"I did not expect to see you here, Esmeralda." Tobias tried to keep his tone leveled.
He could already tell that her presence unnerved his men and Rebecca who seemed like she was seconds away from pulling the woman by her hair and Eniola whose smile was a bit too wide for comfort.
"Is that how you say hello after two years?" She replied, her dark eyes gleaming with confidence and motive.
"Well, he was not expecting you. Don't be too surprised." He recognised the bite in Eniola's voice.
He recognised it too well.
"And who are you?" Esmeralda asked, her dark brows raising with curiosity and -dare he say it- offense.
"Eniola Gillian, nice to meet you," Eniola replied, her beautiful face holding the most dishonest grin.
She hardly even knew the Asian and yet she was so protective.
"Same here. I'm Esmeralda Chun Wang." Esmeralda answered with the same false smile.
Women were experts at passive aggression.
"Tobias, can we talk in private?" She asked, making him raise a brow in curiosity. "It's about a proposal from my father."
Alvaro raised a brow, expression asking if it was a good idea and then glancing at Eniola.
Tobias nodded.
"Fine. Gillian, let's go meet the rest." Alvaro chipped in, thankfully.
Eniola frowned and for a brief second, Tobias wondered if she would say something about it but she just smiled. Surprisingly, she turned to him and gave a lengthy kiss on his cheek.
"Later." She whispered before leaving with Varo.
His eyes lingered on her as she disappeared after turning a corner with her ass swaying with a perfect rhythm that made him want to gouge Patrizio's eyes out to make sure he couldn't look too much.
Red was definitely her color.
He wondered if she even knew the significance of the color. In the family, a woman —especially when associated with another member— wearing darker shades of red was as good as flaunting a diamond wedding ring on her finger.
"She is very beautiful," Esme spoke up. "Come on, there are too many eyes on us." She said, eyeing the bodyguards that seemed glued to the wall.
He nodded and followed behind the Asian woman.
"You know, a conversation is a two-way thing..." She said again, leaning on the railing.
As alluring as the pose seemed, he found the drink in his hand more interesting to look at.
"Is that not your woman?" She asked again, leisurely gesturing at the main ballroom below them.
Esmeralda was right.
Eniola stood with Vittore, discussing animatedly with him something he wished he knew. Alvaro was obnoxiously close to Clara as he whispered to her with his lips not straightening from their suggestive smirk. It also seemed like some of his men were having fun as well.
He would believe they were if he did not have his hand was not permanently placed inside his suit. At least they're all at alert.
He watched as Vittore dipped his head at Eniola and seemed to ask her for a dance. She accepted the offer with the biggest smile.
His grip on his glass tightened.
She did not know but he could see that she had easily caught the attention of the people around her.
Eniola was ethereally beautiful.
It didn't help that she was the only woman of colour in the room. She stuck out in the most wonderful way.
"Are you not upset she's with someone?" This woman cannot shut up.
Two weeks ago, he would be silently seething if he saw Eniola with the Italian but now, he was glad she had an acquaintance in the family.
"Your proposal?" He asked and she sighed, putting a strand of her jet-black hair behind her ear.
"Of course. I tried discussing it with Alvaro but he would not listen to me." Tobias nodded, taking a sip of his favorite liquor.
It was no secret that Varo disliked her. The bastard had almost thrown a party when he found out they called off their engagement.
Suddenly, the mildly upbeat tune the orchestra played was replaced with a slow one. He briefly struggled to remember where he had heard it from.
He raised his head to see Alvaro frowning at the pianist. And he knew exactly why.
When the musician hit a sharp note, Tobias knew he was off. Way off.
It was a cover of Beethoven's Für Elise.
He sighed calmly when the man tried to fix his mistake and played at a much lower key. It was like Alvaro knew Tobias was also watching when he suddenly lifted his head, his eyes met with Tobias's and he blew him a kiss.
Tobias shook his head at his silliness.
"What exactly do you want to propose?" He turned his attention back to the woman beside him.
If her father truly needed to discuss business he would have contacted him directly.
"I want us to have a partnership," Esme said and he chuckled lightly. "I know you already have one with my father and that's fine. I am just trying to get started."
He raised a brow.
"How would it be of benefit to me?" He asked.
He already had protection and immunity in North China, he had no issues passing the Korean borders with a cargo plane of merchandise.
East Asia was not a problem for him.
"I can help you with West Asia. I have some people there willing to work with me."
"Esmeralda, if we are thinking of the same country then I have no business with there." He quickly stopped her.
It was obvious she was leaning toward the Middle East. He wanted nothing to do with strictly religious countries.
"You did not let me finish. I have done my research and I—"
"Esmeralda?" He called, getting her attention.
"Yes?"
"You should understand that ventures like this are not a profitable investment." His response got a sigh of defeat from her.
The Arab market was a pain to penetrate. He knew he would spend more resources keeping his people out of prison than actually doing business.
"But I'll help you," Tobias said, watching as her frown tilted. They were very good friends once. The least he could do was support her.
"Really?"
He nodded before continuing, "I'll discuss it with Pepe and have him send some to you. Do you have a medium already?"
