326 nning The European AllAK


    326 nning The European Attack


    (Winona)


    "Oooh show me!" Lisa says with too much excitement


    Cass turns her phone to Lisa.


    "Fuck! Get your sights off Winona''s man, you bitch. But god, I''d do her."


    "Lisa! Also not helping." I almost choke on my drink.


    Lisa chuckles. "Sorry, but I can see why you''d be pissed. And Jayden not seeing that doesn''t help."


    "Exactly!" I exim, feeling vindicated. "And then Jayden says she can teach me a lot in my job. Like, excuse me, what?"


    Lisa shakes her head and holds up one finger which moves back and forth with precision. "Yeah, that''s pretty rich. Jayden always thought you were the best in your field, Uh-uh, no." Cass shakes her head. "Sounds like she''s purposely getting under your skin. Why?"


    "Some women are just like that," I mutter, sipping my drink. "But what can I do? I''m here, he''s there. Don''t get me wrong. I trust Jayden. I''ll just have to deal with her when I get to Europe."


    "Oh, speaking of Europe," Lisa says, her eyes lighting up mischievously. "Let''s see who else you''ll be meeting. I say we look up the whole Nexus Global crew,"


    "Here we go," I say,ughing despite myself. "Online stalking. You''re true expertise. You''re about to learn something, Cass


    "Please, I''m going full CIA on those fuckers." Lisa pulls out her phone and starts typing. "Okay, here we go... Matteo Ri, CFO. Oh. My. God. How does a financial guy look that good? Buh byyyeee, Lance." She shows her phone to us. He''s hot as fuck. Cass nods and taps into her phone.


    "He''s Italian, of course he is. Now let''s see who else... Wow. Winona, you should''ve had your hall pass week in Brussels. Maybe you can have a rerun." Lisa suggests.


    I burst outughing. "Oh my God, shut up!"


    Lisa continues, scrolling through photos like she''s shopping for clothes. "No, I''m serious. You could''ve hit Matteo and been like, ''Sorry, Jayden, but it''s Europe. There are no rules"." Cass finally cracks a smile. "I might try that myself. Love me a foreigner. I wonder if they have ents?"


    "Of course they do. They aren''t all going to sound normal, like us." Lisa gives augh.


    "We sound real normal right now." I grin.


    "Oh, and then there''s Viktor Balázs," Lisa says, moving on. "Head of security. Hungarian. Built like a freaking tank. Oh, I''m definitely visiting you in Brussels now. Sign me up." *Please do," I say, half-joking, half-serious. "I''m gonna need backup. Especially with Sofia taking


    someone''s eye out with that cleavage."


    326 nning The European ATAK


    Lisa waggles her eyebrows at me. "Back up? Why? I mean, you''ll be covered in baby spit-up and running after kids, and she''ll be there in her pencil skirts, tossing her hair." "Thanks for the reminder," I mutter, but we''re allughing. It''s that kind of night. "Friend like you, who needs enemies?"


    Cass goes quiet again, though, her gaze dropping to herp. "You think it''ll be weird... you know, being in a whole new country with the kids and no Anne?"


    I nod, biting my lip. "Yeah, I''m worried about that. I mean, Jayden says he''ll get me all the help I need, but it''s not the same. Anne''s... family."


    "She sure is," Cass agrees.


    "And the kids will miss her and their Aunt Cass and Aunt Lisa. But it might only be for a few months, ! hope."


    Lisa leans in, resting her hand on mine. "You know we wille visit. Hell, I''ll bring Lance and make him see Brussels while I''m at it. Maybe if I drag him to Europe, I can finally get him to settle down." Cass snorts. "Lance? Settle down? Yeah, good luck with that."


    "Hey, it could happen," Lisa says, sounding almost hopeful. "But seriously, Winona, you''re gonna be okay. You''re like, the toughest person I know. And the kids? They''re gonna love it. It''ll be an adventure for them. You can go to Disnend in Paris." "Wait until I''m there to do that please," Cass says.


    "So, you''re both serious about the visit?" I ask.


    "You can''t keep us away. We''re a team. We''ll show those Europeandies how to hustle." Lisa stands up and waggles her hips.


    "Don''t forget you''re there to support me," I tease.


    "Oh you, yeah sure. You''re safe with us." Lisa gives Cass a big wink and Cassughs.


    I like that sound. I''ve missed ourughs together. Maybe Europe will be a reset for us all.


    "Yeah. I think it''s gonna be great. You guysing to visit. Make it soon. I''ll miss you all too much."


    "Don''t worry," Lisa says. "I''m already booking my flight. Matteo and Viktor are calling my name."


    Cass chuckles softly. T''ll be there for sure. Just, you know, to make sure Lisa doesn''t jump everyone''s bones in the first week."


    "Like you''re one to talk," Lisa fires back with a grin. "We all know you''re secretly plotting your European sexcapades n." "You pinned me." Cass grins.Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    We allugh, but underneath the humor, there''s this unspoken bond. No matter where we go, no matter what happens with our lives or rtionships, we''ll always have each other.


    I''m not sure how Cass will swing time off work but I''m not going to mention it now and dampen the positivity.


    326 nning The European Attack


    At the end of the night, as we head home, I feel a lot lighter.


    Ready to take on whatever''s next-even if it''s a vulture in a pe