Ride Or Die - Biker Romance

The Meeting

3) The Meeting

Rava's POV

I walk back downstairs and mom is still going crazy.

She's banging pots, spinning around, opening and closing drawers like she's catering for New Year's Eve and half the country's invited.

"Do you want help?" I ask, because honestly... after living alone in Canada, cooking for myself every damn day, I've realized how much she did.

I used to take it for granted until the day I cried over overcooked pasta.

"No, baby, I've got it," she says, waving me off with the ladle.

"Thank you though. Just go sit outside. Bring some water if you can."

I sigh but do as she says.

Our little balcony looks like something out of a fairytale.

If I have to thank the family company for anything, it's this house.

As annoying as the meetings are... mom built all this from scratch.

Total girl boss energy.

The hotel business was her idea before anyone listened.

I drop into the seat next to Jin and Daisy.

Jin looks up from his plate, squinting at me.

"You got taller," he says.

I almost choke on my water.

"Whoa. A compliment? From you? Okay, the end of the world is officially coming."

Daisy snorts, kicking his chair lightly.

"I gave him a whole lecture. Emotional damage and everything. Now he loves you."

She pauses, grinning.

"For like... two days. Max."

I shake my head, laughing under my breath.

I don't answer, because my dad clears his throat. "And you still want to go into education?"

I stiffen. This man.

Here we go. "If I didn't, I wouldn't have spent four years studying it. Or looking into ways to grow in it."

He laughs. Actually laughs.

"You know the salary will be miserable, right?"

Daisy groans.

"Dad, he just got here. For God's sake."

I clench my jaw.

"Yes, I know," I say, voice sharper than I planned. "And trust me, I'd rather live with less doing something I love than be a depressed, miserable man with cash in my pocket."

He exhales, disappointed.

"And you're forgetting," I add, "I'm the one managing the hotel in France. The last one we opened. And the one in Spain. So I already help."

Mom turns from the stove and raises a hand.

"He's right, Charles. Enough. Leave it for the meeting. Now sit. Eat."

I exhale hard and pull off my glasses, rubbing my eyes.

I start passing around plates.

Daisy nods. "By the way, how's Sophia?"

"She's good," I say quickly.

No way I'm mentioning what happened earlier.

It's embarrassing enough as it is.

Jin scoffs. "Still can't believe you got a girlfriend."

Here we go again.

I already missed the old Jin.

I shoot him a glare. "And I can't believe anyone willingly talks to you."

Jin rolls his eyes.

We eat.

We clean up.

And finally, I collapse onto my bed.

Being sun-drunk and food-drunk at the same time?

Elite.

I close my eyes and let go.

_____

I wake up to the sound of knocking.

No, more like pounding, on my door.

My eyes snap open.

I blink at my phone screen.

7:02 PM.

Before I can react, my bedroom door swings open, and my mother steps in.

"Ten minutes. Be ready. We're leaving for the meeting."

She looks stressed. And that stresses me out too.

"And dress properly. This is important."

I sigh as she leaves, rubbing my face before pushing myself up.

Great.

I flip through my options, knowing anything too casual will get me another lecture.

I settle on a fitted charcoal-gray blazer over a crisp white button-down, pairing it with dark slacks and polished black shoes.

It's sharp but not too much.

Formal enough to look like I care, but not enough to suggest I actually do.

Stepping in front of the mirror, I run a hand through my straight, light-colored hair, slicking it back just enough to look put together.

A quick adjustment of my glasses, and that's as much effort as I'm willing to put in.

Corporate hostage chic.

Love that for me.

"Let's get this over with," I mutter to myself.

As I step out of my room, I catch sight of Jin at the dining table, eating what looks like his second afternoon snack.

He glances up at me, and smirks.

"Wow, you actually clean up nice. Trying to impress someone at your little cult meeting?"

I don't even slow down. I just lift my middle finger as I pass.

-

The car pulls up in front of a towering glass building.

Holy smokes.

The entrance is grand, polished floors, high ceilings.

My mother leads the way, her heels clicking against the marble.

I follow, adjusting my blazer cause I don't know what to do with my hands.

We step into the elevator.

When the doors slide open, the space that greets us is something straight out of a high-end magazine.

The office is massive.

There's dark wood paneling and modern, minimalist furniture.

A long conference table sits in the center, surrounded by high-backed chairs.

Everyone looks expensive.

Everyone smells expensive.

Someone bathed in cologne, and I'm offended.

But what really catches my eye is the view.

Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the whole city.

For a moment, I almost understand why people choose business over therapy.

Then movement brings me back.

People are greeting each other and shaking their hands.

Like we are not all secretly hate each other.

"Eden, Charles!" a familiar voice says.

Gio's mother.

Claudia.

I haven't seen her in years, but she looks almost exactly the same.

Maybe a few more lines beneath her eyes, but still elegant.

What am I even supposed to say to her?

"Hi, sorry your husband died and also... your son is painfully irritating?"

Yeah, no.

Perfect way to get kicked out.

