My Crazy Billionaire

7,Him

I stood off to the side as my men dug through the soul as graves for the men whose lives had been lost. It was still quite dark but I was standing under one. I had on black slacks, a black fitted turtleneck and a black trench coat over it. My shoes were dark brown though and my hair had been sleeked and styled with gel.

My face was grim as I watched the men dig up the graves. It was one of my private, low key properties. My world was dangerous. I couldn’t just bury the men publicly. I had the police department under my thumb but some problems could really be avoided.

I heard the rustle of leaves beside me and the sound of a boot crunching on the leaves, the sound getting louder as the person neared me. The person was male judging from the footfalls. I knew that not many people knew I was here as I had not alerted even the men digging that I was coming but in my world one couldn’t be too safe. My hand subtly palmed the gun that was tucked in neatly at my side beneath my jacket and my body went on alert.

“Boss.” The clear-cut voice of Emile called out and my body only partially relaxed. That was the thing about no trusting many people. You expected anyone at anytime to betray you.

“Emile.” I acknowledged and let my hands fall back to my side as I watched the men dig the graves using only the light from the nearby parking lot. Emile was dressed in black trainers and black sport shoes as he rubbed his hands together and puffed out a puff of cold breath through them as he tried to dispel the cold. I looked away from him.

“Isn’t it too early to be here boss?” The man said, an attempt at humor even though nothing at the moment was humorous. I narrowed my eyes even though he won’t see it and replied

“Isn’t it too early for you to be here Emile?” I retorted coldly and I heard him take in a harsh breath. I had too much on my plate. I didn’t need his jesting. Of course I knew he was affected by the deaths as well but I had more on my plate. I was boss.

“Touché´. But you know boss, you really have to sleep sometimes. It’s either you’re running or f*****g or staring creepily at graves. No offense boss.” He said with a light chuckle. Ha ha! He could have a laugh at my expense but I didn’t even dignify him with a response. Probably because he was right. I didn’t sleep much no matter how much I worked. I guess I just hadn’t found a reason to feel like I deserved such peace yet.

Emile then removed a cigarette pack and pointed at me.

“Care for a smoke?” He asked. I didn’t really smoke much but I guess the whole mood, the cold and the pressure of everything caused me to give in.

“Sure.” I replied. He offered me one and then placed one in his mouth before pocketing the rest of the pack. He then brought out a lighter and lit up the end of my cigarette and then lit his. The small dark spot where we were was lit up by the fiery ends of our cigarettes as I brought the stick to my mouth and took a long drag.

It had been long since I had a cigarette, since I was in college, and smoking one now, reminded me of why I didn’t smoke. I took two more long drags and then threw the stick to the ground, squashing it with my foot, effectively putting of the fire and ruining the cigarette.

“Aye Xavier. You didn’t have to waste the stick. You would have just said you won’t smoke.” Emile complained with a puff out of his cigarette.

“I could buy you a whole new box if you want.” I said flatly and seeming to finally pick up on my somber mood, he shut up and stood by me in silence.

The men finished digging the graves by early morning when the sky just begun lighting up and a few people showed up at the graveyard. I swallowed a lump in my throat as I realized who these people were. Families of the deceased. I pushed down all feelings that wanted to surface and I focused more on anger. Anger for the person who put me in such a position.

Some of my men brought the bodies of those who had been killed and the families were given a few minutes to say their goodbyes. Of course there were tears. I avoided all emotion and remained solely angry. Feeling pity for these people will not solve anything. Killing the man who was responsible for their deaths would bring me much pleasure though.

Most of the family members of the victims burst into tears throughout the short service that was held. I avoided the display for the most part and stared stoically as my dead men were lowered into the ground. It was fully light out when the men were buried and the service ended. The families that were allowed to attend knew the protocol. They had to leave before they drew any more attention to themselves and they were each given money packages to take care of themselves. They also signed contracts that they were never to try to expose anyone they knew from the mafia. The contract was just a legal way to look at it. Anyone who dared try to snitch was going to have a bullet planted securely in their brains almost immediately.

I turned to leave, still hidden by the shadows of the trees but due to the light out, I put on my dark shades and took the way out of the small cemetery where most of my appearance was concealed. Emile threw the last stump of his cigarette and walked beside me.

As we were moving towards my car, my phone rang and I answered it immediately when I saw it was one of the guys that I had put on lookout. More deals were coming through and even though I had my suspicions about who was trying to sabotage my shipments, I had no proof but I couldn’t neglect my business.

“Speak.” I ordered simply and the man spoke.

“Good morning boss. My people have kept their ears very close to the ground and some rumors have been circulating concerning the shipment and the murder of the men who were killed.” The man started and blew on the other end of the phone as if trying to dissipate away the cold. It was almost the end of spring and it was getting very cold fast. I got to my car by this time and the guards by the sides nodded in acknowledgement to me. I just nodded back and focused on what the man was saying. Emile stood by my car as he watched me make me the call.

“What rumors?” I asked coldly, my lips thinning.

“My sources, they say that some men have been bragging about you being in trouble and that you’re going down soon. But that’s as far as they know. They didn’t say who the men were but boss, they said the men seemed to really hate you.” The man added unhelpfully and I held back an eye roll.

“Everyone hates me.” I said grimly, uncaring and unbothered. People hating me was no strange occurrence. I would have been alarmed if the men were fans. But the news didn’t sound good. People were trying to bring me down, they had inside knowledge and they were brave enough to brag about it. It was either they were incredibly stupid or they had a good backup.

“f**k!” I cursed as I ran my free hand through my hand. Emile looked on edge.

“Sorry boss. My sources are still trying to get more information.” The man on the other end of the line apologized when he heard me curse. I didn’t blame him. I was very angry and I was going to release my anger one way or the other.

“Stay on the matter. Whoever is talking will keep talking. If it’s my attention they wanted, they got it. Keep your ears glued to the ground. Whoever this pendejo is will regret messing with me and my business.” I ordered angrily and cut the call with a click.

Almost immediately, Emile’s phone rang and he answered it, talking animatedly with the person on the other end. He cut the call not long after and turned back to me.

“The Tokyo shipment just left Tokyo Xavier. It should be here in about a week. There was a little commotion when it came to transportation but our transporters were able to settle things with the authorities.” He reported and I sighed again, drawing my hand through my hair. Today was turning out to be very stressful. I nodded at Emile and turned to my car, and got in. Connecting my phone to the car’s Bluetooth, I dialed Corine. She picked up on the second ring.

“Good morning Sir” She answered, her voice sounding sharp.

“Set up my meeting with Mr. Hashima in the winery uptown.” I spoke not even bothering to respond to her greeting.

“Alright sir. I have the winery on line two right now. The meeting is set for one pm. I will contact Mr. Hashima’s secretary to confirm. Does this mean you aren’t coming in this morning?” She probed, her tone curious. Typical Corine.

“I’ll be out. Get all the files I worked on from my apartment. I will contact you if I need anything else. But once you’re done with this, you may have the morning off.” I spoke and revved the car’s engine completely ignoring her unprofessional excited squeal at the prospect of having a morning off.

“Thank you sir. Right away Sir.” She replied and I cut off the call. I glanced at Emile who was looking at me from the parking lot.

“Emile.” I called, remembering something.

“Yes boss.”

“Pass by the hospital. Get Lily her coffee.” I ordered, closed my door and drove off.