Chapter 288 Help, Xavier
"Itchy," Grace said, swatting at Xavier like he was a pesky fly.
But Xavier, being the smooth operator he was, grabbed her hand and kissed her palm, making her fingers curl up from the heat.
He loved seeing her react like that. Just as he was about to take things further, his phone started blaring.
The ringtone totally killed the vibe.
Xavier didn't want to answer, but Grace nudged him with her elbow. "Your phone."
"Ignore it," Xavier grumbled, not in the mood to deal with whoever was calling.
Anyone with half a brain would hang up and not bug them.
But the phone kept ringing, like the caller had no plans of giving up.
It finally stopped, but then it started up again a few seconds later.
Grace pushed him, trying to sit up. "Check who it is. Might be important."
Xavier reluctantly got up and grabbed his phone.
"If it's Victor, he's dead," Xavier muttered.
Sure enough, it was Victor.
Xavier was fuming. How many times had Victor interrupted him?
He picked up the phone, his tone anything but friendly. "This better be life or death!"
Otherwise, he was gonna deal with Victor himself.
"Help, Xavier! Come save me," Victor's voice was so loud Grace could hear it without speakerphone.
"What's going on?" Xavier frowned.
Wasn't Victor supposed to be at the pool hall? How did it turn into a life-or-death situation?
"It's a long story. Can't explain now. Just get here. I'm at the pool hall. Hurry, Xavier, my life depends on it."
The call ended. Xavier couldn't just ignore Victor, and Grace had lost her earlier spark.
Seeing Xavier's grim face, she hooked her arm around his neck and kissed him hard.
"Go, Mr. Montgomery, save your buddy."
Grace's clothes were all messed up, almost torn by Xavier.
"I'll go check it out. You stay here," Xavier said.
Grace needed to chill anyway. She nodded. "I'll take a shower and wait for you."
"Okay," Xavier's voice was rough. He held her a bit longer before letting go.
He grabbed his coat and headed out. Victor better have a damn good reason, or Xavier was gonna deal with him right there.
The pool hall was a bit of a trek from Xavier's place. The resort was fancy, with separate areas for living and fun.
Besides pool, they had table football and other stuff.
When Xavier got there, he saw Isaac at the door. "Where's Victor?" he asked.
Isaac pointed. "Inside."
A waiter opened the door, and there was Victor, looking like he'd seen his hero. "Xavier, finally!"
"What happened?" Xavier asked, spotting a familiar face inside.
A guy about thirty was lounging on the sofa with a cigar.
When he saw Xavier, he smirked. "Long time no see, Xavier."
"Mr. Wallace, what a rare sight!," Xavier said, not really shocked to see Sterling Wallace.
Mason had mentioned Sterling was coming to Skigeth.
"Nothing surprising about it. I was just curious what kept Mr. Montgomery in Skigeth so long, so I came to check it out."
When Sterling and Xavier locked eyes, the air got thick, like sparks were about to fly.
Victor piped up, "You're Sterling Wallace?"
Hearing Xavier call him Mr. Wallace, Victor finally put two and two together. He thought Sterling looked familiar, and now he knew why—this guy was Xavier's nemesis.
The Wallace family had their fingers in a lot of pies, and Sterling's business was different from Xavier’s. Sterling was born with a silver spoon, living a life most people could only dream of.
But with all that money came a ton of drama. Sterling was the last man standing in a brutal family power struggle, known for his cutthroat ways. He'd taken down many of his own brothers to get where he was.
Because their business interests overlapped, Sterling and Xavier were always being compared and competing against each other.
No one really knew how Xavier had ticked off Sterling. Rumor had it, anything Xavier wanted, Sterling would try to snatch just to spite him.
Victor finally got why Sterling was messing with him. Sterling had been gunning for Xavier from the get-go.
When Victor showed up and mentioned Xavier to Isaac, Sterling must've overheard and set a trap.
"So you did this on purpose!" Victor glared at Sterling.
Sterling took a drag from his cigar and sneered. "Didn't think Xavier would have such a dumb friend."
"You!" Victor was fuming. He didn't expect Sterling to be such a jerk.
Knowing he couldn't take on Sterling, Victor turned to Xavier. "I was just playing pool, and he insisted on challenging me."
Sterling butted in, his sneer obvious. "He lost badly."
Victor was almost in tears. "He set me up and bet on my hand. If I lost, I'd have to cut it off. Xavier, I'm your guy. I still need to serve you. If I lose my hand, how can I bring you coffee and water? You gotta win it back for me."
He didn't expect Sterling to be so good at pool. He lost, and Sterling really wanted to cut off his hand.
Sterling stubbed out his cigar and stood up. "Since he's your underling, I'll give you a chance, Xavier. How about a game? If you win, you take him away. If you lose, give me that piece of land in the eastern suburbs. Deal?"
Victor didn't know the exact piece of land, but anything Sterling wanted had to be worth a fortune.
Victor tugged at Xavier. "Which eastern suburbs? Which piece of land?"
Xavier just gave him a cold look and stayed silent.
Sterling kindly explained, "The eastern suburbs of Chicago."
Chicago, like Oakworth, was a major economic hub. The land there was insanely valuable.
Victor didn't know the project, but the land had to be worth at least a billion dollars.
If Xavier lost, he'd be out over a billion bucks, while winning would only save Victor's hand. No matter how he looked at it, Victor thought it was a raw deal!
So from the start, Sterling was targeting Xavier. Sterling had set him up, and that made Victor furious!
Victor said, "Xavier, don't act on impulse. I won't compete with him. This is our turf. Why should we be afraid of him?"
Sterling looked at Victor, his eyes cold and deadly. "Your friend doesn't seem to get it—once it's my loot, I never back down."
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