Chapter 55

Jael stood off to the side and watched his boss increasingly become agitated the longer his meeting went on, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he blew his top off. It was a good thing he was doing this because he had sworn his life and loyalty to Asher because no amount of salary was worth having to deal with a 6 ft Mafia King who listened to no one.

There were unexpected delays with the deal they were supposed to close which would keep them later than 6 PM, Asher clearly wasn’t having it and Jael knew exactly why. It was strange for a Mafia King to be done with work when the sun was setting but Asher always did what he wanted.

He had quickly learned when his boss told him to reschedule all his appointments past 6 PM and make them fit somehow into 10 hr work week. That hadn’t been easy to do but they had somehow managed it for a week, honestly, Jael was surprised it had taken just a week for things to blow up.

He knew that his Alpha was doing this for his mate because Miss Celine had uncharacteristically stopped dropping in to visit Asher while he worked ever since they came back from their business trip. Asher had also made arrangements for this ridiculous work week so it all added up.

But now, they were at an impasse, the deal couldn’t be closed sooner and it was important enough that Asher had to be there. It only meant one thing if his boss’ dark scowl was anything to go by, someone was going to get shot.

Jael would rather avoid that, and he knew that unless he had solutions to the problem at hand, he wouldn’t be of any use, so he started for the door. *He needed to make a call.* When he had thought that he would need Miss Celine’s help to handle the boss, he hadn’t thought he would be asking for her help so soon.

This could all very well backfire in his face but it couldn’t be as bad as trying to explain to their partners why their messenger returned in a casket, so he pulled out his phone when he got to somewhere secluded.

-+-

Celine picked her phone without checking caller ID because only one person ever called her, “Asher-”

“Sorry to disappoint you, Miss Celine.” Jael’s familiar voice interrupted her excitement.

Celine merely brushed his apology aside, quickly moving on. “Is something wrong? Is Asher alright?”

“He’s perfectly fine, I apologize for calling without warning-”

It was only after Jael’s reassurance that Celine calmed down, finally able to pay attention. “No, no, it’s fine, did you need something?” She asked absently, stepping out of the kitchen to listen better.

She had taken to joining the maids to cook for Asher, it kept her busy and the maids were happy to have her, it was a win all around.

“Well, yes,” Jael admitted after a brief hesitation.

Celine paused at the doorway, racking her brain to figure out what Jael could possibly need her for. She got along pretty well with the Beta but there was nothing else between them other than polite civility, so it was difficult to think about what she could do for him. “And what is that?” She asked patiently.

“The boss is supposed to be back in a few hours but there’s been a delay and he’s not pleased to say the least.”

It wasn’t difficult for Celine to figure out what was going on after that short explanation, “He’s about to take out his gun?” She asked, adjusting well to her new life.

“Yes, and I’d rather avoid that,” Jael went right on.

Celine didn’t mind this, she appreciated that Jael thought she could be helpful enough that he went through the trouble to call her, and she would also get to see Asher sooner, there were no cons to the situation. “Sure, I’ll be on my way soon.” She informed him, hanging up.

She directed the maids to finish up without her, letting them know that she and Asher would be late for dinner. She was already dressed so she just started for the car that she knew Jael already had prepared for her. She wore low-slung blue jeans and a white bikini band top, comfortable shoes on her feet.

It was already late in the afternoon, the encroaching sunset tinting the sky a warm orange. Her destination was one of Asher’s clubs that she hadn’t been in before, it wasn’t night yet but there were already a few patrons on the premises. The men that brought her there were quick to open the door for her, Jael waiting right outside for her.

“Are my services still required?” She asked humorously, ignoring the stares she got.

Jael winced, “Yeah. Right now.”

That was enough to get her moving, Jael leading the way to the staff only area of the club where Asher’s office was located. He opened the door for her and she walked into a deathly silent room, the familiar sound of a gun clicking sounding loud in the room.

The moment she stepped in, Asher looked up, the anger previously flashing in his eyes dimming as he saw her, his grip on the gun he had shoved in some Beta’s mouth easing up.

“Celine?”

“Surprise,” She beamed, walking over to him.

He left the gun in the man’s mouth to pull her down on him for a kiss and without asking any further questions he had another gun pointed at Jael. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He coldly asked.

Jael was already braced to jump out of the way in case his boss’ gun went off, maybe he should take to wearing a bulletproof vest daily. “Damage control,” He quickly supplied.

“I wanted to come,” Celine also added, sinking with a sigh into Asher’s hold. Honestly, she didn’t like the deal that she couldn’t pay him a visit at work but she had accepted it because she knew how serious he had to be if he was willing to cut that much out of his workday for her sake.