"And the cameras?"

Owen bolted upright in his seat, causing his tall frame to tower over the rest of the men sitting around the conference table. "Uh, all set up with no problems so far."

I nodded from where I sat at the head of the table, my brothers on either side of me. I leaned forward in my chair, writing something in my planner. "Which reminds me, no walking around naked boys, the eyes will be watching you."

Santiago smirked from further down the table. "I love giving people a good show," he joked with a wink causing laughter to spread through the room. I rolled my eyes.

"Also," I said loudly, gaining the attention again, "Owen and Jasper will be working towards finding this godforsaken list that my family is on if any of you hear rumors or learn something about it, bring it to me."

They nodded their heads quietly, full focus on me. A hand raised in the air. "Love, what about the shipping crates and the drug lord?"

"The drug lord has been dealt with severely, he knows if he takes anything that belongs to us, he forfeits his life," I informed them, dusting a piece of hair off the conference table, "and for the crates, they're being kept in a classified location in New Jersey, we have a team of trained security watching over the building twenty-four, seven."

Elijah cleared his throat from where he slouched in his seat. "These guys are no joke, they might as well be six Corinne's in one room."

Almost everyone in the room cringed at the idea of multiple Corinne's. The woman in question smirked from her seat at the other end of the table, basking in the fear around her.

"One more thing. This Friday there is a dinner at the Campbell residence," a collective groan echoed through the room, "since it's a small party only a few of you will come with us."

Jasper clasped his fingers together, the silver ring on his thumb catching the light for a second. "I nominate Luca," the man in question gaped at Jasper, "you groaned the loudest." Santiago cackled loudly, shoving a pouting Luca's chair. "And Santiago will come with so you can suffer together."

Santiago's mouth dropped open and he stared at Jasper in disbelief. "Dude."

Another hand raised in the air. Theo. "Are you bringing a date to the dinner that we have to be concerned about?" He asked, a small smile playing on his lips.

Franco grinned from where he sat. "Maybe one that happens to be a doctor?" He added innocently.

Wolf whistles sounded from around the room and I glared at them all.

"Get out, meetings over," I said, wrapping it up. The men shuffled out quickly, wanting to get back to their daily duties. Harvey lingered in the doorway, where he stood for the entirety of the meeting.

"Love," he called, eyeing each face that walked past him, finally when it was just him and my brothers still with me in the room he spoke, "Your Uncle George is in your office, apparently he has some...sensitive information that you need to hear."

I furrowed my brows and gathered my stationery. "Okay, I'll be there in a second."

Elijah snapped his fingers. "As much as I would love to sit and talk to Uncle George, I've got shit to do." He gave us a two-finger salute and exited the conference room.

Jasper stared at me for a moment before frowning and leaving me alone. Okay then.

Uncle George stood in my office behind my desk, staring out the large window into the gardens. I closed the door behind me loud enough for him to hear. "Uncle George, Harvey said you had something important to tell me," I said, dropping my papers on the coffee table and moving around my desk to him.

He wrapped his arms around me gently before stepping back. He gestured to the couches, "Let's sit down," he suggested and made himself comfortable on one while I perched on the edge of my seat on another.

Uncle George looked at me carefully, a rough and slightly wrinkled hand rubbing along his grey stubble. "Yesterday, I attended a luncheon with some old acquaintances at the Country Club and I heard someone who works for Zhang Wei mention your name."

My eyebrows furrowed, my lips thinning.

"He said you're attending a dinner of some sort tomorrow and the son was going to confront you over something," he said, looking uncomfortable.

I fiddled with the ring on my thumb, twisting it back and forth while nodding slowly. "Okay, thank you, Uncle George," I stated, standing up abruptly, shocking him.

He reached for my hand. "Ana, what is going on? Are you in trouble?" he asked, his face pinched in concern as he scanned my face for any kind of answer.

My face remained impassive, unwilling to share any sort of ideas forming in my head with anyone. I smiled demurely, a soothing tone to my voice as I spoke. "I'm fine, Uncle George, I promise." I patted his arm gently, using that as my advantage to pull him with me to my door. "You've helped me a great deal, but I've got to find Jasper, I'll explain when I have more news, promise."

I kissed his cheek, brought him out of my office with me, and shut the door, locking it. "Please be careful, Ana," Uncle George whispered, placing his hand over mine and squeezing for a moment before trudging down the hallway past Harvey and Lorenzo.

