Adler | The Monarch & The Heirs BOOK 2.

Victor | A SEVENTEEN

Dedicated to fushenk and wealthy_monica

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He performed the standard two knocks with his knuckles on the furnished wood.

"Who is it?" called the voice on the other side.

"Garren." He answered.

"Come in, come in."

He begrudgingly heeded and hinged the handle to edge the door open. "This better be important, I'm in the middle of... " He paused when streaks of smoke canvased his vision. "What the hell."

"Sit right down." beckoned the woman with an absent gaze, a chunky roll of tobacco between her fingers. Her face veiled in a sheet of sterile smoke.

"If I can find a chair." retorted Garren, coughing from the poor ventilation as he fanned his hand through the grim mist.

He recalled the last time he'd seen this foul sight. It was two years ago when his nan discovered the charming suitor she'd been talking to on an online dating site for several months turned out to truly be a sophomore IT student in the Philippines with a 'thing' for elderly women.

"What happened?" questioned Garren with a sleeve to his nostrils.

"Dennis Colossus' son was in here just a few minutes ago."

A glistening light of silver shone and Garren made out the steel ashtray with two cigars snubbed out. Minutes wasn't even a record for the old bat to vacuum that much nicotine with no effort. Garren was positive she had to be a vampire.

"And? What did he want?" He asked.
"He," she took a breath, "asked me to have you stripped from captaincy of Coeus and hand the position over to him."

Garren snorted. "So just because somebody talks back to him and gives him orders he tries a sneak attack from behind to take my club to overthrow me? God, what a self-entitled tool."

"If I recall, isn't that exactly why you exposed Michael Howard?"

"That's completely different. I knew what I was doing and deserved it." He proclaimed. "So what did you tell him?"

"I did consider humouring him just to piss you off." She eluded a hollow puff. "But a scoundrel like that would tarnish the club's dignity with just his grotesque bin bag clothes. So I told him it wasn't happening."

"Then why the chimney maze?"

"Believe it or not, besides not liking being ordered around, he doesn't like hearing the word no." The flatness in tone breached beneath the floor. "And he broke all pleasantries and threatened to have the board sack me."

"Ooh, dick move. Dick move." tsked Garren with a supposedly sympathetic shake of the head.

"I have five days to 'change my mind' and he'll triple my salary if I have you publicly expelled too."

"Hmm." Garren pressed his lips. "Well... it was a pleasure having you here, nan. You'll be surely missed by us all. But hey, at least you lasted longer than mum thought so that's something."

Through the smoky screen, glowering eyes narrowed at him. "Garren Adler if you intend to joke, know your audience."

"Well what do you expect me to say? Lie and promise you those greedy corporate higher ups won't kick you to the curb over some big shot's bratty kid paying them off and will prioritise principles first? Please, spare me." At that, a cloud had clogged his windpipe and he hunched over, hackling strenuously to untangle the wisps choking him.