Business [Cordelia]

[Anthony Matthew Price]

Anthony had received a text from Cordelia to meet him at her place. It probably had something to do with business to discuss. Meaning she wanted him to kill someone for her. It was after all his job. He was the only one she could trust to get the job done right the first time. He didn't screw around like people they'd had work for them before, who were now obviously dead since they screwed up. But he was sure no one would ever find them. Nor miss them really. Again he was the best. And Cordelia was late. And lucky he had a key to show himself in.

When he got to her place she wasn't there so he went to the kitchen to see what she had to snack on. He opened the cupboard and searched. Eh nothing that looked especially good. Nothing ever looked good when he was high so it seemed. So instead he moved to her refrigerator and got some juice and poured some in a glass. Then he was just staring at it. His mind was completely blank. It was nice not to have one single thought or memory. Even though he'd been in this kitchen a million times with his mother before she died. But at the present moment not one single thought in his mind. It was good.

[Cordelia Antonia Price]

Cordelia sat at her desk, her hands splayed across the dark mahogany finish, her blue eyes clamped shut as she measured her breathing. To most, she probably seemed relaxed, her small shoulders were loose, and though closed, her eyes weren’t strained. Dressed in a tight, severely cut black business suit she looked like a business woman just gathering her thoughts before going into a meeting. Only the people that knew her well would know that she was as far from relaxed and calm as she possibly could be. Grown men, tough men, men who thought nothing of popping a few bullets into a guy’s head, would walk into that room, see the small woman in that position, and they would get the fuck out, and fast. The door to her office opened He’s here. She opened her eyes, looking at the man before giving him a brisk nod. Her eyes darted to her watch. At least he’s on time.

Slowly, she pushed back from the desk, standing up and straightening the tight pencil skirt. 5 inch heels clicked on the marble floor as she walked to door. She gave a small nod, a jerk of her head to the man who was outside her door, pretty much 24-7. Where ever she went, he was there. It was a dangerous world out there for a girl, someone needed to be handy to take a bullet if needed. Even with the heels adding to her rather diminutive 5’1 frame, she still barely reached his shoulder. Any outsider would be baffled as to how this tiny woman was able to instill such obvious fear in the giant man. He made a move to follow her, and she held her hand up to stop him. She didn’t need him, not for this. This she could handle on her own.

Though her face was calm, Cordelia’s thoughts were going a mile a minute as she walked down the stairs. This whole situation was not something she would normally concern herself with, it was simple. You steal from her, you’re out. Not just of the organization, but in general. Out for the count, swimming with the fishes, getting a coffin sized, you get the point. She didn’t take well to anyone messing around with her. This though, this was different. A bullet to the head wasn’t going to solve this problem. She was thinking as she walked into the kitchen, taking in the guy standing there, looking blankly into a glass. Not when it was him.

“ Hello Anthony” she greeted her brother as she came up to him. She leaned her head up, pressing her lips to first one, then the other of his cheeks. Did he always look this gaunt? Or was she just projecting that now that she knew. Anyone else, she would assume they were skimming the drugs from the warehouse to make a few extra bucks on the side. She didn’t think that was the case here. No, Anthony was taking them for his own use, she was sure. She stepped back, looking him over before tutting. “ You look hungry… take a seat, I’ll get you something to eat.”

[Anthony Matthew Price]

Anthony looked up from his glass when he heard Cordelia come in. She greeted him like she normally did. But still something seemed a tad bit off about her. Like she was stressed out about something and he wasn't sure what it could be, business was fine ... well if she was meeting with him to put a hit out on someone he supposed business wasn't fine. He didn't know every aspect of what went on all the time like her but he was pretty sure as far as he knew things were just peachy with business. So he wasn't exactly sure why he was there at this point. But it was Cordelia she either missed him and wanted to visit or she had business to discuss.

He took a seat when she told him to and looked at her. "You don't really have to make me anything .. I'll be ok .. What's up with you? You seem a little on edge, everything ok?" He could read her too. He paid attention to how his sister was acting. He loved her. One of the only people he was extremely close to. Probably the only person really. But he worried about how perfect she wanted things to be ... and how unperfect he was. That's why he felt like there were things he needed to hide from her.