Or maybe,

"Hello, I'm the number-one hater of your son. Truly. I have no idea how you've tolerated him this long."

Amazing. Wonderful.

I rub my face.

The thing is... I never had a problem with her.

She was always sweet to me.

Caring.

The issue was never the mom.

It was always Gio.

Gio, who managed to be an asshole to me specifically, and somehow charming with everyone else.

He talked to my siblings normally.

Never snapped at them.

Never messed with them.

But with me?

He acted like tormenting me was his birthright.

Like he was born with one mission: make Rava suffer 24/7.

Literally since we were babies.

She extends a hand toward me, and I take it, offering a polite nod.

"It's been a long time," she says with a smile.

"Yeah," I reply simply, releasing her hand.

As the small talk continues around me, I glance back at the view.

Maybe this whole thing won't be as miserable as I thought.

Maybe i'm overreacting.

- 20 minutes later -

Okay, I wasn't overreacting.

This was hell.

I wasn't really listening.

My dad had been rambling about expanding hotel investments for what felt like hours .

I sat there, spinning my pen fast between my fingers, barely even pretending to care.

"Rava?"

Shit.

I straightened immediately, and snapped back into the moment.

My dad and a few others were looking at me like they expected an answer.

No clue what I'd just missed, but I knew how to fake it.

Cause I know my dad.

"Sounds like a solid strategy," I said, nodding like I meant it.

My dad seemed satisfied and went right back to talking, and I exhaled quietly.

And then the door opened.

I didn't look right away.

I only noticed the sudden, subtle change in atmosphere.

Like someone had walked in and sucked all the oxygen out with them.

I turned my head.

A tall guy, around his early twenties.

Black, slightly wavy hair.

Ink trailing all over his one hand. His sleeves were rolled up.

A helmet dangling from the other hand.

Piercings. Many, f*****g piercings.

Ears.

Eyebrow.

Even on the bottom lip?! Ouch.

I barely had time to process the sheer audacity of this guy, before Gio's mom stood up to greet him.

...

Huh.

Gio's mom...

Stood up to greet...

The guy that looked like he was around his...

Twenties oh my God no .

No .

No, no, no the f**k she didn't.

The man beside her stood up too.

"Welcome, Gio. Though you're late."

...

No.

How.

For a second, I thought I had misheard, that there was no f*****g way.

I swear I left him in Spain.

Last update I had, Gio Fontana was miles away, busy being loud and annoying in another country.

But no. No, it was real.

Too real.

"Shameless, filthy boy."

My father told my mother.

She didn't respond, she just gave him a side-eye.

My survival instinct kicks in.

Bathroom.

Go to the bathroom.

Hide.

Say you're dying.

Anything.

I was getting the hell out of here, but before I could even move, my mother grabbed my wrist.

Her fingers squeezed.

She smiled like nothing was wrong, like my entire f*****g world wasn't currently shattering into a million irreparable pieces.

I let her drag me back into my seat.

I turned to her.

"Why didn't you tell me this asshole was gonna be here?"

She didn't answer. Of course she didn't.

Instead, she got up to shake his hand.

And I had to sit there boiling , while she greeted him.

No escape.

I look at him again.

Is that... Gio?

Now that he's closer, yeah.

It's him.

The single most unbearable person I had ever met.

He has that very specific fake-ass smile, with the corners way too sharp, like it's carved in with a knife.

Yup.

That's Gio.

Unfortunately.

And then he looked at me.

His gaze settled.

His expression? Completely unreadable.

And then, because he was physically incapable of not being an insufferable d**k , he reached out a hand, like this was the first time we were meeting.

"What's your name?

This b***h.

I let out a disbelieving laugh before I could stop myself. "Oh, come on ."

My mother's elbow caught my side.

I forced down the pure f*****g irritation burning through me and exhaled through my nose. "It's me, Rava Weston."

He gasped.

His eyebrows lifted, and then...

...he laughed.

Not just a casual laugh.

A genuine one.

Why does nobody ever tell him to shut up?

Why am I the only one suffering here?

"It's Ravioli!" he says. "No way."

I wanted to strangle him.

His mother swallowed hard, looking clearly tense.

Gio, on the other hand, didn't seem fazed at all.

He just gave me one last look, and then dropped into the empty chair across from me.

My mom leans in, whispering, "Rava, please don't make it a thing. Not now."

Oh, don't worry.

I won't make it a thing now .

I'll just store it deep inside until it explodes later in a violent emotional meltdown.

I stare anywhere but at him, the wall, the floor, a plant, the air, anything.

Suddenly it's insanely hot in here.

Like, heat-stroke hot.

I swear my anxiety is cooking me alive.

Either he leaves, or I do.

One of us has to go before I spontaneously combust.

____

In the next chapter Gio comes out :)

Do NOT start hating him, because this guy has, confirmed by thousands of people, the biggest character development.

So don't start with the "omg he's so cocky, he's so full of himself"😭 yes, he is.

A LOT.

That's the whole point. Literally.