♛ L U C A N ♛
He doesn't even like coffee. What the hell is he doing here?
"Hello, welcome to Blacktop. What would you like to order?" The waitress's voice comes from somewhere to Lucan's left.
He speaks into the phone. "Aspetta un secondo." [Hold on a second.] The caller on the other end of the line patiently waits as he nods at Darius to order for him.
Darius nods back to show that he understands and Lucan tunes out. His attention is turned back to the task at hand, not even giving the waitress a spare glance. He's trying to land a business deal in the stead of his father. So far, the process is coming along very well, and Lucan doesn't want anything to change that.
Call him superstitious, he doesn't care.
"Va bene, sono tornato." He says. [Alright, I'm back.]
"Dove ero io?" [Where was I?]
"Credo che stavi per dire che ha accettato di l'affare?" [You were about to agree to the deal?]
"Haha, bella prova, Cacciatore." [Haha, nice try, Cacciatore.]
The twenty seven year old laughs. "Ne valeva la pena, si? Ora, mettiamoci al lavoro." [It was worth a shot, yes? Now, let's get down to business.]
"Sì, naturalmente. Sono d'accordo con le tue idee, e sono sicuro che il signor Giovanni approverà . Sebenne..." [Yes, of course. I agree with your ideas, and I'm sure Mr. Giovanni will approve. Although...]
Lucan frowns. "Anche se... cosa? Qual è il problema?" [Although... what? What's the problem?]
"Se la posizione della fabbrica senza dubbio causare alcune lamentele." [The location of the factory will undoubtedly cause some complaints.]
He sighs a bit under his breath. "Tutto apposto. Farò in modo di un incontro con il signor Giovanni e mio padre per discutere le nostre opzioni." [Alright. I'll arrange a meeting with Mr. Giovanni and my father to discuss our options.]
"Perfezionare. Ci vediamo due presto, suppongo?" [Perfect. I'll see you two soon, I assume?]
Lucan nods. "Sto contando su di esso." [I'm counting on it.]
The caller laughs and bids his goodbyes before hanging up. Lucan detaches the phone from his ear, stares at it for a few seconds, and slides it into his pocket. He turns to study the interior of the diner, finally able to fully register his surroundings since he had gotten out of the car.
It isn't much to look at, to be honest. Ashy red walls and pale grey floors clash together against the black marbles tables and leather booths. It's as if the designers had no idea what aesthetic they were going for when drawing this up.
Lucan turns to stare at his driver long and hard. Darius is leaning against his side of the booth, watching the other occupants of the diner. "Why did you bring me here, Darius?" His tone is flat.
The man in question turns to look at him and pauses before a slight grin breaks out on his face, his sky blue irises twinkling. "Their coffee is the best I've ever had. You'll see."
Lucan has to refrain from rolling his eyes, but cannot resist his scoff. He tugs on the cuffs of his suit jacket. "Why the hell would I pay for coffee when I can get it at home free of charge? It's a bit ridiculous."
Darius leans over the table. "But you've never had Blacktop's coffee before. Only the stuff that Aleane makes from scratch at your house."
Lucan shakes his head, folding his arms over his chest. "I prefer to save money, thank you."
"And I prefer spending money at Blacktop's, thank you." Is his driver's sassy response.
Lucan can't restrain his eye roll this time. "Then you can be the one to pay, since you clearly insist. Now," he pauses to change the subject. "What exactly did you order for me, Dar?"
Darius slides the laminated menu across the black marble. Lucan quickly scares it before looking back up at his personal driver and closest friend. His question repeats as his eyebrow lifts. "What did you order for me, Darius?"
He chuckles. "Just a cup of black coffee, a Belgian waffle, and eggs Benedict."
"So I see you've decided that today will be my cheat day. All of that sounds ridiculously fattening." He pauses to slide the menu back over to his driver before hurrying on. "Minus the coffee, obviously."
Darius laughs, loud. "You got it. But you and I both know you're going to work it off today anyways, what with you going all over the place and losing your voice screaming at employees."
Lucan shrugs without apology and grabs a salt shaker, spinning it around the table top. "I don't scream at them. I... scold. I scold them." A few salt crystals come out and drift to the dark marble. They look like snowflakes settling against black asphalt. "Some of them deserve it. Others just annoy me. It all happens for a reason." He pushes the salt shaker away and stares at his driver, cocking his head to the side. "You know I won't apologize for pouring my soul into Cacci Consolidated while some employees are only there for the paycheck."
Darius looks as if he's about to answer, but the waitress appears with their food and interrupts him before he can start. He thanks her and begins eating straight away, but Lucan takes the time to study her. Really study her.
Something about her catches his attention. Maybe it's the fact that her hair is very long, and braided.
What does Rosella call the hairstyle again? Box braids?
Yes, her hair is in box braids. Several of them are adorned with silver rings, and a thin string the same shade as the jewelry coils around one of the braids in the front.
Or maybe it's her dark brown irises that are nearly black, focusing roughly on the task at hand.
