2113 North Wallace.
Last night, Kevin and Veronica were so hyped about the Costa Rica honeymoon trip Dexter promised that they stayed up way too late celebrating. As a result, when they woke up this morning, neither of them had the energy for their usual morning "exercise." They just dragged themselves out of bed to wash up.
"So, V, it's settled, right? No changes? We're getting married on the first of next month," Kevin asked.
Veronica nodded. "No changes. We've got more than half a month. That's enough time."
Kevin thought for a moment. "Aren't you a little nervous? We still need to pick a venue, get a dress..."
"Let me worry about all that," Veronica smiled. "You just focus on making enough money."
Kevin grinned, flashing his teeth. "Thanks to Dexter, business at the bar is booming. No problem."
Indeed, no problem.
Leaving aside what Kevin was making, just the tips Veronica pulled in at the restaurant every day were enough to pay for a lavish wedding with change to spare.
Veronica knew this; she was just teasing him earlier.
They finished getting ready and went downstairs for breakfast.
While eating.
Veronica hesitated. "There's still some time before work. Maybe I should go see Fiona?"
Kevin frowned at the mention of the Gallaghers; he couldn't be bothered with them. "You go. I'm not going. V, if she gives you attitude again, tell her to go fuck herself!"
Veronica gave a bitter smile and nodded. "Yeah."
After breakfast, Veronica grabbed two coffees and walked over to the Gallagher house.
At the door, she saw Tommy working next door. "Tommy! Make sure you make my boss's house look good."
Tommy smiled. "Don't worry. Once I'm done with this job, this house will be the best-looking one on the block."
Veronica nodded with a smile. "I'll be waiting to see it. If you're not bullshitting, Kevin and I will hire you to renovate ours too."
Hearing this, Tommy perked up, his smile brightening. "You got it! Just wait and see. You two are really raking it in now. I'm jealous as hell."
Veronica laughed happily, exchanged a few more words, then hurried up the steps and knocked on the Gallagher's door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Carl opened the door. "Hi, V."
"Good morning," Veronica smiled back. "Where's Fiona?"
"Upstairs cleaning, dealing with the probation officer," Carl replied, a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone.
Veronica nodded and went upstairs.
Fiona was busy in the room shared by Carl, Lip, and Ian. Seeing Veronica, she paused slightly, then forced a visibly stiff smile. "V."
This wasn't a great start.
Veronica's brow twitched slightly. She handed over the coffee. "Have a coffee. Welcome back."
Fiona took the coffee but didn't drink it, setting it aside. She gave another stiff smile. "I came back yesterday."
"..." Veronica suddenly realized coming here was a mistake. She didn't know what to say.
Just then, Ian looked at Fiona, then turned to Veronica with a smile and thanked her sincerely. "V, thank you and Kevin."
"Debbie told us. Right after we got locked up, you guys were the ones running around helping. Otherwise, Debbie and the others wouldn't have even had food to eat."
Now that was what a normal person should say.
Hearing this.
Veronica felt slightly gratified. "No problem. It's what we should do."
Fiona realized her earlier tone wasn't appropriate. She thought for a moment and thanked Veronica. "V, thanks a lot."
However, even though she said thanks, her tone and the smile on her face were still incredibly stiff.
Seeing this, Veronica lost interest in staying. "It's nothing. I just came to see how you were doing. I'm leaving now."
Dropping that line, Veronica turned and walked away.
She had planned to mention the wedding on the first of next month and offer Fiona a job at the Alibi if she needed one...
Heh.
Fuck that.
Walking down the stairs, Veronica angrily made a decision. Unless Fiona came over and apologized sincerely, there would be no Fiona at the wedding, and she could forget about working at the Alibi. And Veronica sure as hell wasn't coming back to this Gallagher hellhole!
Second Floor.
Watching Veronica storm off angrily.
Ian hesitated for a few seconds, but couldn't hold it back. He asked, "Fiona, what the hell is wrong with you?"
Fiona flinched slightly at the question. She looked at Ian but didn't say anything.
Ian felt helpless.
Lip was acting like a lunatic because of Karen.
Fiona was acting like an ungrateful bitch.
The Gallagher family was seriously sick.
---
Veronica stomped home.
Kevin took one look at her face and knew the visit hadn't gone well. "Don't be mad."
Veronica flopped down next to Kevin. "From today on, even if those Gallaghers drop dead, it's none of our business!"
"No problem," Kevin didn't care anyway and agreed readily.
Veronica vented for a bit. Soon it was time for work. They got in the car, picked up Vivian, and headed to the commercial district together.
It didn't take long.
