Chapter 223
"I don't know. I'm not the one gulping my drink at a go," Jeremiah replied and sipped his drink casually.
"Hmm, sus," Thomas said, relaxing on the chair.
"You guys continue; I've got to go check in," Jasper said and stood from his chair, walking away without glancing at Jeremiah.
Jeremiah scoffed, "We don't care." He murmured.
"Huh? Did you say something?" Thomas asked.
Jeremiah shook his head, "No." And continued drinking.
"Seems like I'm suddenly hearing ghosts' whispers," Thomas said to himself.
***
Andre walked into the casino, the lights turning on automatically.
The casino looked pristine—luxuriously clean.
The billiards tables gleamed like new, with polished cues neatly arranged and ready for play. Stools were well-positioned beneath each table, and the oval lights hanging from the ceiling cast a soft glow, reflecting off the smooth surfaces of the tables and balls.
The space wasn't extravagant, but it wasn't cramped either. It was just right—perfectly sized for the kind of VIPs who could afford to get in.
"Nice, right?" Florence asked, stopping beside a table.
Andre nodded, "It's great. Your cousin always has great taste." He walked over and stood beside her.
"I know, right?" Florence chuckled, glancing up at Andre's face and quickly removing her eyes before she got caught.
She cleared her throat and leaned off the table, "Come on, I'll show you to your office." She said.
"Oh, okay," Andre followed her.
They walked past the tables and toward a set of stairs, and after the short stairs, and emerged in front of a door.
Florence turned to Andre. "You're card, please," She said.
Andre nodded and handed her the card. He watched her scan the card in the door before pushing it open and returning his card to him.
"Here's your office. Everything is under your watch from here. You don't have to worry, no one can see you from here. Your privacy is maintained to the T," Florence told him as she walked over to the long sofa by the side of the wall.
Andre walked into the office, looking around the room.
It was a sleek, elevated office with tinted glass walls positioned on the upper level of the casino.
From here, Andre can monitor the entire casino without being seen.
Monitors were showing different security camera angles, a sleek desk, and a mini private bar.
He liked it. It was just his style.
"I like it, thank you," He said, walking over to the glass wall to look down at the empty casino.
"Yeah..." Florence came up beside him.
"About Cross..." She started.
Andre listened, waiting for her to continue. Maybe he could learn a few things that would help him understand that stubborn human.
"This is the first time I've seen him in two years. Sebastian's wedding brought him home. He's been independent since high school, barely coming home during breaks, and after high school, he disappeared on everyone. Only Sebastian knew where he went and what he did," Florence informed.
Andre slowly nodded, "Sounds like Cross. Has he always been like this?" He asked.
Florence shook her head, "When we were growing up, we were best friends, but the moment puberty hit him, he changed; he was still a sweet kid, but I could feel the rift growing between us... between him and the rest of the family. He became defensive and introverted, and before we knew it, he left home, no goodbyes, no location. I feel like I failed as a big sister." She shrugged sadly.
Andre placed a hand on her shoulder, "Don't beat yourself up. It might not be you. It might not even be anyone from your home. He might just have some demons he's battling." He tried to cheer her up.
Florence looked up at Andre's face, "Can I ask you for a favor?" She asked.
Andre knew he should say no. He didn't want any situation that would push him closer to Cross, especially not after Cross had warned him to stay away from his matters
"Go ahead," he found himself saying.
He could just help Florence out. She seemed to really miss her brother. But, there was only so much he could do. If he tried speaking to Cross a few more times and still got beaten, he'd mind his business for good.
"Can you help me talk to him? You know? Like really talk to him as a friend? You don't have to ask him direct questions. He would know I sent you. Just make him at ease with you. He hardly trusts anyone, but I wish you could really make him your friend; he has no friends. Maybe, when he's comfortable enough around you, he will open up." She held Andre's hand.
"I know what I'm asking is not easy, and I know that just like the rest, you feel like punching his face each time you see him," She chuckled, "But, please, don't let him go away from us this time. Help us make him stay, please?" She smiled up at him, hoping to get a positive reply.
Andre sighed, "This is harder than fighting criminals." He said.
Florence's face fell, "So, you can't do it, right?" She looked away from him, ready to retract her steps.
"I never said so. I just said it's hard," Andre replied.
"Really?!" Florence's face lit up as she stared at Andre again.
"Yeah, I'll help you... I guess," He said.
"Yes! Thank you so much!" She did a little happy jump before hugging him.
Andre gently held her shoulder, happy he could ease her worries for a while.
"You're welcome. Anything for a queen," he gently stepped away and winked at her.
Florence smiled and suddenly kissed Andre's lips.
Andre froze.
He felt the most random shock of his entire life.
He didn't know how to react, Florence was staring at him with a sweet smile... She liked him.
How come he never noticed it?
"I..." he paused, not knowing what to say to her.
Florence sighed, "It's my mistake, I should have known you don't like me in that way." She chuckled, releasing his hand.
"I'm sorry, Florence..." Andre said, honestly hoping he doesn't hurt Florence's feelings that much.
"No, no, you don't have to apologise, I shouldn't have assumed you liked me simply because you compliment me all the time. But, hey! Don't stop complimenting me, okay? It boosts my aura," She winked at him.
Andre chuckled, sighing in relief as he saw that Florence was taking it just fine.
"I won't," he replied, leaning on the wall.
"Great, then, I'll go see how the others are doing, and I'll see you in a month. Oh, and you might want to stay for a while. Your staff will be here to start work in a minute," She smiled at him before walking away.
