Chapter 222

They were halfway to Florence when Andre let everyone walk past them as he purposely slowed his steps.

He tightened his hand around Cross's wrist, "We need to talk." He told him.

Cross frowned, slowing down, "What makes you think I want to listen to you?" He asked, slipping his hand out of Andre's.

Andre sighed, "Liaten, kid -"

"I'm not a kid!" Cross pushed Andre to the wall, holding his hand around Andre's neck.

Andre remained calm, staring at Cross's face, "How old are you?" He asked calmly.

Cross scoffed, taking his hands off Andre, "It's not your business, just stay away from me, okay?" He turned and was about to leave, but Andre held his wrist, stopping him.

"Hold on, I'm not done," Andre said, stepping closer to him.

Cross frowned and slowly looked at Andre, "You should really learn how to give up." He told Andre.

"I'm just doing my job, Cross. Make it easier for me. The boss asked me to take care of you and make you feel accepted; but, you're making it hard for me and the guys to accept you -"

"Fuck you... Fuck your guys," he snatched his hand away from Andre, glaring at him in contempt.

"You have to behave, Cross. You do," Andre pushed his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall.

"You don't tell me what to do; I'm your boss; you listen to me. Don't forget that," Cross said, smirking, his silver eyes sparkling with mischief.

Andre slowly shook his head, "I hate to feel like I'm raising you. But, here's a fact: Being a boss does not mean you can disrespect people, and it definitely doesn't mean that the ones you disrespect have to stomach it. Only your parents will tolerate your... misbehaving, not us... Keep it at bay." He advised.

Something changed in Cross's eyes. He wasn't smiling anymore. He looked pushed and triggered.

He slowly stepped toward Andre, raising his finger to point at Andre's face, "I'm going to repeat it one last time, fuck you, and fuck your guys. I don't listen to any of you, and this is going to be the last time you talk about me. Are we clear here?" Cross asked slowly.

Andre didn't respond. He simply observed Cross's face, taking note of how angry he looked and he wondered why Cross was suddenly so angry. He thought nothing could get to his annoying self.

"Are we clear here?! Open your fucking mouth and speak if you still want to keep you damn job!" Cross pushed Andre's chest, slamming his back onto the wall.

Andre grunted, "I hear you, boss." He replied, gently removing Cross's hands from his chest.

"Good. Now, March forward and accept your new role. Leave me the fuck alone," Cross said and walked away.

Andre nodded to himself, "Yeah... It's going to be a long year." He muttered.

He walked over to the guys in front of the reception counter, "Hey, Florence, you look dashing as always." He complimented as he stood beside Cody, placing his arm around him.

Florence smiled, "Thank you, where is Papito?" She questioned, looking around the hall.

Andre shrugged, "Probably drowning, sorry... swimming in the oceans," He replied.

Florence shook her head at him, "You've got to find a way to blend with him, Andre. I'll be away for a month, working with him is inevitable." She said, handing him a small, square, grey card.

Andre took it, staring at the dark-inked word that was engraved on the grey card.

"Casino," he muttered.

"It would be very helpful if you told your baby brother to study some manners, Florence. He almost hurt Ida earlier because of his tantrums," Cody said, frowning.

"I'm fine," Ida immediately said, placing a hand on Cody's shoulder, stepping closer to him, "I'm fine." He whispered.

Cody stiffened as he felt Ida's hand on his shoulder; he turned his head to look at him but Ida had already stepped back, retrieving his hand.

Cody sighed and looked away. 'What a torture,' he thought quietly.

"I'm sorry about that, Ida. Cross could be a little unpredictable, but he's not a bad kid, he's just... I hope you guys will learn to accommodate him," Florence smiled at Ida apologetically.

Ida didn't respond, he wasn't planning on becoming friends with Cross at any point, but he'll keep that to himself.

"So, everyone's got their cards to where they'll be in charge of. Ida's in charge of the mini night club, Cody is in charge of the restaurant... where you guys just ate. Pole is in charge of the beach bar, right outside with the water and breeze; Jasper is in charge of security, and the twins are in charge of the hotel management. And, of course, Andre, you're in charge of the Casino, which will be opening for the first time today," Florence announced.

"Wow... okay. Um, how about these two?" Pole pointed at Ezra and Nicholas.

Florence turned to look at them, "Oh? Nothing for them; they're Sebastian's and Zeno's friends. Jeremiah, please assign them to a very comfortable suite." She said.

Thomas sighed, "Fine, they have to pay first."

"Are you crazy?" Jeremiah asked his brother.

"What do you mean?" Thomas questioned.

Jeremiah sighed, "Please, pick any room you guys want with the receptionist, she'll hand you the key." He glared at his brother.

