With Love

Chapter Seven

Hello Everyone!!

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The next week consisted of acclimating myself as head of the family. The business side of the Love Family seemed to be running smoothly, the chain of hotels my father owned all had their management therefore they ran smoothly unless something important needed my attention.

The other business side, the less legal side, needed most of my attention. Dealing with an illegal underground gambling ring is not as easy as my father made it out to be. Speaking of father's, mine had not made contact since they disappeared and he took a few more of the experienced men than I expected, leaving me with the younger members.

I met with most of them, some I considered old acquaintances, and others were added to the family after my departure. Getting to know them and discern for myself whether or not I would trust them with my life remained my top priority.

Sleep was for the weak and energy drinks became my only friend. Jasper spent the week in Manhattan, where the original Athena Hotel stood, doing god knows what since he seems to think he's immune to my authority. We'll see when he gets back.

Elijah traced a couple of leads from the amateur assassin, including the meetup spot used to gather information and trade secrets with each other before they attacked us the day of the funeral. Corinne stayed close but not on top of me, she used her time to train or help Elijah where needed.

Atticus and Amari attended their private school as normal. I originally suggested they remain home and have a private tutor come to the house but Amari, who didn't understand the severity of our situation, all but stomped her foot in a tantrum and refused to be locked inside the manor, which made Atticus follow after her to keep her safe.

No one else died under Finn's care. Injuries were not as severe as I thought but still crucial nonetheless. He hadn't come to give me an update, claiming all his free time should be used to attend to his patients, which I found fair. So as of right now, no news equaled good news.

A knock on my office door sounded and my head shot up from where it lay on the desk. "Come in."

Harvey stuck his head inside. "Love, we have a visitor at the gate requesting an impromptu meeting with you."

My fingers dug into my temples and slowly rubbed the ache building in my head. "Who is it?"

"Zhang Wei." The name filled me with dread.

"Fuck," I groaned, my voice breathy.

Of the four families I could have chosen to deal with, the Xiao family was not one of them. My family only had four real competitors on the illegal business side, we all knew each other well and I would honestly not be surprised to hear that one of them had sent out the open contract on my family. We were not friends, but we respected each other and kept our social circles intertwined.

Zhang Wei was not a man that I wanted to deal with any day of the week. I preferred to stay far away from him and his family.

"Love?" Harvey prodded, waving his phone in the air that had access to the main gate at the push of a button.

I pressed my palms into my eyes. "Show him to the conference room." He nodded quietly and left without another word.

Thankfully, I wore a somewhat appropriate outfit consisting of all black paired with black stilettos. My nails were freshly manicured and the family hairdresser made a house visit three days ago to sort out the split-end disaster on my head. The bathroom off the side of my office housed some of my emergency supplies for occurrences such as unwanted guests showing up on my doorstep with no word of warning.