It Comes In Three's

Chapter 121

Alex’s POV

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01:22

The meeting room slowly fills up as more of my men arrive, each one looking resolute and ready for the heavy discussion that lies ahead.

I take a moment to greet each of them, exchanging nods and firm handshakes, appreciating their unwavering loyalty. These men are like brothers to me, most having even worked for my father during his prime. Together, I know that this is the right group of men we need to protect Lottie at all costs…

As the last few members join the meeting, I close the door and step to the front of the room. “Alright, everyone, thank you for being here today. I’ve called this urgent meeting because we have a serious situation on our hands, and it involves someone I care deeply about Lottie.” I inform, as the men nod along.

The room falls silent as I recount the events from last night, providing every detail I had learned at Freddie’s pub.

I explain Lottie’s mother and the cop’s twisted plan, Freddie’s betrayal, and the threat they pose to Lottie’s life.

–

The expressions on my men’s faces darken with anger and concern, especially with the news about Freddie being a snake, quickly joining me in my revenge mindset.

“I won’t allow any harm to come to Lottie. We’ve fought battles before, and this time, it’s getting personal. They’ve targeted time to take them all down.” I declare, my voice firm and determined.

one of our own, and it’s

The room fills with murmurs of agreement, and I can see the determination in their eyes. We’re ready to protect Lottie at all costs, and no one will get away with harming her.

“We need to be strategic and discreet. We can’t risk anything being traced back to any of us. I’ve thought of a plan, and I want your opinions. The information discussed In here, does not leave this room at all costs!” I continue on-

“Im going to do things differently today. I want each of you to come up with your own contingency plans in case things go awry. We will break into smaller teams, and that will be your loyal group during this fight – each of us will have our own assigned target, some of which will most definitely have to result in death, whilst others may just need a good beating to scare them off!” I retort, hearing laughs fill the room.

“The three main bastards, which are the dirty cop, Freddie and Lottie’s mother… will be mine to deal with. Other people, such as Tommys family back in his home town, will be assigned to each of you to take care of. I want to make their lives a living hell.” My tone is unwavering, complete disgust for our targets filling my words.

“Alex, I know that this might be irrelevant right now, but I brought all of the store and street footage I could gather from the day Lottie was chased, and I think you might want to take a look after this meeting…” One of my guys speaks up, gaining my interest as I nod at the suggestion.

“Perfect. Stay behind when this is over Turner.” I state, as he nods – fiddling with the pen drive in his hands.

Perhaps we can get to the bottom of two problems today – not just one!

The men nod in agreement of my plan, moving to split into their carefully selected groups of five. Zack and his two men, are yet to join one of the groups too, but for now, they were my eyes out on Lottie’s mother and the cop.

I ensured that each group was just as strong as the next in terms of intelligence, experience and strength. Nobody would go down for any of this, not on my watch!

They break into small conversations, some even using paper to write things down as soon as I give them their target. They discuss how and when they will strike, what they need to do leading up to the attack (whether it’s to kill or assault) along with any other details.

‘Del and Jace… I’m of course keeping you both to work with me.” I tell them, as they move to the bottom of the table to sit by me.

“We will do this strategically… we have to take out Freddie first… but still keep in contact with her mother and the cop to avoid them suspecting anything… before we get them both next!” I explain, as Jace and Del nod in clear understanding.

Everyone’s minds work together, formulating plans of their own. I trust each of them to think creatively and thoroughly, considering all possible scenarios before getting the job done.

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I will, of course, pay them all exceptionally well for their time and commitment in this too… they know I will.

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The meeting proceeds as we discuss the logistics of the plan, covering each detail to ensure everything is accounted for. Nobody will make a move01:20 their target, until Freddie is out of the picture and we have her mother and the cop in our trap. Otherwise, the others might have time to run off if they hear word of the attacks.

My men’s expertise in various fields proves valuable, and by the time the meeting concludes, we’re all on the same page.

Once the meeting is over, I stay behind with Turner, with Del and Jace still by my side as we pull open my laptop to review the footage he has found.

“Ok Alex, this took my team longer than expected, only because we knew we could get to the bottom of who had chased Lottie the other night!” Turner begins, opening up the file for us on the screen.

That sounds promising…

“Ok so we pretty much checked every stores footage from around that area… we figured that if we could find the individual on camera somewhere else around town before the incident… we could maybe see their face.” Turner begins, before opening up the second file – showing the coffee shack cafe not far from the school.

–

“After hours of hunting through the files, I think we finally found who it is! Watch this…” He states, pressing the space bar to start the video.

Rightfully so, we watch as the hooded individual steps out from the cafe, not long before school was set to end.

“We still can’t see their face in this though?” I grumble, as Turner smiles and shakes his head.

