Human Conditioning (13 page)

Gina grinned from ear to ear.
If they had been walking she would have had a spring in her step. She had
prepared herself for another onslaught, but it looked as though Aiden had
different ideas. She replied enthusiastically, “Yeah, definitely. I bet you
could get a good couple of thou for it!”

Aiden didn’t answer. He
wouldn’t get that much, but he basked in her admiration anyhow. Gina had always
believed in him and, deep down, he appreciated that fact.

After a short while, they
passed Haggerston underground station and Aiden spun a right onto Middleton
Road.

“Posh round here...” Gina
announced, staring out of the window as they pulled up alongside a row of
terrace houses, all with front gardens and stone steps leading up to the front
doors.

“Look, I need you to do me a
favour...”

Gina sighed and turned to meet
his eyes. “I thought you were taking me out, Aiden?” she scowled.

“
I am
, but I need you
to do something for me first...”

Gina stepped up to the front door of the townhouse just a
few doors down from where they had parked up. She was suddenly nervous. She’d
never collected a debt before, except from her useless father, who was in more
debt than she’d ever know. She ran Aiden’s brief instructions through her mind:
‘You just need to flirt with him a bit. He can be a bit of bastard, but I need
to keep him sweet.’

She sighed and pressed the
buzzer, realising that the beautiful house was in fact a block of apartments.
The man she needed to see was located on the top floor, according to the
intercom. There was a crackle then a deep husky voice... of a woman. “Hello?”

Gina cleared her throat. “I’m
looking for Mr Baker?”

The woman over the intercom was obviously surprised to
hear a female’s voice talk back to her, but this didn’t seem to anger her like
one would expect from a woman discovering that another woman was looking for
her partner – if she was his partner
.
In fact, her tone changed
immediately from abrupt to cheery.

“He’s actually just popped out.
Do you want to come up and wait?” Gina didn’t want that one bit, but she
couldn’t see Aiden to get his attention through the tall bushes surrounding the
garden. “Hello?”

“Um... yeah, sorry, thanks.”

The door buzzed and Gina made
her way to the top floor. There was only one door and she tapped on it lightly.
The door swung open and a tall, attractive young woman with dark skin, a huge
afro and wide brown eyes smiled down at her. “Come in!”

Gina stepped into the large apartment,
taking in the expensive furnishings as she followed the overfriendly woman into
the lounge. The room was bright and airy, with two large floor-to-ceiling
windows looking out onto the street below. Gina crossed the room and took a
sneaky peek out of the window. She could see Aiden’s car now, and Aiden waiting
patiently, smoking a cigarette.

When she turned, the woman was
smiling at her. “And you are?” she asked kindly.

“Uh... Gina. Gina Watson.” She
held out her hand and the woman took it, squeezing it lightly.

“Jackie Mansfield.”

“Nice to meet you, Jackie...”

“Please, take a seat.” Jackie
gestured to the bright yellow leather couch. “Can I get you something to drink
whilst you wait?” She grinned, her bright white teeth gleaming back.

This young woman was well
kept, and Gina thought her to be no older than twenty-five years old. She
wondered whether she was the wife of the man she had come to see. She wasn’t
exactly giving her the third degree about who she was and what she wanted with
her man. Gina’s eyes instinctively glanced at Jackie’s left hand: no ring.

“I’ll have water... please,” she
replied.

“Sure!”

Jackie disappeared back into
the hallway they had come from. Whilst alone, Gina surveyed the room. The walls
were a stark white, but all the accessories were modern and in an array of
bright colours. She had never seen anything like it before. All she knew was
the bleakness of her estate: all greys, browns and blacks. But this place was
like what she would assume a modern art gallery would look like. She loved it
and a twinge of jealousy struck her.
How much money would you have to earn
to live in this kind of luxury?

Jackie reappeared with a glass
of water and handed it over to her. She was attempting to discreetly study her,
and Gina wondered what this affluent woman must think of her in her mini skirt,
Adidas jacket and trainers.

“You’re very pretty... you’ll
earn a lot with that face.”

Gina frowned with confusion. “Will
Mr Baker be long, do you think?” she asked awkwardly.

