His Proposal

His Proposal - 10

Riker crosses his arms and looks at me. "Why would you want to sell your clubs? They have been doing great since you left it in my hands."

A smile spreads across my face. "I've seen how it's been doing since you took over. I also know how clean you've kept my clubs while managing them. That's why I want to sell them to you."

"You want me to buy you out? Are you sure?"

Leaning forward in my chair. "Yes, I'm sure, Riker. I want to concentrate on my business in Los Angeles and don't want to fly here occasionally to see how things are going."

"You sound whipped, bro. Is there a girl that's making you want to clean up your act and leave this world behind?"

I laugh. "Isn't there always?" Standing up, I walk to the window and watch people walk through the streets of New York. "I'm not dating this girl yet, but she sure has made an impression on me."

"I know what you mean. My girl did the same thing, and I knew I could never let her go. I'm glad she came home with Riley that day. So, tell me how yours made the impression. I don't think she'd do something stupid to have gained yours."

He's going to be in for a surprise.

Turning towards him, I tell him how I first met Chloe: "I was in my office doing work. When I looked at the TV screen, I saw a beautiful woman sitting at the bar. She ordered a drink and threw it back after somebody handed it to her. She said something to the bartender, and he said something back that she didn't like. She stood on the bar and pulled out a light. She flicked the lighter and raised it towards the sprinkler."

Riker whistles. "Damn, I like this girl. Is there any way you'd bring her to New York to meet us?"

I shake my head. "I don't want her to know about this side of my life. If and when the time comes, I will tell her." I walk back to the chair and sit opposite my friend. "So, do you want to buy my three clubs in New York?"

"Yes, I would. Meet me here tomorrow, and we'll have a business meeting. After that, I want you to stay a few days to catch up with my friend."

"Okay, I'll stay for a couple of days. Do you still have a few of my old teammates come in?"

"No, the last time I saw Jeremiah was before you left for Los Angeles. The others never came in much after you left. I think the company you kept, aka me, scared them away."

"Jeremiah moved to Los Angeles and was traded to another team. It's been the best career move he made so far. Being closer to a friend has made him the player he is today."

Riker stands up. "Let's go back downstairs, and you tell me what you've been up to since you left."

"Okay," I say, standing up and following my friend to the door. We climb down the stairs to the bar, where the girls are still sitting.

Eliana has a bottle of beer in her hands. She looks at me. "Hey, Jai. I'm sorry about earlier. I should have known that you want to change the way you are, but old habits die hard for me."

I give her a half-smile. "That's alright, Eliana. I hope you can find a guy that's worthy of you. Stop dating and having sex with losers who want to use you because of the way you look."

She looks at me. "What do you mean because of the way I look?"

"You're a beautiful woman, Eli. Any man that doesn't see that is blind. You should go on a holiday and take a breather from this life or visit your family in Italy."

Riker kicks my leg under the table. He mouths. "What are you doing?"

I mouth back. "I'm helping, Eliana." I continued to talk with Eliana. "It's up to you what you want to do, but getting away will refresh you, and I think that's what you need."

A smile spreads across her face. "I think you're right. Maybe I should go to Miami and see our cousin for a while."

Riker stands up and looks at his sister. "No, you're not. She's not good enough for you to visit. She's why our family has run out of money, and she has the fortune that our grandfather should have given us. Instead, he changed his last name so that he could be with a woman who didn't fit into our world. I'm still not sure how he could have started another Mafia family without thinking about the family he already had. Not only that, he still had two more kids with him. The woman didn't care that he had more children. All she cared about was the son that could take over the family when the time came."

"Nikolai was part of our family, and now he's part of another. Our uncles are fine with their half-siblings."

Riker knocks the bottle over on the table. "No, they're not. Everyone in this family hates the Marino, including me. I won't have my sister spend any time with the enemy."

Eliana stands up, and she gives her brother a deadly glare. "I'm going whether you like it or not, Riker. The rest of the family must move on and accept that you must make the Mesis known again. You let the company fail because that's what Dad wanted, and you let everything turn to shit so you could play mafia boss inside of a bar." She walks away from Riker.

He looks at me. "This is all your fault." He, too, walks away, but his girlfriend is at his side, trying to calm him down.

I better get home. I need to pack some things from the condo and have them shipped home since I don't know when I'll return to New York.