Gamble With My Heart

Lily

POV ALEXANDER

"Hey it's Friday, let's go for a drink."

"Melvin, I'm the CEO of a multi billion dollar company. I don't just shut down work because it's Friday."

I watched Melvin barge into my office without knocking as usual. I've known him since I was 16, so he struggled to treat me like the boss at the office. He's the only one that could get away with disrespecting me at work and not get his head chopped off. I was ruthless in my personal life and even more ruthless in business. Growing up in a family like mine, we were taught at a young age to be evil and treat the poor as the thrash that they are. My dad believed the more ruthless he raises his children the less likely they will give away the family's wealth. He was right! Even though my family was one of the richest families in Greece we have probably given less than 10 thousand dollars to charity.

"Your company won't be destroyed to infinity and beyond."

"I prefer working than spending an hour with you Buzz Lightyear."

"That would actually hurt if I cared what you think. Seriously Alexander, let's go out. You've been busy with this merger for 4 weeks now. You need a break and I'm not taking no for an answer.

Although Melvin was my friend, well my only friend. He was actually groomed to be my friend. Melvin was born 2 months before me. His dad is my grandfather's most trusted employee. He took care of my grandfather's gardens for years and still does. My grandfather thought it would be good for me to have a friend that would grow up with me and be loyal to me. He chose Melvin to be that friend. Before I was even born my grandfather had already picked Melvin to be my one and only friend. We did everything together, we went on vacation together, we went to the same school. Anything my grandfather bought for me, Melvin always got a similar version of it. He treated us as equal and always told me the only person I was allowed to trust was Melvin. I remember my grandfather telling me not to even trust him because he could betray me in future but a good and loyal friend would never betray me. I think he said that because my grandmother betrayed him long before I was born.

One thing I knew was my grandfather loved me. He made sure I took his last name instead of my fathers last name. You see my mother was his only child because he vowed to never have another child after my grandmother left him. I wonder how my grandmother lasted with my grandfather. He is such a brusk and ruthless man but she is so calm and caring. Polar opposites but I guess opposites attract. Although my grandmother is amazing, she is another example of women not being loyal at all.

"Alexander, get your butt off that computer now!"

"Shouting ain't gonna make me move my ass off this seat."

"But my punch will." I watched Melvin raise his fists up in the air. We had so many fist fights growing up and I have the bruises to prove it.

"You just want to find a bunch of girls to smash."

"And so? How is that a bad thing?" Melvin loved women way too much. I think he had a new woman every week. I'm shocked his d**k hasn't yet fallen off.

"Melvin, all these women will use and dump you."

"Who says I'm not using them too?"

One thing Melvin and I were taught from a young age was that women were meant to be enjoyed and dumped, they had no other purpose. Maybe my grandfather taught us that because he was suffering from a broken heart but one things for sure, I have never met a loyal woman. They are all in it to see what they can get out of me.

"But honestly, I just want to go out with my homie since birth and smash girls at the same time. Killing two birds with one stone."

"Your a 27 year old man and you one of the most respected men in this town Melvin but you are still a whole lot of stupid."

"That's why we so close, we even it out." I palmed my face at how stupid Melvin was but he was freaking entertaining that's for sure. He matched me word for word. I didn't have to bite my tongue while talking to him. I could be as blunt as possible without anyone getting butt hurt.

"If you don't leave my office Melvin I will beat you senseless." I tried to say that in the angriest voice that I could muster but the smile that invaded my lips blew my cover.

"Okay Okay get moving now Alexander. We are going now. You need a warm blooded woman to warm your bed tonight."

"I have women warming my bed every night." I normally pick a woman every month and she warms my bed until I get bored of her. Usually within a month I'm bored of them.

"Okay you need a different woman warming your bed tonight." I watched Melvin try to come up with different excuses on why I should go out with him tonight. He looked funny when he tried to think too much. I found myself laughing and Melvin just kept staring at me while laughing. I must look like a mad man right now.

"Okay Okay I will go partying with you tonight. Stop thinking too much. It looks like your head is about to overheat because you keep trying to find an excuse to make me go out."

