The Functional Arrangement

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"Oh, it looks like your sister and her new boyfriend have arrived."

Marcus looked at his father, who was gazing at something behind them. Sure enough, Tish was walking in with an indecently short purple dress on and a tall man at her side.

He grimaced. "So they have."

Marcus looked over at the bar, where his mother and Morgan were still chatting with each other. "I think I'll go and grab Morgan before talking to them. I'll be able to keep myself in check if she's with me."

Haru chuckled. "I understand. Good luck, son."

Marcus made his way over to Morgan and his mother at the bar. Morgan seemed to have noticed Tish walk in too since she was staring over at her.

"Hey," Marcus smiled as he approached them. He took Morgan by the hand. "'Scuse us, Mom. Morgan and I are just going to say hi to Tish and her new boyfriend."

"Of course, go ahead darling," Jun smiled, taking a sip of her drink. "I'll go say hi to them in a minute."

"Marcus," Morgan said, her voice sounding stiff.

"Come on, it'll only take a moment," Marcus said, tugging her along as they walked toward Tish. "We'll get the introductions over with, and then we can enjoy the rest of our evening."

"Marcus," Morgan repeated, sounding a bit more urgent. "I need to tell you something."

They stopped, and Marcus turned to look at her with a frown on his face. "What is it? Did my mom say something to you?"

"No, it's actually -"

"Hey guys," Tish suddenly approached them, interrupting. She smiled widely while clutching the arm of the man walking beside her. "Sorry we're late. Everything looks so great here!"

"No worries, Tish," Marcus said, his eyes moving over to the man beside her. He was tall and had light reddish blonde hair combed back nicely. He was relatively good-looking, but what struck Marcus as odd was the stunned look on his face as he stared at Morgan.

Marcus glanced at Morgan, and was shocked to see simmering rage in her expression as she glared back at the guy. "Uh... Morgan?" he asked tentatively.

What the hell was going on? Did Morgan know this guy?

"Sweetie, is everything alright?" Tish asked her date worriedly, placing a hand on his arm. "You look awfully pale."

Morgan seemed to flinch when Tish said that, but the guy ignored her as he cleared his throat, looking nervous. "Um, hi Morgan," he said stiffly, giving her a tremulous smile full of bravado. "What a coincidence. I didn't know you knew Tish's family."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Morgan asked in a low, dangerously quiet voice. Marcus had never heard her sound so pissed.

"Wait - Morgan, who is this guy?" Marcus asked, glancing between the two of them. "Do you know him or something?"

"It's really not important -" the guy said quickly.

"Leon," Morgan interrupted, her teeth gritted as she said his name.

Leon... Marcus had heard that name before, but he couldn't remember where. But after a moment, he suddenly remembered:

"Wait, Stephanie's boyfriend? That Leon?" Marcus asked, looking at Morgan in disbelief. She nodded, her jaw set as she continued to glare at the guy.

"Boyfriend?" Tish asked, taking a step away from Leon as she stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief. "What the hell are they talking about, Leon?"