13 CHAPTER 13

Lie and King eyed each other quietly, amused Pacific blue orbs meeting angry chocolate brown ones. King may be old but at his age, he still stood straight and towered over the petite professor.

"Calliope, sit down," King ordered, voice and tone serious for the first time since Damien and Lie were dragged into the parlor.

"Ayoko," was Lie's defiant response. Her hands were fisted on either side of her body and they trembled with temper. Her cheeks were pink from her anger too.

Damien raised a brow at that. Lie very rarely used her native language in any conversation especially when she's speaking to someone who spoke English. It is her life rule to respond with the same language that was used to talk to her. Was this her being temperamental or was this her being childish? Maybe it was a mixture of both and it weirdly aroused him. Maybe he'll see more of her today with these people surrounding them.

"Don't make me repeat myself, lass. I will whoop your ass without guilt." King used his cane to point at Lie. He was not raising his voice or anything but it still vibrated with command and power.

The exchange of money between Jonathan and Aurelium made Damien realize that this was a usual occurrence in the family. He shook his head and took a seat on the long couch behind the professor. He wished he had been awake enough to grab a shirt before he was dragged down to meet this powerful and rich man. It was embarrassing to be caught with his pants literally off of him.

The night before had been amazing and worth every minute of lost sleep. If he could take and taste Lie that way every day, he would gladly sacrifice his sleep and rest without a doubt. It was crazy.

He shook his head and looked up at King once again. He knew of the stories about King Fitzgerald.

After all, he was one of the greatest names of the 19th and 20th century who took America and Britain in a whirlwind of business prowess. He was a genius when it came to business and money. People came to King Fitzgerald if they wanted to make sure that their money didn't go down the drain.

The King, as he was called in the business world, was able to spawn a well-known judge, a business tycoon, a Johns-Hopkins neurosurgeon, and a world-renowned director. From those children, he had numerous grandchildren who were also making names for themselves. If Damien remembered it right, one of those grandchildren was on the fast track of the US political system. Many theorized that within 10 years, that grandchild would be a president.

He side glanced at the professor beside him. He had to admit that the thought of Lie being one of the offspring of this great man never reached his mind. Now, isn't that stupid on his part? He knew that Gannie was a model and an actress, why didn't it reach his mind that the set of twins were descendants of the Great King Fitzgerald? So Lie and Gannie would be the daughters of the tycoon, that would be Phoenix Fitzgerald who came to visit them just a couple of weeks ago. If he remembered it right, the tycoon had a knack for adopting half-grown boys and giving them a chance to change their lives and make names for themselves.

His brows furrowed as he tried to dig up the information about the tycoon in his mind. There was a rumor before that his only daughter was a child out of wedlock in the midst of a messy divorce with his wife back then. Now, he was sure that it was Gannie. The daughter grew up with the grandparents, was known for her brains, and yet, she became a young model and actress, leaving the career in business that would have been waiting for her. None was known about the twin sister--nobody even knew that there was a twin sister--until she popped out a couple of years ago. She was introduced to the world but she decided that being known in the business world would not give her any advantages so she lived her life behind cameras, unlike her twin sister.

Jesus fuck, why hadn't he realized that before? Now, he's here, half-naked, and looking like a damn idiot.

"Calliope, look at me," King ordered the professor and was met with ice cold silence.

Another exchange of money could be seen going on at the bar.

King turned his attention on Damien and stomped his cane on the carpeted floor. "Well, any explanations for your looks, mister?"

Damien met King's electric blue gaze and gave a nonchalant shrug that hid his nervousness pretty well if he must say so. "I don't think it takes a genius to see what's going on with us, sir," he replied, wanting to sound like a smartass, winking at Nat when she hid a snort behind a cough.

There was a shared laughter at the bar and King's smirk loosened the tightly coiled muscles inside Damien. Maybe he'll manage to survive this after all.

"And it should be none of anybody's business," Lie interjected, eyes still on fire and voice still making Antarctic seem warm. She remained standing, not heeding to her grandfather's orders. Her arms were crossed on her chest, brows were raised in challenge, and lips pursed.

The older Fitzgerald rolled his eyes and stared at Damien. "What family are you from, son?" he ignored Lie and sat down across from the student.

"Criss, sir," he replied, confused at the question.

"And this girl, Natasha, is your sister?"

"As far as I know, sir." Damien smirked at Nat who just grinned back at him. "She's been with us since she was born so I guess you could say that she's my sister."

The old man smirked at that and raised a brow at Nat before tilting his head to the side while studying Damien. "What's your name again?"

"Damien Criss, sir." He wasn't supposed to feel uneasy when he was being studied, right? But he did. He was not just being studied. He was being judged as well and he was at the disadvantaged end since he was half naked beside the half-naked and obviously beloved granddaughter.He had to gulp at that but he kept quiet.

"I want coffee if I'm gonna have to deal with this bullshit," Lie mumbled as she walked out of the parlor, leaving Damien to deal with the old man by himself.

Damien watched her walk away with as much dignity as his over-sized shirt could give her. Good thing it was big enough to cover all the private parts easily.

"What do you do for a living, son?" King asked once more.

Damien turned his eyes on the old man and answered, "I do a couple of part time jobs while I'm studying law, sir."

"That's a lot to do. I do hope you're not forgetting to take care of yourself." King looked at the entrance of the parlor before pulling out a cigar from his jacket and sniffing at it. "Girl," he looked at Nat and smiled, "go and get me a glass of water for now."

Nat obeyed without a word.