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[Cordelia Antonia Price]

Cordelia waved his statement about not needing to make him anything. First off, they were Italian, some stereotypes are there simply because they are true, and like their mother, who used to cook up a storm in this kitchen, Cordelia was no different. And what’s more, when you’re upset, you eat, when you want to take care of someone, you feed them, when-well, there’s a pattern that develops, the jist of it is, every situation is generally better when there is some kind of food involved. The second, equally important thing to note, was this was Anthony, it was her job to take care of him. He and Jason, they were her world, not the business, not the money and power, them. She would pretty much wither away without her baby brothers, and going into nurture mode was an ingrained reflex. So not minding the protests saying otherwise, she opened the fridge, pulling out a casserole dish with the lasagna she’d had for dinner the day before.

She listened as she cut out a large serving, piling it onto a plate and shoving it into the microwave, her face contemplative. Of course he could tell something was up. If the guys knew when she was so much as slightly irritated, it only stood to reason that Anthony, who knew her better than almost anyone, who pick up on her stress right away. She still wasn’t sure exactly how to approach this, but what he was doing, it had to stop. The microwave dinged, and she grabbed the plate, plopping it down in front of him. She braced her hands on one of the kitchen chair’s backs, not sitting down, just observing him with cool blue eyes. It was impossible not too look at him and see her baby brother. Everyone may see the tough, hard, deadly man he’d become, but he would always be a little boy with a runny nose and scabby knees to her. There were less than a handful of people who’s involvement in something would cloud her judgement with emotion. He was one of them. She loved the little ass, no matter what kind of shit he was getting into. This though, this would require a bit of tough love, that she knew. “ Yeah something’s up. I’ve got a problem that I need to have dealt with.” she said, finally pulling the chair out and sitting down, crossing one knee over the other. “ And, well, who else would I trust to fix it, right?”

[Anthony Matthew Price]

Anthony watched as she went to the fridge anyways pretty much ignoring him saying he didn't really need anything. He did have to admit, even though it'd been him who spent most of his time in the kitchen with their mother learning ow she cooked and stuff, Cordelia was a much better cook, or maybe it was just that you were your toughest critic and he was to hard on himself. That could be. But he always enjoyed their sunday night family dinners cause what ever she cooked was always amazing. Though lately he hadn't been eating as much at those dinners. It must be something about the combination of Heroin and the narcotics he was using. It was easy to get the narcotics from a dealer but the heroin was a tad harder. He had to use what they brought in through the warehouse. And he did his best to pay it back in another way. So it wasn't like he was hurting the business by using. He just .. wasn't telling Cordelia he was using. He was good at hiding where he shoots up at well. Always in the same spot, underneath where his watch sits. But point being he just wasn't as hungry all the time like he used to be.

Then she was sitting down. He could feel her eyes on him, though it didn't scare him for her to stare at him. Not like it did for other people. He knew Cordelia like .. really knew her and not just what people saw of her. He knew how caring she really was. Like she was his mother. Not just his sister, thats how he saw her. But she was going on about how she was having a problem and that who would she trust better to fix it. Well that was true. He fixed things correctly the first time always. He took his fork and nodded some then shoveled in some food waiting for her to go on about what needed to be done. He had no way of knowing the problem she was talking about, was him. As far as he knew she was still completely oblivious. And had been for almost a year.

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[Cordelia Antonia Price]

Cordelia watched Anthony as he began shoving food into his mouth. Too damn skinny. She wasn't imagining it. He was looking worse. God, how had it taken her so long to notice? She should have picked up on it right away. That's what a good sister would have done. She was doing it again, being too damn focused on the business, and letting more important things slip aside. She pushed that thought aside. She knew now, and she was going to fix it. That's what was important, right? She was going to nip this damn thing in the bud now, and Anthony was going to let her if he knew what was good for him. She leaned back in the chair, keeping her eyes on him. “ I've been double checking some numbers, you know, going through the books, talking to the boys. Things aren't adding up. We're got a leak somewhere that needs plugging, if you know what I mean”

She knew he probably thought he had her fooled, had everyone fooled. And granted, he had. Until she went down to do a surprise check in at the warehouse, it was always a good idea to keep the lower levels on their toes, those hoodlums would rob her out of house and home if she didn't. What she hadn't expected was comment one made, about how he hadn't thought she'd check on them, what with her brother sneaking in at all hours. The times he'd been spotted, they'd all just assumed she'd sent him to check things out. Something that was confirmed when she asked a few more of the workers. Back home, she'd gone through the books with a fine toothed comb. There was a surprisingly large amount of heroin that was unaccounted for, gradually disappearing over the year. First, she'd dealt with the guy in charge at the warehouse, who either was too incompetent to have noticed, or simply neglected to tell her, either way, not someone she wanted in her employ. Which, that reminded her, she needed to get someone else in there, hopefully someone mildly intelligent, as the other man wouldn't be using his legs anytime soon. But the bigger problem was the one sitting across from her. “ Seems like someone's been helping themselves to our stores. You know how those low life thugs down at the warehouse get sticky hands every now and again, think they can skim a bit off the top, make a bit of extra cash on the side. ” she explained, knowing it was BS, but wanting to give him a chance to come clean at least. “ I need you to find out who it is and take care of them” she nodded

