The Enforcer or The Mafia Prince

Chapter 22

Greg had never felt so disrespected in his life. No one had played him like a fool the way Jessica had. Now, she was in this club with that guy. Greg recognized Tristan as one of the men he'd caught Jessica with the week prior. At the time, he hadn't paid much attention. Seeing him in this club gave Greg the context he needed to recall his name, Tristan O'Sullivan. He owned this club and was rumored to be into some shady s**t.

People like Tristian disgusted Greg. They made their money using inferior means and illegal business deals. Greg felt he was above such things. His family made their money through legitimate businesses. Ones that Greg believed were leagues above the O'Sullivans. He resented the fact that, technically, they were considered wealthier than his family. However, it wasn't enough for ordinary people to notice or even pay attention.

Jessica looked like a slut in that dress. From this angle, it looked like she wasn't even wearing panties. How had Greg ever wanted to show her off to his friends? He didn't want to be caught with a girl who whored herself out for money. No doubt that was why she was with Tristian in the first place. He should have realized when he caught Jessica hanging out with that low life, Andrea. She barely passed as a datable option; what was Jessica doing hanging out with lessers?

Greg clenched his fists as his blood began to boil. He recalled how Jessica had kneed him in the library last weekend and was determined to pay her back for that. Maybe he'd find a way to ruin her face so Tristian O'Sullivan wouldn't even want to look at her. When he was done with her, she'd look to him as the only option to save her worthless existence. Maybe with a bag over her head, she could be his toy, but he wouldn't be caught dead with a mixed girl like her. Especially not now.

"Dude, what are you looking at?" Troy, one of Greg's friends, had spotted him looking upstairs.

"What?"

"I've been trying to get your attention for a few minutes now; what are you staring at so hard? Do you want to get a table or something?"

"Nah, man. It's nothing. Just got caught in a stare, you know? I think I'm tired." Greg knew better than to handle Jessica in front of Tristan in his own club.

"Are you sure? You looked mad."

"Yeah, I'm sure. I think I'm going to head out. Do you want a ride back, or are you going to stay here?"

"I'm going to stay. I'll find my way back. Don't worry."

"Sure thing." Greg gave Troy a pat on the back and left. Before seeing Jess again, he needed to sort his thoughts out and devise a plan.

Troy watched Greg leave, confirming he'd exited the doors before making a move. Flagging down a waitress, Troy asked for a pen and a napkin to write a note. It took a twenty-dollar tip and some begging for the waitress to agree to his next request. The waitress knew better than to bother Tristan. Since she was not authorized to tend his section, she hunted down one of the other servers allowed on that floor and handed her the note.

The server approached Tristan and asked her boss if he wanted to read the message. A young man was downstairs who insisted he speak with him. Tristan hated it when women tried to get his attention like this. It was rare for a man to pull this stunt.

"I don't want to see him," Tristan told the waitress.

"We tried, sir. He says he had information about a man named Greg." The waitress kept a respectful distance from her boss while ensuring they weren't overheard. The name "Greg" got Tristian's attention.

"Do we have any private rooms available?" Tristan typically conducted business in the manager's office. However, he didn't want an outsider to have access to the information stored there.

"Room seven is still open. Would you like me to prepare it, sir?"

"Make sure it's quiet and have water bottles set up. Bring the gentleman up in ten minutes." The waitress clasped her hands and gave Tristan a slight bow; she ran off to do as he had instructed.

The door to room seven shut out the sounds from the rest of the club. The silence felt stifling after hours of pounding music. Jessica recognized Troy as someone she'd seen around Greg but didn't know him or his name.

"What do you what to talk about?" Tristan wasn't in the mood for games. This man had interrupted his night with Jessica, and Tristan wasn't pleased. However, because the information was about Greg, it would be worth it if it protected Jess.

"I apologize for interrupting you out of the blue like this. We haven't met, my name is Troy, and I have been friends with Greg since we were kids. The thing is, he was just here and saw Jessica with you." Troy didn't know what to do with his hands. He kept putting them in his pockets and taking them out.

"How do you know my name," Jessica asked.

"Greg has talked about you a lot. I've seen your photo several times."

"He did that?"

Jessica knew that Greg was interested in her. It was no secret he'd been asking her out for the longest time. She didn't realize he spoke about her or showed his friends what she looked like.

"Yeah." Troy looked at the ground and rubbed the back of his head. "He ensured we all knew who you were and were off-limits."

"Off-limits? What the hell does that mean?" Tristan wrapped an arm around Jess's waist as she questioned Troy.

"That's why I wanted to speak to you two."

"Go ahead then," Tristan said, sounding grouchier than he intended.

"Greg is a bad guy," Troy explained.

"Why are you friends with him if you know he's a bad person," Tristan challenged Troy's story.

