<b>Chapter </b>148
After a long while,n finally paused and leaned down to gently kiss her.
<b>?? </b>
SE VOUCHE
Ynda nced at the time–an entire hour had gone by. ‘No wonder he’s still so young, she thought to herself.
‘Youth really does make a difference,‘ she added inwardly.
“Ynda, are you only ever like this with me?” Ian asked, his voice low and raspy.
Ynda barely hesitated before she answered, “Of course.”
‘Honestly, if Charles ever saw this side of me, he’d probably kill me himself. That guy only goes for the sweet, homey type,‘ Ynda thought to herself.
Ian’s Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed, eyes still closed,shes casting shadows on his cheeks. “I’m only like this with you,” he said softly.
Ynda’s fingers tingled with warmth, and she quickly withdrew her hand, clearing her throat. “We should get some lunch. I already booked a ce.”
She put on her hat and mask and headed over to the driver’s seat.
Ian didn’t cling to her either. After days of grueling shoots, he’d finally gotten a day off, only to be pulled back in for more reshoots.
The car pulled up outside an upscale restaurant. Inside, everything was peaceful and discreet—each dining suite was set apart, decked out in ssic style, everything you could imagine.
Ynda and Ian walked in together, only to find themselves face–to–face with Leo in the hallway.
Ynda had her mask and hat on, covering her facepletely. She figured Leo wouldn’t recognize her, so she just kept walking without acknowledging him.
Leo was on the phone, but his gaze suddenly locked onto Ian.
Ian pretended not to notice and quietly followed Ynda.
Xavier was ranting on the phone.
“I’ve already sorted things out with Tony behind the scenes. If you get into trouble again, you’re out of the country for good, you hear me? What’s with youtely–moving out, picking fights, acting like you’re possessed. What’s next? Chasing after women?” Xavier growled.
Leo wasn’t even paying attention. He hung up mid–rant.
Xavier stared at his phone, his face clouded over as he took a long breath.
‘He’s my own brother… he’s my own brother, Xavier muttered in his head, forcing himself to calm down.
<b>9:24 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Oct </b><b>2 </b>
He gritted his teeth, choking back the urge to strangle the guy right then and there.
Leo watchedn head into the second–tost private suite<b>, </b>convinced that the woman bundled up beside him had to be Ynda.
That bitch!‘ Leo cursed to himself.
He just couldn’t keep his cool whenever she was around, and for the life of him, he had no idea why..
He knew better than anyone–Charles and his whole crowd included–that Ynda was far from innocent. She yed hard, never followed the rules, and even learned to keep a lover stashed away, just like some people did behind closed doors.
He took a deep breath, not even sure what got into him, and found himself heading straight for that suite
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His suite was right next to Ynda’s.
But instead of standing at his own door, he found himself at Ynda’s, just about to knock–when suddenly, his own door swung open.
Quinn leaned in the doorway, arms folded and voice full of mischief. “Your brother told me at least a dozen times to keep an eye on you. Got your brains pped loose or something? Can’t even remember which room is yours now?”
Leo let his hand drop, looking a bit sheepish, and shuffled back to his own suite.
Quinn shut the door and threw his arm around Leo’s shoulders like they were bros. “Seriously, man, why go out of your way to piss off your brother every damn day? He’s the boss of the family–keep pushing, he’ll pack your bags for Africa and finally have some peace.”
Leo gave Quinn a look of utter disdain, brushed his arm off, and dropped onto his seat.
Quinn, always one for mischief, grinned as he sat down. “I mean, I get that Charles has been crazy busytely. But you, cooped up in your room all day long–if I didn’t know you, I’d swear you were hiding some girl in there.”
Then again, anybody else might have a side chick stashed away—but not Leo. His catchphrase was literally: ‘Women aren’t half as fun as gaming.’
Max was there too, silent and keen–eyed, never one for the dumb jokes or trouble Quinn liked to stir up.
Just thinking about Ynda and that damn pretty boy next door made Leo’s blood boil. He felt like he was on fire, ready to just burst in there and kick that guy out the window himself.
‘Why’d Ynda pick this restaurant anyway?‘ Leo wondered to himself.
‘Was it just because this ce is so secretive?‘ he grumbled inside.
‘What the hell is she nning to do with that pretty boy in there?‘ Leo fumed.
<b>9:24 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Oct </b><b>21 </b>
Charles is so busytely, he wouldn’t notice if his whole house was burning down. What a joke, Leo thought.
Leo knocked back his drink, <i>but </i>it burned on the way down and he started coughing.
Quinn’s fox–like eyes narrowed as he patted Leo’s back. “Seriously, dude, you’re acting weird. Did someone wipe out your game ount or what? You look totally out of it.”
“Get lost! I just can’t stand people who cheat!” Leo shot back.
As soon as Leo said it, the room went dead quiet.
Quinn couldn’t help cracking up, his shoulders shaking. “Man, don’t ever say that in front of Charles. Me and him, we’re single, so who cares.”
Leo sneered. “Max doesn’t, but you’ve got that broke–ass girlfriend, right? Thought she was top of her <b>ss </b>too, studying at film school or something<b>?</b><b>” </b>
Quinn leaned back, looking totally at ease. “It’s just a fling, no need to call her my girlfriend.”
“Scumbag,” Leo spat.
Guy’s got cash to burn, but ys poor in front of her, making that girl juggle a dozen jobs just to keep him afloat.
People like Quinn seriously deserve to get struck by lightning.
Quinn couldn’t care less about the insult. Guys like them? ying around was just part of the game–no one took it seriously enough to actually settle down for real.
If they ever did get married, it would have to be to someone from their own ss, someone who matched their status.
And he was totally on the same page as Charles–marriage wasn’t gonna magically make him loyal. That’s just how women are, anyway.
Leo couldn’t be bothered arguing anymore. He dropped his gaze, clutching his ss. “Hypothetically… say there’s a woman who’s not bad looking, and her lips feel really soft when you kiss her. But, she’s also been with a lot of guys. Would that bother you?”
With a ng, Quinn’s ss hit the floor.
He gave his ear an exaggerated poke and stared at Leo. “Run that by me one more time? Did I just hear you talking about women? For real?”
They’d always joked about girls around Leo, but he’d never taken the bait.
Now, unbelievably, he was the one starting the topic.
Man, this really was a ‘sun rising in the west‘ kind of day.
Leo’s face flushed and he pressed his lips together. “Just answer the damn question.”
<b>9:24 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Oct 2 </b>
Quinn nced over at Max, sitting across from them.
Max’s face didn’t move an inch; he never pulled his punches, especially with these guys around.
“So
you
wanna be her number five, six, maybe seven, and now you’re asking if we’d be cool with that?” Max shot back.
With strangers, Max was basically a robot, but around us, he’d let loose with that venomous tongue. “She’s <b>got </b>a whole crew of guys already–what makes you think you’ll even get a turn, Leo? You barely know women, you barely know men. Competing for her attention? Please. You don’t even know how toy on the sweet talk, do you?”
“No way,” Leo muttered.
Honestly, he was clueless about keeping a girl happy–just opening his mouth was enough to piss one off half the time.
“Why the hell should I bother with her? She’s nobody. Like she’s even worth it!” Leo spat out.
AD