"Well, yes. The person I am working with has a few ships." Amateur.
He kissed his teeth.
"Get a jet and send it over to the ranch in Valencia on Tuesday." That was in four days from that night. He hoped to be done with the entire Berlusconi issue by then.
Christmas was coming in too quickly.
"Oh, that's wonderful. I'll share the returns as soon as I get them." He shook his head at that. He wouldn't need the money.
"You can keep them. It's the capital." Her small mouth rounded in a small 'o' when she realized what he was talking about.
A small plane could easily hide about 2 tonnes of cocaine which meant a painfully large amount of money but investments like this could be of an advantage to him in the long run. And she'll be out of my hair for an even longer time.
Most things turned out to be to his benefit.
"Will you still be running for the ministerial position?" He asked, recalling his discussions with her father regarding her political aspirations.
"Yes. Campaigns and rallies are fairly easy when you have people who already support you."
Support as in your father filling their pockets with your useless Yuan.
Not that she knew anyway but her father had been the architect of the entire thing. She had to understand that getting into a political office was not just about making public speeches and community service. Most times, allurements were necessary.
Dean being a congressman and later a senator taught him a lot; the system is rotten. Attempting to fix it was dangerous... And well, to him, useless.
Kindo knew what he was doing and as far as Tobias believed, he was already looking at the Minister of Women Affairs.
"When are the elections beginning?" He asked.
"Mid-March, why?" He shook his head, briefly dismissing the topic. They would revisit the topic after the election.
"I guess we are done now and you are satisfied?"
Eniola had disappeared a while ago but she had returned and luckily stood with Rebecca. His men easily mixed with the crowd but all the while kept a close eye on her.
"I am. You were never one to mix business with pleasure, Tobias. That's why we were a good fit." Esme said as they watched the scene before them.
Yeah, 'were'.
But he admired Esmeralda and would have to give her some credit at least. She was business-minded like he was.
They both had an unsung hunger for power and it affected their relationship. It was unpleasant to think that they had been reduced to almost strangers from the lovers they used to be.
Kindo had been the most devastated when they separated but she had political aspirations that could not keep her away from her country for more than a week and he too had very different businesses that kept him away from her for days.
"It was always business first and you only did something if you saw profit in it."
Was that not how life worked?
"You left China and your campaigns to discuss the same business with me, Esme. Let's not throw stones."
"I am not throwing stones. I just want to know why it is different with her." She nudged her head towards where Eniola stood. "Are you sincerely attracted to her or is it just the situation that she finds herself in?" Esmeralda probed and Tobias scoffed.
Of course, Kindo must have told his daughter everything. The man had an addiction to gossip.
"How did we get to this topic again?"
"You have nothing to gain from all this. Why do you do it?" She was beginning to poke at his nerves.
People could be difficult at times.
"I owe it to her father." That and I am also doing it because why the hell not?
"Of course you do. You definitely do not love her." She said, her voice not bothering to mask its smugness.
His eyes wandered to a group of men, casually discussing a familiar topic. He could not count the number of times they had mentioned 'powder'.
"Do not patronise me, Esme."
Tobias did not hide the truth.
He was nearly insane for Eniola. He only wished it had been under better circumstances.
"Then stop looking at her." Why?
Eniola took her fourth glass (yes he had counted) as a man approached her. Her eyes widened when she saw him and Tobias could not decipher if it was because of shock, annoyance or both.
With the man's blond hair and pale complexion, he could tell he was American.
Speaking of which, there were a lot of Americans at the gala and if there was one thing Tobias stood by, it was that Americans were bad to do business with.
Maybe the Italians believe differently.
His phone vibrated in his pocket and he excused himself so he could check the notification.
It was a message from an unknown number:
Stop looking at me, you creep!
Instantaneously, his eyes met with Eniola's. She was blatantly ignoring the white man as she grinned at him.
He laughed at her antics and kept his phone back, making a mental note to save her number.
"That was cute but you didn't even text back." He watched Esme with a confused look.
"She's right there. I do not think there's a need for that."
Esme only shook her head and held her mask against her face.
"You have so much to learn if you're going to attempt a second go at relationships."
Relationships. That was one thing that he had been thinking about recently.
"Would that be all, Esmeralda?" He asked, hoping to be at least with his people and well, Eniola.
The Asian's chatter had become persistent.
"I will be staying in New York for a few days. It will be of great pleasure if you let me treat you to lunch?" Before he could answer, she added, "To show my gratitude for your support."
Tobias considered the offer for a moment but shook his head. Eniola would have an excuse to murder either him or her.
"Do not worry about it now. We'll discuss that much later." He replied with a small smile.
What he was going to get back was worth a million times more than free food.
"Well, here's my card in case you change your mind. I'll be here until Sunday." She insisted, handing him a white business card with fine gold print. "Goodluck with your meeting."
Her infamous confident smirk was back as she moved away from him, a bodyguard he had not seen before stalked behind her.
After she had left, he glanced at the card and tucked it into his pocket. He was unsure it would be useful. He looked at the watch on his wrist and frowned at the time.