Kevin unlocked the Alibi Room, and Vivian unlocked Dex Restaurant.
The workday began.
---
Dexter was walking the dog. Strolling along, he ended up across the street from Dex Fruit Stand.
The fruit stand had been open for a while.
Inside, Svetlana and several of her "sisters" were busy.
Dexter stopped, lit a cigarette, and watched quietly for a moment.
During the three months he was away, because business at the fruit stand was getting better, Svetlana brought in a few of her handjob-specialist friends to help out...
Svetlana had mentioned this the day he got back.
He had heard it and didn't really care at the time.
But now, watching them...
Something seemed off.
The profit margin on fruit was limited. Even if business was good, it wasn't exactly a goldmine.
Svetlana had brought in one, two, three, four... four sisters to help. And it didn't look like they were just helping out for a bit...
Where was the money to pay them coming from?
Those four Russian "artisans" weren't going to work for free.
So.
There were probably only two possibilities.
One: Svetlana's cleverness got the better of her, and she was cooking the books.
Two: Those four Russian artisans were using the fruit stand to run a different business.
Neither possibility was good.
Dexter exhaled a plume of smoke and grinned.
Money? He didn't care about the money.
But if Svetlana was playing him for a fool... well, he happened to be pretty free these next few days. Time for some fun.
Thinking this, Dexter led Dumb Nine across the street toward the fruit stand.
Arriving at the entrance.
Svetlana and the Russian sisters smiled and greeted him in unison.
Dexter smiled back, then beckoned to Svetlana. "Svetlana, come out for a sec. I need to talk to you."
Svetlana paused slightly. "Okay."
Soon.
The two stood side by side outside the fruit stand.
Dexter took out a cigarette and offered one to Svetlana.
Svetlana took it and lit it. Sensing this conversation wouldn't be pleasant, she took a hard drag and asked proactively, "Boss, is there a problem?"
Dexter smiled, answering with a question. "Are you satisfied with your life right now? Do you feel like you're doing all the work but only getting half the money? Is it unfair?"
Svetlana's heart skipped a beat. She looked at Dexter. "Boss, what are you saying? I don't think like that."
Dexter's smile widened. "It's okay. Thinking like that is normal. It's human nature."
Svetlana shook her head in denial. "Boss, really, I don't. What are you trying to say?"
"Those four sisters of yours... are they helping for free?" Dexter asked with a smile.
Svetlana's brow twitched, and her eyes flickered. "No..."
"How are they getting paid?" Dexter asked again.
Svetlana hesitated for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and decided to answer honestly. "Fruit delivery service."
Dexter laughed.
Sure enough.
Fruit Escorts...
"Your idea?" Dexter strongly suspected it was.
Svetlana nodded. "The parlor takes a huge cut. This way, they earn much more."
Pausing, Svetlana added, "Boss, I absolutely did not use the shop's money to pay them. Their help in the store can be considered free."
Dexter took a drag of his cigarette. "So, you're using my fruit stand as a front to run that kind of business... Interesting. How long has this been going on?"
Svetlana knew exactly how ruthless the man in front of her was. Images of those Mexicans getting blown to pieces flashed through her mind. She panicked a little.
"Not too long, just after you left... I'm sorry. I'll tell them to stop. Don't fire me." With the decent daily income from the fruit stand, Svetlana really didn't want to go back to being a handjob artist servicing smelly men.
Dexter ignored her plea. "How much do they make on average per day?"
Svetlana didn't quite understand why Dexter was asking this, but after thinking for a moment, she answered truthfully. "Two or three hundred dollars."
Tsk, tsk.
At this rate, that's nearly ten grand a month.
That's a high-income bracket!
More importantly, they've been doing it for months...
The rumor about "Dex Fruit Stand" having "Fruit Escorts" must have spread everywhere by now...
Damn it. And I'm the registered owner.
Dexter took a deep drag, his smile gone. He stared at Svetlana without blinking.
Svetlana felt a chill run down her spine under his gaze.
At the same time.
Svetlana couldn't tell if it was an illusion, but she felt that the Husky, Dumb Nine, squatting by Dexter's leg, was also looking at her fiercely, as if ready to bite at any moment.
"Boss, I was wrong..." Facing a ruthless character like Dexter, Svetlana couldn't toughen up.
Dexter didn't say anything. He finished his cigarette, threw the butt down, and crushed it under his foot.
"I have to think about what to do with you."
"Shut down that business for now."
"When I make up my mind, I'll find you."
With that, Dexter led Dumb Nine toward the restaurant.
Svetlana stood rooted to the spot, watching Dexter leave. She was panicked. Very panicked.
---