I pivoted on my heel and marched in the opposite direction, my mind playing over one urgent thought so I wouldn't lose my focus.

This side of the hallway usually sat empty, with Owen in his own little office and my father's office.

With my eyes on the floor, I didn't see the body materialize in front of me, only noticing when I knocked into them and twisted so I wouldn't fall to the ground.

Finn stared back at me with a confused smile. He opened his mouth but I held my hand up, terrified if he spoke I would lose all train of thought. "Don't say anything, just wait," I held both hands out to him, pointing at the floor where he stood, "Wait there and I'll be back in two minutes," I stated before jogging to Owen's office.

The door banged open, Owen and Jasper's heads snapped to face me. I looked at Jasper, who watched me with a questioning gaze. "New plan for the dinner party."

Five minutes later, I strode out of the office feeling the adrenaline from a successful planning session with Jasper. Owen leaned against the wall outside, and I gestured for him to go back inside with Jasper, nodding my head in thanks.

Finn stood exactly where I left him, having not moved from that exact spot. "I didn't realize you followed instruction so well," I commented with a teasing smile.

He brushed his freshly dyed white hair away from his forehead and grinned. "I'm full of surprises."

Our bodies were mere feet apart when I stopped. "Why were you coming to see me?" I asked with a sly smile, gesturing for him to follow me back to my office.

His arm brushed against mine as we walked. "What makes you think I was coming to see you?" He asked with a smirk.

I paused, eyes wide and facing my office door so he wouldn't see me. My tongue ran along my teeth as I tried to come up with an excuse so I didn't seem eager for him to come to talk to me. I cleared my throat. "Oh well then, by all means, don't let me stop you from where you wanted to go," I said politely, waving a hand towards the hallway, knowing from the house gossip that he had yet to wander through the house to try to make friends with any of the staff.

Elijah never gave him a choice at friendship, although he never gave anyone a choice at being his friend, you just learned to accept it.

The door to my office unlocked and I slipped the key into my pocket. I stood in the doorway and turned to face him, waiting for him to reply. "Are you busy?" He asked, catching me off guard.

I leaned against the doorway, a wry smile on my face. "I run two multi-billion-dollar companies, I'm always busy."

His jaw shifted, and he shuffled one foot on the marble tile. He was nervous. "I came to see if you wanted to go out for some lunch, maybe get a change of scenery that isn't this compound or your Manhattan hotel."

My head angled to the side, eyes furrowing in confusion. "You," I pointed at him stupidly, my brain still processing his words, "want to take me out for lunch?" I don't think anyone has offered to take me out for lunch that wasn't included in a meeting.

Finn looked up and down the hallway, seeing that no one else was there before looking back at me. "Is that not allowed?" he asked in confusion. "Two friends can go out for lunch, can't they?" That small smile seemed hopeful.

I stepped back out into the hallway and shut the door behind me, locking it once more. "I'm allowed to do whatever I want," I said, waiting for him to lead the way.

Together, we walked down the hallway. Harvey sat in the foyer armchair, reading a newspaper. He glanced up when Finn and I came into view. His eyes tracked over the both of us, noting every small detail from how close we stood together to our facial expressions.

I straightened my back. "We're going out for lunch." Harvey's eyebrow raised silently. I angled my head, eyes wide in a threatening manner as we had a silent conversation.

Harvey fluffed out his newspaper, his eyes darting back to the words on the pages. "Have fun," he said flippantly and I bit the inside of my cheek to stop from smiling.

We stepped outside into the heat, the hot sun glaring down on us. "We'll take one of my cars," I said, striding across the gravel towards the small warehouse where all the vehicles were located. The warehouse itself was two stories high and huge inside, considering the number of cars in there.

Finn's face dropped when the main garage door opened. Roughly fifteen cars sat in pristine condition in the large warehouse. Some were collectibles that my father cherished more than his own children while others were the standard SUVs that we took everywhere. In between that sat the cars that my siblings and I had bought over the years.

"Holy shit," he breathed, walking across the cemented floor, his voice echoing off the walls.

I shouldn't be surprised by his reaction after seeing him with Jaspers car last week but the awe on his face reminded me of a child at Christmas.

"Good afternoon, Love!" Came an old voice from the side.

An older man in his sixties sat behind a desk with a content smile on his face. "Henry, how are you?" I asked, striding in his direction and grabbing his outstretched hand, squeezing gently.

Henry made a disgruntled sound and shrugged his small shoulders. "Can't complain, I was wondering when you would come down to see me."

