Bonnie dug into a carton of Butter Pecan ice cream while she waited for Tyler. They stopped at a gas station to fill up the tank before returning to the club. The couple had spent 2.5 blissful hours back at her suite. Bonnie was not ashamed to admit that one of those hours had been dedicated to a cat nap. She felt refreshed and ready to get down to business now. Her earlier meltdown felt like a distant memory. She was beginning to see the wisdom in Lucy's motto 'a stiff dick is almost as good as a stiff drink'.
Bonnie still looked amazing despite an extended tumble between the sheets with Tyler. She had spent time touching up her make-up and fixing her hair. Tyler had been careful not to leave any passion marks on her skin since her dress was rather revealing. She had also taken a quick shower to freshen up. It wasn't as thorough as she would have liked but it was better than nothing. Bonnie couldn't walk into a meeting looking as if she had been ridden hard and put away wet. Convincing men to take her seriously as the boss was already challenging without involving the element of sex.
She received several messages from her father before they left the hotel. He assured Bonnie that the everything was proceeding as planned. Rudy, Tommy, and Michael were at the club. They were enjoying a few drinks while talking to Klaus and Marcel. The men had been discussing their new business arrangement for almost two weeks. Tonight Klaus would get to sample the product and make his final decision. Bonnie was eager to close the deal with Klaus, but she was also interested in meeting Tommy. Rudy considered this man to be his brother. She was eager to talk to someone that didn't have a reason to hate her father. Bonnie knew that her family's opinions of Rudy were tainted because he abused Abby during their marriage. They could not find a single redeeming quality and Bonnie did not blame them for that.
Tyler climbed into the car and finished responding to a text from Mason. He locked the doors and then looked over at Bonnie with a grin.
"What?" she asked suspiciously. She didn't like the way he was eying her ice cream.
He opened his mouth expectantly.
Bonnie pouted and complained, "But you bought this ice cream for me, Ty."
Tyler corrected his girlfriend with a smile, "I bought you two pints of ice cream so that you would share a few spoonfuls with me."
Bonnie frowned at him but relented because he had a point. She was just being greedy. She fed Tyler a couple scoops of ice cream.
He licked his lips and said, "Mmmm, nutty."
She giggled and said, "I really want to insert a double entendre here but I won't."
Tyler chuckled, "Good girl, it is Sunday. What would Father Finn think of you making sexually suggestive remarks on the Lord's day?"
"I'm sure he thinks we're both going to hell considering that we spent the last few hours committing adultery," Bonnie said thoughtfully.
He started the car and said, "And he would be right but it was totally worth it."
Bonnie slapped his thigh playfully. "Ty!"
Tyler shrugged his shoulders as he pulled out of the parking lot. "I am going to hell for most of the stuff that I do. At some point, I might regret some of the sins I have committed. But being with you could never be one of those regrets."
"Are you angling for more of my ice cream? Because that is how you get more of my ice cream," Bonnie replied with a small smirk.
He waited until he hit a red light and then opened his mouth again.
She shoveled another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. Bonnie understood Tyler's internal struggle. They both grew up in religious families. They both believed in the church's teachings but regularly ignored them. Somehow they had to reconcile their faith with the sins they committed for their families. Bonnie, like Tyler, had accepted that she would go to hell to pay for her sins. It was just another burden they were called to bear for their families.
Bonnie finished off the first pint of ice cream and cracked open the second one. She admitted, "You were smart to buy two pints."
He chuckled, "I am well acquainted with your legendary sweet tooth."
She held up a spoonful of ice cream. "You want?"
Tyler shook his head and pecked her cheek. "That's all you, Bon. Enjoy."
Bonnie grinned. "Thanks."
Tyler was glad that Bonnie suggested they spend a couple hours at the hotel. He felt more relaxed and ready to focus on this deal. Tyler wanted Klaus dead for what he did to Bonnie but he served at her pleasure. He would have to tolerate the son of a bitch for as long as Bonnie wanted Klaus to live. However, Tyler salivated when he thought about the moment when Klaus outlived his usefulness. Some part of Tyler hoped that he would refuse the proposal tonight, but he wasn't that lucky. Tyler would have to remember that this deal would benefit him greatly.
