The Mafia & The Billionaire

AlexThis text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

I don’t know what got into Mom; she suddenly wanted dinner together. She called me earlier and said she was with Serene, and they were heading straight to a restaurant for a family dinner. I’m fine with it since it’s rare for this to happen, and it’s a chance for my wife to feel closer to my parents. Next time, we might invite her grandparents, or better yet, we can have it at the old Dylan mansion.

I parked the car and checked everything before heading to the restaurant. As I walked in, I immediately saw my wife talking to a man-wait, a man? I squinted to see who it was, and then it registered-it was Juancho. What is he doing here?

I walked closer, and the man saw me first. He smiled at me, causing Serene to turn and look at me as well.

“Hi, son,” Mom greeted me, and I smiled and kissed her. Your Dad is on his way too,” she added as I sat beside Serene. I wanted to kiss her, too, but I don’t think she would want that, especially when we were in front of the man we were suspicious of capable of doing something bad.

“So, is this a family dinner?” Juancho asked.

“Sort of,” my wife answered simply.

“I think we should move to another table so your friend can join us,” Mom said with an overly sweet smile. She probably thought the man was a close friend of my wife.

“Oh no, ma’am. Thank you, but I think you need this time to be together as a family,” Juancho smiled, but I felt a hidden meaning behind his words.

“Huh?” My mom seemed confused, but I noticed Serene wasn’t in the best mood either.

“I mean, Serene is very busy with her company, and Mr. McGregor is busy too, so this kind of dinner doesn’t happen often. You should take advantage of it.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s up with these two, but I understand them. They want to make sure everything’s good, especially when they decide to have kids,” Mom said, still clueless about what Juancho was implying. I could see Serene raising her eyebrow, clearly holding back her temper.

One thing I’ve noticed about my wife is her eyebrow-raising habit and impatience.

“Anyway, Auntie, I have to go too. I still need to talk to someone, and I just stopped by because I was hungry,” Juancho said.

“Okay, dear. Take care,” Mom said cheerfully.

“Serene, Mr. McGregor,” he bid us goodbye with a smile and a nod, and we did the same. But Juancho probably didn’t realize his mistake-he called me Mr. McGregor. This means he already knew about me and my wife, making it crystal clear to us that he couldn’t be trusted.

Serene and I exchanged glances just as our orders arrived, and Dad walked in, all smiles because he had some good news for me. But we didn’t talk about it since we focused on the dinner that Mom had arranged with my wife.

Everything went well until we got home. Serene was quiet during the ride, a far cry from her happy face while we were with my parents.

“Honey, is something wrong?” I asked when we entered our room. She turned to face me and glared.

“You’re asking me that after seeing Juancho there?” she asked angrily.

“If you’re mad at him, don’t take it out on me.” But her brows furrowed even more before she spoke.

“You think I’m taking my anger at him out on you?” she asked. “I’m worried, Alexander! I am fucking worried!” she yelled, and I don’t like being yelled at, especially when she calls me by my full name. I pulled her closer, but she resisted.

“I’m not stopping you from being angry or worried, but don’t shout at me, honey,” I said calmly, knowing we wouldn’t understand each other if I matched her anger. Besides, I knew her anger wasn’t directed at me.

She didn’t speak but broke free from my grip and paced back and forth. I was getting dizzy watching her, so I stopped her. “Just tell me what it is, honey.”

“It doesn’t feel right. Why was he at that restaurant? I know Mom’s decision to have dinner was sudden. Was it just a coincidence?” she rambled. “No, no, no, there’s no such thing as coincidence,” she continued talking, almost like she was talking to herself.

“Honey,” I called her, holding both her shoulders and turning her to face me. “Breathe and relax.”

“I can’t, Alex. I can’t.”

“I understand your worry, but please, don’t be too hard on yourself.”

“What if he did something to your parents?” she asked.

“Nothing is going to happen to my parents, honey. I’ll do everything to protect them, okay?”

“I was just worried. I don’t want them to get involved in-”

“That’s not going to happen, okay? Before they can hurt my parents, they’ll have to go through me, and in case you don’t know, I can take care of myself.”

“Alex, let me tell you this,” she said after deep breathing. “Juancho is different from your business competitors. Fa—r different. So if you think I’m worrying for nothing, I’m not.”

“I know, and I know there was something in what he said earlier.”

“Then why are you so calm?” she asked, annoyed.

“Because I already know he’s going to do something.”

“And you think you’re prepared for it? No, you’re fucking wrong. You have no idea how people like him think!”

“Why? What is someone like him?” I couldn’t understand why she was so worried, especially since we both knew who Juancho was. Unless there was something, she wasn’t telling me. “Wait, are you hiding something from me?” I asked, and she looked away, turning her back on me.

“I’m just going to clean up.”

“Come on, Serene,” I said, stopping her. “Tell me, what is it?”

“Alex…”

“Serene…” She took another deep breath before speaking. “We haven’t confirmed it yet, but Hamilton discovered that Juancho was seen with our organization’s enemy at Portico.”

“When did you know about this?” I asked. I had no idea that this man was no longer just a business rival.

“Hamilton is still gathering details, so I haven’t told you yet. Nadine is also keeping an eye on Juancho’s every move.”

“And when were you planning to tell me this? When you were already in danger?”

“Why are you thinking about me? You should be thinking about your parents. He will do something bad, so you have to warn them. You can’t be complacent with him.”

“What about Richard?” I asked her.

“I’m certain he’s connected to that man, especially since he called you Mr. McGregor earlier. I mentioned nothing about you when we met at Portico, but he already knew. He had no reason to look into you, but he did.”

“That means he was already cautious when you met at Portico.”

“Exactly, which is why you have to be careful too. There could be people in your company connected to Richard that you don’t know about. Aside from the board members he’s buying shares from.”

“Von already looked into it; you don’t need to worry. I’m encouraging him to buy more; then I’ll make my move.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, frowning, but I just smiled.

“Come on, Alexander!” my impatient wife yelled, and I just grinned, which only irritated her, but I didn’t mind. She doesn’t know how beautiful she is when she’s angry.