"As I said, we've been friends since we were kids. We grew up together, he and I. Our families do business with one another. We're in the same social circles. It's not easy to cut him out of my life."

"I understand, continue," Jess said she understood, but Tristan thought he might understand better than she.

"Greg is a bad guy. He doesn't come right out and say it, but he is sexist and racist. He thinks all women are beneath him. Greg also has a hierarchy of women based on age, looks, and race. It's incredibly messed up." Troy scratched his head. "I don't know where he gets it from. His family doesn't seem to think that way."

"So Greg is an awful person; we know that. Why did you need to speak to us about him?" Tristan thought Troy took too long to get to the point.

"I wanted to warn you both. Greg isn't the kind of guy to let go of anything he perceives as disrespectful. It's worse that you're a woman, and Greg thinks you disrespected him. In his eyes, you should be grateful he deigned to speak to you at all. I don't have proof, but I think Greg is planning something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. When he saw you tonight, I swore I saw true malice in his eyes. He can be sneaky and violent. I'm afraid he'll try to hurt you."

"Troy, do you know if Greg has ever hurt someone else," Jessica asked. Jessica latched on to an idea after Troy said that Greg was violent.

"There's a rumor that he attacked a girl he hated on campus last week. I don't know the details."

Tristan stopped Jessica from jumping onto Troy and attempting to wring information out of him.

"Here," Tristan told Troy. "Take my business card. If you hear anything or get details about the rumored attack, please call me right away." Tristan didn't want Troy to have Jessica's contact information.

Meeting Troy killed the mood between Tristan and Jessica. After speaking with him, the couple decided to return to the condo. Coincidentally, this worked in their favor. Since Tristan would usually stay out much later, his timely departure was noted by a tenacious lone blogger waiting outside his club. The news that Tristan O'Sullivan called it an early night with his new girlfriend would be common knowledge by daybreak.

Declan pulled directly into the parking garage at the O'Sullivan's main building instead of dropping off Tristan and Jessica together. Declan said it was to act as cover while they went upstairs. Tristan was annoyed to have a third wheel. Jessica knew it was probably because Declan was uncomfortable with Jess and Tristan now, but she didn't bring it up. Whatever spell cast over the start of the night had already dissipated and brought everyone back to reality.

"I'm going to bed," Declan announced as he kicked his shoes off at the door and left Tristan and Jessica alone.

"How about I read you a bedtime story?" Tristan's cheek was not unnoticed.

"That would be great, but you've already kept me up hours past my bedtime. I'll see you in the morning," Jessica giggled. Her polite decline made Tristan feel a sense of disappointment. He knew that Jess probably wouldn't sleep with him, but he was hoping. Tristan shrugged it off and trudged to the vacant guestroom. A maid had tidied up since the night before; he had no idea what had happened between Jess and Declan in that room.

As Jessica shut her bedroom door, she wiped the smile off her face. The evening for the press was over; her job was done. Jessica hung up the dress she'd worn and pulled off her earrings, careful to put them on the dresser so she wouldn't lose them and could return them with the dress. Ready to fall into bed, she begrudgingly went to the restroom to remove her makeup and wash off the night.

Normally, Jessica would have slept in. They'd gotten home late, in her opinion, and she was tired. The phone ringing on the nightstand had other ideas. Jess opened one eye to look at the time on her phone before answering. Drea was calling at eight on a Saturday morning.

"What's wrong," Jess croaked as she answered the phone, both eyes shut.

"When you spoke about Tristan and Declan yesterday, you left out the part that you were talking about Tristan O'Sullivan," Andrea shouted.

Jess opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling. She rubbed a hand over her face. A pimple was already forming on her cheek. She'd need to pick up a pack of patches from the store later.

"Are you going to say anything," Andrea asked.

"Um, how did you know who I was talking about?" A few hours of sleep left Jessica confused.

"It's all over the internet. Tristan Has Found New Love. Tristan O'Sullivan Spotted With New Girl After Wrecking Another's Marriage. A TImeline of Tristan O'Sullivan's Recent Conquests. Do you need me to go on?"

"I guess the plan worked then," Jessica responded as she threw off the covers and got out of bed. "My head is killing me. I need to figure out where the ibuprofen is."

"What plan? Where are you right now?" Jessica rubbed her head. She couldn't think clearly.

"Andrea, give me a minute to wake up and make some tea. I'll call you back and explain in ten, okay?"

"Fine, but this better be a damn good story for you to have kept it from me."

Jessica hung up the phone. She shuffled to the restroom and splashed some cold water on her face. Studying her cheek in the mirror, Jess was unhappy to see the pimple was an angry red color but had no head. She left it. Picking at it now would cause worse problems. With a sigh, Jessica dressed and made a mug of Earl Grey. The sun had been up for almost an hour now. The morning light made everything look cheerier than she felt. Once seated on the balcony connected to the living room, Jess called Andrea back.