Big Brother, Aren't I Always Nice to You?

Zane's work didn't end upon leaving Rose. Next, he still needed to clear one more obstacle. Hopefully, it would be a less complicated one. After a night of little to no sleep, the young mafioso didn't have much more energy for complicated matters.

Dealing with Rose took away most of his energy. A very amusing yet troublesome woman she always turned out to be. Exactly the kind of person his father would be taken in by.

"Thank you all. I really do appreciate all the attention. As you can see though, there is someone I'm already interested in and need to be on my way now." Damn him for not thinking to bring something to better hide his face. His looks got him far more attention than he would've liked. Sadly, the women who trailed after him weren't even the type who would be dissuaded to find out he was mafia.

"Clive. I am finished with what I need to do. Can you come by and pick me up? I already shared the address with you." The young mafioso managed to get outside of the crowd and move over to the less crowded sidewalk.

"Certainly. Based on your location, it will take me a few minutes to get there. You might want to find someplace to wait inside until I get there." Zane already considered doing this but opted not to. Going in somewhere would likely make things worse with all the people around him. Even though he would kill to get a coffee to recharge himself. He didn't want to get boxed in by any more people.

"I will wait for you outside. I'm sure it won't take you too long to get here that it will be a problem." He ended the call once Clive confirmed he was on the way.

At least it didn't feel too hot outside. The young mafioso could at least enjoy some fresh air while waiting. He could worry about making the calls he promised after Clive picked him up. Being in outside territory, one could never be too careful.

"Now, this is an interesting situation. Who would have thought I would run into you here after you ditched me last night." Zane's head jerked up from his phone at the sound of the voice. His brother waved from across the street.

"Julian! What are you doing here? I thought that you had other things to do today." The younger sibling grinned at his brother.

"I did. In this area in fact. Imagine my surprise at seeing you just when I'm getting ready to head back. What are you doing here?" Julian crossed the street to come over to his brother's side.

"I needed to take care of some work here as well. Clive is on his way to pick me up. Do you need a ride as well?"

"You know that I won't say no if the option is open. It would be far easier than waiting for my own ride to come and pick me up."

"Excellent answer! There is a favor I need to ask you for anyways."

"My immediate is a maybe. I might change my mind though if you invest in picking us up some lunch."

"Do I look like a free meal ticket to you?" Zane raised an eyebrow.

"Not exactly. If you do remember though, I did pay for all our drinks the last time we went out. Not to mention what I did for you last night and all the various other things. Plus big brother, aren't I always nice to you?" Julian threw an arm around the other pulling him closer for a side hug. The young mafioso contemplated the matter for a moment before relenting.

"Fine. You'll be the only one eating though. I already just finished eating lunch a few minutes."

"Does that mean your dining partner was the rather beautiful woman I spotted you with a moment ago? She seems like quite a catch for someone like you." Julian ribbed his older sibling causing him to scowl.

"Dining partner yes. Not any kind of catch though. I'm not looking to have anything serious with her."

"Ooh. Then she must be the one you were telling me about last night. The girl you're trying to convince to be your fake wife. Does that have something to do with the favor you need from me?"

"it might. If you keep asking me questions here though, I'm going to retract my agreement to pay for your food. Not only that, you can also find your own way back home." Julian let out a deep laugh at his sibling's reaction.

"Oh you know that I just enjoy giving you a hard time. I won't ask any more questions and I will be more than happy to help. I just need to know exactly what you need."

"Good. What I need you to do for me is to find a way to get father to delay our family meal."

"Oh. You are really serious about going through with this. Why don't you just do it yourself?" Zane shot him an 'are you joking?' look.

"You of all people should know why I can't be the person to go about doing. You know the number of family events I've avoided. My father would never accept it coming from me. You on the other hand are the good son."

"So you want to be able to use that to your benefit? If that's the case, I might need something a little more than lunch from you." Julian let go of his brother. Putting his hands in his pockets, he gave the other a sly smile.

"You know how hard father can be. I might get along with him better than you. That doesn't mean it will be any easier for me to delay such a thing than for you. Taking those things into consideration, I think higher compensation will be needed."

"If you can make it happen, we can discuss that after the fact. Until then, I will treat you to lunch. You better really plan on making this happen though. Otherwise, I'm not going to be doing this again for you." Zane's phone pinged at that moment. A sign that Clive like would be there any moment to pick him up.

"Didn't I already say big brother that I'm always nice to you? Don't worry, if it is possible, I will make it happen."

"You better be right on that. Everything I'm trying to put together relies on that going well."

Not exactly a do-or-die situation. If things didn't work out though, Zane's life would certainly end up getting much harder. Something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

Once over this hurdle, the goal of forever avoiding marriage would become more achievable. Bernard just needed to do his part and take the bait.