Andre sighed as Florence left the office.
It's a good thing he never knew about Florence's feelings. If he did, he might have been tempted to reciprocate at some point; he didn't want to get involved with the mafia family.
If he wanted to date someone, it would be someone neutral, someone from a very normal family. He didn't care if the person was rich or poor, but he just couldn't date them if they came from the mafia.
He had worked with them for a long time to understand that even though they were sweet and loving people, danger was unpredictable with them. He couldn't stand losing a loved one due to an attack from a rival gang or losing his life because a rival gang thought he was a weakness to his partner.
He walked over to the desk and sat in the chair, swiveling it around to keep staring at the casino through the glass wall.
He suddenly heard his door push open and snapped his head behind him. He was with his key, so who could have opened it and with what?
He raised his head to see Cross standing in front of his door.
"Of course, it's you," He said, relaxing back on the headrest.
Cross slowly walked into the office, one hand in his pocket. He stopped in front of Andre's desk, placing his hands on it as he leaned down.
"So?" Cross asked calmly, his silver eyes boring into Andre's soul.
"So what?" Andre questioned, confused.
Cross scoffed, "You think you're better than my sister?" He asked, frowning slightly.
Andre blinked slowly, "I don't understand what you mean." He said.
"You rejected her when you should be happy that someone from such a prestigious family likes your ugly ass. What makes you see her less?" Cross interrogated, frowning harder.
"Oh... no, that's not what I meant. Hold on, how did you know that? How did you get in here in the first place?" Andre asked, narrowing his eyes at Cross.
He couldn't believe that this was the person he had to act nice to; Cross was so rude, and Andre never associated with those kinds of humans. But, a promise is a promise. He couldn't back down now.
"I'm your boss, I have my own office where I see and hear everyone, and..." He paused and slid a card out of his pocket, "I have a duplicate of every key." He said, smirking.
Andre smiled, "That's cool. Have a seat, boss." He said to Cross.
Cross furrowed his brows; he thought Andre would get mad or something, not casually asking him to sit down.
"I don't take orders from you," Cross stated.
"True," Andre scratched his chin.
"Then how much did you hear?" He wanted to know if Cross heard when Florence asked him to make him ease up for him.
"Early enough to hear you reject her," Cross replied.
'Great, he didn't hear that,' Andre thought.
"Oh, well, you're wrong. I didn't reject her because I thought I was better than her or whatever. It has nothing to do with status or pride. Have you ever liked someone, Cross?" Andre questioned seriously.
Cross went over to the sofa and sat down, "That's none of your business." He said.
Andre smiled, "Well, if you have, and if you genuinely did like that person, you'd understand that feelings have nothing to do with pride or status." He said.
"I hope you get your heart broken soon," Cross muttered.
Andre chuckled, "Are you offering?" He locked his gaze on Cross.
"Stupid," Cross rolled his eyes and looked away.
"So stubborn," Andre sighed.
"So, why are you here? Thought you were so angry you couldn't stand my existence. Missed me already?" Andre stood and walked over to the sofa, sitting beside Cross.
Cross shifted away from him, "I'm here to supervise you at work. Don't make that mistake of believing that I'm here because I miss your ass or something crazy. When are the staff coming?" He asked sternly.
"They're coming... soon. Hey," He placed a hand on Cross's knee.
Cross frowned, "What's your problem?" He asked, removing Andre's hand from his knee.
"How about we become friends?" Andre suggested, observing how Cross's face squeezed.
"Are you nuts?" Cross asked, glaring at Andre.
Andre shook his head, "No. I'm serious, Cross. I think you're a great guy, and you're not the mean, spoiled kid you portray yourself to be. I do want to get to know you better. I promise you won't regret it, please?" He shifted closer and held Cross's hand in his.
He couldn't believe he was doing this, but he promised Florence.
Cross went still for a few seconds, staring at his hand that Ansre was holding.
"Leave me alone," he gently snatched his hand out of Andre's grasp and stood from the sofa.
He stood in the middle of the room and looked at Andre with an unreadable expression, his eyes roaming around Andre's face.
"That's not a yes or no, Cross," Andre said as he stood and went to Cross. He sighed and placed a hand on Cross's shoulder.
"Come on, it's just friendship. I know your heart is telling you to try it out with me, but you're proving stubborn. If you say yes, I'll make sure your one year here is memorable... also, I'll help you bully the guys. It's you and I against the rest. So, yeah?" Andre smiled with a raised brow, tilting his face to peer at Cross's.
Cross blinked at Andre and gently placed his hand on Andre's over shoulder.
"Leave me alone," Cross repeated and stepped back from Andre.
Andre narrowed his eyes at Cross, "Hmm, so you need to be persuaded, right? I can do that, I'm good with kids," He smiled.
"I'm not a kid," Cross said.
"Then tell me how old you are," Andre raised a brow.
"Twenty-two by next month," he stated proudly.
Andre chuckled, "Okay, you're not a teenager. You just have good genetics. But..." he smirked at Cross, "You're still a kid. You're four years behind me, kiddo. But that's okay, I'm willing to be your friend, age is just a number, I feel like we could connect more than others. So? Just say yes."
Cross looked past Andre and toward the glass wall, "It's time to get to your staff members. They are here. This is the last time I'll tolerate you slacking off at work." He said and left the office.
Andre sighed, "Two more tries, and I'm done with that knucklehead." He muttered and left.