Page 9 of Devilish King (Valentino Empire 1)

“Thank you, Teresa.” I nod my head and make my way to the office with Neo right behind me.

Knocking once, I wait until I hear the command. “Enter.” I roll my eyes before turning the handle. My father, a man of few words.

I school my features as I walk in, refusing to display an ounce of my internal shock (or stress) over seeing who else is in the room.

“Good morning.” I greet everyone as I take in my surroundings; it’s a necessary evil. You can never be too careful when it comes to an ambush. I’ve collected my fair share of enemies over the years—those who would love nothing more than to take me out—and I refuse to make that task easy for the fuckers.

I don’t sit. Instead, I walk over and stand next to where my father is positioned behind his obnoxiously large mahogany desk. I make eye contact with Lana, hoping to gauge the situation from her. There’s a slim chance she already knows what this meeting’s about, although the stress in her eyes tells me she’s just as clued in as I am.

“Right, now that we’re all here, we can get down to business,” my father says, while giving me a side-eye that orders me to keep my mouth shut.

Unfortunately for Neo, he’s not as equipped at reading the room, or at the very least, he chooses not to be. “And what business would that be, boss?” he asks. My father doesn’t answer him. He does however send daggers his way, which Neo shrugs off.

“We are here to set a date. This engagement has gone on long enough. We thought we were doing right by allowing things to progress naturally between the two of you and letting you handle the arrangements. But it’s come to our attention that you’re both dragging your heels for reasons we will not discuss today. We will, however, set the date. That’s the very least we have to give to the planner.” My father leans back in his chair.

Fuck! Shit! No fucking way. Set a date?I look to Lana, and she appears as though she’s going to be sick. Her skin pales. I can see her heart race, and her breathing picks up. I know Lana better than she knows herself, and right now, she’s either about to run to the bathroom in tears or go batshit crazy and start cussing out two of the five bosses of New York.

Neither are a permissible option at the moment. I need time. If I’m going to get the both of us out of this, I need more time. But if Lana says anything now, they’ll know we don’t want to go through with this shit. I need everyone to think we are all in.

“Lana and I already set a date. We were going to invite the families to dinner next week to discuss it,” I declare, making my way around the desk to my would-be bride before picking her up and embracing her. Leaning down, I kiss her cheek and whisper, “Get it together, L. Do not say a thing. Just nod your head and go along with it.”

Her eyes meet mine, and she gives the subtlest nod, letting me know she’ll follow my lead.

“You set a date? For when?” This comes from John, Lana’s father. He’s a bastard and probably the least respected boss out of the crowd. However, he is still a boss. And, for right now at least, he’s also my future father-in-law.

So, instead of telling the son of a bitch to fuck off and get the fuck out of my family’s house, I play nice. “Five months’ time. We thought February 14th would be fitting.” Fuck knows where I pulled that date from, but everyone seems pleased with my choice.

“Great, I’ll let the wedding planner know. Now, if that’s settled, I have more pressing things to do. Dinner next week at your place, T, sounds like a great way to make the date announcements to the rest of the family.” My father stands, signaling the end of the meeting.

“Actually, Theo, I wanted to have dinner at my place. It’ll be one of the last chances I’ll have to host, you know, before I move in.” Lana catches me by surprise. She’s never willingly spoken out at any of these fucked-up meetings—and there has been more than a few of them.

“Ah, yeah, Pops, L has it all planned already. Let’s meet at her place on Wednesday.” I wait for my father’s response. As much as I’d love to just take Lana and walk the fuck out of this office, I can’t turn my back on him until he responds. It would be disrespectful to do anything else. Thankfully, he doesn’t make me wait too long before I can make my hasty exit.

“Sure, why not? See you then.”

I nod. Placing my hand on Lana’s lower back, I lead her out of the room. Once the door is shut, I raise my finger to my lips telling her to keep quiet. Neo is right behind us as he exhales as loudly as he possibly can. “Well, looks like I need to get my tux dry cleaned, huh?”

“Shut it, asshole,” I grit out as I lead Lana to the car. I close her in the back before jumping into the passenger’s seat. I don’t say a word until Neo has pulled out of the gates. “What the fuck was that? Did you know that was happening?” I turn my glare on Lana. I know she doesn’t deserve to bear the weight of my wrath right now. But, fuck, I’m beyond pissed.

“First off, you can take that glare somewhere else; it doesn’t work on me. Second, if I knew they were planning that ambush, I would have warned you,” she seethes, before slumping back in the seat.

“We’re not getting married, L,” I say out loud for the first time.

“No shit, we’re not. I’d rather welcome an untimely death than be sentenced to a life as your wife.” She physically shakes, like the thought of being with me is unimaginable, then adds, “No offense.”

“Yeah, none taken. I need you to not do anything rash.Or stupid.I’ll figure a way out of this mess, without anyone dying in the process. Any idea what your father’s getting out of it?”

“Not a damn clue. I’ve searched every scrap of paper in his office, his safe. Nothing. I’m coming up empty.”

“There has to be something. We just need to find out what. Someone has to know.”

“Have you—oh, I don’t know—tried asking your father?” Lana retorts. I don’t bother answering her. Instead, I tell Neo to drop her off at her apartment. “T, not that I’m complaining, but why the sudden change of heart? I mean, up until today, you’ve been willing to go along with this bullshit idea?”

“No reason in particular. I just don’t want to spend the rest of my life eating your food, L.” I smirk and dodge the tiny fist swinging towards my head.

“Well, prepare yourself, because next week’s dinner will be to die for.” Lana smiles and opens the door, right as the car comes to a stop outside her apartment building.

ChapterSix

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