"It's free, Tom. They stay for free," Florence chuckled and held Andre's hand, "Come on, I'm taking you to the Casino." She said and led him away.

"Right... I'm sorry, you know this is business," Thomas smiled at Nicholas.

Nicholas simply nodded, "It's fine. Actually, we're here to monitor all the drama that will be unfolding and report to Zeno daily." He informed.

"Nick," Ezra called, gently pinching Nicholas's arm.

"Ouch, but it's true," Nicholas said.

"What drama?" Pole asked, his curiosity once again piqued.

"You'll see, let's go, baby. Come fuck me," Nichola winked at Pole before dragging Ezra away with him.

"Aww, how sweet and oppressive," Thomas sighed, placing his hand around his brother's shoulder.

"Get a grip," Jeremiah pushed him away and held Pole's hand, "Come on, buddy, let's go check out that beach bar of yours." He said and dragged Pole beside him.

Thomas watched his brother abandon him and walk away with someone else, to somewhere fun.

"So much for not liking his vibes, " Jasper murmured beside Thomas.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Thomas turned to stare at Jasper.

"No," Jasper replied and left, heading out of the reception, too.

"Hmm, everyone's heading to Pole's beach bar, maybe I should go, too. Why does he get the most fun place?" He muttered and followed Jasper behind.

It was just Ida and Cody standing in the reception.

Ida was the first to move; he wanted to leave, but Cody stopped him.

"Ida," Cody called softly.

Ida shut his eyes for a second before he turned and faced Cosy with an unreadable expression.

"Yes?" He answered.

Cody pushed his hands in his pockets, stepping closer to Ida.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly, raising his head and staring at Ida's face.

Ida was mute for a second, gazing at Cody's face.

He sighed, "I'm fine, you called after me on time. Thank you, I would have probably had my head stitched by now," He smiled faintly.

Cody's heart warmed, even if the smile was faint and gone in an instant; at least, it was directed at him.

"You're welcome, but..." he paused and bit his lip, "I was asking if you're really okay?" Cody questioned.

Ida raised a brow at him, "I don't quite understand what you're asking, Cody." He said, frowning slightly.

He knew very well what Cody was asking, but, hey, a guy has to be petty sometimes, too.

Cody felt unsure if he should go on or not, "I'm, I just want to know why you're leaving, Ida?" He asked directly, clenching his fists inside his pockets.

Ida kept a neutral face, "Oh, that? It's not something you should concern yourself with, Cody. It's personal, like I've said before. Once again, thank you for earlier, see you around." He stepped forward, touched Cody's face, and walked away.

Cody stood there, frozen and confused.

'He touched my face, my cheek... did I imagine it?' He asked himself.

He didn't know what to make of it; should he take it as a green light? But it could be nothing, maybe that was just him thanking him for saving him earlier, he could just he reading too much meaning into what doesn't exist.

"Fuck..." he murmured.

He was left more confused than before.

Ida was so cold, yet, it felt like there was a side of him that was open for him, discreetly asking him to nudge him and find out.

Should he nudge him? Maybe a little temptation?

He sighed, he was going crazy; just because someone touched your cheek doesn't mean they love you; anyone could touch anyone's cheek, it was a normal thing. Then, why was his heart melting like ice under the sun?

"Damn, I should have kept my big mouth shut at the fitting room," He muttered.

Back then, he knew that Ida was trying to get them back together, he should have just gone with the flow, but, no, he decided to play hard to get; now, he was truly losing the only one who truly loved him and the person he could ever truly love in return.

"Hi, Sir?" A voice spoke behind him.

Cody put his thoughts aside and turned to see a young woman with a curly dark bun and a chef's uniform. She was smiling politely at him.

"Hi, can I help you?" Cody questioned.

"Good morning, my name is Royal. I'm the chef at the restaurant, and the staff are ready to meet with our new boss," Royal said to Cody.

Cody smiled, "Okay, but, please, call me Cody." He said.

Royal smiled, "Alright, Cody." She nodded.

"Shall we?" He asked.

Royal nodded, "Please." She led him back to the restaurant to introduce him to the kitchen and staff.
***
Nestled at the edge of the resort, the bar was a sleek, open-concept space with white sand underfoot, low teakwood seating, and gauzy curtains that flutter in the ocean breeze. String lights hung above, glowing golden, while soft jazz and deep house pulsed from hidden speakers. The bar was backlit in soft blue, stocked with rare spirits, glistening wine bottles, and tropical fruit.

It was exclusive, high-end, yet just wild enough to feel dangerous at night.

"Wow, we've never been to this part of the resort before. It's lit," Thomas gasped as they stepped into the bar.

Jasper was quietly looking around, impressed with the vibe.

