Rivals

CHAPTER 8:

Killian

I waited for the limo to completely disappear down the street before I went back inside my restaurant.

I grabbed the bottle of red wine from tonight and poured myself another glass.

I undid my tie slightly and unbuttoned a few buttons on my dress shirt before rolling up the sleeves slightly.

As I walked to the far end of my restaurant, I opened the balcony door and leaned over the wooden railing, staring out at the dark water below me.

My hair tousled in the wind as I watched the glowing buildings from across the water.

She wasn't anything like what I had expected.

But was that a good thing or a bad thing?

I felt where her lips had kissed my cheek.

They were soft, plump. I wanted to taste them, just once, to get it out of my system, but I couldn't do that in front of Tyson or Vincent.

They would have strangled me on the spot.

"That was too easy Killian," Dimitri comments from behind me. "The girl was practically drooling over you. And nice touch with the jacket. Classic move," Dimitri boasted as I downed my drink quickly.

"Yeah well, I don't really have a choice do I?" I sarcastically twisted his words as I turned to face him.

He had a smug look on his face.

"I like this facade you've created. Keep it up and she'll be wrapped around your finger in no time," he commented a little less confidently.

"You sound unsure of your own words. Are you afraid I won't be able to pull this off?" I asked curiously as his smile fell slightly, but he caught himself and smiled just as high.

I actually broke his character.

"You said it yourself Killian. You can't possibly get her to marry you if she doesn't know about the agreement. What's your secret?" He asked curiously.

He knows something, or he thinks he does.

I poured more wine into my glass before walking over to him.

"What's your secret?" I turned on him as he stared at me flatly.

"That's for me to know and you to drive yourself mad guessing," he stated with a smirk.

I scrunched up my nose and downed my glass before tossing it at Dimitri's chest. He barely caught it.

"I'm more charming and irresistible than I thought," I muttered as I took the wine bottle and downed what little was left from the bottle. "That's my fucking secret," I spat as I tossed the empty bottle on a random table and pushed passed Dimitri.

I dialed for my chauffeur as I walked out of my restaurant and he was parked in front of my restaurant in no time.

"Take me to my penthouse and make sure someone stalks my liquor cabinet. I am going to get blackout drunk tonight," I told him as he nodded and drove.

I hadn't had too much to drink tonight, but with everything that has happened so far, my mind was spinning.

I felt tipsy, even though I wasn't anywhere close to it. I had a slight buzz at most.

When my driver pulled up to my building, I hopped out and went straight to the elevator.

I pressed the button to open the elevator and then for the top floor.

I shut my eyes and leaned against the wall while the elevator moved.

When it opened, I grabbed my key and unlocked the door to my penthouse.

As I opened it, I heard voices from inside.

I grabbed my gun from my pants and took the safety off.

I turned the lights on to find Damian and Sam in my living room.

"What the fuck Damian! I could have shot you!" I hissed as he turned to look at me.

He had a black eye and a busted lip.

Sam was in much worse shape. His arm was broken and he had a cast on it.

"What the fuck happened to you two?" I asked as I walked over to my liquor cabinet and took out a bottle of wine, not even bothering to get a glass.

I huffed as I sat down in the living room and took a swig of the alcohol.

"You know how hits are," Damian uttered. "We got the guy we were after, but when we were driving out of Mexico, we got ambushed," he continued.

"Did you get involved in Mexican Cartel shit?" I asked worriedly as he shook his head no.

"The guy we took out had a few buddies try to take us out and they wrecked our car, but they're dead now so it's alright," he spoke nonchalantly as he shrugged his shoulders and got up to go into the kitchen.

"When did you get back?" I asked curiously as Damian took out a Gatorade from the refrigerator.

"We got back two weeks ago, but we took a little detour and went jet skiing when Sam over here—" Damian started as Sam cut him off.

"We are never speaking of the jet skis again. It was embarrassing enough telling the doctor," Sam hissed.

"Sam tried to shoot his shot with a hot lifeguard and tried to do a flip on his jet ski," Damian revealed as Sam threw a pillow at him with his good arm.

"He crashed the jet ski right through the boat dock and broke his arm. And the lifeguard missed the entire thing except for the part when he crashed! It was hilarious! And the best part is when she literally dove off her post and carried Sam to an ambulance!" Damian burst out in laughter as Sam's cheeks went red.

"I'm glad you two had a good time. Meanwhile I'm having wifey issues," I confided as I took a swig of the vodka in my hand.

"I'm sure she's not that bad," Sam tried to comfort.

"She's somewhat bearable, but mostly unbearable with all her nagging and questioning," I rolled my eyes as Damian picked up the pillow Sam threw at him and threw it at me.

"You told her?" He questioned incredulously as the pillow hit my shoulder.

"Hell no I didn't tell her! The crazy bitch snuck out of her house with her other brother and spied on the meeting," I told him as he sighed and walked over from the kitchen and took the wine bottle from me and gave it to Sam. "I was drinking that," I hissed.

"You don't like even like wine Killian," Sam rolled his eyes as he took a swig from the bottle. "Much less, BIG Cork Vineyards, 2018 Malbec," Sam continued as he read off the bottle.

"It's alcohol Sam. And Dimitri picked red wine for tonight and I'm not in the mood to throw up tomorrow so I'm sticking with it," I rubbed my temples.

"Look, Killian," Damian piped up. "I don't know this girl, but I do know you. Dimitri is up to something that could affect you and her. Focus on what he's planning rather than torturing the girl," Damian advised.

"You know for a seventeen year-old, you're either a fucking genius or a pain in my ass," I told him before I stood up. "I'm expecting a call from her soon anyways. I'll let the lobby know to send someone to prepare the guest rooms for you and Sam," I told him before I went into my room and laid down, face first, on my bed.