After his initial reluctance, he accepted Bonnie's offer to make him a capo. It was a huge step in his career. Moreover, it spoke to how much Bonnie trusted his judgement and business acumen. He knew that she wouldn't have given him the position out of sheer nepotism. Bonnie had proven that business came before her own happiness. She certainly wouldn't value Tyler's happiness above the business. He had already started assembling his crew. Tyler was cherry picking from family members and the moles that Bonnie willingly outed to the Salvatore organization. He had some other plans in the works, too. Namely, he wanted to bring a couple cousins over from Milazzo. It would help strengthen the bonds between the two families.
Bonnie finished devouring the second pint of ice cream as Tyler pulled into the club's parking lot. She tucked the empty containers into the shopping bag and tossed it into the backseat. Then she pulled down the mirror and retouched her lipstick.
Tyler had an easy time finding a parking space because the club had closed for the night. He turned off the car and looked at Bonnie. "Ready?"
She nodded. "Let's go make this money."
He climbed out the car and then walked around to Bonnie's door. He helped her out the car and made sure to set the alarm before they walked up to the main entrance.
The doors opened before they could knock.
Marcel smiled. "Welcome back. Klaus is waiting for you in the office, Mrs. Salvatore."
Tyler tensed at the mention of Damon's last name. He resisted the urge to correct Marcel. Bonnie's last name was Bennett-Salvatore.
Bonnie returned Marcel's smile. "Thanks."
The couple entered the mostly deserted club. The staff was already hard at work cleaning the main floor. Bonnie and Tyler headed toward the back of the club where Klaus' office was located.
Tyler looked up and saw that their family was still getting drunk in the VIP section. He also saw that the Mikaelson family were still celebrating, too. However, both families were merely ensuring that this meeting stayed cordial. The organizations did not have an alliance in place. Their peaceful relationship had always been dependent on the Salvatore organization serving as a go-between. Bonnie planned to change that tonight.
The spacious office was filled with gift baskets and crates of expensive champagne. Klaus had been receiving gifts for weeks to celebrate his release from prison. Eventually, he would have to figure out what to do with everything.
As the office door opened, Klaus wiped at his nose to clean away any traces of the cocaine he had snorted. Marcel, Thierry, and Kol had joined him in testing Mora's product. It was as good as advertised.
Rudy stood up when his daughter walked into the room. He embraced Bonnie and said, "Happy New Year, ketsele."
She kissed his cheek and replied, "Happy New Year, Abba. I hope we aren't late."
Klaus took a sip of his drink and allowed himself a moment to admire Bonnie's beauty. She looked stunning in that dress. He said, "Not at all. Please have a seat, Bonnie."
Andrew was standing behind his uncle feeling much too sober for having spent New Year's Eve in a nightclub. He certainly hadn't been allowed to sample the cocaine...despite Kol's encouragement.
Marcel walked into the office with Lucy and then closed the door. The club's staff knew better than to talk out of school. However, it was better to remove even the hint of temptation.
Bonnie chose to sit in a chair situated beside Klaus' desk. If Bonnie was sitting any closer to Klaus, she would be behind his desk. She didn't want to start the meeting behaving as if they were adversaries. Bonnie wanted to be business partners and friends. She crossed her legs and said, "Thank you for meeting with us, Nik."
"Well, what your father and Mr. Mora are proposing sounds interesting but I am assuming there is a catch," Niklaus said.
Michael frowned when his name wasn't mentioned. He was at least two decades older than everyone in the room. Moreover, he would be running point moving forward. He didn't care that his godson was using this deal as a way to get him out of Fremont. Michael was finally ascending to a position of prominence-where he always should have been.
She smiled and said, "I wouldn't call it a catch...it is more of an opportunity. If you start moving that much product, you will need someone to launder all of that filthy money. Your brother isn't going to be able to launder that much drug money without drawing the attention of the feds. He is going to tell you to spread the cash around to different launderers. It might work in the short-term but eventually you will need a more permanent arrangement."
Klaus nodded because Bonnie was right on all accounts. He had already discussed the particulars with Elijah. He needed his brother's approval to pursue a venture this large in scale. The Mikaelson organization didn't have the infrastructure to clean the large sums of money he would be making. Furthermore, their money laundering outfits were already working at capacity. His brother gave him a list of independent launderers they had used in the past if there was an overflow. Klaus would have to cobble together a network on the fly to make this deal work. He smiled at Bonnie because he realized that she was the motivating force behind Mora's decision to approach him. "You want to launder my money?"
Tyler extended a manila envelope to Bonnie. He had spent the last few days gathering the information necessary for this meeting.
She took the envelope and removed several sheets of paper. Bonnie passed them to Klaus. "My family has been laundering money up and down the coast for a very long time, Nik. In the last year, we have increased our capacity by 35%. We could easily handle your new influx of cash. Our business model is also flexible enough to expand if demand increases."