It looked like somewhere he could sit out with someone at night and chill. His eyes suddenly found Jeremiah as he thought of chilling out with someone.

He stared at Jeremiah as he pulled Pole up toward the bar, saying something to him as he kept smiling. Jasper realized that Jeremiah liked the place, too; that makes two of them. Maybe they could hang out tonight, just like they did last night.

"What the hell?" He murmured and turned away from him, heading over to sit at a table under one of the palm trees.

He shouldn't be thinking that way.

He watched as Pole got acquainted with the bartender, probably introducing himself as the manager.

"Hey, want to drink and know something?" Thomas asked, placing his hand on the table.

Jasper nodded, just to get Thomas away from him.

"Great, me, too," Thomas replied and went over to Pole.

In the next second, Jeremiah saw Thomas dragging his brother back to the table; he straightened up, picking up his phone to pretend like he wasn't just staring at Jeremiah a few seconds ago.

"Sit, brother. Let's enjoy the perks of being free for a year. We only get to work if our staff needs our help, which would rarely happen because every staff member is top-notch, they can handle everything by themselves," Thomas made Jeremiah sit beside Jasper, while he lowered himself across from him.

"Yeah," Jeremiah replied casually, not looking at Jasper.

Jasper frowned slightly; he couldn't understand why Jeremiah had been acting distant since morning, so carefree, as if he couldn't see him. He knew they were nothing, but he thought Jeremiah would keep being his usual chatterbox person.

He was still a chatterbox box but it was no longer towards him. He felt like Jeremiah was completely ignoring him.

"Hey, I thought I saw wrongly but it seems like my eyes still work well," Thomas said, narrowing his eyes at Jeremiah.

Jeremiah raised a brow, "What do you mean?" He asked.

Thomas reached out and held Jeremiah's wrist on top of the table, "This. It seems my twin brother was into something kinky last night. Tell me, with whom?" He asked, smiling.

Jeremiah resisted the urge to glance at Jasper at that moment, if he did, Thomas would immediately know, and Jasper had specifically mentioned that they keep it a secret.

"A random stranger. At least he was hot," He slapped Thomas's hand away, shifting further into his chair, feeling Jasper's gaze on him.

"Hmm, I wish I saw who it was; thought you were so hung up on Zeno, it's good you're letting go," Thomas winked and stood, "I'll go get our drinks." He said and left the table, walking into the bar.

Jasper kept staring at Jeremiah, his face cold, almost upset. He waited for Jeremiah to look at him but it never happened; he sighed and put down his phone on the table.

"A random stranger, huh?" Jasper asked, tapping a finger on the table, his eyes glancing at the red mark around Jeremiah's wrist, feeling guilty and turned on at the same time.

"Yeah," Jeremiah replied, still not looking at him.

Jasper was frustrated, "Really?" He asked, shifting his chair closer to Jeremiah's.

Jeremiah finally looked at him, his face tired and laid back, "Yes, Jasper. What else should I have said? My boyfriend?" He asked, tilting his head to stare at Jasper.

Jasper went quiet, his eyes roaming Jeremiah's face as the sun rays escaped through the spaces in the tree leaves to glow up Jeremiah's radiant face.

How come he'd never realized how attractive this chatterbox was?

"That's what I thought. Look, Jasper, we don't need drama in our lives. We fucked, you liked it, I liked it. That's it. End of story," Jeremiah explained.

"I'm doing my part by staying away as you asked; I mean, unless you're ready to tell them we fucked, I don't have any problems, whether or not they know is none of my business. So, if you don't want them knowing, you'll zip those kissable lips of yours and never mention it again," Jeremiah smirked at him.

Both of them stared at each other for a while, each with a similar thought running through their minds, recalling how they had enjoyed kissing each other last night.

Their eyes fell on their lips, and Jeremiah smirked, "This is the problem. If you keep looking at me like this, you'll be the one exposing yourself. Quit it." He chuckled and looked away from Jasper.

Jasper remained unmoving for a while before forcing himself to look away from Jeremiah

'How come he's suddenly so... cute?' Jasper thought quietly.

Jasper shook his head, 'He was loud, annoying, and ugly. There was nothing cute about him.' He convinced himself.

"Here we are! Sunburned Temptation! It's a rum and coconut drink with pineapple foam, and is served in a chilled glass with edible flowers... yeah, you can eat those. It's sweet, seductive, but hits hard after a few sips," Pole dropped their drinks in front of them and raised a brow. "It goes down easily. Just... don't let it get you in trouble." He winked and walked away.

"Cheers," Jasper said and picked up his drink, gulping down at once.

"Um... okay... that's not normal. Anything happened?" Thomas asked Jeremiah.