted, "Although, I was promising you a head start. Don't stress, Rio. I'll keep these ones on file for now, let you dig yourself deeper."
All he could do was smirk, "Yeah, I better get onto that, shouldn't I?"
She felt his hand brush past her hair, tucking it behind her ear. Jade didn't move, her eyes following his hand as he spoke, "You gonna do the prison speech? It's my favorite."
"Try your feelings speech, the one about the old me," She retorted, "That's mine:"
Rio shook his head and laughed, "Nah, no need. Your heart's racing faster than that speech ever made you. What happened Jade? How come I got you so nervous?"
She pushed him back, "You're gonna spend a long fucking time in jail, Rio. That's all I got for you."
"Y'know, I admire your determination. It's inspiring, really," Rio shrugged, "What'd you get outta tonight huh? How much you got on me J?"
"Aren't you tired of this?" She ignored his questions, "I guess that's a stupid question. You thrive off the chase."
"I thrive 'cus I'm smart," He shrugged, Jade letting out a laugh that infuriated him, "You think that housewife is a smart idea?"
Instead of rationalising it, explaining it, Rio smirked, "Don't worry, mamas, I ain't hitting it."
Jade rolled her eyes, "I wonder all the time what I ever saw in you. What made me do what Ido."
"Oh," He threw his arms up in defense, wanting to rile her up, "Yeah, I handed you the guns but you shot 'em. That's on you. You ain't gotta lie to me though, keep it up with your friends otherwise you're out of a job."
"Rio-"
"I can't have you outta the game when it's so fresh," Rio smiled, "Boutta be Rio 2, Jade 0. Keep an eye out for me."
——
IT WAS TIME TO SEE WHAT THESE SECRET SHOPPERS WERE. Jade had stormed off on Rio, her collection of photos safely moved to a USB she'd decided to keep on her at all times. She was late to Beth's little meeting, angry at herself for letting Rio get under her skin.
And for the shoppers? Their coverup was that stores would hire their company to send in "secret shoppers" to see how good or bad the customer service was. Jade didn't think it was the worst idea they could've come up with, however, alike to Rio knew better than to outsource to the extremes; this wasn't going to end well.
"Mini muffin?" Ruby softly spoke, offering Jade food from a tray. She smiled back, "No thanks Ruby."
Jade then disrupted Annie's long winded speech, squinting her eyes however directly at Beth, "So you're gonna pay us to buy a bunch of stuff and then return it?"
"They're really just interested in the customer experience, so everytime you do a return just fill out a service," Beth replied, her eyes fixed on Jade's too. Nervous.
Women began to murmur, all about asking their husbands for permission. Annie had quickly shut that down, Beth reinforcing that they were doing this for themselves.
No one was particularly interested until Annie told them that the shopper of the month would win a corvette.
That they definitely did not have.
Jade felt like she was in limbo, joyful at the sound of the meeting ending.
rio are you even playing the game?
rio rio 2, jade 0.
"WHAT THE FUCK?" Jade muttered under her breath, still sat despite the meeting having ended. Nothing seemed abnormal, not until Beth, Annie and Ruby begun hovering over.
"Jade..." Beth touched my shoulders, "Everyone was just leaving."
Jade looked up from her phone and almost everyone was gone. Sure, she'd heard footsteps but the text had distracted her.
"I'll see you ladies next time," She awkwardly stood, "Count me in."
"We're just glad we can help you out," Ruby smiled, though she appeared shakier than usual. Jade hadn't thought much of it until Ruby stepped back, and Annie scrunched her face, "But we're also really sorry about this."
Before she could react, Beth had knocked her over the head.
