Marcos moved to the head of the table, a faint smirk playing at his lips. “Ajori,” he said, “let me properly introduce everyone.”
He gestured first toward the older man beside him.
“This is Señor Alejandro Valdés.”
His tone shifted slightly with respect.
“He’s the man who built this entire operation from the ground up. Every major move, every shipment, every decision—it all runs through him. He’s the boss of bosses.”
Alejandro’s presence was heavy, not in a threatening way, but in the way of someone who knew he could walk into any room and own it without effort.
He gave me a warm nod, his gold cufflinks catching the light.
“Ajori,” he said smoothly, his voice deep and welcoming. “You have no idea how happy I am that you’re here.”
Happy?
The word echoed strangely in my head.
That felt… oddly personal for someone I’d never met.
Before I could process it, Marcos continued. “And this,” he spoke, gesturing toward the man who hadn’t taken his eyes off me yet, “is Domino. You may have heard me refer to him asDom.And yeah… you’ve heard his voice before.”
A subtle grin tugged at his mouth.
Marcos continued. “He’s Alejandro’s right hand, and the man who keeps everything moving smoothly. If something goes wrong in the operation, Dom is the one who fixes it.”
My eyes stayed locked with Domino’s.
He didn’t smile, but something dangerous flickered behind his eyes.
“Well,” Domino said slowly, his voice deeper in person than it had sounded through the speaker, “it’s good to finally meet you.”
The words were simple, but the way he said them made my pulse skip anyway.
“Likewise,” I replied, trying not to appear too flustered under his stare.
Alejandro clapped his hands once, the sound echoing lightly against the high ceilings.
“Let’s eat and talk, shall we?”
After everyone had taken their seats, servants moved silently around us, filling glasses and uncovering dishes. The clink of silverware and soft scrape of chairs filled the room for the first few minutes.
I could feel Domino’s eyes on me—steady and unbothered by being caught staring. More than once, I found myself glancing back at him; that same magnetic pull tightening with each stolen look.
The spell broke when Alejandro set down his wine glass and cleared his throat. “I’ve been hearing about what you did,” he began, “but that conversation is better had…notin front of your brother.”
His eyes flicked briefly toward Kyrin.
Kyrin grinned and leaned forward like he was about to charm the room into his pocket. “Sir… I’m just here for the good vibes and good food. But if y’all wanna talk business, I got ideas.”
Alejandro raised an amused eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Yeah,” Kyrin continued confidently. “First idea… that pool outside needs a slide.”
Alejandro’s lips curved into a chuckle, and even Domino’s smirk widened slightly.
“Well,” Alejandro said, leaning back in his chair, “we can make that happen.”