Royal Bitch

If my men can't find it, it doesn't exist.

"Important encounters are planned by the souls long before the bodies see each other." - Paulo Coehl

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Chapter 24

Fiore and Chuck continued their banter and one bottle of wine became two, then three, and dinner progressed to dessert.

"So, have I sufficiently surprised you?" Chuck purred as he savored the last bite of his strawberry cheesecake.

"I admit you have surprised me." Fiore conceded. "This wasn't what I was expecting?"

"What were you expecting?"

"I expected hardball tactics and a strong arm approach."

"Despite who my work sometimes requires me to be, I am not all brute force and boorish ways."

"I'm beginning to realize that."

Chuck smiled. "I'm actually relieved to hear you say that."

"Are you? And why is that?"

"It means next time I call you, you might just answer and not just to yell at or insult me."

"I don't apologize for my earlier actions. You of all people understand my position."

"If you were so easy to catch, I'd have already had my fill of you. You've mastered the art of leave them wanting more."

Fiore gave a careless shrug. "No, that wasn't my goal. I don't want more."

"You keep telling yourself that, but you still desire company. There's a loneliness in your eyes that most don't notice. But someone accustomed to such a feeling can see it on another."

"Chuck, before this progresses, I have to admit myself confused by you. Since our game hasn't officially ended, I'll make this my final question. What is your name?"

"Charles Rupert LeGrande, you know this."

"No, your real name. Not the name you currently go by."

"What does that mean?"

"It means there is nothing about Charles LeGrande before 2004, and as you're not prepubescent, it means you have a different name."

"Perhaps your records are incomplete?"

"If my men can't find it, it doesn't exist."

"You seem so sure of yourself."

"I am. I have to be. Any person I associate with reflects my business practices and the crown. I cannot be around someone who can tarnish the reputation of either."

"Chuck LeGrande is not a terrible person to be around."

"But the boogeyman is."

"And if Chuck LeGrande and my nickname are tied to one another, then how your name reflects will be low on your priority list and your life and the lives of your family at the top."

Fiore nodded.  "So us being not enemies puts them all in danger."

"Only if my wrath is less feared than their greed."

"As I could buy your men, that's not very comforting."

"You've found a crack in my defenses, true, a fact which I admit makes you more attractive."

"You are the strangest man I've met. Any other man would have taken the hint."

"I'm not other men just as you are not other women. We could be good together, you know?"