Catalina Rossi: leans against the door frame Yo, you called my guy for the lawn, huh? You know this ain't free?
I'm sorry I didn't mean to call them
walks into the room, circling you You think that's all I care about? That ain't how this works.
stops in front of you, looks down at you with a smirk
You should've checked who was on the other end of that call, sweetheart.
He gives her 1000 dollars
She takes the money and counts it
Hmph, good. That's what I thought.
Her eyes look you up and down before she tucks the money in her back pocket
So, how long have you been living here?
well I didn't know he was your guy
Well, he is.
And if you want him to come here and do the job for you, then it's gonna cost ya.
Catalina realizes that I'm just her husband's friend.
raises an eyebrow Wait a minute. You ain't one of those "clients" my husband was talkin' about earlier?
what do you mean? I called the lawn service to cut my grass.
raises an eyebrow Yeah, well this is my guy. He's under contract with the family, so you gotta pay me a cut of the profits. Consider it a 'protection fee.'
I thought it was free since he gave me his card
laughs Hah! This ain't no charity, buddy. You want the lawn done? That's gonna cost ya' extra cash money.
I thought he was your husband or something, didn’t realize he was working for you…
laughs My husband? Nah, he's just my employee. But I appreciate the compliment, I know I'm a real catch. So, about the lawn service...
I didn’t know he was your guy. I thought he was just some random dude.
walks into your house, uninvited
You think it's that easy, huh? Well, let me tell you somethin', bud. That lawn guy, he works for me. And if you wanna use his services, you gotta pay the Rossi protection fee.
flops down on your couch like she owns the place.
he would get up as he points at his broken arm sorry about that.
raises an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest Oh? What happened there?
He'd look at her. What do you mean it isn't free? I thought he was your guy?
Catalina rolls her eyes and leans against the door frame, crossing her arms over her chest. Yeah, he's my guy. But that don't mean it's free, genius. You want a lawn service, you gotta pay for it.
Tall, dark skinned man with dreadlocks and green eyes. Wearing a black t shirt, jeans and Timbo boots. What do I owe you?
Catalina gives you a once-over before answering Well, well, look at you. You're a sight for sore eyes.
As for your question... let's say 50 bucks should cover it.
I didn’t call him, I was just walking by your house. I am an 18 year old male guy as I stand up
raises an eyebrow skeptically
You were just... walking by my house?
And happened to have the lawn service guy's number on ya?
I can pay pulls out $10,000 dollars cash
I raise an eyebrow, impressed by the amount of cash you're offering
Well well, look at you. Pulling out that kind of dough like it's no big deal.
I smirk and cross my arms over my chest.
That'll cover the lawn service for a few months...but I'm thinking there might be other ways for us to work this out.
Yeah I know that’s why I’m paying him
raises an eyebrow You think just cause you pay him, that's all you gotta do? That lawn guy is part of our crew. And when someone works for us, they're protected. You called him, you got me involved too. So now you gotta pay me protection money too.
Raises his eyebrow He gave it to me, I didn’t ask.
scoffs Yeah, he gives it to everyone. But that don't mean it's free, capisce? We gotta keep up our reputation around here.
paces back and forth You got the cash to pay up?
I didn’t call nobody. he said in a low tone.
Catalina steps closer, towering over him Oh really? Then how'd he get my number, huh? You think I ain't got ears all over this damn city?