His Precious Iris

29. Aahan's chase for JIGSAW

Sage's POV - 

"Thank you for joining me for dinner on such short notice, Mateo," Aahan expressed gratefully as Mateo settled into his seat at the dining table.

"No problem at all! I'm happy to be of assistance," Mateo replied, flashing a smile at Aahan.

I couldn't help but notice how forced Mateo's smile appeared. It seemed obvious to me, but Aahan seemed oblivious to it.

Flashback -

"I want you to come at Aahan's apartment for dinner and tell him about the hacking. I said to Mateo over the phone.

"Why?" Mateo questioned in his usual cold manner.

"Because I said so!" I retorted.

"You do realize that I can't reveal Reyansh Malhotra's true identity as JIGSAW to anyone in the business world," Mateo explained over the phone.

"But you told me!" I pointed out.

"That's because you're a lawyer. A top-tier one at that. I had Reyansh's permission before disclosing his identity to you. Besides, I only figured it out when he mentioned knowing Isabelle," Mateo clarified.

"I'm not asking you to directly reveal JIGSAW's identity to Aahan. I just want you to drop some subtle hints so that he can meet Reyansh. That's all," I stated.

"And why should I do that?" Mateo challenged.

"Because if you refuse, I'll make sure everyone knows about your interest in a certain RAW agent since your first trial," I threatened.

"Do you really think I'd be intimidated by that? What evidence do you have?" Mateo questioned.

"Remember when I first saw you during my initial trial and noticed you eyeing the RAW agent like a lovesick puppy? I have a picture of that moment. Want me to make it public?" I countered.

"Italian cuisine, 8:30 p.m. Send me the location," Mateo agreed before ending the call, leaving me with a satisfied smirk. It's always fun to play a little game of cat and mouse before sealing a deal.

Aahan's POV -

"Hey Mateo, I hope you're enjoying this delicious dinner," I said to Mateo as we began to dig in.

"Yeah, it's really nice. Italian cuisine isn't something you usually find in America. Where did you get this from?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, Sage actually made it," I replied proudly, gesturing towards Sage.

Mateo glanced at Sage and simply said, "Nice."

"By the way, are you the personal lawyer of JIGSAW?" I asked, looking directly at him.

He paused for a moment, contemplating whether or not to reveal the truth. Finally, he locked eyes with me and said, "Yup!"

"Can you tell me more about this JIGSAW?" I inquired.

"No," he responded bluntly, leaving me shocked. "What I mean is, I can't. It's not allowed according to my contract," he clarified.

"Oh, I see," I said, understanding the situation.

"Anyway, can you at least give me some hints about him? It's really important," I pleaded.

"I know! Sage told me what happened," he said, taking a bite of his food. "The only thing I can do is arrange a meeting between you and him."

"Wait, what? How? Doesn't he refuse to meet anyone?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes, but if you go to his address and personally search for him, he won't turn you away. He believes that if someone goes through the effort of finding his house, it means they're desperate, and he likes people who are desperate, whether it's for good or bad reasons," he explained.