•~18~•

In his home office on the second floor of the mansion, sitting behind his desk, Raul went through the list of demands for illegal arms. Drugs were in higher demand than weapons, and were far easier to smuggle into the country, but he found dealing in arms more lucrative. The Valdezian Mafia was the biggest supplier of illegal arms in the United States, among the very few there were.

One of Raul's conditions for trade was that his weapons could not be resold. Instead, he placed brokers in various black markets across the country who reported directly to him. As a result, almost every criminal in the country got their guns from him. Raul analyzed the increased demand of weapons from one of his largest demanders. The mob had placed an order for nearly double of what they usually requested. This would put a strain on the weaponry allocations, but the money offered was too mouth watering to pass up.

Just as Raul was brainstorming on how to smuggle in more goods, someone knocked on his door.

    "Yes?"

    "It's me." A male voice said from the other side.

    "Come in."

Tonio stepped in, wearing a smile on his face. Raul doubted there was anything to be smiling about, that was just the way Tonio was. He was a cheerful fellow, always laughing and never taking hurtful words to heart. Due to his preference of baggy clothing and his slim build, he looked more like a skater from the early 2000s than a gangster. And he wasn't, in the true sense. He was mostly brains than he was brawn, and that was why Raul made him his manager, and head of Intel and Research.

    "Your shirt looks terrible." Raul commented on Tonio's outfit.

    "Really?" Tonio asked, looking down at his top. "I think the colors are quite artistic."

Raising an eyebrow, Raul wondered if an indigo shirt, with red palm trees bearing pink leafs and orange polka dots, randomly printed all over it, was supposed to be artistic. He had never been one for art, mostly because he could never understand it. With him, things were practical and straightforward, so the concept of art was foreign.

    "Art is meant to be displayed in art galleries, not on your body. No one is going to take you seriously if you're dressed like that." Raul eventually said.

Tonio stubbornly humphed. "I'm not changing."

    "Suit yourself." Said Raul. "Is there anything you came here to tell me?"

For the first time, Raul noticed the golden envelope in Tonio's hand, as he waved it around. Tonio put on a sly smile, as though he knew something Raul didn't, and read out the address written on the envelope.

    "To Mr Raul Valdez." He read, then opened the envelope to continue with the card inside. "The Bernardo Family invites you to their 28th Annual Spring Ball... "

There was more in the invitation, some of which included the details of the ball, like the time and venue of the event, but Tonio found it unnecessary to read it out at that moment. Instead, he was more interested in Raul's reaction. Raul got up from his seat and rounded his desk, so that he stood in front of it. He leaned back on the table, folded his arms, and glared. 

    "Why am I still being invited to that ball? I already missed two years in a row. Can't they take a hint?" He said.

    "There's a reason for that at the back of the card." Tonio smile broadened as he read the handwritten note. " 'Father didn't want you to come, but I wanted you here. I miss you. XoXo.' Sir even in your absence, you're still the ladies man."

    "Throw it in the trashcan."

    "Ah! But Lord! This time the invitation is coming from a beautiful lady. It would be good form to honor it." Tonio joked, but the daggers Raul shot at him convinced him his humor wasn't appreciated. "Alright. Alright. I'll dispose of it."

The instant Tonio had read the note, Raul knew who it came from —the only Bernardo child born to the family, Fuchsia Bernardo. He was already vexed by her adamant advances in the past, but nothing he ever did or said seemed to shake her off. How he wished he could send her to a strip club or brothel, like he did his mistresses that angered him, but he didn't buy her from an auction. As Tonio was about to shred the invitation card, Raul came up with another plan to get rid of Fuchsia.

    "On second thought," He said. "what is the theme of the party?"

    "Huh?" Tonio stopped what his was doing and threw a questioning glance at Raul, before opening the card to read out of it. "Mother nature."

Raul nodded. "Get me a suit that fits the theme, as well as a dress for Karla. She's tagging along."

Once again, a smile spread through Tonio's face, as he figured out was Raul had up his sleeves.

•~♥~•

Three days in the Valdezian mansion, and Karla had yet to get Raul to sleep with her. Needless to say, after the target practice fiasco, he didn't come to meet her in her boudoir at night. The following day, Karla wasn't allowed to see him because he was supposedly "busy". She was going to go another day without making any real progress. She could just imagine Nana's belittling sneer, on the day her week elapses and she is kicked out of the mansion.

Speaking of the devil, Nana walked in. She pushed the door to Karla's boudoir wide open, allowing a man pushing a cloth rack on wheels to enter. Karla frowned, apparently confused at the scenario.

    "Good job. You may leave now." Nana waved the man away.

After the man left, Karla's gaze raked through the cloth rack. Impressively beautiful gowns, and no doubt expensive, filled it. One gown in particular caught Karla's eye. It was a sequined ball gown, the color of fire. As fire didn't have one color, the dress's blee varied from red, orange to yellow. It was outstanding.

    "Undress and begin trying on these." Nana ordered. "You're attending a ball tomorrow night."

TEASER: AT THE BERNARDO RESIDENCE