Lucan watches as she nervously chews on her simply shaded full lips, fumbling to set his cup of coffee in front of him. "Careful." He says, his tone a bit gruff. He clears his throat.
She doesn't respond, though. Instead she reaches into her apron pocket and takes out a selection of napkins before placing them on the table. She leans back with a manufactured smile. "Enjoy your meal, gentlemen."
Something about her is very familiar. He knows that he's seen her before, but he doesn't know where from. Lucan opens his mouth to thank her, and maybe ask if they know one another, but she's already moving on to the next table, greeting customers, introducing herself, and taking orders.
"Lucan, are you alright?" Darius's concerned tone forces the twenty seven year old to tear his gaze away from the waitress and her decorated hair.
"Yeah," he says. "I'm fine. I just thought she looked very familiar."
Darius eyebrows are still raised, but he nods. He then sends a quick glance at the waitress and fixes his bright blue eyes back on his boss. "And you think she's attractive. Maybe you should put her on the List."
Lucan snorts and sets his coffee back on the table before he can take a sip. "Please tell me that was a joke, Darius. She looks nothing like the women I usually date. And she's a waitress. My family would smell the scam from a mile away." He actually laughs this time. "Come on, now."
Darius shrugs, forking another bite of his breakfast into his mouth. "It was just a suggestion, but I can see what you mean when you put it like that." He pauses to swallow before continuing. His eyes narrow as he points his fork over at Lucan. "But you do find her attractive, right?"
The twenty seven year old picks up his coffee mug and rolls his eyes. "I do. But I don't see how my finding her attractive is relevant in any sense." Then he sips his coffee to make a point.
Lucan forces himself not to spit the drink all over the table, grimacing and swallowing it down instead. He scowls at it, noticing for the first time that the liquid is a shade of caramel brown.
Hadn't he ordered a black coffee?
"What's with the face?" Darius asks. His expression is curious but his posture reeks of boredom.
"This is the wrong coffee." Lucan forces his voice to remain cold. "You did order a black coffee, right?"
His friend nods. "I did. It was probably just a simple mistake. Just call the waitress back over and tell her that."
Lucan inhales and pushes the mug farther away from him. "You're right." Then, turning in his seat in hopes of catching the attention of a nearby worker, he calls out. "Excuse me?"
One of them begins to make her way over, but she isn't the one who had served them their breakfast. Her hair and eyes are almost as dark, but her skin is several shades lighter. She has a genuine smile on her face. "Is there anything that you need, sir?"
The twenty seven year old gestures to his coffee, his tone flat. "There's been a mistake. I ordered a black coffee. Was this supposed to belong to someone else?"
She frowns, and Lucan glances at her nametag. Reina. "I apologize for the mix up." She reaches for the mug and he obliges, placing it in her hand. "Do you know who served you?"
Before Lucan can reply that he doesn't, Darius cuts in. "I think her name tag said Juh-len-uh?"
Reina smiles a little at that. "Ah, I see. Yuh-lane-uh has to work two sections today. Not that it's much of an excuse, but she must've mixed up the orders since this isn't her usual section." She fixes her gaze on Lucan, then. "I'll make sure that she brings you your original order, sir."
Darius smiles and thanks her while Lucan nods without response. Reina then flashes a pearly smile, this one aimed at Darius, and walks away with the forsaken cup of coffee in her grasp.
His friend leans against his elbow. "That wasn't so difficult, now was it, Lucan?"
The twenty seven year old rolls his eyes and tugs on the cuffs of his suit. "Oh, shut up, Darius." The blond in mention laughs at this. "None of this would've happened if you hadn't dragged me here in the first place."
He chuckles. "Bitterness is very becoming on you, Lucan. Have I ever mentioned that?"
Lucan rolls his eyes and slices open his eggs Benedict. "Keep it in your pants, Darius." He then pokes at the orange sauce smothering it all with a grimace. "If I had known you were going to order eggs Benedict for me I would've asked them to hold the hollandaise."
"But that's the best part." Darius grins. "Haven't you heard, Lucan? You gotta have hollandaise."
The twenty seven year old's tone is dry. "Of course. How could I forget that?"
After a few minutes of mindless conversation, the waitress reappears. Lucan's gaze is fixed to her. She remains silent as she places the new mug of steaming black coffee on the table. Her braids are tied up in a bun this time around, though.
She looks so familiar, he thinks to himself. Why can't I put my finger on it?
Then she straightens, her dark skin nearly glowing from the sunlight that filters through the window. "Is that all you need, sir?" Her words are polite but he can see the fatigue behind her eyes.
Lucan's focus is drawn away from trying to decipher where he's seen her before and he roots himself back to reality. Her dark eyes are fixated on him as she awaits his answer. She folds her arms over her chest and leans a little to the right.
He takes a sip of his coffee to make sure it's just as he wanted. Darius pokes at his dippy eggs and soldiers and drinks his tea. Lucan suppresses a smile as he turns back to the waitress. He glances at her nametag. Jelena.
