Chapter 76

Chapter 76What is Elijah doing?
The atmosphere at the conference table immediately grew intense as Mathew, Dean, Tommy, Eli,
Elmer, Cora, and Amelia sat at the table the moment Dean uttered, “Mother has confirmed that Peach
is hell bent on marrying Elijah.”
“‘This is all your daughter’s fault,” Elmer mumbled underneath his breath, rubbing his temple
in frustration.
“What did you say?!”
“It’s Melina’s fault for bringing that damn bastard into our lives… If she didn’t bet on his ass, Peach and
her mother would have still known their place beneath us, Tommy would have eventually driven those
two out of the motel, and I wouldn’t be losing my company to those two. Damnit!”
As Dean moved his lips to speak, his phone started ringing, causing him to pull it out of his pocket.
When he noticed who was calling, he answered, mumbling, “Mason,”
“Who is Melina’s ex-husband?!” Mason’s voice boomed from the other side of the line, sounding
furious.
“Elijah? Why are you asking about him?”
“Who is he, Dean?!”
A frown crept across Dean’s face when he heard Mason’s raised tone and then he sighed, “Are you
drunk, Mason?”“No!! I am frustrated. But I am also curious about who the heck your daughter got married and divorced
to!!” Mason’s tone became even more enraged, which caused Dean’s eyebrows to furrow, and his grip
on his phone tightened slightly.
Not wanting to bear the embarrassment of not knowing a damn thing about his ex-son-in law, Dean
dodged the question with a, “Calm down, Mason… Why are you making an issue out of some bum?!”
Everyone around the table’s attention was now fully focused on Dean, wanting to know who was the
other person on the call.
“A bum!! A bum!! Okay, then tell me why the hell is that bum meeting up with Bryan Checks, and I just
lost a million of dollars deal with Check because of him…” Mason’s voice started to rise with each
word.
“Mason, please… I don’t know what the hell you are talking about.” Dean tried to convince him, but it
wasn’t going too well.
“Tell me, Dean! Who is this guy?!”
“Calm yourself, Mason.”
Haha!! It’s true when people say … The people that you circle yourself around can either lift you or fuck
you over!! And for you, Dean, you have screwed me over, by just the fact that we are friends!!”
“You are not making any damn sense right now, Mason! Stop acting crazy!”
A robust laugh echoed from the line, and Dean looked at everyone in the room in disbelief.
“I know that I am not making sense! And, that’s even more irritating, Dean!! But you know what, you
and I are over as friends and business partners, and you should stay the fuck out of my life because
this whole situation is your fault!!” Mason roared, his anger seeping into his voice.“My fault?! Mason, calm down and speak to me like a sensible human being!! You’ve always had a
temper, I get that, but I never thought you’d lose it like this!!” Dean yelled back at him, ignoring the
looks that were being sent in his direction.
“I need to stay away from you and your family’s shit… Because it seerns like there is more playing
behind the scenes, and I don’t want any of it…”.
“Mason!!”
The line abruptly cut off, and Dean looked over at his brothers, his expression blank as he tried to get
over the sense of disbelief and uneasiness he was feeling.
“What was that all about?” Eli asked, crossing his arms.
“Mason is pissed… I don’t know why because he was acting like some kind of… nut job… But
whatever happened, Elijah was involved and he’s behind Mason’s rage.” Dean finally replied, his gaze
flickering between his siblings.
“First, Mr. Fangio, and now, Mason…” Amelia uttered, frowning at her thoughts. “What is Elijah doing?
Is he trying to hurt our family’s reputation?”
“Just by his title of being Melina’s Ex, his scandals have harmed our family name. And now that Peach
wants to marry him… Imagine what that would do to our family reputation! Our entire family legacy
would crumble!!” Cora chimed in, her eyes widening.
Frowning slightly as a memory crossed his mind, Dean looked at his sisters and mumbled,” Mason
mentioned that he was meeting with Bryan Check this afternoon…”
“What the hell?! What would he be doing with such a powerful man like Checks?!” Tommy exclaimed in
disbelief.“The real question here is what the heck is the relationship between Peach, Elijah, and Bryan… What
are we missing and why is this guy becoming so damn twisted?!” Matthew interjected, shaking his head
while staring at his younger brother
Snapping his brows together, Eli pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled sharply. “Right… We’re
missing something big here. Something important… First, he’s a gold digger, and then
in a gang, and now, he meets up with Checks….”
