Nikki needed to get to know Greta and to see if she could trust her to be involved with her crew. So she had Al bring her over so the three girls could get to know each other.
Nikki explained to Greta what they were going to do, while also laying down some rules to abide by, which included never using any of the product they would sell, no talking about it with random people and not letting personal relationships damage what she wanted to accomplish.
“Is that something you can handle?” Nikki asked Greta once she was done.
“Of course, but are we really going to do all of this with just three people?” Greta asked.
“For now,” Nikki said. “We won’t have a big network right away so enough has to go around for the three of us. After that, we’ll expand.”
Greta agreed to everything Nikki had laid in front of her, and she was starting to get a good read on her new recruit.
“Oh, one more thing,” Nikki announced. “We all ride here and that’s great, but when we’re meeting with clients or out in public we’re going to dress and act like sophisticated ladies. We will do nothing to attract unnecessary attention. I’ve never been arrested and I don’t plan on it in the future.”
Nikki knew that might be a challenge for Al, but the latter understood, even if it meant uncomfortable shoes at times. She then informed the other two about her meeting with Esposito later in the week. Nikki told them she wanted them to come along, how they needed to act and what to wear in order to help make the meeting successful.
The next evening, Nikki prepared for her second meeting with Esposito. She chose a dressy red tank top, tucked into a pair of black dress pants that fit snugly around her perfect buttocks and strung a thick black leather belt through the loops. She added her black leather high-heeled boots underneath and her customary jewelry. She slung her leather blazer on and headed down to the parking lot to wait for Al and Greta.
Nikki paced around the parking lot, checking her watch repeatedly and nervously pulling on a cigarette. Finally, she saw the car pull in and Al and Greta both got out. Al wore a pair of black dress pants and a black leather jacket to go along with a pair of high heels, while Greta wore a black cocktail dress and six-inch stiletto heels.
“You motherfuckers clean up nice,” Nikki joked approvingly when she saw them. She tossed Al the keys and told her to drive as she blew out a stream of smoke before flicking the butt and hopping in the back seat of her new SUV.
When they arrived at Esposito’s restaurant, Al opened the back door to let Nikki out and the three girls approached the front door, each tossing a cigarette aside as they headed inside.
The hostess knew Nikki immediately and escorted them to Esposito’s table in the corner, where he got up to welcome her. She wasn’t so sure he would give such a welcoming if she wasn’t an attractive female but she would use to her advantage.
“Ah, Miss Nicole, it’s good to see you again,” Esposito said. “I see you’ve brought some friends.”
“I got some muscle since we spoke last,” Nikki said with a smile.
“Shall we step out to the patio?” Esposito asked.
Nikki motioned for Al and Greta to wait inside while she went to talk business and then followed him to the patio. She sat down, took her pack of cigarettes out of her purse, extracted one and lit up as Esposito sat down.
“So I see you have been active since we spoke last,” Esposito said as he eyed the teenager. “That shows that you are serious about this.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Nikki asked through an exhale.
“Let’s be an honest, you’re young and you’re a female,” Esposito said. “Those are two things that don’t usually go together in this business.”
“Honey, you’ve got no idea what I’m capable of,” Nikki told him as she stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray and lit another immediately.
“Actually, I have a pretty good idea,” Esposito said. “That’s why I told you to come back and that’s why we’re talking right now. My gut tells me that I should trust you. That you a rare breed.”
“Sooo..” Nikki probed as she let out another stream of smoke.
“So, before we talk business I want to know why you want to do this,” Esposito said. “You’re young, you’re intelligent, you don’t have any connection to this life. You’re are going to be successful outside of this life.”
“Because this is what I’m supposed to do,” Nikki said bluntly. “I know I’m going to be successful outside of making a living this way, but I want to do both. I want my wealth to be limitless and I know that if given the chance, nobody can stop me from doing so.”
“I know what that’s like,” Esposito said thoughtfully. “OK, I’m going to deliver on my word. My suggestion is that you don’t try to get too big before you’re capable. I don’t want our relationship to become...unfriendly if you can’t pay.”
Esposito agreed to give Nikki shipments of cocaine and ecstasy. Drugs were not her ideal way to make money, but she had to get started somewhere before moving on to other endeavors. She agreed to the terms laid out before her and put out her cigarette and lit yet another.
“You are quite the smoker,” Esposito commented.
Nikki simply smiled seductively and took a drag on her cigarette.
“Have you have tried one of these?” Esposito asked as he pulled out a pair of large Cuban cigar from his jacket.
Nikki shook her head no as she let out a voluminous exhale. Esposito cut the tip off one and handed it to her across the table. She put her cigarette in the ashtray, sniffed the cigar and put it between her lips. When she lit up, it wasn’t quite as satisfying as a cigarette, but she enjoyed the taste and how it looked in her hand. Maybe she could smoke the occasional cigar, but it would never replace her beloved cigarettes.
“I’ll add a box of these in your shipment,” Esposito told her. “On me.”
Once she was done with the cigar, Nikki got up from her chair, shook hands with Esposito and headed back inside the restaurant. As she walked through, she motioned to Al and Greta that it was time to leave.
Al opened the back door of the SUV and Nikki and climbed in. The two women immediately looked back at her to see what the outcome of the meeting was.
“We’re in business,” Nikki said casually as she lit a cigarette.
The two women in the front seat squealed with excitement. “We’re going to seriously celebrate tonight,” Al screamed.
“Hell yeah, we are,” Nikki said with a smile. “But tomorrow the real work starts.”
