Chapter 167
Cassian would have even been offended by his father's words, but Luis' humbling gave him more joy, so he let his father's insult slide.
Luis looked sheepish; he looked at Mrs. Leroy and Bella; they were both trying to avoid looking at him to make his insult less painful.
"I understand, Father..." Luis said, giving Cassian a secret look.
"Good. The British refused to work with me because they found my accent off-putting; it would be stupid to send my son, who has the same accent, to them. That's where you come in, Zeno," Mr. Leroy gazed at Zeno.
"What does it have to do with me?" Zeno questioned.
"Technically, it has nothing to do with you, it's supposed to be the son's job, but like I stated earlier, accent is the problem. Mr. Sebastian here wants to open a resort for the elites, and he has offered to work with my agency for renovation and planning, but I need to hire the British for supplies," Mr. Leroy explained.
Zeno was already sensing something he wouldn't like, "I understand your need to work with the British, Mr. Leroy, but I still fail to see where I come in," He reminded the old man.
Mr. Leroy chuckled, "It's a favor, Zeno, and in return, I'll grant my son the freedom to date you publicly. All you just have to do is to be Leroy's family representative, don't worry, I'll pay you, too. I just need someone with a clear accent like yours, that way, you can speak with the British and Mr. Sebastian, on our behalf," He finally said.
Zeno almost laughed out loud; him? Work with Sebastian? No fucking way, whatever that would make him entangle his life with Sebastian again would be avoided, he would never put himself in that position again.
"Mr. Leroy, I understand, I truly do, but -"
"He'll do it," Cassian interrupted Zeno, placing his hand on Zeno's thigh.
"I would?" Zeno turned his face to Cassian and asked in a whisper.
Cassian pleaded with his eyes before turning to look at his Father and Sebastian, "Mr. Sebastian, Father, you don't have to worry, Zeno will be glad to do it... for me, right, baby?" He boldly asked.
Zeno tapped his foot under the table; his reply could either make everything dramatic or it could end professionally and maturely.
He took a deep breath and faced Mr. Leroy, "Yes, Mr. Leroy, I'll do it... for Cassian." Zeno didn't miss the way Sebastian's face scowled beside Mr. Leroy, but, was it any of his concern? No!
***
Zeno sat on his bed, quietly thinking about what had happened in the meeting room.
Tonight was the most unexpected night of his life; Sebastian had appeared so randomly that he took him unawares.
But Zeno was thankful for something; he was thankful for Sebastian's distance, and he was happy that Sebastian wasn't approaching him, it would have been awkward and tense for both of them if Sebastian tried to speak to Zeno.
He stood and walked toward the opened double window, the lightweight white curtain material was gently swirling around as the wind blew it around.
Zeno always loved this room, it was both modern and natural. The window faced a large garden full of flowers carved and trimmed in the shapes of different animals.
He liked going down to the garden for the cool night breeze; thankfully, his room was positioned at the back of the house, so he wouldn't be disturbing anyone when he was living.
Zeno grabbed his phone from the bed and left his room; he wanted to take a walk in the garden.
Cassian's room was far away from him, no need to worry about waking him up. Zeno freely went down the long, straight stairs that led to the backyard, buttoning up his blue pajama shirt.
He reached the wooden door and gently pushed it open, thankful for the noiseless mechanism; he would have been a bother to the whole household.
"Ahh..." Zeno inhaled deeply the moment he stepped foot inside the garden.
He looked up and smiled, the moon was beautiful and bright, shining softly over the garden and gently illuminating the animal flower sculptors.
He had a favorite spot; he stared at the cute duckling flower sculpture and slowly started to walk toward it.
His thoughts went back to after the meeting, he wasn't looking, but he also saw that Sebastian wasn't looking as he walked out of the meeting room with Mr. Leroy.
Sebastian hadn't even spared Zeno a single glance. Still, it wasn't as if Zeno was looking, he just happened to catch a glimpse of the departing man.
Zeno paused in front of a lion flower sculpture and stared at the shadow cast on the ground by the moonlight; his mind lost in his unexpected involvement with Leroy's family business.
How was he going to navigate his involvement with Sebastian? He hated this.
Cassian had apologized numerous times when he came to bis Zeno goodnight; he begged Zeno to help him out because he wanted his father's approval regarding his sensuality so that he could finally feel free to date whoever wanted.
Zeno did not forget to remind him that this was just business between them, and Cassian, being the gentleman he was, had kissed Zeno's hand and promised to always keep in mind that it was business between them.
Zeno sighed, "I guess my life has been too quiet for so long, nature suddenly decided to bring me an adventure... game on, then," He scoffed as he muttered to himself.
He stared at the white bench below the lion flower sculpture and shook his head; he preferred to sit under the duckling's spread feather; it had the best fire of the mood and the coolest of winds around the garden.
Zeno sighed in satisfaction when he saw the duckling; he lowered himself on the bench with a smile on his face, enjoying the way the smooth coated wood felt against his skin.
He didn't mind dozing off for a while, so he leaned his head back on the bench and closed his eyes, but he opened it immediately, sitting up with a frown.
Smoke.
Cigarette smoke was polluting his pure night air. Who would be put here smoking by that time of the night?
Zeno was about to stand up and search for the source of the smoke, but he didn't have to look far... under the huge eagle flower sculpture beside the duckling, Sebastian sat quietly, smoking his cigarette while his unreadable grey eyes remained locked in on Zeno.
He seemed aloof; his white shirt was completely unbuttoned, his hair messy from the wind, and his right leg was elegantly crossed over the left one; he looked unbothered.
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