A/N: Colette is Vivienne. I need to change it in all the chapters but please be patient with me for now.

"What's your schedule like for today? Anything that I can help with?" Colette asked, handing Virginie a piping hot cup of earl grey tea with a drizzle of honey. She watched in amazement as Virginie slicked her kinky curls into a puff. Colette could never understand how she got those 4B edges to lay down so flat all day. They looked like swirls of sand that the waves churned after hours of pushing up against the shore.

"No, my angel," Virginie replied. "There's nothing you can do for me this morning except be as wonderful as you are. Thank you so much for the tea." She took a sip of the tea before rolling some mascara onto her already long lashes.

Colette sat down on the chair beside Virginie's vanity. "It's so boring to be stuck with this busy work while you're actually out there making a difference."

Virginie grabbed a toothbrush and made the final touches to her edges, making sure they were wavy enough to drown anyone who dared to stare at them. "Assassinations are simple and quick. It's not my fault that you decided you were going to stay here to work on your medical skills. How is the training going, by the way?"

Colette's face lit up like a Christmas tree and Virginie grinned. She loved hearing people talk about the things they were passionate about. It brought her such joy to see people so happy. "It's going well! Every day, it's something new and fascinating. Yesterday, we learned how the Agency developed medications to increase the production of cells during the healing process so it goes quicker. It's so cool to learn how they patch you up so quickly after even the deadliest of missions. It's a lot of work but it's something that's important to me."

"I told you that you were going to be excellent at it. Even when we were back at the academy, I noticed you had a proficiency for healing."

Colette giggled. "You gave me a lot of practice. You were always trying to throw hands with somebody. I know you were trying to develop skills but c'mon! Every night, you'd wander into our room with something bleeding, bruised, or broken."

"And what about it? Now they call me the Femme Fatale so it was worth it, right? And you get to see your man Corey almost everyday. Everybody wins."

Colette leaned back with a groan and put her face in her hands. "I can't fucking stand your dumbass. You almost made me forget that I was the one who asked you a question. Anyway, I know that I could've gone somewhere else. But the satellite office in New York has the best equipment to study with and the most resources besides HQ. And I don't know why you thought I would leave you here when this was supposed to be my mission."

"But it's not your mission anymore. Therefore, it's not your responsibility. You could've gone ahead without me. You know I wouldn't mind." Virginie picked at the puff of hair at the top of her head, making sure only the right amount of hairs were sticking out.

Colette stuck her tongue out at Virginie. "You're so annoying. And you still didn't answer my question."

"Sorry. Alex and I are going to be conducting some interviews today so we won't be in the office too much. I think that might be all that we're doing today, actually."

"Interviews for what? Are there new employees coming in? You already got this much power after one day?"

Virginie attempted to push away the giggle that bubbled in her throat. She couldn't do that without her mascara smudging. "Don't make me laugh! My mascara is still drying!"

"Sorry, sorry. But you know you'd look gorgeous with Great Lash streaming down your cheeks, dummy."

Virginie looked down. "Will you ever stop complimenting me every five seconds?"

"I will when you don't deserve it anymore. Which will be never. So no. Anyway, tell me more about these interviews. Who are you going to be talking to and why? Are you going to be heading to any dangerous places?"

Virginie gave Colette's unbothered face a glare before continuing to put on her makeup. "No, I don't think of the people we are interested in talking to are in prison or live in sketchy areas. Regardless, it's not like I can't take care of myself." She lined her lips with Colourpop's BFF #3 and coated them with Fenty lip gloss.

"I need to implant a tracker in you while you're sleeping so I can make sure you're okay. I know you lie to me sometimes and it's hard to see when you're not telling the truth."

"Just check my Agency tracker. I'm sure the tracking department would have no problem giving you my information. Didn't that guy Travis have the biggest crush on you during our training years?"

"Ew. Don't remind me. I don't understand why he even still works there. Probably because the boss is as much of a creep as he is. Speaking of, I wouldn't want to ask for your information because I'd probably have to go through him. He'd probably be like, 'Why do you need it? Is Raven in trouble? Why do you care?' I swear he acts like he owns you."

Virginie tried to ignore how her heart momentarily stopped when Colette said the last sentence. "He's just protective of me, that's all. But I understand why you wouldn't want to go through all that." She turned around to grab Colette's hands. "That's why you should just trust what I say. If I need your help, I'll call for you. Isn't that what I did last week?"

"Yes, but I know you don't tell me everything," Colette countered, returning her gaze with a sad look.

Virginie let go of Colette's hands and sighed. "You don't tell me about how you actually have a crush on Corey and want him to do all of the things that he says but you don't see me bothering you about it." Virginie kissed her on the cheek before going into her room to grab her faux leather briefcase and trench coat. "I must go, darling. Have a good day and I'll see you tonight."

Colette stomped out of the bathroom, her face red with embarrassment. "Hold up! You can't just waltz out of there like you didn't just say some bullshit! T-that's nowhere near the same thing, bitch! Come back here! When did I ever say that I was finished talking to you?"