"And see if my wife is still in the kitchen, will you?" he gave Natasha a wink before lighting his cigar and taking a deep and long drag from it.

"Not at all, sir. I have to take care of my sister and myself. Lie… I mean… Professor Fitzgerald is the one that anchors me every day though." The scent of the cigar was strong enough to make Damien blink. None of his cigarettes ever smelled like that.

"What is this between you then?" King waved his hand in front of him as if to show a bridge between Damien and Lie.

"We…" it should be easy to answer. They were fuck buddies. No string attached. No holds barred. But why can't he just say it? It should be easy, right? "We're sex friends," it sent a knife into his chest to say it like that. Like there was supposed to be nothing more. There shouldn't be anything more, right?

Lie came in carrying a tray with three mugs and a plate of cookies that smelled like heaven. She put it on the center table and sat down beside him, leaning her head against his shoulder while still glaring at her grandfather. He couldn't help but wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her closer to him before pressing his lips on her hair.

He could smell her scent. It was still a shock that he could wake up beside her every morning and go to sleep knowing that she'll be with him all throughout the night, with or without sex.

They're sex friends, he knew that but somehow, he knew that he also wanted more than that. He wanted more. He needed more. Looking at her, he didn't know if she would want more from him. He didn't know if she even saw him as a friend. He was content with what they had for now.

"Pop, can you not…?" Lie asked before standing up and stomping towards her grandfather. "Don't mess this up for me, please. We're having fun. We're enjoying our youth and you should be enjoying your last moments on earth! Especially when I tell grandma about that cigar you're having."

"CALLIOPE FORD DIAZ FITZGERALD! WATCH YOUR MOUTH!" both Jonathan and Aurelium hissed from the bar, so much in sync that Damien blinked. It was like a much used line that even kids could memorize it with no problem at all. He also noticed that both the men looked at the entrance as if expecting to see a guard come in.

Lie simply raised her middle finger at the two and sat beside her grandfather before leaning against him. "Seriously, grandpa. I'm too young to be married. If you want anyone to give you any great grandkids, start with those two."

"Don't pull us into that," Jonathan pointed his finger towards Lie then stuck his tongue out at her.

King gave a snort at that and pulled the professor closer to his body. "Those idiots need more years to grow so that I could find women who could whip them into shape. You, on the other hand, are already ripe for the picking."

"That's bull," Lie mumbled, blinking a couple of times when she realized Damien said the same thing at the same time.

Her eyes brightened up in mischief at the realization and gave Damien a challenging smirk that sent his blood down to his lap.

"It seems you both have the same idea," King observed and looked at Damien once more. "What do you think of my granddaughter, Criss?"

Damien relaxed in his chair and sipped his coffee before smiling confidently. "I think she's one of a kind and I'd like to know her more in our pace, our time. No meddlers, no influencers. Just the two of us. If we decide to push this relationship on another level, we'll do it because it'll be our choice and not because someone pushed us to do it." It was true. He wanted her. Not just for the physical anymore, but for more. He doesn't know how much more but it was there. The need and the want.

He saw her lips twitch at that and it added to his confidence. "I'd rather have her wanting and falling hard for me on her pace than to have her emotions and feelings tainted by other's ideas."

Her brows furrowed slightly, making him think that he had said something wrong. When the wrinkle between her brows didn't leave, he was sure he had messed up somewhere. But where?

"That's a very bold statement, Criss," King gave him a smirk that sent chills down his spine. It was a knowing smirk, and the wisdom behind it was not good at all. "You'll have to work hard on that, lad." He unwound his arm around Lie and stood up, bringing his grandaughter up with him. "Now, I need to go and make sure the wife enjoys her stay in this country before we go back to Ireland." He looked at the two men at the bar. "You two have fun too. No bothering your momma and I. We will enjoy each other."

Jonathan and Aurelium blanched and rolled their eyes.

"Go ahead, Pop. Just make sure that you don't give us any aunt or uncle at our age," Jonathan grumbled.

King's laughter filled the room even as he exited. His bellow reverberated in the mansion as he called for his wife.

"That's one hell of a man," Nat grinned as she finished her milk. "I wish I could marry someone like him in the future."

"A meddler?"Aurelium asked as he walked to the trio and sat beside the frowning Lie and planted a kiss straight to her lips. "What's your idea about that, dearest?"

The kiss sent an unpleasant jolt of jealousy into Damien's gut. His hands fisted on his lap as his head throbbed with vengeance. His vision turned dangerously dark as he stared at the man in suit who had his arm around Lie. Control. He had to control himself. Bullshit. There was only one way to calm his nerves. And it was murder. In under a second, he had planned a hundred ways to murder the man but he chose to kill him with his bare hands. Just watch the life fly out of his body. It'll be easy.

The professor just frowned further and crossed her arms over her chest. "Shut up, Gold," her brows raised when she saw how hard Damien was glaring at Aurelium. "He's my brother," she explained as she stood up and walked to Damien. "No need to plan your murder."

She patted his shoulder and walked out of the parlor without another word.

Aurelium chuckled and looked at Damien. "Wanna go at me, kid? I'll let you. I'm bored enough to give you a fight. I can't promise that that little temperamental woman would talk to either of us in the next decade though."

Jonathan walked towards them too and offered a glass of whiskey on the rocks to Damien. "Down, boy. We don't meddle with our sister's affairs but if she gets upset enough, it'll be bad for all of us. I tell you. And I don't like that. I don't want her to shut in again so let's just be nice, shall we?"