I gave up trying to reason with Melvin, there was no use. He would just keep on going until I beat him senseless which would just land him in the hospital and ruin my Friday night. I would pick a restaurant anyway over a hospital. Demons that I have been trying to forget lived there.

Melvin is the only person that knows me, he's the only person that knows the pain that lives in me. To everyone else I was Alexander Paidia. The greatest Greek shipping magnate. Well I wasn't the greatest, my grandfather was. He built this company with his sweat. He gave me the company and then returned to Greece to enjoy his old age. When he gave me the company we only had offices in Greece and USA but now we have offices in South Africa and Japan. We had expanded to all 4 corners of the world. I was raised to become the best business man.

My grandfather made sure to teach me from a young age. By the time I was 5 I was already reading the newspaper and by the time I was 8 my grandfather would force me to go to the office with him. Instead of playing with toys, I would have to spend 4 hours a day reading business news and I hated that with a passion but if he didn't push me back then I doubt I would be the CEO of the company right now. I'm a Greek man, it's hard to make us submit but my grandfather broke my back in order for me to submit to him. My grandfather would order the cooks to not give me food on Saturday and Sunday if I was not able to read a page of the 'Kefalaio' - a Greek financial newspaper released every Saturday- I would spend the whole day practising so that I could read the newspaper to him when he got home from the office.

He would ask me questions to make sure I really understood what I was reading to him. I remember once I wasn't able to understand the article, my grandfather ordered the workers to not feed me, luckily Melvin snuck food into my room. That's when I knew Melvin was loyal because if he got caught, my grandfather would have beat the s**t out of him. My grandfather loved me. That was one thing I was sure of but he also had really intense ways of making me submit to his wills. Which made me resent him during my teens but now I appreciate all that he did. He made me a man but that was not something I wanted to think about right now.

"Melvin lets go before I change my mind." I grabbed my coat and I walked out of my office. My muscles bulged through my suit jacket, I had been taking out my anger in the gym lately. I guess anger helps you forget the pain in the gym. Maybe I did need that drink.

I didn't realize we already pulled up to the front of the restaurant. Whenever I thought of my family, my mind would always start to wander into all the sadistic things I wanted to do, maybe it was because of the anniversary of my dad's death coming up. The old f**k passed away 13 years ago to ALS. First he lost his ability to hold things, then he lost motion in his legs and from then on he became trapped in his own body. Knowing he was trapped in his own body should have made me sad but instead it made me happy. At least I lived long enough to see the old f**k suffer from all his indiscretions.

I looked out the window and I started to wonder why Melvin brought me to Luigi's. I honestly thought he would take me to a strip club to clear my mind. What the f**k am I doing at a freaking restaurant on a Friday night?

"Like really? Seriously? Here? I thought we were supposed to go get women to warm my bed, not food to warm my tummy."

"I said a restaurant."

"What's the difference? Strip clubs now sell food."

"But good food won't be the only thing you're buying at a strip club."

"Your point." I was already irritated right now and Melvin wasn't helping it at all. I really wanted to take my frustrations out on a woman sexually. I saw women as objects to be used and abused and I didn't give a f**k what anyone thought about that. It's my life and I can do whatever I want.

"Let's go!" I put on my black shades and followed Melvin into Luigi's.

"You don't need shades inside a restaurant Alex."

"I never asked for your advice Melvin."

The hostess ushered us to our booth towards the back of the restaurant. Even though we were at the back we still had a view of the restaurant. Luigi's looked like a fusion of Italian and Asian past worlds and that reflected in the food also. You had dishes like kimchi Pasta or Pad see ew Gnocchi. I loved the food here but wasn't in the mood to be here, I'm not sure if that even made sense.

"I'll send over a waitress right away sir."

The waitress licked her lips and turned around. She swayed her hips while walking back to her post. She wasn't my type. She was blonder, stick straight and way too tall. I know men like that whole model figure but I was a Greek man, we liked our women with curves. Our bloods boiled for our brunette, curvy women with fiery tempers to match. Although Melvin was in the lead she focused her words on me. I knew she was interested in me. Maybe I'll go there if I can't find a better girl tonight or maybe I'll call Melissa or was it Melinda?