[Anthony Matthew Price]

Anthony found the food in front of him the be quite good actually. Not that he felt he could stomach all of it but he would try. He'd have to remember to tell her that her food was good as soon as she was done discussing what ever it is she wants him to do. He know that one day this business was supposed to have been his to run, but honestly he didn't want it. He liked what he did .. and didn't mind much taking orders from Cordelia. She wouldn't give them unless it was necessary and in the best interest of the business and not for her personal feelings. That's why she was a good boss, and he got far to angry a lot to be the head of this business. Often times when sent to meetings he pissed off at least one or two head figures of other families they did business with and Cordelia cleaned up the mess.

Then she was telling him they were missing some drugs and things weren't adding up. That made him feel a tad bit nervous. Not that he let it show though. He was good at keeping a straight face when other emotions were taking over. He couldn't understand where he'd made a mistake. He always made sure things equalized out. Even paid extra for the small stuff so that Cordelia would never notice. Unless ... Unless that son of a bitch dealer he got his narcotics from ratted him out to Cordelia. He was going to have to kill him and its a shame cause he really liked him too. But for now he could play it cool like there was still a chance she didn't know it was him. And he'd find a way to cover up things better next time. "Yeah .. I'll figure out who it is and fix it .. you can count on me" He looked up to her and gave her a small smile. Figuring out who did it wasn't the hard part. Fixing it was. But he'd come up with something.

[Cordelia Antonia Price]

Cordelia watched his face, gauging his reaction to her request. It wasn’t always easy to tell what Anthony was thinking, he was far too good at masking his emotions, something she could hardly fault him for, not when she did it all the time. Except of course when she didn’t care if people saw what she was really feeling. Like now for instance. He lied. He straight up lied to her. She’d given him that chance to come clean about it, and he spat in her face. It was that, the lies, the secrets, more than the drugs that pissed her off. And she made no show to hide that anger. She leaned back in her chair, crossing her knee over her leg. “ I hate when people think they can pull this shit over on me. Like I won’t notice when someone’s fucking around with me. And then I have to find them, make examples of them. It’s such a pain in the ass, you’d think they’d learn. But no, they keep right at it, and I’m forced to make some wife lose her husband, some kid grow up fatherless. ” she said, keeping her eyes on him “ Because there really is only one think I can do when I catch someone stealing from me, just another way to make me the bad guy… but you know that.”

She got up from her chair, pacing the kitchen “ You know what the weird thing is though Anthony? The numbers don’t make sense… but they almost even out. Little bit of heroin goes missing, but there’s an excess of something else, or a little bit extra cash put into the accounts with no record… really weird. Now why do you suppose someone would do that?” she said stopping in front of him. She put her hands on the table, leaning down so that her face was right in front of his. “ Do you really think I’m such an idiot Anthony? That I won’t fucking find out what’s going on in my own turf? she hissed

[Anthony Matthew Price]

Anthony sat quietly and listened while she talked. Since when did she hate being the bad guy? Well actually it was him who was really the bad guy. Him who went and did the dirty work while she sat behind her desk her hands clean of that person's blood. She hardly ever saw the world his end of the job was in. She didn't get to make judgements about him or what he decided to do. When her face got close to his he knew then that she knew it was him. His dark blue eye's stared back into hers. What was she going to do kill him? He hardly doubted that. Fire him? He doubted that too. He was by far the best she'd ever had in his line of work. He stood from where he was at his face showed no emotion.

"I have just as much of a right to that stuff as you do Cordelia. You don't get to tell me how to do things as long as your books are balanced, what do you fucking care for? Your business isn't hurting. I made sure of that." He knew she loved this business. Maybe the most out of the three of them. And he made sure her precious baby didn't hurt cause he needed something to numb himself. "This turf is as much mine as it is yours. And its not like I haven't been pulling my own weight. I do everything you ask no questions asked." His voice was a little rasied but he wasn't yelling. She didn't get to be mad at him. This was why he never told her to begin with. She cared more about this business than him anyways. "Everything has to be .. perfect with you Cordelia. Why do you think I didn't tell you? Why do you think I went to such lengths to keep it covered up? Because this .. this makes you look bad and I know how much you love your good image. And don't give me some bullshit about that not being true and how you love me more than this business cause everyone would tell you differently. Had I told you .. you still would have been pissed off." He took his glass of juice off the table and moved away from her. He wasn't going to let her intimidate him like she does with everyone else.