An eyebrow cocks as she repeats her question. "Please understand that I have other tables to wait on, sir. Is there anything you need?"
Lucan clears his throat and twists his watch. "I apologize." He glances up at her and for a reason, relishes in the slight surprise that unfolds on her face. His tone remains cold, though. "Thank you for bringing me the correct coffee."
Something flashes in her dark eyes as she nods stiffly and turns to walk away. Lucan forces himself not to stare as she greets more diners, and he takes a sip of his coffee.
"So are you going to tell me what the hell that was?"
The twenty seven year old looks up from his phone and stares into the rear view mirror where he can see only one of Darius's blue eyes. His friend's eyebrow twitches slightly as his gaze flickers back and forth from the road to the mirror. Lucan slips his phone into his breast pocket. "What are you talking about?" He asks.
Darius chuckles. "Your patience. With the waitress, I mean. I've never seen it before. I was honestly prepared for you to cause a scene of some sort or another."
"Elaborate please, Darius. What kind of scene?"
"I was expecting you to scold her," his friend mocks his choice of wording.
Lucan shakes his head. "Why would I throw a temper tantrum over something that I could have at home for free?"
"Are you sure that's the only reason?" His driver snorts.
Bloody hell.
The twenty seven year old feigns ignorance. "I don't know what you mean by that."
"Don't think I didn't notice how you couldn't stop looking at her, Lucan."
"I forced myself to stop looking at her," he mumbles in response. Lucan feels his cheeks warming. He shrugs off the embarrassment and fishes his phone from his pocket, prepared to call Rosella. "And anyways, I don't see what my patience has to do with her attractiveness. There's no correlation, Darius."
Something indescribable flashes in his friend's eyes. "I wish you would apply that logic to your work space, then. People make mistakes, Lucan. You know that. It's all a part of being human."
Lucan hears his father's voice even though he's the one speaking. "And that's exactly why we can't afford to make mistakes. Again, there's no correlation between that waitress and my employees, Darius."
His friend remains silent at that. His jaw clenches and his eyes stay fixed on the road ahead for the rest of the car ride.
Lucan rakes his hand through his hair after a deep sigh and scrolls through his phone. He calls Rosella's number.
It rings once. Twice. Pause. Four times.
Just before he can end the call, a sleepy voice sounds from the other end. "What the fuck do you want, Lucan? I'm trying to sleep." She's irritated.
He glances at his watch with a frown. "It's nearly 10, Rosa. You should've been at the agency already."
Rosella groans and the sound of sheets ruffling fills his ears. "Danielle hasn't called me yet. So that means I don't have a shoot for today, Brother. Now let me sleep, I have a damn migraine."
He chuckles at that. "Meaning you went to a party last night."
She huffs in response. "Obviously. I, being the idiot I am, allowed Dahlia and Mena to talk me into mixing up rum and vodka with a twist of champagne. The last thing I remember is dancing my ass off behind the bar. Now my tongue feels like meatloaf and my throat is on fire."
"Am I supposed to feel sympathy for you?"
"Shut up, Lucan." His younger sister growls before being interrupted by a voice that he recognizes.
"Ella? Con chi stai parlando?" [Who are you talking to?]
Lucan raises an eyebrow.
Rosella hisses loud enough for him to hear. "Quiet, Leo."
He forces his tone to remain emotionless. "Where are you, Rosella?"
Darius's gaze flickers to the mirror for a brief second before he shakes his head to himself and slides up the window.
Rosella curses in Italian, her voice filling the line. "I'm in New York, Brother. Exactly where I'm supposed to be."
A drop of warning enters his words. "Don't lie to me, Rosa. O me lo dici o lo dici a papà." [Either you tell me or you tell Father.]
His sister caves, sighing deeply before whispering into the phone. "Okay, fine. I'm at Leo's apartment. He took me home last night."
Lucan pinches the bridge of his nose. "Rosella," he sighs. "You have to be more responsible, please. I can't always check up on you and Leo won't always be there."
"Then don't check up on me," is her bitter response. She continues. "And you're not in any position to say where Leo's gonna be." Then Rosella inhales sharply and mumbles out another curse. "Just... don't tell Mom or Dad, okay?"
He doesn't respond.
"Please, fratello." Her words are pleading enough, but Lucan knows better than to be fooled.
"I won't. You know I won't." He begins.
"Thank y-"
"-But next time you beg for something like that, please make sure your boyfriend's mouth isn't between your legs." He grimaces. "I can fucking hear the suction."
Rosella begins to protest in embarrassment but Lucan ends the call before she completes her first sentence. He sighs heavily and leans back against his seat, staring at the ceiling of the car. The twenty seven year old swallows then, before muttering out, "I love you too, Rosella."
.
♛
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Here is the 2nd official revamped chapter of TPOP, now known as Passion's Price!
Thank you so much for reading :) The next chapter IS available.
XOXO,
callie