TWELVE: A SIGNATURE OR A BODY

TWELVE: A SIGNATURE OR A BODY

 “Sir, Damon Russo is here to see you.”
 Xavier took a sip of his whiskey then gently dropped the glass next to the bottle, a frown immediately appearing on his face as he heard the sound of the door opening.
 Damon’s voice could instantly be heard as he exchanged a few words with Xavier’s guards before walking into his office, the room immediately filled with the scent of his sickening cologne.
 “Xavier De Luca,” he sent his hands down his pocket as he stood by his table. His eyes were on Xavier, watching Xavier’s travel lazily across the room before he finally met his gaze. “For a minute I thought you’d refuse to see me.”
 “Why are you here?” Xavier went straight to the point, reaching for his glass to take another sip. This time, simply because he needed the smell of the whiskey to overcome the scent of Damon’s cologne. “Did you miss me or something?”
 “Nice joke,” Damon let out a laughter that didn’t last long. “We both know why I’m there though.”
 He was right. Xavier knew exactly why he had to come all the way to his office.
 “Your infatuation over her isn’t over yet?” Xavier let out a mocking scoff. “Should I consider that to be sad or just pathetic?”
 “Do you still need the deal with the Castenallos?” Damon replied him, ignoring his attempt at getting to him. “Or are you still pretending you’d rather have Juliet just to get under my skin?”
 “I don’t need her,” he clicked his tongue, swallowing the last bits of whiskey left in his saliva. “I must admit though, I was curious about her for a while. But not anymore. She’s useless to me. And clearly, messing with her won’t be any fun.”
 “What do you mean by that?”

Xavier simply raised his brows and pulled open his drawer, unwilling to into details. As much as he’d have loved to slowly describe what her naked body looked like to Damon, a frown on his face was not worth rekindling the effects the mere memory of the previous night had on him.
 “There,” he took out a piece of paper from his drawer and stretched it towards Damon. “I need your blood on that.”
 “What?” Damon collected the paper and quickly read the contents. “Why? You don’t believe I’ll give up the deal with the Castellanos? Do you really need my bloody thumbprint to believe my words?”
 “Sign it or I’ll kill her.”
  “You son of a bitch,” Damon immediately slammed his fists on the table, crumbling the piece of paper beneath him. “Do you think this is a joke?”
 “No, I don’t,” Xavier glanced at the paper Damon was squeezing. “I told you. She’s useless to me. So if you do not sign it, I’m just going to kill her since I’ll have nothing to do with her anymore.”
 Damon’s breathing was heavy, his gazed locked on Xavier who stared at him with bored eyes. Watching Damon visibly tremble with anger, Xavier rose up from his chair and picked up his phone, pressing it against his ear as he made a phone call.
 “Carlos, she’s with you, right?”
 Damon let out a sigh of disbelief, slowly loosening his fists. He wasn’t the most principled man but he wasn’t going to drag Juliet into his mess with Xavier simply because he was interested in her.
 “Fine, you win,” he uncrumpled the paper and laid it on the table, watching Xavier turn to face him. “You can have the deal with the Castellanos. Now let her go.”
 They maintained eye contact as Damon pulled out a knife from his pocket and slit his thumb, the blood trickling down his thumb before he pressed it against the piece of paper.
 “A deal is a deal.”
 “Of course,” Xavier walked up to him and took the paper, opening his drawer to return it inside. “You’re free to do whatever the hell you want to do with her now.”
 “Where is she then?” Damon stopped him before he could leave the room. “Where did you keep her?”
 “Keep her?” Xavier could have laughed. “Where is she? That’s up to you to figure out. Didn’t you read the document before you signed it? She no longer belongs to me and I do not have a reason to kill her anymore. That’s all i’m guaranteeing you. Find her yourself if you want to see her.”
 “What?”
 “For the love of God, Damon,” Xavier grabbed him by the shoulder. “Come to your senses. Seeing you like this is embarrassing. You of all people should know how this game works.”
 He gave his shoulder a squeeze then eventually freed him from his grip, walking out of the office immediately. The second he was at a reasonable distance from the room, returned his phone to his ear to finish his conversation with Carlos.
 “Sir, I didn’t get you. No, she isn’t with me. I dropped her off at your place already and-”
 “You’re outside, right?” he cut him off. “I’m on my way. Drive me home.”
 He got into the car and Carlos immediately began the ride back to the mansion. The silence that took over the car the entire ride was usual but what had to be unusual was the amount of times Xavier clenched and unclenched his fists the entire ride.
 By the time Carlos helped him with the door for him to step out of the car, both his fists were balled in determination. Carlos knew better than to utter a single word to him, the guards he met on the way to the front door and then the living room also understanding what the look on his face meant.
 “Juliet,” he called out her name the second he pushed the front door open. Coincidentally, she was in the living room, immediately springing to her feet the moment she heard his voice. “You’re free.”
 “What?” the words immediately fell out of Juliet’s mouth. She looked around her in search for company or maybe anything to explain what was suddenly going on but found none. “What do you mean fr-”
 “I said you belonged to me, didn’t i?” he took a step closer towards her. “Well, I take that back. Not anymore. You’re now free to go back to your old life. You can leave. You’re no longer indebted to me.”
 “I don’t understand,” she shook her head slowly. “I- what? Free? Does that mean you have-”
 “I’ve paid your debts,” he interrupted her with a hiss. “But now I don’t want anything in return. Not you, not your body.”
 “What?”
 “So get out of my house,” his voice was cold as ice. “And do not come back here.”