[Cordelia Antonia Price]

Cordelia stepped back as he stood, looking up at him, her eyes blazing. That stung, that really stung. She loved the business more than she loved him and his brother? What the hell was he thinking? Everything she did was for them, every god damn thing, and here he was, lying to her, and throwing it in her face, like she was the one at fault. Cordelia's mouth was set in a grim line as she stepped back towards him, and lifting her hand, she did something she rarely allowed herself to do. She let the emotions do all the talking. She brought her hand up and slapped it across his cheek, leaving a small red imprint on his skin. “ Of course I care about looking perfect! What the hell do you think keeps the wolves at bay, huh Anthony? Do have any fucking idea, how god damn hard this is? How much freaking work this is? You think I do it because I love this shit? I do it for us Anthony. You, Jason. I am trying to hold this fucking family together! You think we're secure here? You think that there aren't a dozen people just waiting for a chance to run us out? And not just the Connors, people in our own organization. I have been doing everything in my god damn power to make sure that we don't end up the same way as our parents! ” she said her voice cracking. “ I'm good at it, I like it. But don't you dare, don't you DARE think that you can come in here and say I love it more than you. Everything that I do here, everything that I've done since I was fifteen fucking years old was for our family.”

She stepped away from him, shaking her head “ You really think I give two shits about you taking a few things here and there? Huh? I'm not going to say you don't pull your weight, of course you do, you always have. But you lie about it? You sneak around? When did you start thinking you had to hide things from me Anthony? You're my brother, before any of this other shit, you are my baby brother. I didn't use to have to remind you of that.” she sat back down in her chair her shoulders slumping “ All I want is the best for you Anthony... I'm not pissed about you doing drugs... dissapointed... sad... scared.. yeah. But not mad. ” she looked back up at him “ But it stops now. All of it. The stealing, the lying, the drugs. I'm not telling you this as the head of the organization. I'm asking you as your sister. You need help, we'll get you help. But this isn't the way. I already lost mom and dad, I am not going to lose you too.”

[Anthony Matthew Price]

Anthony's jaw set some when Cordelia left a stinging hand print on his cheek. It took a lot of restraint to not hit her back. But then she was speaking. Obviously offended by what he'd said. He swallowed some, she said she did all this for them. For her family. All of this so they didn't end up like their parents. That made him angry. She wasn't even there. She didn't know the half of it. Then he watched as she sat down. Quit?! no there was no quit any more. Even had he want to do so. There was no way. He shook his head some and looked down, turning away from her. He let his eyes close for a moment. Then the glass in his hand was smashing against the wall he'd been facing, probably alerting the man who was probably standing in the hall way listening. "You don't understand Cordelia. You don't understand what it's like to live in my head. I started using cause I can't sleep, and for a while it worked. And now nothing works. But I can't stop. You just don't understand" His voice was quiet, more so then a minute or so ago.

"I didn't tell you because I'm tired of being a constant disappointment to you. Jay, he's perfect .. He's in college, graduated high school with honors. He's your golden boy. I just barely graduated high school. I didn't go to college. I hold the position I do because I wanted you to be proud of me. To look at me the same way you look at him. But I'm the one .. who disappoints you all the time." He moved some and put his gun on the table his eyes now looking at her. "I don't think there's any way to help me. You can't undo what I saw. And you can't undo the torture I went through. I'm you're weakest link" Now he was pretty much telling her to make an example of him. But would she really do it? He didn't think so but .. he didn't know really. She had slapped him, which she doesn't .. normally do.

[Cordelia Antonia Price]

Cordelia's shoulder's tensed slightly when he hurled the glass, but didn't flinch. Her eyes did dart to the kitchen doorway behind Anthony as a shadow crossed it. She gave a small shake of her head, sending the man off, what she wouldn't give to have this place to herself this one night, to not have someone lurking around to over hear these things. Her eyes found Anthony again as he started to speak, and it broke her heart juat a little to hear his words. He was right of course, how could she understand? She'd been safely out of the house, running around playing the big shot with Felix when everything went down. It was one of her biggest regrets, that she wasn't there that night, that she wasn't able to protect him then. Which is why it was even more important for her to protect him now, even if it was from himself, even if he ended up hating her. “ I'm sorry Anthony.. you know I would do anything to go back and stop that from happening, to have been able to shield you from that... and I can't even begin to understand what that's like. But this is not the way to fix it, it's just not.”

