Ivan had left the shooting range some time ago but Rosie hadn’t been paying attention to him so she didn’t notice when he left.
"Give me your phone," Rosie demanded boldly, holding out a perfectly manicured hand.
Jazz cocked a brow, her endless patience showing steely confidence underneath. "You forgot to cock your gun," She said dryly.
"I’m not robbing you, just giving you something you should have asked for." Rosie charged right on.
Jazz gave her a proper look now, "Did she give the go-ahead for you to give me her number?"
Rosie gave the trainer a look, needing to crane her head back a bit. "You’ve met her, I can’t believe you’re asking that."
"But..." Jazz hesitated.
Rosie was prepared to strip her down if she delayed any further. She knew they both needed this first push, and after that, however things went, it had nothing to do with her. "Just call her or text. I’ll make sure she’s here same time next week."
Jazz relented and provided her phone, looking past Rosie to see Patty chatting with Jael. She couldn’t see his face, but she could see hers and the red flush that suffused her face as she kept her gaze stoically on the ground.
It made her frown, and she wondered if she should have gotten herself entangled with the odd group. After today, she wouldn’t have had to see them again; she could easily avoid them.
Rosie saved her friend’s number and then looked up, trailing after Jazz’s gaze, "Don’t worry about him," She said with a smile that wasn’t convincing at all.
Jazz glanced down at her, retrieving her phone. "Why? You want him for yourself?"
Rosie’s expression turned evil, reminded of what had happened that morning. "Yes," She said with a smile that was as dangerous as it was sweet.
Jazz watched the red-head walk off with a look of concern, wondering if she should give Jael a heads up about what was coming his way.
Rosie leaving left Patty and Jael all alone, Jael turned to the shivering accountant, wondering if he should just walk off as well.
"So... how did your session go?" He asked to make small talk and hopefully diffuse some of the tension.
Patty had her eyes affixed to the vinyl flooring, "Fine," She mumbled, her voice barely audible. "Well, less than fine, I’m sure Jazz is going to need to put some ice on her head. She said I was doing fine but I doubt it, she was probably just being nice."
Jael was honestly surprised, he had never heard Patty string so many words together. She only seemed to be able to talk about her trainer but that was progress regardless.
"Jazz doesn’t seem like the type of person to say things for the sake of it." Jael said cautiously, testing the waters.
Patty looked up at him, really considering his words. "You really think so? I mean, when I finally managed to get a shot all by myself, I nearly hit the bullseye..."
Jael looked over his shoulder to see Rosie coming over, Jazz watching him cryptically.
"...I wouldn’t be able to face Jazz next week if I’m just as awful, maybe you could give me some tips..." Patty went on, having a lot of words to say when it had to do with her trainer.
"Sure, I could do that," Jael agreed easily, relaxing for the first time.
Rosie arrived then, her face giving away nothing. "Let’s head back, I’m starving."
Caspian finally joined them, an exasperated expression on his face. "Asher is out in the parking lot," He announced to the others.
He had spent the last ten minutes trying to convince his mate to stay put that he was coming home but that had gone right over Asher’s head.
"He lasted longer than I thought," Jael commented, leading the way out.
Asher was striding in at the same time that they returned to the reception, the Mafia King had his signature fur coat slung over his shoulders, dark red hair wild.
The receptionist gawked at this, somehow managing to look more shocked when Mafia King Asher beelined to the pretty male Omega.
"I told you I was fine..." Caspian was protesting as soon as his mate was within earshot.
Patty on the other hand was just realizing that Rosie had gone off to talk to her trainer. "What did you say to Jazz? Did she say anything about how bad I was?"
Jael took one look at the rowdy group and noiselessly slipped out of the establishment. It had been a while since he had gone on a drive, and it was probably best he avoided lunch so that Rosie didn’t try out her newly learned skills on him.
The men outside said nothing at his presence, not even when he got a cab and left all alone.
Angelo was curled up on a cozy sofa in Nikolai’s office. His hair was in a lazy knot because the Mafia King had already gotten to his meticulously made braid in the morning and he couldn’t be bothered to put in any more effort.
Nikolai rose to his feet, dark blue eyes zeroing in on his hair. Angelo instinctively lifted his shoulders to try to protect his hair from the handsy Mafia King.
"We’re going downtown." Nikolai said instead, starting for the door.
Angelo hopped to his feet with lithe grace, happy to do something other than laze in the spacious office. There was a constant stream of people coming to see Nikolai or outrightly dragged in but there was little that was required of Angelo.
He had been just about to put the large television on to keep himself occupied when Nikolai said they were heading out.
Coexisting with Nikolai had been surprisingly peaceful, the Mafia King seemed to be in complete control of his turf, and that left Angelo with nothing to do.
He had considered asking for a task to be given to him but he knew he hadn’t earned the right to be given one yet.
Their trip downtown would no doubt be the same as their last one, where he wouldn’t have to do anything but sit back and watch the show.