"Tell me why are we so blind to see.
That the ones we hurt, are you and me?" -Coolio, L.V
Luca and I walk through the large doors of the conference room. Micah and Enzo followed closely behind. All eyes turned on us as the tension in the room grew. I looked to Luca, who looked to me before raising an eyebrow with a slight smirk.
My eyes landed on Grandpa who wore a stoic expression on his face. I knew he wasn't too happy with me, but I could care less at the moment. My eyes ran over the faces of the Russian mob they all had scowls on their faces.
Once again, I didn't care.
I saw my mom sitting in the corner of the room. Her face was blank, but when she looked at me I could see the hidden panic behind her eyes. I gave her a small nod and she returned it as she nervously ran her hand over her dress.
We all sat at the table, the head seat left empty for me. I looked at Grandpa, he normally takes this seat. He nodded and I walked to the seat and sat down. Everyone else sat with me.
"So nice of you to finally join us." The man I am assuming was Maxim's grandfather spoke up.
I turned my attention to him as a small smirk came to my face. "I had to tend to my knuckles. How's Maxim?"
His body visibly went rigid but he didn't say anything else. I turned my gaze to the man I knew was Maxim's father.
"I don't want to waste our time right now. Since I won, I understand I am supposed to take Maxim's woman. I will not be doing that." I saw the woman hidden in the corner visibly exhale as her shoulders relaxed.
Confusion ran through the men's faces as they looked at each other. I rolled my eyes at that. Who offers up their own woman, he must not love her.
"I understand this is tradition. But in the future, women will be taken off the table. I don't understand how any man can say he loves a woman and put her to be handled any way the winner sees fit. You have 24hrs to come up with a new plan. The fight is fine, but seeing how you have lost almost every year. You may want to reconsider, I can assure you when I have a son, he will be just as fierce, if not more."
Maxim's dad leaned up and whispered in his dad's ear. The man nodded and turned to Grandpa.
"George, is this your way of telling us you are stepping down? You are leaving everything to this child?" He sneered.
I chuckled to myself as I looked at Grandpa who was already looking at me. He licked his lips in frustration before turning to Maxim's grandpa.
"Konstantin, I have complete faith and confidence in Haden's ability. Not only is he as fierce as a lion, but he's as sharp as a whip. When it comes to finances, Haden is your guy. When it comes to strategic planning, especially with keeping the feds off your ass, Haden is your go-to. He has smart and loyal men behind him so don't try to cross him, he's always ten steps ahead. Maxim lost that fight before he ever took a punch. You tell me, Konstantin, do you want him as an enemy?"
Konstantin looked back at me and I raised an eyebrow. He looked at his men before standing up.
"We need to talk in private." He stated. I nodded.
"Take your time," I answered and they all walked out into the hallway. I turned to my mom who stood up, looking at me with pride. I smirked before turning to Grandpa.
"Laying it on thick old man. You're still not in the clear for that stunt you pulled." I said.
Grandpa chuckled slightly before shaking his head.
YOU ARE READING
Principessa (Book II of The Stepbrother)
RomanceFour years have passed and a lot has changed. Joella is in her final semester of college and she is excited to start her new journey as a young adult in the 'real world'. Her confidence has grown and continues to grow as she finds her way. She's s...