The girl for this month that would share my bed. I forgot her name but she gave good head. Did I even ask her name? Every woman around me knows to only talk when I ask them too. Their only purpose is to pleasure me and in exchange I will give them all their hearts material desires.

"Alexander, when are you going to start having fun?"

"Doesn't it look like I'm having fun?" I gave him the fakest smile ever just to make sure he knew how much I hated being out right now.

"I miss the old Alexander, the one that would spit in the face of a police officer or the one that would beg a judge to send him to jail at 13 because he didn't want to live in a mansion with his dad.'

"That Alexander has a billion dollar company to run" Although I was ruthless my grandfather always taught me that employees are the heart of the company. They can either build or destroy the company. Be ruthless but not to the point that they start to revolt against you. If I get into too much trouble, how do I expect my employees to trust me?

"I'm a man with many responsibilities 'Aderphos'- means brother in Greek- You know all that was just to get a rise out of my sperm donor father."

"Sometimes I wish your father was still alive."

"ENOUGH!" I slammed my fists on the table, that was the last straw. I snapped and grabbed him by the collar. I slammed him back on his chair. "Your father was the right hand man of my grandfather, remember I was brought up to be better than you. Remember your place and stay in your lane."

"You're talking bullshit, we are brothers whether you like it or not. Remember you called me Aderphos. We might not be blood brothers but we were raised that way." I let go of Alex and proceeded to sit back.

"I'm sorry" I felt bad about talking to him like that. Melvin didn't deserve that.

"Alex you're my brother, we are brothers in arms for life. I wouldn't call you out for your bull if I didn't care. You can't keep on carrying around so much hate for both your parents. Okay I'm sorry your parents are dead, everyone knows that"

"I know. I have been drunk in work for a while."

"Why don't we have a little fun like we used to do when we were young." Melvin had a mischievous grin plastered all over his face.

"If there is a possibility of me getting arrested then the answer is hell no."

"I was thinking more in the lane of a bet."

" What type of bet?"

"Remember Alisa?"

I remember Alisa, she was a girl that I slept with when I was younger. She was 18 and I was 15, Melvin made a bet with me that If I slept with her he would give me all the money he had saved to buy a bike which was exactly $1000 but if I failed then I would buy him a Vitacci bike for $2500. Obviously I was able to get her to fall in love with me within 4 months and give up her virginity. I told her I loved her just to get into her pants, she was playing hard to get and wouldn't give it up for any of the guys so we had to teach her a lesson. I can still recall her face after I showed the sheet with her blood in front of all the guys. She stopped carrying herself so highly. She thought she was better than everyone else so we had to teach her a lesson. She was just another warm whole to be filled.

Melvin knew I love bets because I had a winner mentality. I guess I might not regret going out with Melvin tonight. This will be fun.

"I don't have time for such games." I was just teasing Melvin, he knew how much I loved playing games but I wasn't going to let him challenge me without making him sweat a bit.

"What you scared of? You think you will lose?"

"No, I'm worried there isn't a girl out there that can turn me down."

"Wow you have a big ego. I truly forgot how big your ego is."

"That ain't the only thing that's big. If you can find a woman that you think can resist me then I'm game."

"Her!'

I followed Melvin's finger in the direction it pointed. I saw what was probably the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. A frown crossed my face when I saw her smiling at another man.

"She looks too cheap Melvin." I didn't want to let on that he picked a girl I could possible be attracted to unlike Alisa, she wasn't my type so it was literally torture trying to get my d**k hard enough to f**k her.

"That's what you think. Her name is Mia and I've been trying to get her to break for months."

"She's probably just looking for a richer man."

"Let's bet $20 that you can't get her."

"She is not worth $20. More like a $1 if you ask me."

"Okay a dollar it is. This is going to be fun."

When me and Melvin bet it's just to stroke our egos. We could bet a million dollars but it's not about the money. It's about being superior and playing with women like we played with toys growing up.