Secrets and Things (MxM)

Chapter 65 - What the fu-?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: VERY IMPORTANT FOR THIS CHAPTER [rEaD It]

This chapter is going to work a bit differently and I will do my very best explaining how it works. Basically, all the bold italics you see this chapter are NOT thoughts but rather a flashback from a week and a half ago (the meeting between Nero and Leo). Due to the lack of other methods of differentiating text, I have to go down this route.

Essentially bold italics is Nero recalling the event and answering Aiden's question to the man at the same time (this is so it's word efficient). Any non-italics is present time (Nero/Aiden at the bar) and conversation during present time. I really didn't do a good job explaining this but hopefully, it'll make sense while you read it.

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POV: Nero

"...Your first question is what was his mood initially, while you guys were in the office?" Aiden asked quite enthusiastically which was very off-putting.

"Of course, you would go for the hardest one first. Well..."

It'd been five minutes and thirty one seconds since my boss sat in his designated seat, located on the other side of the table. For the past five minutes (soon turning six) all he did was stare at me with an unreadable expression. It was blank. So very blank.

I couldn't get a read on the guy and my fear from before multiplied by ten folds. I almost broke my blank mask and displayed the nervousness I was feeling. I began to overthink and spiral.

Aiden interrupted. "Wait so you couldn't get a read on the guy? You didn't know what his reaction was initially?"

"Nope. It stressed the shit out of me. A blank face is always worse than a clear look of anger in my opinion because at least, I'll be prepared to react back in a certain way."

"True, but eventually he talked right? What's the first thing he said?"

"Um, since it was me who said something first, the first thing he said was a response to my question."

To break the stalemate (for my sanity), I asked one of the many questions that had been running through my mind ever since I left the bank. "Are you uh, ok? I mean, did you get hurt after... all... that?"

The other man remained eerily silent for a while longer, making me all fidgety. At that point, I wanted nothing more than to smash the windowpanes and free-fall to my death. Maybe do a couple of aerial tricks to make it a bit more majestic death. "I am perfectly fine. You did a fine job in protecting everyone," Leo finally said with his baritone voice. He was still unreadable and I was basically losing my mind.

"God is this guy trying to pull off Mr. mysterious? That's your thing. You should tell him to stop stealing your thing." Aiden seemed weirdly passionate. He even smacked his empty glass onto the marble top to show his upset.

"It's not my thing Assden," I eye rolled my eyes, "I don't try to be mysterious. I just have a lot of secrets."

"How very mysterious. Anyway, what's next? How did the rest of the conversation go?"

"Um, yeah that's good." I inwardly cringed at the awkward response but cut me some slack. My head was throbbing due to anxiety, stress and fatigue. "So why did you call me up here?"

Leo just rose his eyebrows. "I think we all know why I called you up here."

"By all, do you mean this entire building or just us or...?"