The Desires Of Her

Flashback

~RHYS~♤

* ~ *

2 weeks prior

The heels of my shoe echoed along the dark hallway. Expensive art from the famous Leonardo's Salvator Mundi to the Mona Lisa lined the hard wood that made up the exquisite wall.

"Gentlemen," I nod once in their direction as the guys standing guard opened the door, closing it behind me.

A cloud of smoke filled the room from the table where he sat.

Noticing my presence, he leaned back on his plush seat, a lit Treasurer London executive cigarette in between his lips. He beckoned for me to take one, I did.

" Some good s**t,yeah?" He grinned when i nodded, pressing the red butt on the table.

"Only the best."

Another drag of the cigarette, I pushed a piece of photograph across the table to him.

"My job is done." The thought of my life from here was exciting. One final thing to check off my list and I can go on a f*****g vacation, f**k a nice blonde head and get a f*****g tan.

Another pull from the cigarette. It was good.

Raphael half scoffed.

"What's the hurry, son? It's time to throw a party, have some fun. Anita will be there." He suggested.

"I'm sure." I smoked to that very obvious, supposed to be exciting thing that I rather found more annoying.

He has always supported his daughter's crazy infatuation with me. Anita Rodriguez, 28, daughter of the richest underground don and a w***e, a beautiful one.

But she wasn't my type. I'd f**k her, i have because she was practically throwing her self at me all the time but anything other than that was never on my wishlist.

"So, the name." I cut the chase. This was the moment I'd been waiting for, this was the whole point of all of this.

Every blood shed, everything, for this one moment, and he wasn't going to stall that.

The humor in his face morphed into seriousness of some sort. He pulled a file from his locker and threw it across the table to me.

"But there's something a little different i want from you first." My nerve ticked.

"That's wasn't part of the agreement," my voice was harsher. I was running out of my good grace.

With this file in my hand, my patience was held by a thread. The fire burning in my heart needed to be extinguished.

"No, it wasn't, but now it is. I'm giving you a proposal, a good deal." He proposed, studying my neutral expressions.

A good number of years did teach a thing or two about controlling emotions.

"I need him alive for the time being," he added quickly as if he could foresee my reaction.

"A man as big as him could take me places under my control. Bring him in for a bit, when I'm done, he's all yours." I pondered for a moment.

Nothing was this simple with Raphael.

12 years under his wing, I'd had to sell my soul to him to be here. There's always a catch.

"This is not a request. What's in it for me? I don't owe you anything anymore." He laughed, clapping his hands.

"Spoken like a true man, the real son of Alec Moore." The nerves in my jaws ticked. Nobody had mentioned that name in years.

12 years since my father died, nobody had ever called him Alec. That alone pissed me off.

"What are you planning, Raphael?" I was done with parables.

" I need to take full power of his entire enterprise. I need you to take it from the inside out, and when you're done, I want you to come rule this place here," he pointed on the seat where he sat.

I already knew where this was going.

"Along side Anita. She will be your queen."

* ~ *

"RHYS! My God," she said profanities in Japanese. I responded in the same language, shocking everybody in the room. No one had expected I'd understand my mother's native language.

Neither of us was ever interested in learning Japanese, but with years of traveling, I had mastered a lot of languages.

Clearly annoyed, she pulled a cigarette smoke from the box but her husband tried to take it from her on some 'you're not supposed to smoke,' like he wanted a f*****g husband of the year award or some s**t.

I dont know. I just hated him.

She didn't listen. She pointed a finger at me.

"I hope you're back this time because im over it. You left home, came back with a gunshot wound, and you need to start acting like a man and take some accountability. "

I snort, finding it very ironic that she of all people could give a lecture about accountability and responsibility.

I thought she should save the drama for somebody else who actually cared, but after so many years of being angry with her and giving her an attitude, I simply didn't have the energy anymore.

I sighed.

"I'm back for a while, mother, but on official business. There's somethings I need to take care of, if business is such a big deal I'm such lover boy here would love taking responsibility for the company that's funding all his luxury, don't you think?" Luc's hateful gaze burnt a hole on the side of my face.

"f**k off, Rhysand. Don't come here out of nowhere and act like you're better than us." I chuckled quietly, my conscious gnawing at my insides like a morth infested piece.

I was saying s**t because I was maybe jealous. Her name on the tip of my tongue, i let my mind lose to the thoughts of Mavie.

But she wasn't mine.

Could never even be.

"Stop it! Both of you." My mother's stern voice cut through the thick block of hate or distaste that hung in between us.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Rhys." I rolled my eyes but only to cover up the sting that followed those words .They hit home.

She did sound disappointed.

And well, screw me because it's only been a few days since I came back, and everything was already turning upside down.

If only they weren't here, I'd have done my business and left as usual.

I heard my mother dismiss her husband and Luc and ask me to remain behind. She poured me a glass of whisky.

"I need you to be an interim CEO for Moreno Com Enterprise for a month. And im asking you because I know you are capable of it. MBA from Yale, c*m Laude in Business studies from Stanford. I think you're the situated candidate to succeed me." I frowned.

"Why are you talking about succession?" My eyes subconsciously roamed around her figure. She was as healthy as a horse.

She chuckled, lighting another cigarette.

"I'm not getting any younger, and so are you. Somebody needs to take over, and you're right, Lucas is still a child, finding his bearings and not very businessminded like you." She paused for a moment as if contemplating whether she should say it or not.

She put her hand on mine, she was cold.

"Your father founded this company. From the start, it was his idea, his effort, his life. It was the only realest thing about him and perhaps the only realest thing of his, remaining. I know you're trying to make his name live on. I think this might be the start." She gave my hand a squeeze once more before walking towards the door.

"My husband and I are going on a month long yacht vacation. In that time, you'll be CEO."

That was an order.

It was a little after 8 when I finally got back home, having spent the whole day working, sorting out how I'll be transitioning into this new role of CEO for a multi-billion dollar company.

And how I'll use that to fulfill the reason why I came here in the first place.

The main lights in the house were off, save for the side lamps overlooking the open plan kitchen where Mavie stood. Blonde hair tied up into a ponytail, wearing a yellow floral dress that looked so damn gorgeous on her, her back to me, thighs flashed.

And God! She was barefooted. On the cold tile.

Losing to the need to protect her, i stalked towards her without thinking but stopped when I noticed the tension in her shoulder, on the way she stood,the way she responded to the phone against her ear. When she cut the call, she looked like she wanted to be as far away from it as she could.

I wanted to know who was stressing her out. Pin her against this counter and demand an answer right this very moment.

But that wasn't my place.

I needed to remember my place. I was the older brother to the fiancée.

So, as calmly as I can humanly pretend, I asked, "Who was that?"

And once again, she scurried away from me. Eyes on mine, chest heaving, giving view of her beauty.

I really needed to get laid soon.