Andrew was intrigued by Bonnie's use of his uncle's nickname. Only family members and very close friends addressed him as 'Nik'.
Klaus skimmed the sheets of paper. Bonnie had assembled an impressive list of money laundering fronts owned by her family. He recognized some of these businesses as fronts but some of the others came as a surprise.
Marcel moved closer so that he could examine the list, too.
Bonnie continued, "That is just a sampling of our West Coast interests. As you know, we have also have business interests on the East Coast as well as in Canada and Europe."
Klaus sat back in his chair as he considered the offer. He asked, "How much is this generous offer going to cost me?"
Tyler passed Bonnie a slip of paper.
She slid the paper across the desk to him. "I know for a fact that my offer is several percentage points lower than what the Trujillos will be able to offer you. They are by far the largest independent launderers in the area. I also know that their current set up isn't large enough to handle all of the money you will start making."
Klaus opened the slip of the paper and nodded when he saw the number. He passed it along to Marcel. "This is quite generous...I'm back to looking for the catch."
Bonnie laughed softly. "There is no catch, Nik. That is what I like to call the friends and family rate. We are friends, right?"
He looked at his bandaged hand as realization struck him. She had been angling for this arrangement from the moment her goons sliced up his hand. Killing him would have been petty revenge, the smarter play was to make him an ally. He stared into her bright green eyes for a moment and returned her smile. "Yes, we are friends. How soon would you be able to start cleaning my profits?"
"We can start cleaning your money as soon as you start making it. I would love to give you a tour of some of our fronts. That way you can get a feel for our set-up," Bonnie offered.
Klaus nodded. "And if I wanted to check out your international operation. Can you travel in your condition?"
"I am clear to travel for the foreseeable future. However, Tyler, Lucy, and my cousin Cristian will be running point on this. They will be at your disposal 24/7," she replied.
Klaus felt envious when he looked at the younger man. Of course he had heard the rumors that Bonnie had taken up with the Lockwood boy. He was sure that Damon was beside himself. Klaus probably would have balked if Tyler was the only one handling his business. The boy was still wet behind the ears in his opinion. However, Lucy and Cristian's reputations preceded them. Ultimately, establishing a relationship with Bonnie's organization was just smart business for him.
"Then I believe that we have a deal, love," Klaus replied.
Bonnie stood up to shake his hand. "I am glad to hear that, Nik. I look forward to working with you."
He stood and shook Bonnie's hand. Afterwards, he turned and shook the hands of Mora's group. "When can I expect the first shipment?"
Michael spoke up before Tommy could answer the question. He said, "You can expect the first shipment in three weeks. Is that enough time for you?"
Klaus looked at Marcel for confirmation.
Marcel nodded, "That's plenty of time to get a packaging operation up and running."
Michael smiled. "Great. When we get a little closer to the date, I will contact you with the details."
"Thank you," Klaus replied.
Bonnie said, "Well, I really should be going. Will I see you at Mass later today?"
He smiled. "Yes, you will."
She gave Klaus a friendly hug and said, "Good. Please, call me whenever you are ready to set up your tour. You have my number, right?"
"That I do," he replied.
Lucy said, "I will make sure that you have all of our numbers."
Klaus smiled. "Great."
Bonnie hugged Rudy. "I'll see you back at Mama's house, right?"
"Of course, ketsele," he replied.
"I hope I see you there too, Mr. Mora. I look forward to picking your brain about dear old dad," she said with an impish smile.
Tommy's coal black hair was beginning to gray at the temples. He said, "I look forward to that conversation."
Bonnie gave a parting wave as she exited the office. She could not be more pleased with how things worked out tonight.
Tyler whistled loudly as they entered the main part of the club. He rotated his finger in the air to signal it was time to go. He took Bonnie's hand and asked, "Did you want to stop anywhere before going back to Abby's house?"
She shook her head. "I know that Mama and the kids are safe, but I would really like to lay eyes on them right now."
"I don't blame you," he muttered softly.
Tyler knew that Bonnie was still shaken by what happened earlier. She tried to act as if her childhood didn't haunt her, but he knew better. Unfortunately, she kept that pain locked up like Fort Knox. It would take more time and privacy than they currently had to pry the truth out of Bonnie. He just hoped that in the coming days she would be willing to talk honestly.
Bonnie's entourage exited the club and climbed into the armored SUVs. They were all going back to Abby's house for a somewhat subdued after party.