Nikki was officially in business. She would delegate all sales to her two associates, particularly since school was set to begin the following week. On top of it all, her roommate would be returning and that did not go swimmingly the first time around.
______________________________________________________________________________
The first day of college finally arrived for Nikki, and she didn’t want to be stressed out for it so she opted to come home late the night before to avoid any conversations with Erica.
Nikki woke up, chain-smoked through five cigarettes and a cup of coffee on the balcony before showering. For her first day as an Ivy League student, she chose a dressy green top, tucked into a pair of dark blue bootcut jeans, with a thick black leather belt around her waist, along with her black leather high-heeled boots. She checked her watch and headed to grab her purse and books.
When she entered the living room, Erica was in the kitchen making her breakfast. Hoping to avoid her, Nikki grabbed her purse and keys, but Erica looked up and saw her.
“Going to class?” Erica asked.
“Yep,” Nikki said. “I should be back around noon.”
“I have class at 10,” Erica announced. “I’ll be gone until about four.”
“I think it’s best if we just do our own thing,” Nikki said. “I don’t really want to get into it with you.”
“OK,” Erica said simply.
With that, Nikki headed to campus for her first college class. It was obvious that she was a bit different than the rest of the freshmen. Nikki had an air about her that didn’t resemble a college student. It wasn’t the smoke that billowed from her mouth and nose as she walked across campus, nor the large tattoo on her arm, visible beneath her sleeve. She was just different from the rest of the students and that was OK by her.
A lot had changed since in recent years, but one thing that hadn’t was Nikki’s aptitude for academics. She was incredibly bright and put a significant amount of effort into her schoolwork, although she didn’t need to put as much into it as most. Nikki was going to take her classes seriously, particularly her major -- business -- because it would apply to her life outside of the classroom.
Nikki knew that Al and Greta would take care of business so she could focus on school during the day, so that wasn’t even a concern. When she stepped into a classroom, it was her entire focus, although getting through an entire class without a cigarette was often a challenge for her.
As the weather began to cool and the leaves began to change, life was going well for Nikki. Business was booming and she was excelling in her classes. She even began to immerse herself into college life. While the girls continued to ostracise her, the boys loved her. Nikki constantly had guys attempting to talk to her in class, walking through campus and in the dining hall. This earned her several invitations to parties, which meant an opportunity to move her product, which she did well.
One brisk October Friday night, Nikki decided to attend a party a few blocks from campus, where she would meet Al. Since Greta was obviously not of a college age, she didn’t attend such parties, rather finding adults to sell to instead.
Nikki decided on a tight white tank top that exposed her navel, along with a pair of skin-tight leather leggings and a thick black leather belt with rhinestones and a western buckle that hung loosely around her hips -- the very same belt she whipped the woman with at her graduation party -- along with her knee-high black leather boots with a five-inch stiletto heel. She donned her customary jewelry, including her thick silver Cartier watch that slid freely down her wrist before taking one final approving look in the mirror and heading into the kitchen for her purse and leather blazer.
When she got to the party she was undoubtedly the eye of every man in the house. She snorted a few lines, drank beer and practically spent the entire night with a cigarette between her fingers. At one point during the night she walked past Erica, who was talking to a guy, so Nikki just smiled and kept walking. A few minutes later a guy came up to Nikki and hit on her, but she didn’t think anything of it and moved on with her night.
As the party began to dwindle, Nikki got an update from Al about her progress on the night and then asked to be dropped off at her apartment. A bit tipsy, Nikki stumbled up the stairs and fumbled with her keys as she entered her apartment. She opened the door to find Erica sitting on the couch watching TV.
“Could you be any louder?” Erica snapped.
“Probably,” Nikki laughed as she opened the refrigerator for a bottle of water. “Why are you home so early? I saw you at the party.”
“Like you don’t know,” Erica said in disgust.
“I don’t,” Nikki said with a confused look on her face. “But, OK.”
“Remember the guy I was talking to when you walked by?” Erica asked. “Well, right after he saw you, it was the end of our conversation.”
“I turned that guy down,” Nikki laughed as she hung her leather blazer in the closet. “It’s not like I stole him from you.”
“That’s the point,” Erica said. “I’ve been interested in that guy for a month. He left me to go talk to you and you don’t even care about him.”
“I’m not quite sure what you want me to say,” Nikki said as she threw her hands in the air.
“Guys are always all over you and I don’t get it,” Erica complained as she stared a hole through her leather-clad roommate. “You smoke like a chimney, you’re covered in tattoos and you turn down every guy that talks to you after they pay for your drink. Plus I know about your little business with that janitor.”
“Oh yeah?” Nikki said sternly. “Prove it. I’m just a college girl.”
“You’re a bitch!” Erica shouted in disgust.
“I am a bitch, that’s right,” Nikki said with a smirk as she got nose-to-nose with Erica. “I’m also too drunk and tired to clean your blood off the floor so I’m going to let that go. Maybe instead of complaining about me, you should look in the mirror. You’re a hot little number and you’re smart, so why did that guy blow you off for me? Especially considering I’m not some slut he knew he could sleep with.”
Erica simply stood there without saying a word.
“Honey, I may not be a spoiled little rich girl like you, but I deserve to be here no matter what you and all those other bitches think,” Nikki scolded. “You can complain and you can threaten me, but you don’t know shit about what I do or who I am. Not that you have tried to get to know me at all anyway.”
With that, Nikki stalked off to her bedroom -- high-heels clicking along the way -- as Erica stood in silence watching her. There was nothing she could say in response. Nikki had made a stand and she made it clear she would never back down.
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