The Billionaire's Demand

Nero's Joke

Nero was fixated on the plans before him, rereading it a dozen times to make sure he made the right decision in the end. When a knock echoed through his office it caused his heart to skip a beat. Inhaling deeply he calmed himself down, closed the file before him and stared at the door, confused at who was paying him a visit this early in the morning. It couldn't be Hannah because she had a day off, she was sleeping in. His father was also not coming over because he figured the couple needed some privacy, whatever the hell that meant. So he was confused.

"Come in." He told his visitor confidently.

It surprised him even more when he noticed it was Lillian who walked through the door. He knew the woman didn't like him that much, she might like the fact that he could provide Hannah a financially secure life, she didn't like the fact that he was more reserved about his relationship with Hannah than her daughter was. Lillian was torn between praising him and throwing him off a building. Like him she was reserved though, so she always kept cool and collected. He watched as the woman approached him with confident strides, her heels clicking away, a fire burning in her eyes. Lillian was on a mission and he knew he wasn't going to like being on the receiving end of whatever mission she was on. He straightened his back and tried to match her confidence, not wanting to show the woman he was concerned about her surprise visit.

"Morning Nero." She took a seat in Hannah's one-seat, putting her bag on the empty one-seat beside her while she straightened up as well, "I see you're an early bird, working hard to maintain your family's business and of course to make your father proud."

Those words didn't sound like praises at all, it felt like a personal assault, but he forced a smile upon his face nonetheless. This woman was after all Hannah's mother, the only family she had left. He couldn't make Lillian dislike him even more.

"I achieved the latter a long time ago." He informed Lillian, trying to get some of his dignity back, "You're also an early bird, I see."

"Not really. But I figured this was the only time I could meet up with you without Valerio or Hannah being in the way."

Straight to the point, he liked that about women. Yet he knew whatever Lillian had to say to him was something he wouldn't like. Her words were as sharp as a knife, cutting through him without mercy.

"You have something to say to me and you don't want them to find out."

Lillian narrowed her eyes on him, "You see, Hannah is my only daughter and she has been through a lot. I've been hard on her ever since she told me she got pregnant by some random guy. She didn't want to tell me anything about him, letting me think that she had been careless and irresponsible. Yet in the back of my mind I always knew my Hannah wasn't that kind of person."

"Hannah had her reasons."

Lilian agreed with that, "Yes, she had her reasons." Lillian pointed at him, "She was protecting you, not wanting me to find out it was the Nero D'Amore who played around with my daughter and then tossed her aside like she meant absolutely nothing to him."

He clenched his fists at his side, trying hard to remain calm while Lillian insulted him in every possible way. The woman was angry and she wanted to get things off her chest. He'd sit there and take it, because he owed at least that much to Hannah.

"It wasn't like that."

He noticed how Lillian's eyes moved to the portrait behind him. Her eyes softened for a minute, but the warm look that had taken over disappeared like snow before the sun. She shifted her gaze back to him and leaned forward in her chair.

"I'm well aware that you're also struggling. That there are things in your life which has formed you into the person that you are now. But let me warn you now Nero D'Amore, the day I find out you've broken the warm and loving person Hannah is will be the day you'll regret for the rest of your life. I don't care how much you've lost, you'll lose even more then." She got to her feet and towered over him, making him feel like a child who got a bad scolding from their parents, "Are we clear, Nero?" She asked him, her voice suddenly changing to sweet and cheerful.