"Today's your lucky day then, Hen, I'm heading out for lunch with Dr. Weston," I informed him, jerking a thumb over my shoulder at the still gawking doctor.

Henry raised a hairy eyebrow in my direction and before he could open his mouth, I cut in. "How are my babies doing?"

That seemed to throw him off the trail and he perked up in his seat, pulling open the metal cabinet next to his desk, revealing sets of keys. He looked up at me in question and I pointed to the grey key fob. "They're running just as smooth as when you got them."

He slowly got out of his chair, an effort for him nowadays but my father was unwilling to get rid of him since he had worked for my family since before I was born. "Finn," I called out and he spun around, snapping back to attention.

I pointed to the matte black car near the front. "We're taking the Maserati."

I could have sworn he gasped. I licked my lips to stop from laughing and took it one step further, throwing the keys to him. "You can drive." He stared down at the keys in his hand.

At a snail's pace, he stumbled towards the car, running a hand over the hood. I thanked Henry for taking care of my baby and he moved away to open the smaller garage door that my car could get out of.

Finn sat in the driver's seat, while I made myself comfortable in the passenger, and ran his hands over the steering wheel. We sat in silence for a moment. "You do have a license right? We may be a criminal family but I'm not getting pulled over for something so simple."

He looked over to me, his eyes shining. "Yeah, I have my license." He pressed the start button and put the car in gear. "I just haven't driven in a few years."

My head whirled to his in a panic the moment he put foot on the gas pedal, lurching us out of the garage warehouse and onto the gravel. I gripped the handle above my head as he sped down the driveway until coming to a slow stop at the gate.

The new security posted at the gate gave us a thumbs up and opened the gate, letting Finn speed out onto the dead-end road until we hit the main road. His sharp turns were less like a professional race car driver and more like someone that didn't know how to turn a steering wheel properly.

The fact that I feared for my life cemented just how much of a terrible driver Finn truly was.

For ten minutes, I regretted living in a neighborhood with so many twists and turns on hills. Finn looked calm with both hands on the wheel. I refused to freak out and tell him to calm down though, I've been through worse.

He turned into a parking lot of a fast-food place. "We're eating here?" I asked, my upper lip pulling back at the idea of eating here.

Finn parked the car and glanced over at me, his eyes shining in amusement. "Do you have an objection to fast food?" He asked pointedly, climbing out of the car.

I scrambled after him. "I don't have any objection to food just the kind of food that sits in your stomach and makes you feel like you're going to regret it in the near future," I stated, meeting him at the trunk of the car.

He raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "You're telling me that you never eat fast food?"

"Why would I eat fast food when I have a private chef that makes me whatever I want?"

His lips clamped shut. "Point made." He waved me closer and together we made out way into the establishment.

Screams were the first thing I heard as we entered. The place smelt like french fries and oil with a hint of children's sweat from the children that sprinted up and down the place to get to the play area. One ran right past me, a half-chewed nugget hanging out of its mouth. Gross.

I instinctively stepped closer to Finn, my fingers gripping the back of his arm. He glanced over a shoulder with a startled look but I focused on the mini monsters running around.

Parents sat in booths made of plastic seats and tried to drown out the noises their own offspring were making. One child brushed up against my pants and I slid to the side, watching the drink in their hand slosh over the rim, the lid missing, splattering on the grey tiled sticky floor.

I swear to God if one of them spills on my clothes, I'm going to lose it.

"Afraid of a few kids?" Finn questioned innocently, biting down on a smile as we got through the war zone and stood behind a small family ordering their food.

I raised my chin, stopping my nose from scrunching in disgust, and looked him in the eye. "Terrified," I answered honestly, my voice shaking the appropriate amount for someone who could maim someone in thirty-six different kinds of ways with just my hands.

I glared at him and then a parent who let their child have a meltdown over getting the wrong toy in their kid's meal.

A hand brushed against my lower back. "Any allergies I should know about?" I bit my lip as his hand brushed against my back again.

I grinned up at him with a sickly sweet smile. "Besides to children?" He chuckled, glancing around the space before catching my eye, amusement shining in them. "No allergies but if you don't get me nuggets, you're walking home."

He smirked down at me. "You forget that I've got the keys," he said reaching into his back pocket.

I held up my hand, showing him the keys swinging from one finger. "Do you?" I asked in fake confusion, tilting my head. He pursed his lips, the corners lifting. "You are never driving my car again."

