3 - Meet Grandpa Blade

"Jenna, why are you shivering?" Kate was worried. Throughout the drive to her apartment, Jenna has been quiet and visibly shaking. She offered Jenna a glass of water after making her comfortable on a stool beside the Kitchen Island.

Jenna clung tightly to the glass of water. She swallowed tightly, tears streaming down her cheeks,

"I lost everything Kate and I got involved in some mafia shit. I shouldn't have gotten involved. I shouldn't have drunk so much and missed my room." Tears run down her cheeks in remorse. Everything that happened last night kept playing on her mind throughout the drive.

"You shouldn't have done what?" Kate was lost and didn't know how to help her best friend. Jenna drank the water and gave her a rundown of everything. Kate was shocked.

"You did the right thing," she expressed with a rather contrasting excitement. Jenna was wide-eyed. She expected Kate to rebuke her and advise her on what to do.

"From everything you said, you saved his life. Maybe he was a foreigner who fell into trouble. That should explain why his men weren't with him," she shrugged and sat on the next stool beside Jenna.

She was just amazed but Jenna was feeling awful. Kate saw the whole thing as a coincidence.

"Kate, I'm serious," she said helplessly. What if they checked the surveillance cameras later?" She didn't want to get involved in any mafia drama.

But then again, earlier, the man said she would die if she stepped out but later told her to run and not look back. Perhaps it was safe then. Yet, if he was unconscious and in pain, how could he know? Thinking through everything was making her go crazy.

"So I'm I. Maybe I'm just tired from work, okay but from how I see it, you did nothing wrong," Kate reiterated. Seeing Jenna disturbed, she didn't want to continue talking about it and so did Jenna.

"How was your trip?" Jenna asked to take her mind away from everything. At least her headache had reduced and her stomach wasn't too bad. Her question made Kate's eyes lit, a smile adorning her already pretty face. "The best I ever had."

Jenna drew her stool closer to her. "What do you mean?"

"I met a guy, Cathan Blade is his name. We did it in the washroom," she said with a flawless smile.

"Kate…" Jenna found it weird and wanted to ask if she was insane but Kate continued to speak passionately.

"He was so strong, lifting and pinning me on the wall while he possessed me. We came together," she said, running her fingers through her long blonde hair.

Jenna was at a loss for words. Kate has always had a crazy sex life but this was the craziest she ever heard. She barely knew the guy and they did it in the washroom on the plane.

"So where is he?" She curiously asked.

"He went to work. He's a bodyguard, trained to protect his cousin, the heir of the Blade Towers. He's the one I dropped at the hotel when I saw you coming out as if you were scared of putting your feet on the ground," she explained. She got attracted to the guys' honesty. He said to her in confidence that those things were secrets but he didn't know why he told her. It created an instant bond between them because he trusted her with that information.

Hearing the name Blade, Jenna stiffened slightly. Operating her father's company for a while now, she knew about the best and also the most dangerous companies. Her father had deliberately avoided any business with the Blades. 'It's suicidal to be their enemy and good to be their friend but it's even better to avoid them.'

Those were her father's words. "Blade Towers is managed by a ruthless old man. You should have nothing to do with the Blades. They are dangerous," she warned Kate seriously but Kate was already smitten by love at first sight.

"It's too late for that. I'm ready to face danger with him. Even a ride with him through hell will be like heaven," she continued to smile like a teenager in love so Jenna gave up.

"Whatever, I have to start searching for a job or I'll go crazy." She caught Kate's attention and she was serious this time.

"Are you going to leave everything for your stepmother?" She asked but seeing the frown on Jenna's face, she said, "Sorry, Eve."

"No, but I need to start from somewhere. I realized this morning that she froze my accounts. I wonder how she managed to get the board members to support her," she said, tossing her phone to Kate thoughtfully.

"We all have one pussy but I think she has a hundred," Kate went back to her non-serious attitude.

