Chapter 8 Catered Chaos and Confessions

Sienna's POV

Sienna tugged at her oversized sweater as she strolled down the hallway, the hem swishing against the top of her equally oversized boyfriend jeans. Her sneakers squeaked faintly on the waxed linoleum, and her curly bun was loosely piled on top of her head like she gave up halfway through styling it—which, to be fair, she had. Friday fashion wasn’t for looks. It was for survival.

Just as she rounded the corner toward the smell of warm food and corporate exhaustion, a voice called out.

“Hey girl, you better get on this box lunch!”

Sienna smirked. “That’s what I came for.”

Kira was leaning against the wall, already holding an apple juice like it was a winning lottery ticket. “Good job on the mayor, by the way.”

“Thank you,” Sienna said casually, tugging her sweater sleeves down. “Still a long road.”

“You move fast. We barely got briefings goin’ and you already completed half the work. You gearing up to grab the warrants?”

Sienna shook her head. “Not yet. First, we need to map out all the drop spots. Then, double-trace those locations to make sure they’re legit. After that, we go for search warrants. CCTV pulls. Physical surveillance. You know some of these joints don’t even back their footage up, so we gotta be strategic, fast but thorough.”

Kira raised her eyebrows. “And you think the mayor didn’t do it right?”

“I think the mayor is dirty as hell. But I don’t think he’s the one stealing the money,” Sienna replied, eyes narrowing.

“Seriously?”

“I get this vibe off him. He’s got skeletons in the closet, for sure. But money theft? Feels too... sloppy for him. He’s more ‘blackmail and bribery’ dirty. Somebody else is running the scheme.”

Kira stared for a beat. “Welp. I’m tellin’ my brothers that.”

They both laughed as they entered the lunchroom. The tables were half full of employees pretending they weren’t watching each other eat. The boxed lunches were stacked like Jenga bricks at the front.

Kira gave Sienna a once-over. “So, what do you call this look? Oversized slouchy chic?”

Sienna blinked. “Why is everybody so obsessed with my damn clothes? I came to work to work, not to serve runway.”

Kira held her hands up. “I was just asking! You look like baggy Friday personified.”

“This is casual ‘leave me the hell alone’ wear,” Sienna said dryly. “But if you see me Monday in something different, it’s because my bestie is taking me on a shopping spree that I’m paying for. She's just coming along to influence my wallet.”

Kira laughed. “Where y’all going?”

“Premium outlets in Aurora. If I don’t find anything, Oakbrook Mall after that.”

“Girl, you know them outlets be packed! You'd better be there at 9 a.m. sharp.”

“Tell me about it. They say people broke, but them shopping lines say otherwise.”

They grabbed their boxes and made their way to a table in the back corner... quiet, but with a decent view of the whole room.

Just as they sat, Carmen slid into the seat beside them like she’d been summoned. “Hey!”

Kira looked up. “What are you still doin’ here? I thought you were part-time.”

“I decided to stay the whole day. I'm leaving town Sunday with my new boo, Pat. So no work on Monday.”

Sienna grinned. “New boo, huh? You like him?”

Carmen sighed dramatically. “He takes care of me in every way except sexually.”

Sienna nearly choked on her water. “I need someone to take care of me in every way!”

“Shit, that was me three days ago,” Carmen said. “i need to give Pat a test drive?”

Kira leaned in. “So Sienna, when was the last time you had a man... or even a date?”

Sienna sucked her teeth. “Girl. I went on a Tinder date two weeks ago. This asshat thought the plan was McDonald's and then straight back to my house.”

Kira gagged. “WHAT?!”

“I told him hell no, get out my car. And guess what, he didn’t even have a car, girl.”

They all burst out laughing.

Kira counted on her fingers. “So: no car, no real date, and tried to N*****x and chill on a $2 budget? Girl, that’s three strikes.”

“Exactly. And honestly? The last guy I actually dated? That was like a year ago.”

Carmen leaned in, lowering her voice. “Okay but when’s the last time you got some?”

Sienna smirked. “Ten months ago. And even that was just a quick booty call. Not even good.”

Both women gasped. “TEN?”

“Yeah. If I called him now, he’d come through. It’s always protected and everything, but the quality? Meh. Now, the last time I had some good good... that was two years ago.”

Kira nearly spit out her juice. “Two. Whole. YEARS?”

“SHHH!” Sienna hissed. “Damn, are you trying to tell the whole floor?”

Carmen laughed so hard she almost snorted. “Two years for good dick? Ten months for bad? Girl…”

“I got a B.O.B. It gets me by.”

“Ain’t nothing wrong with a B.O.B.,” Kira said, “but sometimes you need the real thing. Like the man meat.”

They all cackled, oblivious to the fact that three sets of ears were eavesdropping from behind the partitioned wall.

Knox, Kole, and Crandon were frozen in place behind the wall, listening in stunned silence.

“She hasn’t had sex in two years?” Crandon whispered.

“Shhh,” Knox whispered, eyes locked on the table like he could see through walls. “I don’t wanna miss a word.”

Back at the table, Sienna had slipped fully into confessional mode.

“I’ve only had four real boyfriends. My high school one? He was my first. We waited till college. It was… okay. But you don’t know what good is till you have something to compare. So at the time, I thought his sex was amazing ”

Carmen and Kira nodded like a gospel choir.

“Then came the second guy... Raymond. When I tell you he BLEW my back out? My side out. My brain out. He ruined me. Had me sleeping in his hallway waitin’ for him to get home.”

They howled.

“He was that good. 9 inches always on ready. Any room, any time. But of course… he was a cheater. I caught him with my roommate's sister in our room. He was such an asshole”

“Whew, they always are,” Carmen muttered.

“Third guy was meh. Just a time passer. He’s the one I call for hookups.”

“And the fourth?” Kira asked.

Sienna sipped her drink. “Too big.”

Silence.

“Too what?” Carmen blinked.

“Too big. Too thick. Like, baby’s leg big.”

“NO,” Kira gasped.

“Yes. People always say they want a big dick, but no they don’t. He was practically swinging to his damn kneecap. I was terrified.”

Carmen whispered, “Did you even…?”

“I tried. Once. Barely. I told him to take that monster somewhere else. I think he does OnlyFans now.”

They dissolved into laughter.

Knox, still at the table with Crandon, looked like he was questioning every decision he’d ever made. Two years. Ruined by an ex. Sleeping in hallways? Is this girl for real?

He felt a strange blend of sympathy, respect, and, was that… competitiveness?

And just as Sienna wiped tears of laughter from her eyes, Kira raised a brow. “Well, I’ve only been with Martin. My one and only.”

Carmen and Sienna blinked. “Damn. That man must check every box.”

Kira smiled proudly. “Everyone. And I’m tellin’ you, we are in sync.”

Sienna leaned back and grinned. “Girl, if I ever find that, I’m hangin’ up my B.O.B. for good.”

And from the table?

Knox whispered, “Game. On.”