“No, he’s due back any
moment.” Jackie smiled coyly, then added, “He’s, er... seeing a man about a
dog.”

Gina understood this phrase
more than anyone. Her father used it pretty much every time he walked out of
the door. It meant he was going to the pub, but she had a strong feeling that
Mr Baker was actually doing business and this made her nervous. Aiden had merely
asked her to collect a debt. He hadn’t gone into detail as to
who
she
was collecting from. In fact, he hadn’t even explained why he couldn’t collect
it himself, other than because he didn’t want to personally upset the man –
whoever he was.

Just then the front door
opened, and Gina turned in surprise. “That’ll be Mr Baker,” Jackie announced
and waited eagerly for his arrival into the lounge. When he stepped into the
room, she smiled widely at him. He smiled back briefly, but was distracted
immediately by the stranger sitting on his couch. “Who’s this?” he asked
Jackie.

Gina peered up at him and saw
a very fine sight. Mr Baker was rather young, clearly only in his thirties. For
some reason, she had expected him to be a lot older, probably because Aiden and
Jackie didn’t call him by his first name. He was tall and blonde with hazel
eyes, and handsome, with a straight nose and defined cheek bones.

“Her name’s Gina Watson, Mr
Baker... I haven’t done any of the introductions yet.”

“Uh... introductions?” Gina queried,
Jackie’s words cutting through her reverie.

Jackie’s warm brown eyes were
gazing at her. “Where’s she come from?” he asked Jackie, his thick, sandy
eyebrows arching with incomprehension.

Jackie shrugged. Gina felt as
if she wasn’t even in the room and they were addressing her as if she were some
sort of animal unable to communicate with them. “I thought you’d arranged for
her to be here?” Jackie said, her face falling with immediate concern.

Gina finally stood and both
Jackie and Mr Baker stared at her in utter astonishment. Gina couldn’t
understand why this would cause such surprise. “And where do you think you’re
going?” Mr Baker growled, his hazel eyes narrowing into a mean scowl.

Gina straightened her back.
“Look, Mr Baker, I’ve come to collect a debt?” she explained, radiating
impatience.

His eyes narrowed further. “A
debt?” he asked, and a quiver of a smile rose on his lips. Suddenly he was
intrigued.

Gina continued in defence, “Yes,
on behalf of Reggie Driscoll?”

Mr Baker’s eyebrows rose and,
raising a hand to his mouth, he tapped three fingers in quick succession and
repeatedly over his bottom lip as he considered her. “He’s sending beautiful
women to entice me into paying, now, is he?”

Gina blushed and her eyes
instinctively glanced at Jackie, but Jackie was smiling. She took a breath and
replied, boldly, “I guess he is.”

Mr Baker laughed, “How much?”
Gina was surprised by how easy this was going to turn out to be. Aiden had made
this man seem like he was going to be a nightmare. Why couldn’t he have just done
this himself? “Miss Watson?”

“Oh... um... twenty...”

“Just twenty pounds? It seems
hardly worth your trouble.”

Gina managed a brief smile and
she got the feeling he was attempting to tease her. Maybe Aiden’s plan was
working. Maybe this man liked dealing with women more than men. She pursed her
lips. “No...
thousand,
” she replied spiritedly.

He whistled through his teeth.
“Do all your debtors carry that amount of money on them, Miss Watson?”

“I wouldn’t know... you are my
first.”

Jackie let out a giggle and,
with a flick of his head, Mr Baker instructed her to leave the room. She
obliged immediately and Gina watched her leave, all of a sudden nervous to be
left alone with him.

He was staring at her intently
when she turned back to him and she squirmed under his penetrating gaze.

“Turn around and close your eyes,” he said. Gina’s eyes defied
him immediately and widened in shock at his instruction. He gave her a lopsided
smile, knowing full well that he was intimidating her. “My safe is in this room,
Miss Watson, and I do not wish for you to witness its whereabouts or its
combination.” Twisting her lips, she reluctantly turned and closed her eyes.
“Uh... fingers in ears, too, Miss Watson.”

Gina rolled her eyes and
inserted an index finger into each ear, a brief smile rising on her lips as she
considered why he hadn’t just asked her to wait outside. He was toying with
her!

