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as the final words poured out of the professor's mouth, the sound of bags zipping and low chatter from the students followed.

with a sigh of relief, gwendolyn powered off her ipad and stuffed her books into her bag. it had been another long day of classes in college, and yet her day still wasn't over.

trailing behind the line of students trying to leave the classroom, gwen listened in to their conversation wordlessly.

"i think we should all go out this friday!" one of the favored students spoke suddenly. the students around them roared with approval and applause.

"sure," one of them agreed. "where should we go?" a pile of ideas emerged along with a mix of laughs and giggles.

finally, they all settled on going out to eat. one of the students turned towards gwen and grinned. "hey, we've got room for one more person in my car, d'ya wanna come?"

shocked, gwen pulled her sleeve over her hand."oh! uh, thank you for the offer, but i can't. i'm working tonight." noticing the students that surveyed her, she left the room, muttering another "sorry," beneath her breath.

once she was out of sight, she shoved her airpod back into her ear. i don't think i'd hang out with them anyways. she thought.

having left the college campus and the embarrassing situation, she checked her phone again. 6:30. ten minutes for her to get to her shift before she checked in late. with another sigh, she speed-walked to work.

it was like that every day for gwendolyn, getting out of school around 6:30, or even later if the professor was excessively talking during the lecture. either way, it resulted in her getting to work late almost every day. the pay was as good as it could get for a college student like her—minimum wage with a bit of overtime.

sure, it stressed gwen out, but she hated the idea of relying on her parents for all that they had done for her. with her studies and work, she kept herself busy as best she could.

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with a quick ring from the florist's door as she entered, she gave a breathless smile. "i'm here! and not late!" her coworker rolled her eyes, eyes heavy with concealer and boredom.

"it wouldn't have mattered anyway. no one has come in the past hour or so." gwen gave a light chuckle at her coworkers monotone voice.

"at least you didn't get rude customers. silence is always better than a man yelling at you, isn't it?" gwendolyn quipped, placing her bag behind the counter and checking in. her coworker, scarlett, hummed in agreement.

"yeah. i guess you're right. it's better than some random ass bastard yelling his white ass at me anyways."

gwen glanced at scarlett. "i told you about swearing, scarlett." the said girl rolled her eyes and fiddled with her earrings.

"i don't see any customers in here. besides, i don't give two fucks if they hear me anyways." gwen laughed in defeat at scarlett's words.

"oh, alright then," gwen grinned, used to the girl's tone. "my shift is starting anyways. make sure to stay safe out there. and please don't start fights with anyone on the street!"

scarlett wrapped her scarf around her neck. "alright, i'll keep that in mind." and with another wave, scarlett left the shop with a ring of the bell.

pulling her textbooks from her bag, she sat them down and stared at them.

"guess it's just you and me," she pondered out loud. plopping herself onto the stool, she opened the books and started on her homework.

and that was how gwendolyn lived, every single day.

.°🌹°․

"will that be all?" karla questioned for the last time, looking at her employees sitting around the glass table. not hearing anything, she stood up and nodded. "that'll be it then." the employees waited quietly for karla to leave, bowing respectfully.

"mon dieu, ça a duré une éternité," the mafia boss groaned, running her hands through hair. the clicks of her heels echoed down the hallway, warning anyone in her path to get out of her way. (god, that lasted forever)

murmurs followed her as they got farther down towards her office. some freaking out about the deadpan look on her face, others gossiping about her horrific actions done, but most fawned over her stunning looks, which they weren't wrong in doing so.

karla valetin, one of the most feared mafia leaders was attractive. anyone who couldn't see it was simply blind.

gold earrings strung along the lobe of her ear, complimenting her dark skin. the tattoos drawn along her arm. hair running down both shoulders in a silk press, and her mocha lips laced with clear gloss.

inside her mafia business, she was painted as a stern, cold woman, never giving anyone a second chance and always getting what she wanted. outside during her free time (if she had any) she'd be partying and drinking all her stresses away— something typical for her.

pushing her office door open, she reclined with a heavy sigh onto her leather chair, rubbing her temples out of irritation. not even a minute before she had entered a knock was heard at her door. "come in," she grunted, throwing her feet onto the desktop.

entering was ezra, karla's best friend. taking one look at her defeated appearance, he took his head. "what happened to you? no more women in your bed?"

karla glared at him, eyes holding nothing but annoyance. "shut the fuck up. it's nothing. just stress," she snarled, taking off her jacket.

"whatever you say, fuckwad. anyways, there's some more information on the case," ezra pushed the manila folder towards karla. "they said she's moved somewhere else; somewhere near this flower shop and college."

the mafia boss rubbed her temples. "they give you any reason why she moved over there? seems random she'd move somewhere she could be easily spotted."

ezra gave a humorless laugh, "no clue, boss. so what's the plan about her?"

for the past couple of weeks, karla had been trying to track down a woman who had stolen at least half a million dollars from the mafia. of course, her stealing the money hadn't made much of a dent in the amount of money the mafia had, but it wouldn't end well for her.

after considering for a while, karla spoke, "get her location tomorrow and go to her personally. once you get here, bring her to me. i'll teach her a lesson." crossing her arms across her chest, karla's dark eyes met ezra's.

ezra nodded his head and gave a sincere smile. "alright, boss." taking another look at karla's face, he sat down in the chair in front of her. "until then, you wanna go out somewhere? you look like you got your ass beat."

rolling her eyes, karla gave a small grin. "oh, shut up." she threw herself up from her chair, pulling her jacket back on. "let's get out of here."

with a laugh, ezra threw his arm over karla's shoulder. "that's the spirit, boss. let's get outta this hell hole for a bit." karla smiled at her friend and pushed the door open, knowing that tomorrow morning she'd return home drunk, with a random girl in her bed before her day of work started.

and that was how karla lived.

what would happen if they met?