Bitten (Book 1 - Book 4) novel Chapter 103

Lisa looked at her with concern and some disappointment.

“I do own the building next door. We can check out those apartments,” Natalia said.

Lisa smiled and looked hopeful.

“Deal,” Yiggy said. “Whole building.”

“Whole building. Now what about rent and what you are paid?”

“All monies we get for sheaths and the food is ours,” Kimi said, stepping in. “All the other work we do is for rent.”

“The whole building is a lot of rent,” Natalia said.

“We’ll do all the renovations,” Kimi said. “You eat for free here. Lisa eats for free here. We’ll make a lot of things for you to sell. We have good connections to get you high-quality fabric for low costs.”

Natalia knew this was a great deal for them, but she was also thinking this was a great way to launder the money Uri and she had stolen and was sitting in the wall in Victoria’s room. The rent for the building and the apartments was almost twenty thousand a month. Plus she could book phantom salaries for Yiggy and Kimi as expenses to offset some of the monies coming in. Her mind was running through the numbers and every way she looked at it, they were coming out ahead. She had the feeling once Uri started adding up the numbers, he would find even more ways to pull in that money.

“Deal,” Natalia said. “Here is a key to the front. I’ll get keys made for the other doors. Let’s go down and let those movers know where to unload your things.”

Once back down on the main floor, Yiggy and Kimi headed to the back to talk to the movers. Natalia led Lisa next door.

“Let’s hope this master key is really a master.”

The building Natalia selected looked like it was either all apartments or office spaces. The key worked, and they stepped into a dusty foyer.

“A little cleaning. Some paint. We’re good,” Lisa said, looking around and acting as if that was the easiest thing in the world to do.

“I love your optimism,” Natalia said. “This door leads to offices.”

“Fourteen mailboxes,” Lisa said. “The numbering makes me think there are eight apartments and the rest are for offices down here.”

Lisa opened a door that had no number on it.

“Stairs going up,” Lisa said.

The stairs were covered in dust and cobwebs.

“No one has been in here for a while,” Natalia said. “I think Uri has only been having the storefronts cleaned up.”

They left footprints in the dust.

The top of the stairs opened out to a long and wide hallway. All the doors were open. There were four apartments on this floor which matched the mailbox numbering.

“Oh, my word, Nattie. These are huge. This one has two bathrooms. Three bedrooms. Look at this kitchen.”

“Bigger than next door,” Natalia said.

She peered into one bathroom. The toilet had black water sitting in it. There was a little bit of a sewer stink to the room. She backed out to rejoin Lisa in the living room.

“You need a sewing room and a guest bedroom. Perfect,” Natalia said with a shrug. “Which one do you want?”

“This one. It’s in the front, and it gets sunlight. I also like the layout the best.”

“There you go. Your new address is number 5 Nattie Ave, apartment two zero two.”

“Oh, Nattie.”

Lisa hugged her.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Tell me you’ll always be my friend despite I just gave you a whole lot of work to do. This place needs a deep clean.”

“Where’s a broom. I’m on it.”

Natalia laughed.

“I’ll get the lock rekeyed. Let’s go back down.”

When they returned to the shop, Lisa jumped in to help haul things in. For now, it seemed Yiggy wanted everything in the basement.

“We want this main floor to remain clear until it’s cleaned and painted,” Kimi said. “I’ve called in my brothers.”

“A lot of work.”

“They like to work,” she said, heading back to rejoin Lisa and Yiggy in the back.

Natalia could feel their excitement over the shop. She hoped this all worked out.

“She’s moving in already?”

Natalia swung around to see Uri and Moralis coming through the front door.

“She’s taking the whole building,” she said.

Uri raised his eyebrows.

“I have Lisa taking an apartment next door in building number five. Apartment number two zero two.”

“Once you get one person in, the rest will follow,” Moralis said. “This is going to open the flood gates.”

“I’m already getting flooded with inquiries,” Uri said.

“This is all your fault, Moralis.”

“Mine?”

“You’re the one who got her evicted. The tailor that is,” Natalia said.

“Me?”

