Rosie found it easier to be calm now that they were discussing business, she crossed one slender leg over another and held her digital pad.
"The importance doesn’t matter," She said glibly, "It’s nothing major. It’s just if you would be willing to do it, Mafia King Nikolai." She said calmly, holding his gaze despite how unsettling it was.
Nikolai was entertained by this visit, he had been about to go for an event but they could wait. "And what is this favor?" He asked calmly, patient despite his curiosity.
"It’s regarding Liam Blackburn." Rosie said briefly to gauge the other Mafia King’s reaction to her words.
Nikolai’s brows shot up to his hairline, he didn’t have a lot of guesses, because there were very few things Davian couldn’t do by himself. "The business mogul?" He drawled, mockery in his tone.
"Yes." Rosie said calmly, withholding the rest of the information.
"He wants me to kill him?" Nikolai had to ask, even though he knew that wasn’t the case.
Even if Davian didn’t want the murder traced to him, there were decent assassination organizations in Haines. It would have cost him far less to go that route.
"No. He wants him to declare bankruptcy." Rosie let the other shoe drop.
Nikolai huffed, thin lips stretching into a predatory smile. "He already is. That’s easy."
"So will you do it?" Rosie was quick to ask.
Nikolai was silent as he took out a cigar and lit up, the orange light casting terrifying shadows on his hard face.
"What do I get out of it?"
Rosie tried not to let her nervousness show, "What do you want?"
Nikolai blew out a cloud of smoke, dress shirt neatly buttoned. "You."
Rosie silently choked and tried to regain her composure. "T-That’s an unreasonable request." She was quick to remind him.
If it were any other Mafia King who made that request, it might have been flattering, but with Mafia King Nikolai, it was a thinly veiled threat.
"Is it?" Nikolai hummed thoughtfully, "You come with me and I cut down Blackburn. Lake can get another secretary."
"My loyalty is only to the boss." Rosie said with a grimace, "I’ll have to turn you down."
Nikolai didn’t back away, seeming to enjoy their back and forth. "You think Davian will share the same opinion if I ask him directly?"
Rosie was silent, that was such an underhanded method, and if she wasn’t sure of what kind of person Davian was, she would have been quaking.
Employees were replaceable after all, in a normal situation, it would even be a good deal considering how calculative Mafia King Nikolai could be.
"You can try," She told him calmly.
Nikolai backed away for the first time, "I don’t want anything else."
Rosie gritted her teeth, the Alpha was impossible to work with. "So you accept to give favors?"
"Not to Davian no, but I’ll give you a favor." He offered generously.
Rosie wasn’t taken in by the flirting that bordered on threatening. "And what will you expect in return? I won’t betray my Mafia King."
"Nothing. Take it as a gesture of my goodwill."
Rosie paused, it was a good deal. Davian’s request would be done, and they would have to pay nothing in turn, but Rosie knew that it would come back to bite them if she didn’t try to pay the Mafia King back.
"Can I get your number then?" She smiled for the first time, her pale eyes lighting up.
Nikolai was amused by this, "Another favor?"
"No, a payback for this. What do you think about going camping with me?"
Rosie had thought it over properly, she knew better than to be alone with Mafia King Nikolai in an ambiguous setting, but with Davian’s presence, she knew she would be safe.
Lake had returned to the study after inviting Rosie to go camping with them. Patty had been ecstatic but Caspian was worried because now they were a person short.
Patty had to make some records, so they were shooed out of the kitchen and he had been watching movies all morning with Caspian.
When it was time for lunch, they didn’t bother going to the dining room, getting comfortable in the living room.
"I was thinking we could go camping this weekend," Caspian said as he generously put his cake rolls on Lake’s plate.
Lake’s eyes widened slightly in panic, Davian would be out of Haines all weekend but he couldn’t exactly tell Caspian that. "Isn’t that too soon? We might get more people interested in tagging along."
Caspian was thoughtful, "But it might start to get rowdy if there are too many people." He glanced at Lake then, "I should stop talking about this, it’s all I’ve been talking about since you came. Are you leaving soon?"
Lake’s phone rang before he could respond and he shot to his feet with a smile, grabbing a cake roll before heading for the door. "Give me a moment, Cas."
He picked up as soon as he was out of earshot, sounding slightly out of breath. "Hi."
He had sounded teary during their first call, but now his smile was audible in his voice.
"Eating?" Davian asked softly.
"Yeah, cake rolls, make them for me." Lake made demands.
"When I get back." Davian agreed easily.
"Boring. I missed you."
Lake could hear his heartbeat in his ears, "I missed you too."
There was an interruption on Davian’s end, and there was an edge to the Alpha’s voice when he spoke again. "I’ve got to run, I’ll call tonight."
Lake glanced down at his phone, but his smile didn’t fade, returning to the living room with an absent expression on his face. "That was Davian," He said to Caspian’s curious expression.
Caspian was dismayed, "Is he coming to pick you up?" He asked, holding up his plate of pastries like an offering to keep Lake from leaving.
Lake just sat on the couch beside his friend and leaned his head against his shoulder, drawing in a deep breath. Caspian’s scent smelled sweeter than the pastries they were eating, it lulled him to sleep.
"Not yet. I want to take a nap." He yawned a response.