Commotion

"You know that you could have gotten involved at any point in time." Zane didn't even try to hide his displeasure at the man in the driver's seat.

"And risk making matters worse than they already were? I thought that would have been something you'd prefer to avoid." With their passenger being gone, Clive turned the car around to head back in the direction they originally came from.

"Besides, I think that you handled the situation plenty well. The woman would certainly be a good fit for you." Zane's eyebrow raised at this comment.

"And what makes you think that I am remotely interested in her in any kind of manner." Clive only offered a ghost of a knowing smile through the rearview mirror.

"I did want to ask you now though, sir. What are our plans moving forward? You mean to let her figure out the next steps herself?"

"I would very much rather you answer my first question before changing the subject. I let you get away with too much as my friend despite the fact that you work for me. I will have to be more careful of this in the future." Though a tease, it still held some weight behind.

"For what you asked me though. I will give her a chance to figure out the next move herself. There are still a few things about the situation that I would like to look into. Now though, I don't intend to do anything for her unless I can get something solid out of it." What Zane planned to say next he knew he'd regret later, but better to get it out of the way earlier on.

"Now that this situation has cleared my schedule for the rest of the afternoon, I want you to take me back home." Clive quietly observed the other for a moment before shifting lanes to head towards the estate.

"Is there anything you would like to stop for and pick up on the way?" Zane already lit up a cigarette in the few seconds between him and the other speaking. He needed something to help him get his stress in check before they got too far.

"I don't think that there is any reason to buy anything. I'm not the one who needs to be considering bringing a peace offering at this point." Bernard could get something if he so desired to. The young mafioso didn't desire to waste money on such things.

"I will just find out what my brother is up to and set him up to intervene should anything happen." Zane took a deep drag of the cigarette before blowing the smoke out. Getting it out of the way today would be better than putting it off into the future. Once done, he would likely be able to go a few more weeks before having to see the other again. Bernard wouldn't be appeased but it would be enough to get Zane off the hook. The father likely felt the same as the eldest son felt about him. The older man just wasn't as willing to verbalize it so openly.

"Very well then. I will also make sure that my services are available should you need them." The young mafioso scoffed at this.

"Right. If they are anything like they were today, I don't find myself feeling very comforted by that."

"If it would make you feel better, I can just keep the car running the entire you're in there. I recently purchased a new CD I have been meaning to listen to. Though, I'm sure I won't get past the third or fourth song before you'd be ready to leave." The CD in question is one that the driver knew Zane's taste for music and his own didn't agree on. Thus, he put off listening to it until he knew there would be enough time to enjoy it on his own.

"You can do that if you want. I believe that if he's not in one of his most obnoxious moods, the conversation might last a little longer than that." Thinking back on what Julius had said, created room for some doubt. If the topic of marriage came up, that would totally change the cards.

"Very well. I will give you fifteen minutes then. If you have not called for me by that time. I will plan on shutting off the car and going about my own business." Zane nodded his head in agreement. Fifteen minutes was a fair amount of time. The young mafioso didn't know if he should hope for it to go longer or shorter than that. Did spending a longer period of time with his father mean having to spend less time with him in the future? One could certainly hope that would be the case.

"If things don't go longer or as planned. We can go out and eat a late lunch and not plan on coming back for the rest of the day." Zane put out the cigarette before pulling another from the carton. Once he finished this box, it would be time for him to refrain from buying any more. Maybe he could find his father's pipe while at the house. That would give him something to use for a while until he got over cigarettes. Not that it would be any less addictive. Just save a few dollars out of his pocket for a while.

"Lunch sounds lovely enough. Is there any place that you have in mind that you'd call me to call in advance?" A wry smile formed on Zane's face.

"You really don't believe that things will go that well for very long, do you? Not even a small vote of confidence from you."

"I might have a little more faith in how the situation would end if not for the fact that I know you too well." The driver confirmed.

"Not only that though. If things do end up going better than expected, I would imagine you'd still like something for lunch. You hardly ever eat at home." only because eating at home was akin to purposely stepping into a trap and not expecting it to go off. Once sitting down and eating took place, it became far harder to sneak off at any given moment.

"Only for the fact that eating there would create a bigger commotion than necessary. Seeing your point, you're free to order the food even if fifteen minutes have passed and I'm not out."

"Very well. I will keep track of the time and order the food when I believe it would be most appropriate."

Since they wouldn't reach the estate for a while longer yet, Zane decided to take a nap. No further need for conversation at the current moment in time. Better use of opportunity would be to sleep in order to help steel his nerves for what was to come.