Virginie blew her a kiss and grabbed the doorknob. "I'm gonna be late if I don't go now. Te adoro, querida!"

"...Te adoro," Colette grumbled.

×

When Virginie arrived at the Drip, Alex already had his Americano and another drink in hand. He sat at one of the tables against the glass that encompassed the store. Virginie noticed him even before she walked in. His eyebrows were knitted together as he hunched over his laptop, fingers flying at the speed of light to reply to an email.

"Good morning, Mr. Stroud," Virginie greeted. She slid into the chair opposite him. "I do hope everything is going well for you this morning."

"Good morning, Ms. Methot. And it has, thank you for that," he replied without looking up from his screen. "I apologize for my rudeness but I need to focus on these emails so forgive me for not looking straight at you."

"I can be quiet then, if you want. I didn't mean to distract you." She bent over to reach for her briefcase to find something to do but Alex's voice stopped her.

"You weren't doing anything of the sort. I just need to see what I'm reading. I can talk, listen, and read at the same time. Please continue."

"So that's why you got two coffees today. You needed the extra one for hyper focus."

Alex shook his head, still intently watching the computer. "No, that's not for me. It's for you. Black tea with a splash of soymilk, lemon juice, and a squeeze of honey? That is your order, is it not?"

Virginie was momentarily taken aback. That was the exact order she had given the barista yesterday. How could he know that?

"You're probably wondering how I know that. No, I haven't been stalking you. I just have good listening skills. Please, drink up. You need to stay warm. It's cold out there." He pushed the drink towards her and she gingerly took it from him, grabbing it with the tips of her fingers.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Stroud. This is wonderful. I'll send you the money immediately." She took a sip and fought the smile that was threatening to spread across her face. It was perfect. "So where are we going first?"

"We'll be heading to the office first but our major task today is talking with some of Daniel's friends. I want to learn about their perspective so I know what kind of witnesses that we are going to up against at trial. Perhaps some of them know about dark secrets in Daniel's past." He noticed Virginie taking her phone out of her pocket and he looked up from the screen. There was a hint of mirth in his eyes as he studied her. "Do not even think about it. I'll send it back. It's a gift, Ms. Methot."

Virginie nodded and put her phone back in her pocket. "Where are we going to be meeting these fine men who were buddies with an abuser?"

"They want to talk about it over lunch so we'll be meeting them at noon. People love getting a free meal. It's pathetic." Alex shut his laptop and placed it in his case. "They'll probably spend most of the time talking about themselves but it's important that you try to keep them on track."

"Me? What about you? Isn't this your interview? I'm just an intern."

"I'm just letting you know as a safety precaution. If they go too far, I might end up telling them off. I don't like my time being wasted. You seem a bit nicer than me so I thought I'd task you with making sure that doesn't happen."

Virginie gave him a small smile. I probably have less patience for gross men than you do. "What are their names and direct connections to Daniel? How do they know him?"

"Some of them are his coworkers but some are childhood friends. We won't be meeting with all of them today. Two of the friends said that they could meet for lunch. The rest of them said they could come up another day. It's probably for the best. Interviews get a bit muddled when there's a lot of people in the mix. They can influence each other's answers and I don't want it to be like that."
Virginie was confused. "But even two can have that problem. Especially if they were both close to him. They know we're working against him and they're going to be trying their hardest to paint him in as good a light as possible. Won't it be easier to break them individually so they don't have to worry about looking good for each other? They do know that we are interviewing a plethora of people so how would each individual know who said what? This isn't even going into evidence; it's just to help build our defense."

"I already thought about that, but they both insisted that this is the only time they could meet was today, at this specific time. However, all of this was before you came into the picture." Alex put his thumb to his chin, deep in thought. "We could use that to our advantage..."

Virginie wasn't sure if she liked where this was heading. "How so?"

"You could use some of your seduction tactics to get them to agree to meet separately." He cleared his throat, suddenly looking flustered. "I'm sure that's one of the tools at your disposal."

Virginie was reminded of Madam's lessons. Years of flirting into mirrors and whispering sweet nothings into her classmates' ears. How she had been nothing more than a vessel. "God didn't give you curves to waste them," Madam would say.

"Is that all you think a woman can do? Use her body to make a man do whatever she wants?" Virginie choked out, sounding more emotional than she meant to. She leaned over the table and lowered her voice to a hiss. "The only weapon I fucking need is a knife to a man's throat when I demand what I want."

Alex nodded, trying his best not to look as flustered as he felt. "Yes, yes, of course. I didn't mean it that way. It was my idea of a joke and it was a bad one. You have already proven yourself to be more than your body, anyway."

"Why would I have to prove that I am―never mind." She reached down to grab her case and stood up from the chair. She had to remind him why those idiots from Les Joueurs cowered away at the sight of her being wounded. He had to know her power. "Let's go, I need to dig up some dirt on these bastards. If they were friends with a piece of shit like Daniel, I'm sure there's more than enough skeletons in their closet to hang them with. You'll have your individual interviews. That I can promise."