She ran a hand through her hair, closing her eyes as he spoke. She was able to show more emotion in front of Anthony than probably anyone else, but she still had a hard time letting anyone see her cry, the last time she willingly shed a tear in front of other people was 13 years ago at her parents funeral. But she was close now. She couldn't believe he thought that, that it seemed that way to him. She got ahold of herself and slowly stood back up, crossing over to him. She put her hand on his cheek, and tugged his chin down so he was looking at her. “ That. Is. Not. True. You and Jas are two different men Anthony, you each have your strengths and weaknesses. You are strong Anthony, and smart, who gives a shit if you have a college degree to say so, you are always there when you're needed, you're kind, underneath all that wise guy bravado.... You are a good man. I have always been proud of you, I'd be proud of you no matter what you wanted to do with your life. You don't need to do anything for me to make me feel like that. You want to walk away from all this right now, you can. And I will still love you and still be proud.” she dropped her hand “ I'm only dissapointed when you don't see that. Or when you're doing things that are going to hurt you. I cannot lose you, do you understand that? I will not survive that Anthony.

[Anthony Matthew Price]

Anthony stayed quiet while she told him that she would do anything to change things but that this was not the way to fix things. If not this then he didn't know how. What was she going to do, watch him 24/7 while he tried to quit using? And for a moment say he actually does quit and not just try, where did they go from there? Could she take that much time away from her business to do this? He wouldn't be going to any rehab facility. She could just forget that. He glanced over to her, and her eyes were closed, almost like she was trying not to cry. Maybe this .. would be good for them. Finally getting things out in the open.

Then he felt her hand on his cheek, nicer this time, making him look down at her. He had to admit he liked it when she wasn't hitting him. When her hand left his cheek he didn't stop looking at her. "Of course I'm not gonna walk away .. it's the only thing I'm good at. Besides you can't trust anyone else to do it right." His way of saying he sorta liked his job. He liked the power that came with it. "How .. How do you suggest we fix this then? I'm tired Cordelia." He didn't just mean physically. But mentally as well. Everyday had become a struggle. She said she wouldn't survive if she lost him, Now he was looking to her for answers. She was the closest thing he had for a mother. She was supposed to have all the answers.

[Cordelia Antonia Price]

Cordelia didn't have any easy answers, she didn't have a magical wand that she could wave and make everything just disappear. But she would figure something out, she had too. She wasn't just saying empty words, wasn't just trying to get him to pay attention and listen to her. She really wasn't sure she'd be able to survive losing Anthony. He put himself in danger all the time, she knew it. You couldn't be in their line of work without making some enemies, without taking some risks. But that was different, she trusted that his ability would keep him safe, he was good at what he did, and the added protection of the Price name helped keep it a little safer for him. But pumping himself full of drugs, that was dangerous, that was something neither of them could control. The obvious answer was getting him to rehab, but he wouldn't go, she'd literally have to knock him out and have him guarded 24-7 if she tried to send him to some facility somewhere. That wasn't going to work, not for any lasting time. No she needed to come up with something better.

She sighed a little, reaching up her arms and wrapping them around him, pulling him into a close hug. “ I don't know yet Anthony... I don't know.... But I will figure it out, we will figure it out. ” and she would, if it was the last damn thing she did, she would find a way to make this better. If she couldn't fix it, what the hell was the point of any of this? “ How bout you leave the apartment for a bit, come back and stay here for awhile, ok?” she said, the only clue she had right now was keeping him close, keeping him where she could keep her eyes on him.

[Anthony Matthew Price]

Anthony put his arms around her when she hugged him. Cordelia didn't hug a lot. Maybe she was just trying to make him feel better. A lot of things had changed since he was a little boy, he had changed a lot. But her hugs hadn't. They still felt the same as they did when she would hold him after he scraped his knee, or when he was sick. He supposed now he would be considered sick he knew when he needed to get high in the morning after getting out of bed he had a problem. But he liked how being high felt, and now he just couldn't quit. Even if he told himself he could any time. But Cordelia .. she wanted him to move back in to the house, she said they would figure things out.

He nodded some. "Ok .. Maybe a change of place would help." Or maybe that was just something he was telling himself to make himself feel better. That's what seemed to be happening a lot. Making excuses as to why this was ok. Why drugs were a good idea. When really Cordelia was right, it was stupid of him to get himself into. People didn't really see the loving caring person she really could be, when she wasn't worried how things looked to people. And around him she didn't need to be cold and shut off, she was just her. Shame she couldn't be just her all the time but he did understand.