Gemma, Lucy, and Cristian climbed into the back of the car Tyler was driving.
Once they were on the road, Bonnie drummed her hands against the dashboard and let out an exhilarated scream.
Lucy cackled and said, "That is how you fucking do business! I am proud of you, baby girl! So damn proud!"
"We all are," Tyler added with a grin.
Bonnie giggled and said, "I couldn't have done it without everyone playing their parts. Y'all know that I loved Grams but she was too focused on the Salvatore family."
Cristian nodded in agreement. His grandfather had lamented the situation for a long time. Sheila had been obsessed with accomplishing her mother's plan to rob the Salvatore family blind. However, Emily's plan came with a cost. Cristian hoped that Bonnie would be the first in her line to escape without paying the toll.
"Preach!" Lucy replied.
"I still plan for my son to one day take over that organization. But I am going to make sure that the one I was born into...reaches new heights. We do that by making new alliances and expanding," Bonnie declared.
Gemma grinned from the backseat. "You have your foot in the door with the Mikaelsons, cugine. What is next?"
"The most important thing is getting Aunt Ayana into the CEO position at Velocita. I can't believe that Grams made that concession during the merger," Bonnie complained.
Lucy said, "Damon has been uncharacteristically calm about the whole thing."
"I know. His silence has me worried. I shouldn't have given him an opportunity to step down. I should have just sprung the no-confidence vote on him," she replied.
Cristian said, "You took the high road."
She sighed, "Yes, but taking the high road might have fucked up everything."
Lucy said, "Maybe but we still have enough votes to oust Damon."
Bonnie said, "I am not worried about unseating him. The shit I can leak to the tabloids will be enough to get the board to vote him out. I saved all the slutty text messages and pictures Katherine sent me over the years. It would be humiliating for everyone involved but I am willing to do what is necessary to wrest control of Velocita away from the Salvatore family."
Lucy looked uncertain. "That's nuclear as fuck, Bon. Are you sure about that?"
"I would give Damon a heads up so that he can do the right thing," she replied.
Lucy glanced at Gemma and Cristian but didn't respond. Bonnie was obviously pissed because of Damon's stunt earlier.
Cristian said, "Here's hoping it won't come to that."
Bonnie said, "I am more concerned that Damon will try to put one of his fucking uncles into the top spot. Ric is a sack of shit…"
"But Zach has the reputation as an upstanding citizen," Lucy added.
Bonnie nodded. "He's also been working at Velocita for about fifteen years. He ran point on the merger between Velocita and BTS. Zach has the bona fides to get the CEO position without any underhanded maneuvers on Damon's part. If he was smart…"
"And he is," Lucy reluctantly admitted.
"If Damon was smart he would agree to step down and immediately nominate Zach to take his place," the younger woman finished with a scowl.
Tyler scowled and said, "That makes the votes we've worked our asses off to secure completely useless. The same people that wouldn't think twice about ousting Damon, might be inclined to promote Zach to the big chair."
Bonnie said, "Then we're fucked because Zach's learning curve will be smaller than Aunt Ayana's would be. He's been the COO since the merger. While she's been the executive vice president."
Lucy argued, "Aunt Ayana was the COO of BTS before the merger."
"That is an argument that would be made before the shareholders but there are no guarantees the votes would go our way," she replied.
Cristian said, "We can be sure that our people will vote our way but the rest are up in the air…"
Gemma pondered aloud, "Perhaps they could be persuaded."
"It might be the simplest solution but there could be fall out. Resorting to blackmail could convince the members to vote against us. Besides, Velocita is clean and we should keep it that way."
Lucy said, "There is more than one way to skin a cat, baby girl. Persuasion doesn't always have to be blackmail. Everyone has a price…"
"Maybe." Bonnie shook her head. "We need a plan B in case Damon tries to fuck me over on this. If Zach is promoted, we need to make sure Aunt Ayana takes his former position."
Tyler said, "I'll talk to my old man about it."
She looked at Lucy. "Get Mama and Aunt Geneva involved, too. They have a better grasp on everyone in our family that owns voting shares in Velocita."
"Okay," Lucy agreed.
Tyler pulled into the driveway at Abby's house and turned off the car.
Everyone exited the car and headed into house.
Despite the late hour, music was playing and the kids were wide awake. Bonnie shouldn't have been surprised. The kids had napped well into the evening. The emotional afternoon had worn them out.
Sarah grinned when Bonnie walked into the living room. She scrambled off Geneva's lap and rushed into her mother's arms. "Mama!"