Gustavo had kept him waiting for thirty minutes.
When he returned his gaze to the ballroom, his frown deepened as he saw the man still present talking to Eniola. Could he not see how disinterested she was?
Reaching for his phone, he quickly typed a message and waited for her reply. Her next actions were expected, yes, but still pleased him.
" 'Come.' Really?" Eniola teased as she reached him. "You're so old."
He observed the way the slit in her dress separated whenever she put her painfully smooth leg in front of the other.
"I'm not the best at these kinds of things, forgive me." He confessed, eyeing his men that followed behind her.
They were taking their jobs very seriously that night.
He took her hand in courtesy, enjoying how soft her skin felt.
"Nah, it's alright. I'm just joking." She replied, looking around. "So... Where's the Chinese? Are you two done talking?"
Ah, yes. The familiar tone.
"We're done. She just wanted some assistance with her business, that's all." And play cupid as well.
"What business?" Eniola quipped and he observed her shortly before speaking.
"The same as every other." His response was cryptic as usual.
Eniola watched him for a second with a small pout that made his eyes wander for a second. She had put on lipgloss instead of lipstick and he had to admit, it was way better.
"I don't like her." She said straightforwardly, making him laugh. Her unnecessary jealousy was adorable.
With a small smile, he pulled her to him by her waist, ignoring the fake cough from Luis. The blue haired man was pretending to not eavesdrop.
"You do not even know her, Fuego." He said, quietly sucking his breath as her fingers fixed a button on his shirt. With their close proximity, he could perceive small scents of alcohol on her light breaths.
"I do not want to. Next time, I'm not leaving you alone with anyone else. Being mature sucks." She grumbled, keeping her gaze on his lips. He would have to kiseed her but he was not one for public affection and plus, Luis was a second away from pulling out a camera.
He moved his lips to her forehead instead, lingering for a few moments.
"I assure you, Esmeralda is nothing to worry about. And you did well." Eniola could no longer maintain the pout as it broke into a grin. "Feel free to stay by my side next time."
"Yeah, whatever." She muttered. Tobias was sure that if she was light skinned, her skin would be red from how warm it felt.
"Who is that man?" His eyes followed the man that had been conversing with Eniola all evening as he left the centre room.
"Oh..." Eniola hesitated before answering then sighed. "He's an... ex."
He fought the sudden urge to send his men after him and just smiled at her. Thank God she said ex.
"What do you think he's doing here?"
Eniola shrugged in response, making him wonder if the ex had anything to do with Berlusconi. It was not entirely implausible. He was at the party anyway.
"What's his name?" He asked and she rolled her eyes.
"Kent Wallace. Drop it, would you? I kinda like this." Eniola said, straightening his shirt again.
Tobias could feel a headache setting in. He could swear that every name he had heard in the past month all had something to do with each other.
He was making a mental note to tell Varo to investigate the name again when the pianist hit another wrong note.
"Are you alright?" Eniola asked worriedly and he quickly nodded, unable to stop shooting glares at the idiot who was rather carried away with his noise making.
"That man is tone deaf." She watched him curiously and looked at him. When he noticed that she was still confused, he explained himself, "He keeps hitting the wrong notes."
He wondered why nobody was cringing from the painful sounds. Even Varo did not seem to mind.
"Oh, the piano? Do you still play?" She asked, amusement lacing her voice.
"Occasionally." He was lying.
He used the piano more than any other asset in his apartment.
"Hm, you'll play for me sometime?" He nodded easily at her request.
The man stopped playing with an ending tone and sent an odd gaze to Tobias who was the least impressed.
His attention was stolen by a group of people that had just come in. Varo had long left the band and had disappeared with Clara. They were all in black suits save for the man in front. Unlike the rest of them, he went for a long grey coat and a hat shading his face. Tobias could also spot a large cigar sticking out of his mouth.
That's unhealthy.
The group, with the man leading, disappeared into a passage.
"What an entrance." Eniola murmured as the music resumed again, like the room had not fallen dead silent a moment ago. "You think that was Gustavo?"
"Possibly." He hoped it was the younger sibling.
"What are you going to do with him?" She asked again, "Should I be worried?"
Tobias shook his head as he thoughtfully traced her jawline. So smooth. The thought of Kent doing the same made him want to cut off all his fingers.
"You should not."
Before Eniola could talk again, Patrizio appeared with two other men.
"Don Ferna," He greeted courteously. "Come with me."
Tobias barely nodded as they followed the man down the stairs with a few of his men right behind him. He could feel Eniola's tense hold on arm.
"Calm down, love." He said with a reassuring smile. If anyone was to be tensed, it was Berlusconi.
Alvaro met them at the bottom of the stairs with an apologetic stare while Tobias just sent him a blank look.
Idiot.
They followed Patrizio through a secluded tunnel that led to a vault similar to the one in the family house but a lot bigger than it. The tall man easily tapped on a button and the metal doors slid open, revealing a round man that had paused mid-pacing.
He raised his head up, his surprised face morphing into a wide smile.
~~~