TWO Side Dish

Martin POV

.

.

"Hah!" I swiped all of the documents on my desk out of fury. The scene of Dakota kissing that surgeon couldn't get out of my head. "No one has ever defied me before, woman!" I roared, lifting the laptop and throwing it out of the wall, creating a loud crash.

"Martin!" Desmond's baritone voice revolted at the entrance, slamming the door of my study room open. "Goodness sake, you've got to calm down!" he roared back upon seeing the mess I made.

"You know d*mn well that was already me, calming down, Desmond. If not for that temptress, I've already put a bullet in that bastard's forehead!" he knew well how I could turn a lovely occasion into a horrible one. Weddings or birthdays, if I was provoked, I could turn them into bloody funerals with just a snap of my fingers.

My blood brother raked the strands of his silky hair as he went back and forth in front of me, murmuring something I couldn't understand. "Questo è un disastro. Perché ho dovuto invitarli al mio matrimonio?" (This is a disaster. Why did I have to invite them to my wedding?) that I heard loud and clear.

"You think this has something to do with your cousin?" I asked, baffled. "Shantel and I are long gone years ago. My relationship with her is now just purely business!" I slammed the desk with my palm, ignoring the little pain I felt.

I already made myself clear, but his looks when he abruptly glanced at me were saying otherwise. "For you, maybe, but for her!"

"Would you stop walking like a b*tch!" I growled, earning me a glare. If I was dangerous and so was Desmond.

"First of all, I sacrificed my honeymoon for you, jerk! I should be with my wife now if she didn't insist on checking on you!" he pointed his index at me, which I just brushed off as I sauntered towards him.

"Tell Señorita Amy Leah, thanks for her concern. And you!" I pointed back. "You can leave. I am not in the mood to listen to you tonight!" if he was another man, he already left, but he was Desmond, my blood brother. No matter how we threw horrified words at each other, we knew from the bottom of our hearts that we just cared for each other.

"You should, Martin!" he uttered calmy and breathed deep. He rummaged through my study room with his eyes and ambled to the wine rack at the corner. I just let him take a whiskey and two champagne glasses.

"What exactly do you mean, Desmond?" I asked as I sat on my swivel chair, leaning slightly on its backrest. My hands were resting on its armchair.

"Shantel is planning to stay here for a while. I think it has something to do with you and your underground business!" he took a deep sigh as he poured my glass and gave it to me.

I just raised my brow at him. Sipping its rim, the aroma of this 20-year-old whiskey calmed my nerves as its bitter-sweet liquid entered my throat. He just observed my reaction like he was waiting for my next words.

"Do you even know what that means?" he asked when he couldn't find any violent emotion on my face. "F*cking sh*t, Martin!" he roared as he turned around.

Of course, I knew what he meant. I just didn't care!

"You think that didn't cross my mind?" I sneered, making him stare at me and ask with his wide eyes. I greedily drank the last liquid and put the glass on the desk. As I stood up, I tapped his shoulder and smirked. "Let me worry about that, Desmond. While you!" I strode to the door and swung it open, signaling him to go back to his wife, who I was sure at the moment was waiting anxiously for him. "You have to go and spend this lovely night with your lovely wife!" I whispered, and he smiled.

He ambled towards me with a stern stare. "You sure you don't need my help here?" he was still adamant to leave.

"I am 100% sure that I don't need your help here and that I don't want to see your presence now!" I grinned, earning me a chuckle.

"You, jackass!" he spat. "But, if things go north, you have to ring me!" he added, and I just nodded as my response. "Gotta go. Can't wait to see my beautiful wife!" he winked as I cringed my nose. Before he could say more words, I had already closed the door.

Shantel staying in New York for a while was no longer a shock to me. The moment I saw her stepping into my room and giving me that surprised kiss, I knew she was up to something. But Dakota kissing that f*cking bastard, leaning her head on his shoulder, and giggling like she was a f*cking teenager again, that didn't go through my head.

I grabbed my phone from the desk and called Luke, my second hand. "Boss!" he immediately answered.

"Tell Melissa to pack her stuff at the office!" I commanded. I heard a gasp on the other line. Melissa had been my loyal assistant for four years now, and she knew my secrets. She was like a big sister to me.

"Any reason, boss. Just in case she would ask!" Luke questioned. I understood what he meant. Just like me, Melissa was also important to him, to all my men.

"Yes! I'm giving her a six months vacation. She can tour the world. Tell her it's all under my expense!" I could hear Luke's sigh of relief, and I could imagine he would probably be smiling at the moment.

"Copy, boss. Melissa deserves it, but who's gonna replace her?"

A smirk was formed on my face, and without any hesitations, I told Luke, "It's gonna be Shantel Zaborowski!"

"What?!"

If Shantel had a hidden agenda aside from trying to rekindle our flame, then I had to keep her close to me. "Call Shantel and tell her to move to my place tomorrow!"

"Boss?!" a voice of disapproval, but Luke had trust in me. "All right, boss. I'm sure this is for the goodness of everyone!"

As I turned off my phone, that bastard's annoying look popped into my mind. He would be another day. My problem with my kitty was my priority and Shantel?! For now, she was just a side dish for my main meal.