“You forced the downtown landlords to clean up. So, of course, they went around and evicted everyone who wasn’t maintaining a pretty store front.”

Moralis laughed.

“I think that qualifies you for a subsidy when you take in a displaced business,” Moralis said.

“Did you just make that up?” she said.

“Actually, no. It’s already on the books. So, when is your Grand Opening?”

“The way I see things moving right now, probably tomorrow.”

Both Moralis and Uri laughed.

“Make it a big deal. Give me a little more notice and the Mayor will show up,” Moralis said.

“Let me check,” Natalia said. “Kimi?”

It was a few moments before she appeared.

“How long to do the renovations and open up?” Natalia said.

“One week.”

“Only one week?”

“You’re kidding,” Uri said.

Kimi shook her head.

“We will be up and running in one week.”

“Looks like next Saturday is our big Grand Opening,” Natalia said.

“We can do,” Kimi said with conviction.

She jogged off.

Moralis smiled.

“I don’t believe her,” Uri said, looking a little dubious.

“All of Yiggy’s stuff is already here,” Natalia said. “They just have to clean and paint. I already left a voice message for the sign painter.”

“One week,” Moralis said. “Do advertising. It’ll go over big. You might be the first business opening in Hell. You’ll push others to get things done.”

“What are we calling this place?” Uri said.

“A Stitch By Design.”

“Catchy,” Moralis said. “I’ll tell Francie to spread the word.”

“So, what are you two doing here?” she said.

“We don’t really manage much with club night anymore. We were more curious about the shop,” Uri said. “What is next door?”

Natalia led them over.

“We better get a plumber to check the place,” he said with a flare of his nostrils.

They spent almost an hour walking through the building.

“We better get Lisa and take her home. We all need dinner and it’s work tomorrow,” Natalia said, leading them back.

“Catch you tomorrow, Uri,” Moralis said, leaving.

“Lisa. We should take you home.”

“All set. Thank you,” Lisa said.

Her work clothes were looking dirty.

“My brothers will take us home,” Kimi said. “We have work to do.”

Lisa was a chatterbox on the way home. She kept listing all the things that she needed to do. Natalia let her talk, knowing how excited she was. Once she was dropped off, Natalia explained to Uri the deal she had made with Yiggy about the shop. As she expected, he thought of a whole lot more ways to pull in the stolen money.

“We can use Lisa as apartment manager as well. That will pay for her apartment. I have an idea for a salary plus commission.”

“You’ve thought it all out,” Uri said, looking impressed.

The sign painter called, but all he wanted was her to text him the address where the sign needed to be painted and what the sign should say.

“That was easy,” she said.

“It will be in gold and the same font as the building number,” Uri said. “He has stencils and just spray paints it on.”

“I so need dinner,” she said when the limo pulled into the laneway.

“Ditto. I let Mag know we were running late.”

Uri pulled her out as soon as the limo stopped. He seemed to be in a hurry to get inside.

‘Goodnight, Bonnie,’ Natalia said.

Once inside, Victoria came running.

‘Mommy. Mommy. Mommy.’

She crashed into her with a hug.

‘Easy there, sweet girl.’

Natalia picked her up to give her a kiss on the cheek and put her down. Victoria ran off.

‘Hey. What about Daddy?’ Uri said.

Victoria came running back.

Uri grabbed her up, flipped her upside down and kissed her ass cheek. Victoria was giggling hysterically. Uri put her back down on her feet, and she ran off.

Natalia laughed.

Zena appeared. She was looking stern.

“Someone...”

‘We can talk about her in front of her,’ Natalia said.

‘Someone is using the litter box who is not a cat.’

Natalia knew in an instant she meant Victoria. The image of her child squatting and using the litter box caused her to break out laughing. Tears ran from her eyes.

‘I’m serious,’ Zena said.

‘I have to go pee,’ Natalia said, wiping her eyes.

She headed for the bathroom under the stairs.

‘Victoria.’

Victoria ran after her.

Natalia shut the door behind them.

‘Girls sit on the toilet to pee,’ she said, while she did just that. ‘Kitties use a litter box because they can’t use the toilet. Kitties don’t get to go visit friends, like Becky.’