9

I woke up expecting it to bright outside but it was still dark, I picked up my watch to see that it was past 9pm. I already knew how I winded up in bed after dozing off in the car, Alfred carried me.

The smell of food filtered into my room, immediately my stomach began to grumble.

I stepped out of my room and towards the kitchen where I found him.

He had on grey sweatpants and a brown fitted top, clinging to his muscles.

His arms bulged as he flipped over the frying pan, the fire from the gas flares.

I know he had always looked good but this was a different kind of good, the kind that makes you want to strip him just to see what he has to offer.

I leaned against the door watching him, my lips dry as I try to swallow what’s left of my tongue.

I could feel the room getting hot, not just from the heat of his cooking but from… you know what I mean.

Concentrate Liliac, I warned myself.

“What are you making?” I picked an apple from the basket and threw my ass over the counter in front of him.

He was aback by the sudden action, or maybe because I was too close to him.

“You’re awake,” he raised his head to me, ofcourse he wouldn’t have noticed me standing there for three minutes gawking at him. He looked too occupied to notice that.

“A soul meal” he responded.

“That’s sounds nice” I picked another apple, “where did you learn how to cook?”

With the amount of people he must have worked with, I assumed he knew how to cook only for himself, considering how exhausting his job could actually be, but this was on a different level. He took his time with his dishes like he was perfecting his craft.

“Culinary… I mean military school” he replied mixing his words.

I nodded my head at his response, hiding the tiny smile.

“Just give me a couple minutes and dinner will be ready”

Now that I think of it, not once was it included in his contract that he should cook for me, yet I kept my mouth shut. Nothing is more sweeter than having a handsome man in the kitchen preparing what you like.

After we were done with the terrific dinner, I hauled most of my work which I hadn’t finished in the office down to the dinning room.

When I remember how Uncle and Marcel had challenged me,

It felt like my time was ticking and death was approaching me swiftly.

I had the business under control but there were other things that I hadn’t shown myself to. Dark things that should remain hidden.

Alfred grabbed a seat in front of me, I knew it was to start a conversation, I was open for it, work was already killing me with the few minutes I had in.

“I was wondering if I could join you in the office from now on” he asked.

I hadn’t expected that.

I stared at him confused, could it be possible that he knew what happened in the meeting room, News does travel fast, or was he just concerned about me. Or perhaps he was tired of spending the whole day in the car waiting for me to finish work.

“Why is that?”

“I cannot protect you when I am far away from you” he answered, damn he was smooth with his words.

I couldn’t argue with him, because I felt it might be nice to have him closer too,

“I will let the team step up a table outside my office for you…”

“Inside” he corrected.

I dropped my pen and narrowed my brows, “Why inside?”

“What happens when you get shot from the window” he suggested.

My jaw immediately dropped. He didn’t have to be so literal with it, making pictures appear in my head.

Is that actually possible?

“Fine” I obliged and he nodded.

I picked a file, it was as heavy as the palm of my head, it was a list of people who owed Grandfather.

Grandfather may own the Roman Enterprises but that was just a front; in the other world, he had control of drugs, weapons, laundered money, anything illegal in Greece didn’t happen without his notice.

He was very strict and made a list of those who betrayed him, those who owed him and those he didn’t trust. The Carter family was at the top of the list for those he didn’t trust.

I had a footprint to follow, yet Uncle Wyatt was already ahead of me as he has began rallying most of our partners to his side.

He feels that if he could not get the company from me then he might as well be the king of the Underworld, but there were things he had no idea of. Things that only Grandfather knew and now I know.

Not only did he keep a list but he almost kept their secrets and weakness, that was how he was able to stay on top of everyone.

Right now, Uncle Wyatt has been able to rally 40% of my partners, he has stopped my trade and tried his best to take control over the gambling rings that I own.

All thanks to Maverick, I was able to find out about all that.

The remaining 60% on my side are unsure if they should follow a woman, wondering if I was good enough to lead them. Waiting for me to make a mistake so that they could rally to Uncle’s side.

“Alfred, what do you think about a marriage?” I questioned, I watched him sit straight in his seat, his eyes focused on me.

“I need powerful allies if I am to go against my uncle Wyatt, I will tell you the details later.

What better way to get allies than to get married.”

His face pulls from confusion to shock and then to denial.

I stood up from my seat, with the file in my hand. “The Reign family has already rejected me which leaves me with the next family who has just as much influence as them but a little lower. They may not be as powerful as the Reign family but joined together, we would be more powerful than the Reign family.” I could almost applaud myself for such an idea. I know Grandfather had wanted me to marry Carter Reign, the first son of the Reign family because he believed they would protect me but that didn’t work out.

“I will marry the first son of the Gretes family” I announced.

The sound of his seat falling down caught me by surprise, Alfred walked up to me with horror in his eyes.

“Are you sure about that?” He inquired.

“Yes, I have made my decision” I answered.

“You can’t marry from the Gretes family” he barked, raising his voice at me.

That’s a first. It felt so commanding and dark that I almost surrendered myself to him.

“Why not?”

“They are… they… I mean…”

“What is it?” I demanded as I searched his eyes.

“They are not good for you” he stated.

“I don’t need them to be good for me, I need them for their support, when I marry the first born, most of our partners would be back. Uncle would be left with barely 10%” I explained.

He grew silent for a while thinking about it, and I took it as him acknowledging that I was making the right decision.

“We shall visit them tomorrow” I ordered and turned to leave when he held my hand.

I stared at his hand clutching mine tightly before I traced my eyes to his eyes, there were filled with sadness, I watched him take one step closer until he was inches away from me.

“You don’t have to do this” he says.

“I have too…” before the sentence could come out, he shut me off with a kiss.

A kiss so intense that it made my heart skip, the touch of his lips against mine made the hairs on my body go feral.

Then he suddenly pulled away, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to…”

He had already apologized before I could get a word out.

“I’m really sorry” he said again then left me hanging as he goes to his room.

What was that? I asked myself as I stood there.