My Million Dollar Boyfriend

Chapter 63

Over the RnB music that was playing, Raoul and Sydney heard the doorbell ring. Sydney turned to the door curiously and glanced at the clock. "Who could be here at dinner time? Did you order something or is it Claude?" he asked as Raoul checked his phone.

"I see no mail saying that something will arrive today, so I assume Claude," he replied as the ringing got more repetitive. He got off the couch with Sydney trailing behind him to see if Claude brought anything to eat. Raoul opened the door and they both looked at Claude who stared blankly at them. "...What's up?"

They moved to the side as Claude dragged his feet to the sofa. Raoul and Sydney glanced at each other as they saw Claude fall on the sofa. They slowly walked to Claude and saw him sprawled on the sofa, his blank expression now tired.

"Bro..." Claude whispered, his eyes darting between them. "I ran into Noah again."

There was a hint of irritation on Raoul's face. "Again," he repeated as Claude nodded, him matching Raoul's expression when he realized what happened these past few hours. "Did he say some dumb shit again?"

Claude sat up straight and told them everything Noah told him about Raymond during that encounter they had. There wasn't as much of an update from the recap Noah gave him and Luke at the cafe, but there were a few plotholes in the whole story that were hardly noticeable if you didn't know both sides. When Claude finished explaining the story after a few minutes, the room fell silent. "What do you two think?"

"So you're telling me that you're having dinner with Noah voluntarily?" Sydney asked as Raoul stared at Claude with a puzzled expression. They glanced at each other as Claude nodded, groaning loudly at the plans he had for this evening. "Damn, I hope you'll make it out alive."

"Thanks, bro," Claude sniffled, wiping a fake tear away.

Raoul rolled his eyes as they watched Claude being dramatic about a situation he threw himself into. "Why did you even accept the invite? He doesn't have anything to do with the plan to save Florence. He'll only drag y'all down."

"Nah, he wouldn't," Claude replied determined. "And if he does, I'll send Wyatt after him."

"Uh, huh..." he said, glancing at Sydney who looked with knitted brows at Claude's big grin. His eyes went to the clock. "When are you going to his place?"

"Great question." He looked at his phone and slowly turned his head to Raoul, his grin not faltering. "Could you give me a ride to his place?" Raoul didn't look too excited by his request, which made Claude go on his knees to beg for that favor. "Please, I won't drag you into all this, I only need a ride to and from his place."

Sydney peeked at Claude's phone and saw the address Noah sent. "Wait, I know where he lives!" he said, checking the message and showing it to Raoul. "It's pretty close to my place, so we can chill there while we wait for him." Raoul got a little interested, but he didn't budge. "There's also a good Greek restaurant nearby."

"Okay, when are we leaving?" Raoul asked, sold by food.

Claude stood up, dusted his baggy jeans off, and put his jacket on. "Now," he replied, grabbing Raoul's car keys. Raoul let out a dreadful sigh as he dragged his feet to follow them, turning everything off before he left his apartment.

It didn't take them too long to reach Noah's apartment complex. They dropped Claude off and went to Sydney's place to eat and wait for him. Claude called Noah's number as he observed the stark white lobby he was in.

"When is he answering?" Claude wondered as he was losing patience. The phone went to voicemail and just when he was about to call again, he heard a voice behind him calling his name. "That took you long enough," he said as he turned around and saw Noah in his gym clothes.

"I didn't expect you to come, so I went to do some cardio," Noah said, catching his breath after sprinting back to meet Claude. He grabbed his phone and messaged his private chef that he'd be back in a few minutes. He motioned Claude to come with him. "Let's go, my chef must be done cooking already."

They took the elevator to Noah's penthouse, awkward air hanging around them as they went inside his apartment. Claude looked around Noah's big living room with a bored expression. "Your place gives the vibe that no one lives here," he commented, holding his hands up in defense when Noah glared at him. "Ay, it's only an observation I made. It's... too clean and white if you know what I'm talking about."

Noah glanced around himself with Claude's words in mind. He shook his head and walked to the dining room with Claude trailing close behind. They sat down across from each other at the already plated table and stared at each other without saying a word. He cleared his throat, catching Claude's attention. "Shall we eat?"

Claude stared at the shrimp pasta suspiciously as he started playing with it a little. "You didn't poison this, right?" he asked, taking a bite as Noah had a bewildered expression after hearing his question. He swallowed it and waited a few seconds. "Well, I guess not!" he said and happily continued eating.

"So what is this plan you had in mind to save Florence?" Noah asked as Claude pretended he didn't hear him and continued eating.

"Damn, this food is so good," Claude gushed as he stood up, searching for the noises coming from the kitchen. "Is your private chef still here?" Before Noah could answer, Claude stood up and went to the kitchen to compliment her.

By the minute that passed, Noah got more annoyed by Claude avoiding him. He slammed his hands on the table and stomped to the kitchen. In there, he saw Claude looking at him confused as their conversation about culinary got interrupted. Noah took a deep breath and smiled irritated at him. "Can you come back? We have to talk," he said through clenched teeth.

He scratched the back of his neck." Alright," Claude muttered, following him back to the dining room. They sat down again and Claude looked up from his plate by the sound of Noah clinking his glass. "Oh yeah, my plan," he said, putting his fork down. He gave Noah a quick summary of what happened to Florence and explained his plan, leaving a few details from it.

Noah pondered after Claude finished explaining it, thinking about all the outcomes his plan could have. "I'm assuming that you already have people to play out different parts?" Claude nodded as he continued eating. "Is there something I can do to be useful?"

Claude paused as he raised his eyebrow at Noah. "You want to be useful?" he asked, not believing that he wanted to cooperate with him. Noah nodded, but Claude dismissed him. "Don't worry about that, the professionals will handle it."

A/N hi, it's been a while. It's been more than a year since the last upload and a lot has happened within that time. But to summarize, I'm mentally in a better state and I have great people and an amazing girlfriend around me who helped me during those hard times. My vacation last year in South Korea was also an eye-opener for me, which I needed during that time. Now, I'm trying to pick up writing (and other hobbies) slowly and I hope that I'm able to post more frequently again. It feels good to be back and don't kill mice

-Rey