He dared to look shocked. "What? Why not?" A pout on his lips.

"I feel safer with a gun pressed to my head than in a car with you, I'm driving us home," I decided, leaving no room for argument.

His eyes widened in disbelief. "That's mean."

"No one said I was nice," I pointed out with a wink and nudged him forward. We ordered our food, him insisting on paying even after I pulled out my credit card, and made our way towards a more secluded booth away from the children's play area.

I clamped my lips shut so they wouldn't curl in disgust as I sat on the hard dirty plastic. A chuckle caught my attention and I snapped my head up to face him. His smile was bright. I glared at him.

"You've rolled around in a dirty warehouse and this is what you're concerned about?" He asked, gesturing a hand over the entire food place.

I dug through my purse and pulled out a hand sanitizer and tissues. "Dirt is dirt, children germs are a whole other ballgame." Everyone knows that if a child gets sick, you're screwed, it's general knowledge.

Finn rolled his eyes but accepted the hand sanitizer I offered. "I'm sure you'll live, and if you get sick, I'll nurse you back to health myself," he mocked with a grin, placing the receipt on the table.

A wicked grin slipped onto my lips. "As long as you wear one of those little nurse outfits while you do it."

His eyes snapped to mine before he burst out laughing, running a hand through his white hair. My eyes tracked the movement.

"I noticed you dyed your hair again," I began, letting my hands rest in my lap, "why not just let it grow out?"

His fingers pulled on the longer strands. "I haven't had my natural hair color in years."

My eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "Why not?" From the roots that showed before, his hair was a simple dark brown.

Those blue eyes brightened. "My mom told me not to do anything drastic when going to medical school," his smile slowly faded, "she got enough hassle because of her natural hair from professors, apparently they were old traditional bastards," his fingers clenched into a fist as he spoke, "and so I came home the next day with bright green hair."

A look of fake shock crossed my face. "You rebel," I accused. He winked.

"Since then, I haven't had my natural hair color, I like keeping it interesting," he said with a shrug.

I smoothed a hand over my natural curls. "My mother would murder me if I thought about changing it in any way." My mother adored mine and Elijah's hair, she said the natural curls came from her Greek side of the family.

He leaned forward and tugged on a curl. I batted his hand away, biting my lip. "I thi-" His eyes glanced to the side and he paused midsentence.

My eyes followed his and found a young girl staring at me. On instinct, my body leaned away from the child. She looked no older than four. Where was her parent?

Her thin hair sat in pigtails and her face had some form of dirt on it. I grimaced when she licked her sauce-covered fingers. Finn's tongue poked out of his mouth as he tried to stop himself from laughing.

The little girl tilted her head. "You're pretty." Her eyes were wide.

My lip curled slightly but I tampered down on my disgust. "Thank you," I said curtly and looked back at Finn. His eyes darted to the side pointedly. The little girl still stood there. "You can go now."

"Ana," Finn scolded lightly, a disappointed frown on his face.

I shrugged, clueless. "What? I said thank you," I explained. The little girl giggled before leaving us alone.

"You're so great with kids," he said dryly, shaking his head a little.

"Shut up," I snapped back as the worker dropped off our food. We ate in silence for a moment. I cleared my throat. "There's a dinner this Friday, at the Campbell residence," I began.

"And you need me on standby?" He finished off, shoving a couple of fried in his mouth.

I gave him a flat stare, trying to settle the sharp note of irritation at his reasonable assumption. "Actually," I emphasized, "I was going to ask if you would like to come."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "You're not going to force me to attend?"

I hid my smirk behind a chicken nugget. "I don't think I have to."

Finn's eyes caught mine and held there. His eyes told me something a secret I don't think he wanted to outwardly admit. I only stared back, letting him see the sincerity in my offer. I wanted him there with me.

He broke eye contact, sipping his soda. "Consider me privileged to be by your side on Friday," he said with a teasing grin, his eyes bright. I smiled back. "But I'm not wearing a suit," he declared, dropping his smile.

I tilted my head back and laughed for a few moments before calming myself down. "It's so cute how you think you have a choice," I stated with an adorable pout before stealing one of his fries. "You'll wear what I tell you too and you'll like it," I said in a challenging tone, daring him to argue.

Finn's eyes roamed over my face as he watched me. I may have licked my lips and I may have bit my bottom lip but he definitely saw it.

|| ✨ ||

Until next time,

Sammipott xx