“Right? So we know that the individual was in the coffee shack… but there’s absolutely no footage of them entering the store… at least not dressed like that anyhow!” Turner continues, seeming to be getting somewhere as I remain silent.

“It took us forever, but we studied each and every person who entered the shop that.day, and waited to see when they left. This then narrowed it down to one person, or should I say one female, who we can see enters the shop… but doesn’t ever leave!” Turner clicks on to the fifth file, as we watch a woman walking down the street – entering the shop.

No…

It can’t be…

“Isn’t that…” Del breathes out, as I nod in confirmation of his thoughts.

“Sofia!” I grit out her name, watching as she flicks her black hair over her shoulder before entering the store.

“You know her then? She’s the only person that is seen entering the shop but isn’t seen leaving… she must have changed inside and put her hood up. She must be the person who chased Lottie!” Turner concludes, as I throw my head back in both relief and anger.

We have her now! But why would she do this?

“But this was even before she paid you a visit here in the office? She must have already known about your relationship with Lottie if she went after her like this… but why? For what? Is she that

desperate?” Jace begins to rant, as I shake my head in utter disbelief.

“Nah something else must be going on here… and I intend to find out exactly what it is! I’ll give Rosalind a call, have her find Sofia and bring her to me.” I state, fuming now at the new revelation.

Amazing Turner, you and your team have done well!” I commend him, standing from my position as he nods and unplugs the drive.

“Keep this, incase you need it!” He hands me the data, as I nod and smile at him gratefully, before he grabs his things to leave.

I have to keep my shit together… at least around Lottie and Anna…

I decide to head back to check on the girls, only to find that they’ve been working diligently on their social media campaign ideas, and I’m curious to see what they’ve come up with.

Entering the room, I find them huddled together, surrounded by notes and sketches. They look up with smiles, clearly proud of what they’ve created already.

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“We have some fantastic ideas, Alex!” Anna exclaims, excitement shining in her eyes.

Lottie nods in agreement, her enthusiasm contagious. “Yeah, we came up with a few different concepts that we think will really help boost the 01:1 company’s presence online,” She adds, impressing me with her new found skill set.

I sit down to listen as they present their ideas one by one, and I’m genuinely impressed by their creativity and innovative thinking. These two are definitely talented, and they have a keen eye for what will appeal to my target audience.

They carry on, as I can’t believe how much they had created in only a short space of time…

“I have to admit, you both have done a fantastic job with this. I’m seriously impressed,” I praise them, genuinely meaning every word.

“Really? You like them?” Lottie asks, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

“I love them. The new website design, matching a new social media approach is genius. You’ve both done excellent work, and I’ll definitely be implementing some of these ideas.” I nod gratefully, as Lottie and Anna seem to eye one another.

“Well uh, we spoke about some stuff too Alex, and we wanted to ask you something…” Lottie trails off, as I perk up slightly on interest.

“Hm? What is it then doll?” I push her further, as she breathes steadily.

“We want to uh… work for you… at least sometimes, maybe part time hours? We surprised ourselves today and actually had a lot of fun. Now that we’ve come up with the ideas, we don’t want to just leave them with other people, we want to put them into use ourselves.” Lottie explains, as I raise a brow. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

For two girls who didn’t even want to spend time in my office before… this was a surprise.

“Yeah we figured we would love a job! If you’ll take us on board? This could be our own little office beside yours!” Anna grins, looking around in thought

as I chuckle next.

“I want my own money too Alex… I don’t like always having to rely on you to pay for all of my things.” Lottie admits, making me tense slightly.

But why? She doesn’t need to work… I want to take care of her…

“You don’t need any money!” I state bluntly, earning a sigh from her next.

“Alex, I know that. You’ve been overly generous with me. What I mean is, I would just love to be able to buy gifts and things for you and thee uh… the baby… In future. It will feel that little bit more special that I used my hard earned money for it and anyway, you’d be the one paying me so technically you are still taking care of me!” Lottie laughs at the end, as I can’t help but smile at the statement.

She is right… although she’s working and earning her own money… I’m still the one paying her!

“Ok girls… fine… I’ll give you both a shot! Let’s say you do, three days a week? I’ll put you both in charge of the social media, marketing and content design for the company.” I offer, as their eyes both light up and they begin to cheer in celebration.

Lottie’s eyes glisten with emotion, and she rushes to pull me into a tight hug. “Thank you, Alex. I really appreciate it. I’m excited to be a part of your team and to contribute in a meaningful way,” She says, her voice filled with gratitude.

“Anyway, I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish school anymore with a growing baby in my stomach!” Lottie laughs, as I smirk at the idea.

I hate when she goes to school without me… so it sounds like a win, win here.

With everything that’s going on, hiring them feels like the right decision in this moment – and I have to admit, they’ve done a pretty decent job so far.

They will be safe here in this building, and I’ll always have them close by, which offers me some peace of mind.

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