“Who is this guy?!” Elmer asked, rage boiling within him at every passing second, “What kind of shady
fucker is he?!”
“Shady? True… We need to put him under close… surveillance.” Cora murmured, frowning deeply. “If
we want to understand him and what his plans are.”
“Now, I know why Vlad got kidnapped… after what happened to Fangio’s men, it makes even more
sense that it was Elijah behind his kidnapping… and not Bryan,” Dean spoke slowly as he
continued to stare at everyone at the table. “If my guess is true, he knows that we are unto
him.”
“‘Well, if that’s the case, I know another way to get himn in our sight and under our watch,” Matt stated
softly, leaning forward to rest his forearms atop the table.
The harsh wind blew against Elijah’s hair as he and Bryan stood on the balcony of the third floor, Bryan
sipping his wine.
“You haven’t said much,” He uttered calmly to Elijah, looking over at him,Lifting his chin slightly as his eyes trailed over to look down at Bryan standing next to him, Elijah
cleared his throat before he asked, “We had lunch. Now, are you going to tell me what’s the update?”
After glancing at Matt, Bryan took a sip of his drink before he turned his body towards Elijah and leaned
against the railing, crossing his arms. “Do you want to be my date at an old man’s birthday party?”
Bryan asked, sounding playful, and yet, Elijah could hear a certain level of seriousness behind those
words. Silence fell between the pair as they both stared at each other and then Bryan chuckled lightly
before mumbling, “It’s one of the five birthdays… Mr. Wessex Butcher is turning sixty, and I think his
party is a good start for you to get the five’s attention.” “Hmm,” Elijah mumbled, his face unreadable as
he watched Bryan’s smile grow wider. “When is this?”
“Next month, but I have been attending these for a couple of years now, and I thought to give you a
heads up… The twenty-six of next month…”
novelbin“I see.”
There was a brief pause, and then a mischievous smile crept onto Bryan’s face, causing Elijah’s
eyebrows to furrow as he inquired, “What?”
“Do you want me to book escorts for us for that night? It might make it more fun going with a hot young
woman rather than just two men, going together. Do you have a preference for the kind of women you
prefer?” Bryan questioned, smirking at Elijah’s expression.
Subconsciously, Elijah’s gaze darted towards Matt, and he saw his man giving him a hard stare as if
telling him not to do anything stupid. “Thanks, but no,” Elijah told Bryan, his expression unchanged.
“Why?… It’s been months already. Are you still hanging up on your ex-wife… Maybe it’s time for you to
have fun… enjoy your single life and the freedom that comes with it.” Bryan stated, placing a hand over
his heart and gazing at Elijah’s profile with a playful expression. Frowning silently at Bryan’s words,Elijah drew a breath and mumbled, “We are done here.” “Come on, man!” Bryan protested, laughing
lightly.
Setting his glass on the table, Elijah eyed him for a second and then walked off, leaving Bryan
dumbfounded.
“Why? Are you not single?” He shouted after Elijah.
Stopping in his steps, Elijah glanced at Bryan and raised a questioning eyebrow in response, and then
answered, “Yes, I’m not.”
“Who’s the lady lucky enough to snatch the heart of the only heir of the Maxwell family?”
Bryan teased with a fiint chuckle.
The was a long pause as Elijah held back his words, looking a bit hesitant at Bryan, and then Said,
“Peach Hayes,”
“Dude!!!” Bryan let out, staring in disbelief for about a couple of seconds. “Seriously?! I thought the
rumors were lies… You were seriously together with Peach and Melina at the same ume.”
“No, I wasn’t. But I am marrying Peach soon,”
“Wow!!”
Running his fingers through his hair, Bryan just stared at Elijah, seeing that he was honest and
wondering what the hell was going through his head.
“You are in bed with the enemy. I thought the Hayes are your foes?” Bryan laughed, completely
shocked at what Elijah meant.
“They are… But not her. She’s the only exception.” Elijah responded in a low tone.“If you marry Peach, people are going to believe the rumors way more than they did back then…”
“I know.”
Chuckling faintly, Bryan rested the glass against his bottom lip, taking a sip from his wine as he
watched Elijah walk away with Matt, and then he smiled, mumbling, “What’s your endgame here,
partner? When I think I have you figured out, you do a complete 180 and throw me off. That girl must
be special to catch your interest or is the more.“