Every now and then she heard the
faint sound of a knock or a click, but she had no idea where Mr Baker was in
the room or where he was accessing such a large amount of cash. Her mind
drifted to what Jackie had said about
introductions
and ‘
you’ll earn
a lot with that face
’ and it suddenly dawned on her what line of ‘business’
this handsome man was in.

When she whipped around and
freed her ears and opened her eyes, Mr Baker was standing before her, holding a
briefcase.

“Your twenty thousand.”

Gina gulped and, holding out
her hand, she added nervously, “Thank you.”

He passed her the case and
gestured to the hallway. He walked her to the door and opened it. “A pleasure
doing business with you, Gina.” Gina stepped out of the apartment on a discreet
sigh of relief. She peered around his robust body to catch any sign of Jackie,
to thank her for her hospitality, but she was nowhere to be seen. “I expect the
case to be returned to me,” he added, reverting to his earlier seriousness and
business-like manner. Gina nodded. “And please inform Reginald that his produce
didn’t live up to its usual quality. He needs to speak with his supplier.”
 

“Yes, Mr Baker,” Gina croaked
uneasily.

She hurried down the stairs
and out of the front doors, down the stone steps and onto the pavement. Her
heart was hammering in her chest.
He’s a pimp!,
she thought as she
rushed over to Aiden’s car. She noticed Aiden lifting his arms in protest at the
length of time she had been gone. As she slipped into the passenger seat, he
barked, “You took your time!”

“He was out!” she snapped.
“You must have seen him arrive after I was let in!” 

Aiden was shocked by her
aggravation but chose not to argue. He pulled away from the kerb and headed
back the way they’d come. “Is that it?” he asked a short while later, glancing
at the silver briefcase upon Gina’s lap.

“Yes!” she snapped. Aiden’s
jaw clenched, but again he didn’t retaliate. She had done him a massive favour
today.

As they headed towards home,
Aiden sensed that Gina had something to say. In fact, he feared she had
a
lot
to say. Maybe she had figured out what Mr Baker was...

His thoughts were confirmed
when Gina abruptly turned in her seat and spat, “He’s a pimp! You sent me to a
pimp’s apartment,
alone
!”

“He’s alright, G... he likes
pretty girls.”

“I bet he does.”

Aiden’s eyes narrowed and he pursed
his lips as if something had just occurred to him. He glanced at Gina.
“Handsome fucker, ain’t he?”

Gina didn’t answer. She wanted
to say yes, because it was the truth, but she knew Aiden would take it as a
personal insult and she wondered why he would ask her such a question.
He
wasn’t looking for a fight, surely?
She glared out of the window. He was
taking her out, whether he liked it or not! She refused to be coaxed into him
dropping her off home because she’d said something out of turn. “Where you
taking me, then?” she asked.

“Where do you wanna go...
pub?”

“No, not the bloody pub!” She
scowled at him.

Aiden sighed, then a cheeky
smile crept onto his lips. “Bed?”

Mr Baker was suddenly a
distant memory at the prospect of going to bed with Aiden. Suddenly she felt
like a young girl about to kiss a boy for the very first time. A heat of lust
and anticipation exploded in the pit of her stomach, as if her libido was
connected with his.

Aiden placed his hand on her
knee and she squirmed beneath his touch. She was hungry for him, as she always
was. What was it about Aiden Foster that she loved so much? His exquisite
looks, his sculptured body that just wasn’t meant for someone his age, his
confidence, his arrogance, his erratic temper? All of it, of course. He was the
sexiest man she’d ever known: far too good-looking for his own good and the
good of others around him. It just wasn’t fair how attractive he was.

She didn’t stand a chance.

Vivien and Duggie were at each other’s throats when they
came home after a night out with friends. Vivien stormed into the flat and went
straight into the kitchen. Duggie stumbled in after her. He had still been drunk
from the night before when he’d woken on the living room floor of their
friend’s flat in Homerton, and the cider he’d consumed on the bus on the way
home had somewhat contributed to the blazing row he and Vivien had got
themselves into.

“Every bloody time, man!”
Vivien yelled as she stormed back into the lounge, having filled the kettle and
flicked the switch to boil.