The mafia lord’s imposter

Chapter 7

The dining room table was cleared, leaving only a pen and a notebook I’d picked from a shelf. I flipped the book open, writing “birthday party preparation” across the top of the page. I had successfully completed the task Xavier gave me, all that was left for me was to make sure the party is a success.

My brows furrowed deeply in thought. It had been years since I planned an event, and now I was planning one for a kid I didn’t even have basic details about — no name, no gender.

“Well,” I muttered to myself, tapping the pen against my lips. “Every kid loves cake, food, games, and balloons. How hard can this be?”

I was about to scribble some things in the book when I caught sight of Xavier, leaning casually against the doorway, his arms crossed, watching me. I stared, thinking he would soon get bored and leave — he always seemed like he didn’t enjoy my presence.

After some time, I looked back up only to find him still there, watching me. For some reason, it made me think about this morning. My hand instinctively rubbed my neck.

“You’re making me nervous,” I sighed, dropping the pen.

“How so?” Xavier probed.

“To start, you don’t seem to want to tell me anything about your child. Also, I don’t have a phone to look things up. I can’t keep borrowing Talia’s phone.” I sighed deeply, letting my head fall against the table in frustration.

“Her name is Kila.” Xavier’s voice came low but audible beside me, making me wonder how he came to my side so silently. Then I remembered the kind of job he has.

“Kila,” I repeated as I wrote the name in my book. Her name piqued my curiosity as I now wanted to meet her. Hopefully, she doesn't inherit her father's character. I held the pen, waiting for him to continue, but he said nothing. I turned to face him.

“And!?” I asked, my voice sounding harsher than I intended.

“And what?” His tone was dry, but I caught the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth.

“How old is she? What’s her favorite color, music, food — give me something, young man!”

For a moment, I thought I heard the faintest chuckle, but it disappeared quickly.

“Six. Blue. Jazz. Chicken nuggets,” Xavier said without hesitation.

I stopped mid-writing and squinted at him. “Jazz? You made her favorite music jazz, didn’t you?”

He didn’t answer, but his faint smirk told me everything I needed to know.

I quickly scribbled everything down, my brain already painting a picture of the party — even leaving a mini stage for the clown on my layout.

“Security,” Xavier said, leaning closer to glance at my notebook.

I couldn’t turn to face him — that would leave less than an inch between our faces.

“Hm?” I forced out.

“Don’t forget to add extra security,” he said casually, as if his closeness wasn’t affecting me at all.

I leaned back a little before looking at him, the proximity making me stutter slightly.

“You... you have enough of those. It’s a birthday party, not a drug deal.”

His lips twitched. “I think the guest list might give that impression,” he smirked.

The word guest list clicked in my head. The invitations! “Can you please mention the guests you want and their addresses?”

I was about to turn the page to write them down when Xavier brought out a phone from his pocket and handed it to me.

“You’ll find the names and addresses of the people that need to be invited.” He paused, glancing at the growing pile of tasks on my notepad. “Are you sure you can handle all this?”

I looked up at him and smiled confidently. “Yes. And you’ll thank me when Kila calls it the best birthday ever.”

For a moment, it almost looked like he was holding back a smile.

“Mind you, Kila is not easily impressed.”

I turned on the phone and examined the list. I couldn’t identify which name was her mom’s.

“Did you add her mother, or are you personally inviting her?” I teased, hoping he would get the joke — but all I could see was the visible tightening of his jaw.

“She’s not getting invited.” Xavier’s mood suddenly turned stale.

“Why?” I asked before I could stop myself.

“I don’t want her anywhere near Kila,” he said, then stood up and left.

I was left confused, but I had to move on — evening was already fast approaching, and I still had to send the invites.

When the cards were finally printed and addressed, I gathered them and went in search of Rosa.

I didn’t notice Amelia standing in the hallway until she spoke.

“What do you think you’ll get after all this? A warm welcome from Xavier?” she asked, her eyes flicking to the invitations in my hand.

“A happy child,” I said, about to continue my search as I wasn’t in the mood to have any conversation with Amelia.

Amelia stepped to the side, blocking my path.

“Yeah, sure.”

“What exactly is your problem?” I asked, infuriated by her presence.

“For you to leave! Go! Get lost! Disappear!” Amelia screamed, briefly losing control.

“I want that too.” I smiled gently at her. “But until I get what I came here for, you just have to endure.” I whispered near her ear.

Her smile widened, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You’re just a slut, as expected.”

Amelia stepped forward, swiping the first invitation card from my hand.

“I want a front-row seat to watch how everything goes down the drain,” she said before walking out.