"You wanted to speak to me?" Rosie spoke quietly although it was just the two of them in the storage closet.
Davian was supposed to be grabbing snacks for Lake while Rosie was sent to go grab a stack of files, and Davian used that perfect moment when they were both out of Lake’s sight to talk to the secretary.
"Yes. I want you to pay a visit to Mafia King Nikolai." He said bluntly, there was no time to beat around the bush.
Rosie’s eyes only widened at his outlandish request but she nodded. "You need me to make a deal?"
"More or less. I wanted to ask for a favor."
Rosie looked worried, "I don’t think he’s going to give you one for free." She had never met the Mafia King in person but news traveled.
"As long as his demands are reasonable that’s fine." Davian said calmly, what he needed Nikolai to do wasn’t a big deal, but only the other Mafia King could do it.
"I need him to approach Liam Blackburn with a deal he can’t turn down..."
Realization clicked behind Rosie’s pale eyes, she knew right away what Davian was planning. And all her skepticism about approaching Mafia King Nikolai faded away, if she had to haggle for him to agree, she would.
Peter stared at his phone when the call dropped, Jael had been calm in the face of his report, and with good reason too. This hospital was owned by Asher, not just anyone could waltz in.
It took the second-in-command only a few minutes to gather information because he was calling back shortly after.
"Yes, Doc Bri is sick. Her replacement was supposed to keep it a secret from Caspian so he wouldn’t worry..."
After the necessary exchange of information, the call dropped and both men could finally heave a sigh of relief. It was better to be overcautious than for them to make a blunder.
Regardless of the fact that their lives were on the line, Caspian was just as important to them, and they took their job very seriously.
A short while later, the door to the waiting room opened to reveal a smiling Caspian. "All done! Now let’s get back to the mansion, I’ve got work to do."
The both of them knew exactly what ’work’ entailed, because Caspian had spent the entire drive to the hospital talking about it.
Caspian was in a good mood the entire drive back, checkups were just routine, to make sure his heat suppressants were working as they should, as well as the birth control.
There were also other general check-ins to make sure everything was working as it should.
Doctor Emma had been professional and brisk despite her kind eyes, and after poking and prodding him and asking a few routine questions, he was all done.
There were still a few more months until his heat suppressants wore off and he would need to get a fresh dose so there wasn’t any worry about that.
At dinner time, some of Lake’s melancholy had worn off, having a guest to dinner also helped with that, Lauren’s eyes sparkling at the food Davian had cooked up.
It was modest compared to what her meals must be like but she had nothing but compliments, eating carefully but approving of Lake stuffing his face.
Davian sent them off to relax in a nearby living room while he did the dishes, which was clearly a bad idea, because he came back to Lauren tattling about how he was when they were in high school.
"He skipped more classes than he attended, and was so antisocial our classmates were sure I was being bullied for being friends with h-" him.
"That’s enough Lauren," He cut her off, his voice dry.
Lake’s smile lit up his face, "But she’s not done yet."
"I ordered dessert, it should be here soon."
Lake hopped to his feet at that, "It’s here?" He asked, misunderstanding Davian’s words in his eagerness "I’ll go get it... I hope there’s cake..." He mumbled to himself, already beelining to the door.
Lauren laughed at that, sincerity in her eyes as she looked at Davian. "You look happy."
"I am." Davian replied honestly.
Lauren nodded to herself, "That’s good."
Although Davian was the son of a Mafia King and had so much at his fingertips even as a teenager, his eyes always looked empty. When Lauren had heard about the death of his parents, she had been devastated, and she wanted to come back just for Davian’s sake but she knew he probably wouldn’t appreciate that.
The reason they got along in high school after all was that they both minded their business and didn’t go interfering where they shouldn’t.
"I’d love to stay and eat cake with your mate but I’ve got to run," She straightened up, grabbing her bag. "I’ll let you know when I’m around again, I’ve got to eat your cooking one more time."
They met Lake waiting impatiently at the door, "I don’t see any cake, Davian," He complained, taking in Lauren with her bag. "Are you leaving already? The dessert isn’t even here yet."
Lauren offered her hand to Lake, a small smile on her face. "I promise to eat dessert with you next time I’m in Haines."
Their heartfelt goodbye was cut short by the dessert delivery showing up. Lauren was already in her car waving, and Lake forgot to be sad about her leaving early, distracted by the sweets.
"You need more friends," Lake said abruptly through a mouthful of chocolate mousse cake.
Davian had been watching him eat, he wiped the Omega’s lips with his thumb, his expression indulgent. "I don’t. I have you."
Lake grouched, "And yet you won’t take me on your business trip."
Davian’s handsome face broke into a smile, "I wouldn’t take my friends on a business trip." He said lightly.
Lake glanced at him, "But I’m not your friend."
The air between them changed at that declaration, it heated up, the sweet scent of pastries filling the air.
"You’re not. I’m still not taking you along." Davian answered smoothly, dipping his head to steal a bit from Lake’s cake slice.