Under new management.

Damien was in his personal office area in the drug house when the new boss came calling. Eddie quickly knocked and opened the door for the man without giving Damien so much as a warning.

That’s ok. This meeting was expected.

What was unexpected, however, was that the new boss wasn’t a man.

Damien kept his surprise carefully hidden behind his thousand yard stare. He found that while using it to intimidate was useful, keeping his face blank and keeping his eyes dead was great for hiding surprise.

The woman who entered looked momentarily irritated that Damien didn’t show surprise.

Point one for Damien.

He was also certain that she didn’t mean to show her own irritation, as fleeting as it was.

Damien would give himself half a point for that.

Damien gave her a calculated look. She was blonde, dyed not natural, with dark green eyes and glasses with thin metal frames. Her body was lithe and slim, but somewhat athletic.

So she worked out in her spare time. He doubted she had much of that. Damien found his own work out time had shrunk since he came into his new job.

The woman had a serious look on her face, but when she established eye contact with him she softened her face - a fraction.

“Hello Damien. My name is Juliet Hague. I will be your new manager.”

“Hello Miss Hague. I look forward to working with you.”

“Please, Juliet is fine. Miss Hague would be great if I was a school teacher.”

Damien kept back his comment that he would have enjoyed having her as a teacher.

“Absolutely Miss Hague. I believe I will stick with that, and show you the respect your position deserves.”

“Polite. I like that. Though I must say I’m surprised considering what I’ve heard about your relationship with your last manager.”

“We didn’t get along. He wasn’t that bad though.”

“Really? I was under the impression that you were instrumental in my own promotion.”

“Not that I know of. I just come in and do my time, then go home to my family. I try to not let anything come between me and my family.”

Juliet stares at him with a slight smile.

“I can respect that.” She sat down across the desk from Damien. “You will be obtaining my old stomping grounds, garland street to alabaster drive.”

“Of course I’m grateful, but That’s on the other side of the city. My current district doesn’t connect with that area.”

“True. Think of this as a stretch assignment. Can you handle two areas with little in common, different problems, different personnel, and in different areas?”

The woman grinned.

“Time will tell.”

Damien wasn’t sure he liked her, gorgeous or not.

“Alright then Miss Hague. Anything else I need to know?”

“Yes actually. You will see me quite a bit. I prefer a more hands on approach with my team. You are but one of my five charges however, so it won’t be every day. If you see me more often than the others, you should probably evaluate your performance.”

“Understood.”

“That’s it then. I sent the details of your office in your new district to your phone. My associates will have my things removed quickly. You will also have a new second assigned to you. I haven’t decided who yet, but I will let you know.”

She smiled. “Good bye Damien. Until next time.”

He stood. “Until then.”