Bonnie lifted Sarah up and hugged her tight. "What are you doing awake, bambolina?'
"Nonna is gonna cook breakfast. She said we can help," Sarah said with a giggle.
"Well, that sounds like fun. You know my nonna used to do the same thing when I was a little girl."
"Really?"
Bonnie nodded. "Yep. She would wake me up in the middle of the night and we would cook something yummy together. Where is Nonna now?"
"She had to change Savannah's diaper," Sarah explained.
Bonnie smiled and kissed the top of her head. She sat down and held Sarah on her lap. "What else did you do tonight?"
"Papa brought me gift. I've got my very own phone now, Mama," Sarah said excitedly.
"That was very nice of your papa. Now you can call him whenever you want. Where is your phone? I would love to see it, bambolina," Bonnie said.
"It's upstairs. I'll go get it," said Sarah as she hopped down.
"Don't run," Bonnie said.
"Okay, Mama," Sarah said with a pouty lip.
Bonnie chuckled. "That isn't going to work on me. Walk to go get your phone, please."
Sarah walked out of the room. However, seconds later her quickened footsteps could be heard going upstairs.
Bonnie shook her head. "That little girl is going to be the death of me."
Geneva chuckled, "That one has spirit."
"How have things been here?" she asked.
"Quiet," Geneva replied.
Bonnie lowered her voice so that she didn't attract her younger brother's attention. "How is Jamie doing?
Cooper, Gianni, and Maurizio were playing 'Go Fish' across the room.
Geneva's expression darkened. "He still hasn't been out of his room."
Bonnie sighed deeply. "How is Mama coping?"
"Ric would be missing if Gianni hadn't been here to settle her down. He had the nerve to call earlier with an apology," Geneva explained with a glare.
"But he didn't show up here?" she asked.
Geneva asked, "Do you smell any bleach?"
Bonnie cracked a small smile. "Point taken."
Sarah returned with a smartphone protected by a purple cover. "Isn't it pretty, Mama?"
She smiled, "It is very pretty."
She opened the phonebook and showed Bonnie all the important numbers. "Look there is your number, Mama."
Bonnie kissed the top of her head. "You can call me whenever you need me. And if I don't answer right away, then I will call you back as soon as I can. Okay?"
"Okay," Sarah said with a nod.
"There are a few more numbers that you should have. Like Aunt Lucy. Oh, we should put my daddy's number in there, too," Bonnie said as she added the numbers.
Sarah grinned as she watched Bonnie. "Who else?"
"What about Aunt Geneva? You can call her sometimes once she goes back home to Miami. I bet she would like to hear from you."
"Yeah!"
Cooper looked over his shoulder. "Sarah, we're gonna play Chutes and Ladders now!"
Sarah's eyes went wide. "I wanna go play, Mama."
Bonnie kissed the top of her head. "Go play. I will finish putting more numbers in the phone. Then I will put it back in your room."
She grinned and then raced over to the card table.
Bonnie stood up with the phone in her hand. She passed it off to Tyler. "I need a favor. Make sure that this lovely gift from Damon is harmless…"
Tyler nodded. "I've got it."
She smiled and squeezed his hand discreetly. Bonnie walked upstairs to find her mother. However, she passed Jamie's closed bedroom door first. She lightly knocked on the door. "Jamie…"
There was no response on the other side of the door.
"I don't know if you are awake or not, but I just wanted to say that I am here for you. If you want to talk or go for a ride. We could go out back and shoot hoops. Anyway, I love you, kiddo," she said to the closed door.
Abby walked out of the nursery with the baby monitor. She asked, "Any luck?"
Bonnie shook her head. She hugged Abby. "He'll come around, Mama. He just has a lot to process."
She sighed. "It never should have happened."
Bonnie said, "I'm sorry."
Abby gave a humorless laugh. "This whole thing is my fault. Feel like coming down to the kitchen with me? I am going to start breakfast. Then I need to start cleaning the greens for today."
The Bennett family always ate collard greens and black eyed peas for lunch on New Year's day for good luck and prosperity.
"Sure. I will keep you company," Bonnie replied.
The two women walked downstairs.
Bonnie's phone buzzed. She checked her messages.
Jamie: Love u 2
Bonnie: Wanna talk?
Jamie: No. But I'm hungry
Bonnie: I'll bring you something to eat but I won't tell Mama
Jamie: Thanx
Abby asked, "Anything important?"
"I don't know yet…" she replied.