280 A snake in the grass
“I’m sorry but we cannot go out this evening.” Ximena apologetically cancelled her date with Liam.
He was deflated when he heard the news. “Did something come up?”
“Zaria needs me.” She answered, referring to the text message that her friend had sent her the night before.
“But Xim, we made plans first.” He complained.
She knew that, and she didn’t wish to ditch him either. However, it didn’t matter whether she was in the North Pole or in Mars. If Zaria needed her, she was rushing right back to help her friend.
“How about this? I’ll go to see what Zaria needs and if it won’t take long, I will meet up with you.” She suggested.
He still wanted to complain but when she added that she would meet him at his place for a sleepover, he grinned. “Go and help your friend first.”
She ended the call with a slight frown. Why did that suddenly sound odd?
She didn’t have time to think about it so she finished up her work for the day. They were meeting at Reynold’s which was merely an elevator ride from her office so she was there right on time. But when she saw Zeus waiting for her instead of Zaria, her eyes narrowed.
.....
“Why is it you?” She asked him.
He frowned when he realized what his sister had done. “Are you the beautiful, single lady that Zaria promised to let me go on a date with?”
Ximena cracked her knuckles. “What did you just say?”
He recoiled away reflexively. “Not my own words! I’m just stating what Zaria said.” He knew better than to mess with the devil before him. It was not lost to him how much she liked fighting.
She took a seat opposite him, making him want to bolt away.
“I don’t bite.” She smiled.
“That’s exactly what a demon that bites would say.” He retorted, making her laugh.
“I actually don’t bite, and I’m not even a demon so you are safe. What would you like to drink? I’ll treat.” She offered.
“I’m not letting a woman treat me.” He huffed.
She didn’t argue with him. They both got their coffee and when she returned to their table, he was pleasantly surprised. “Are you staying?”
“Zaria did promise you a date with me.” She shrugged.
“But Liam...” He didn’t need to complete his statement. She and Liam were all over each other the day before.
She sipped her iced tea. “I’m technically still single but I don’t think I will be for long.”
That was a subtle declaration of her feelings for Liam so he didn’t probe further.
“Why do you need your sister to introduce you to women anyways?” She was curious. “I mean, look at you. Any woman would fall for you.”
“Yet the only woman I ever had my eyes for feels nothing aside from planotic for me. She has never even looked at me twice.” He shrugged.
“Then don’t waste a second. Would you like me to introduce you to a girl?” She asked.
“That’s not the kind of thing you discuss with your sister’s best friend.” He rolled his eyes, but she took it as a yes.
She slid her phone over the table to show him a picture.
“Autumn. She works for Morel Beauty and you could say we are friends.”
“I definitely want to meet her.” He couldn’t take his eyes off the brunette on the screen. Was she a model?
Ximena shrugged. “See? Well, I don’t think it’s usual for bosses to set their employees up for blind dates. It might even be illegal, so it’s up to you now.”
He frowned. “How the hell am I supposed to meet her?”
“Any way you can. Of course, I don’t want you to stalk my employees so you better do something harmless and ethical.”
He wanted to thank her for nothing but that might anger her so he let it be.
The duo had gotten along more than they would ever think possible so they had a refill of their drinks and came up with a prank to get back at Zaria. Once they were certain that it was harmless and would teach her a lesson, they split up for him to find Autumn and her to go to Liam.
____
Meanwhile, Zaria and Desmond finally managed to persuade Evan into meeting up. The man must have long guessed that they would want to seek him for the secrets in his family so he was reluctant to meet them and only agreed when it seemed like his phone would blow up with phone calls and text messages.
When the couple finally showed up at his house, he rolled his eyes at them.
“Can’t a man relax and have fun after work?”
They caught sight of the woman on the living room couch, who was wearing nothing but a bra. Zaria covered Desmond’s eyes while Evan dismissed the displeased young woman before teasing her.
“You have nothing to worry about. If Desmond loves you enough to put a ring on your finger and propose, he will not flinch even if another woman were to strip and part her legs.”
“You don’t have to be so cras about it.” Zaria cringed.
“Wear some slacks.” Desmond ordered him. He was only wearing a pair of boxers and didn’t seem to mind it.
“Why? Are you scared your fiancée might realize she didn’t make the right choice?” He joked but slid into his jeans, refused to wear a shirt and sat on the couch. Zaria sat down next to Desmond and felt something under her feet. She looked down and awkwardly shifted her heels away when she realized that she was stepping on a black lacy thong.
She cleared her throat. “We would like to know more about your family, especially in recent years.”
He looked amused. “First, you wanted a piece of The West and now that you have it, you want something else? It was just a project, beautiful.”
“Her name is Zaria.” Desmond frowned.
Evan grinned. “I know she is yours.”
Desmond didn’t lower his guard. Evan had a sick obsession over married women. It was already bad enough when Zaria was his girlfriend but now that they were engaged, he must like her a little more.
“Keep your affection to your harem. Just tell us what we need to know.”
Evan chuckled. “I’m not your puppet, Desmond. But since Zaria asked and it would be a shame if she was distressed by the lack of knowledge, I will tell you. Veronica is nothing like she seems to be.”
“She’s a snake in the grass. We already know that.” Zaria pushed for more information.
“Did you know that her boyfriend is a highly skilled chef?” He asked.
She was taken aback. He was the one who told her about the unskilled chef who was dragging down the resort. How did he suddenly become a skilled chef?
“He pretends to lack skill to account for his inability to cook anything right. I only found out two days ago when I went to a banquet and he was the head chef. The food tasted like it had been cooked by the gods.”
It didn’t make any sense. It was shocking, but Zaria didn’t want him to know he had given an important piece of information. There had to be a reason why he didn’t tell them the truth immediately, so she pushed even further.
” Well, I was just as shocked when I found out.” She lied.
He was visibly stunned. “You knew this?”
“Yesterday. My brother uncovered the information.”
At the mention of Zeus, he was no longer too shocked.
“The hacker. Can he really find the skeletons in your ancestors’ closets?” He made fun of how Skeleton spoke of Zeus.
“Maybe. But we need you to tell us something that’s in your family’s closet that no one knows. Something we can use as leverage.” Desmond added.
Evan thought about it and was considering saying no when he changed his mind in the last minute. What would he lose?
He held their gazes dramatically as though he was about to drop a bombshell. “Then maybe you may be interested to know that Veronica is not really a West.”
____
AN
Check out my new books
The Helio’s Bride
Taming The Villainess.
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Sorry for the late update. I had a stockpile and forgot to post this.
The next chapter should be up by 9 tonight (CET)
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om