When Jason walked into Eric’s office after the summon, no one prepared him for when he asked, “So, what’s my brother up to these days?”
He blinked, taken aback by the question because he had not expected it. So he raised his brows questioningly, “Which of the brothers?” there were four of them, hence he couldn’t be directly referring to Elijah, right?
“The one you have been working with behind my back,” Eric told him, all without taking his eyes off the documents he was going through.
Jason sighed, of course, he must be a fool to think that Eric wouldn’t notice he had been working with his youngest brother. Knowing that Eric hated lies the most, he decided to come clean.
He said, “He needed my help with a few things,”
This time, Eric put down his pen and finally lifted his head, intertwining his hands together on the desk. He asked hopefully, “I hope those few things you helped him wouldn’t cause trouble in the future,” the last thing he needed was his brother causing trouble that would jeopardize his place as the leader of the commission.
With his father’s death, it had been hard taking over from where the man had stopped and the commission still doesn’t trust he had what he takes to be in charge. Imagine Elijah putting him in a hot mess, they’d take that opportunity to feast on him like vultures on a carcass.
Neither could Eric lose this position either. As the eldest child and son of the family, it was his responsibility to take care of his siblings and with his position as the leader of the commission, his siblings that were deep into the criminal underbelly of this city and beyond, enjoyed certain benefits with having their big brother in the seat of power. So yeah, he was taking care of them in his way.
“They certainly wouldn’t as far as he doesn’t cross the line,” Even Jason wasn’t even sure and that made his brows furrow.
.....
Eric sank back in his seat, his thoughts far away for a while before he asked him, “You said this is all for a girl, right?”
“Yes,”
He rubbed beneath his chin thoughtfully knowing that this was the first time that little chum was being serious about a woman and that slightly worried him. Since young, Elijah was naturally good at everything that he got whatever he wanted, not to mention that out of the males in the family, they might have spoiled Elijah a little too much because he was the last kid their mother left behind and died.
In one word, his father and siblings raised him and everyone in the family loved him a little too much. Whatever Elijah wanted, he got it even if it meant going back and forth to hell. Unlike most criminal families, they grew up with love, even with five competitive males. Yeah, no girl. This was why his daughter and any other woman in the family were treated like gold. They treated their women with respect.
In one word, Eric was worried that Elijah might do something stupid if things doesn’t go the way he wanted them to. The kid doesn’t exactly deal well with failure and would think of every other way to correct it. Hopefully, he doesn’t go off the track else he would have no choice but to step in and do everything to stop him.
So he looked up and commanded his assistant, “Get me everything you can on the woman he claims to love,” Until he saw it himself, Eric wouldn’t admit to Elijah’s feelings. For all he knew, his brother could be infatuated with the young lady he claims to love – hopefully, it wasn’t an obsession. That one would be much harder to deal with.
“Of course,” Jason said, turning to leave only for Eric to say,
“Another thing,” Eric added, “Keep an eye on him,” he didn’t trust his brother not to stay out of trouble. Elijah can be overconfident in his abilities sometimes he might not be able to see danger coming until it hits.
Eric couldn’t let anything happen to his brothers, especially Elijah. Although it slightly hurt him to admit it, his father loved him the most out of them and he didn’t want to fail the old man. As the current man of the house, their safety was his priority and his family wasn’t short of enemies.
“Sure, boss,” Jason nodded and took a final leave. However, the moment he reached for the door, it was opened from the outside only to reveal Natalie entering with a tray of food.
The assistant nodded his head in acknowledgment with her mirroring the same gesture even though she didn’t need to greet him, however, that was Natale, sweet and kind. Although Natalie didn’t participate in the family business, she was highly respected by everyone in the gang. Not to mention, now that she got under the sheets with the boss that her status was about to change. Everyone in the organization knew Eric’s had the hots for her for a long time now. He hoped things worked out for them now.
Almost immediately, a smile appeared on Eric’s face when he saw her come in and it seemed as if the sun dropped into the room because he smiled brightly for a long time, it was almost blinding.
Jason didn’t waste time leaving, he didn’t want to interrupt the lovey-dovey couple and he had to admit, their public display of affection was kind of annoying sometimes. The boss was almost a fool with Natalie around. But then, he was happy, that was all that mattered.
“You shouldn’t have,” Eric stood up to his feet, grinning like a fool when she placed the tray in front of him.
“You mean to stop you from starving?” She raised a long brow, “I hardly caught you at home and the instance you return, you plunge yourself into work. Sometimes I can’t help but think you’re married to your job!” She complained, setting the utensils for him.
However, Eric said, “You know there is only one woman I would love to marry,”