Bottom's Up To The Mafia Boss (MXM Novel)

Chapter Twenty One: A Remedy

I was inexplicably nervous and although I had tried to reason with my nerves, I couldn't help it. It has been two whole weeks since I have last seen the cold yet hot redheaded man, and everytime I asked my appointed "bodyguards" or the Marias about his whereabouts, they avoided answering my question, ignoring it as if it was their figment of imagination.

It was frustrating, to say the least, and I needed to get a move with the mission. The watchful eyes of Diego and Benito were not helping my case, nor was the fact that I was essentially quartered back into my room despite my protests of wanting to "explore" the mansion. All I heard the past few days were the following–he is not here right now or you do not have access to the grounds unless you have his verbal approval.

It was only after I had breakfast that I caught a glimpse of Reynaldo and Leroy conversing with the Marias in the dining hall and it was a sight that I thought I would never miss. It was almost laughable how quickly they turned when I called their names out loud, my strides increasing until I caught up with them.

Reynaldo didn't bother to hide his vexation in his face upon hearing my voice, his heavy brows lowering down his forehead in a menacing expression as he watched me approach him with a relieved grin on my face. His hand instinctively reached behind him, and I didn't know what exactly he saw in me, but he definitely perceived me as a threat. Meanwhile, Leroy, the shorter but equally muscular man had a neutral expression on, the slight twitching in his right eye a tell-tale sign of his annoyance.

"Reynaldo, Leroy, good morning and long time no see!" I exclaimed cheerfully, nodding at the Marias who began to inch out of the conversation subtly.

Reynaldo scoffed under his breath in response, muttering something in Spanish at Leroy who rolled his eyes after his rude comment. I pretended I didn't hear the nasty remark, beaming at them with a consistent smile on my face.

"What do you want?" Reynaldo snapped irritably when their obvious dismissal of me did not work.

"I'm just happy to see your handsome faces again after half a month," I chirped, much to their disgust. "How do you do?"

"Like I said, what do you want?" Reynaldo repeated, his grimace visible across his tanned face. Although I was just a bit taller than him, his presence seemed to grow larger the more irked he became.

"Okay," I said after a long, awkward second, wondering how these two men were absolutely immune to my irresistible charm and infectious smile. "I will get straight to the point then. Where is Fen?"

Both men exchanged glances with each other, one that I could not read and they remained suspiciously silent for a moment. Leroy finally sighed, his eyes shifting back to me.

"What do you want with el jefe?" He uttered tiredly as I stared at them closely.

I shrugged, tapping my chin thoughtfully with my fingers. My sudden movement seemed to alarm Reynaldo, who appeared to be very trigger happy. I shot them an innocent smile, wondering what had made them so jumpy and overly-cautious.

Something must have happened.

"I just need to speak with your boss. Unfortunately, this is a private matter," I said slowly, ignoring their narrowed eyes.

"Unfortunately, he is not available," Reynaldo piped sarcastically, his disgruntled expression never disappearing.

"You don't know that," I mused, still smiling cheerfully at them. "Take me to his study or room and I'll be the judge of that."

It was the wrong thing to say.

Reynaldo snarled out a heinous profanity, lunging towards me but was stopped short by Leroy, who firmly grabbed his left shoulder, his head shaking slowly at him. They exchanged looks with each other once more and Reynaldo sighed noisily through his nostrils, which flared visibly when he glared at me once more.