"You aren't making sense."

"And you aren't thinking straight. What brought the fall of Troy? A woman. What brought the death of Sampson, a woman," Kate explained her suspicions to Jenna, who was slowly absorbing the meaning of her words.

"You mean she slept with them?"

"Be my guest."

Jenna frowned with contempt. "Her pussy must really be rotten then."

"How about I ask Cathan to help you get a job with Blade Towers?" Kate got serious and asked, not making her real intentions known.

"With that old man? Never and ain't

you afraid that I'll snatch Cathan from you?" Jenna asked in a Jovial tone, recalling how Peggy didn't want to accommodate her because of her boyfriend. Peggy had always been reserved but now, Jenna realized that she was also pretentious.

"Come on, you are too innocent for him. He likes my kind and Peggy, let's just wait," Kate let out a vengeful smile.

"Thanks but I can't work with the Blades," Jenna refuted. Aside from the fact that the Blades were dangerous, they also had weird working clauses. Jenna didn't have the details but she was certain to not work with them.

"Because of the old man? Don't worry. His grandson will soon be taking over. He is still undergoing training but should take over in two months," Kate revealed. She and Cathan had spoken at length at the airport coffee shop and she was certain but Jenna was unmoved.

"I'll check other places but thanks."

"I'll still talk to him. With your experience and smartness, you'll definitely stand a chance. Besides, no company in the whole of New York including your father's pays better than them," Kate defiantly said. If Jenna was going to fight for her father's company, then she needed strong backing. This was Kate's reason for insisting she worked there.

She would have the protection of the Blades and also the resources. Yet, Jenna was still not considering it. It seemed difficult for her and Kate to agree on anything this morning but talking things with her was a great relief.

"I need to rest," she yawned and stood up from the stool.

"Good, let's go wash up, eat and sleep. You are as tired as I am," Kate smiled.

**********

At the hotel

Footsteps enclosed the dying man on the bed. "He's alive," a deep voice anchored to the twelve men who couldn't help but smile after the man checked the pulse of his best friend. They carried him carefully and respectfully through the hotel's private elevator and into a Lincoln Navigator, driving away. They were dressed in black suits with white shirts and black sunglasses.

The man was taken to the hospital and the doctor frowned after examining him. "Was he attacked or what? He sustained severe injuries. What happened?" He asked worriedly. Having taken over from his father for just a few months now, he didn't know much about the patient on the bed, despite being a Blade family doctor. Perhaps his father might know more than he ever told him.

The bodyguards exchanged glances but no one dared to speak. Seeing that they knew and yet were tight-lipped, the young doctor sighed, "I can't treat him if you don't tell me what happened."

One of the men who seemed to be the leader of the bodyguards and a best friend of the man lying on the bed was displeased with the doctor's last words. "Why don't you ask Grandpa Blade? Caspers' test was to fight with fifty skilled men. It was either they kill him or vice versa," he divulged. The remaining guards stepped away a little, seeming afraid of the secret which was now an open one.

The doctor didn't hide his fright. He had heard rumours about the old man's ruthlessness but thought people were exaggerating but this was both shocking and frightful. "So he killed fifty men? He has also lost so much blood and will need a transfusion. It's good you stopped the bleeding. He wouldn't have made it," he said.

"The bleeding must have stopped by itself. I wasn't around but from what I heard, he was carried to another room after he killed the last person. The old man warned against giving him any first aid," Casper's best friend, Cathan divulged without remorse. He was ready to face Granpa for letting out the information and face punishment but couldn't watch Casper die. They found ways to trick Grandpa through the previous tests but there was no way around the final one. Besides, Grandpa was suspicious and sent him to Italy to deliver a message. He just arrived when he got a call at the airport cafe about Casper's state.

The doctor widened his eyes in horror, surprised at how calm Caspers' bodyguards were. "Does he want to kill him?"

"You are the family doctor now. Your father should have told you that the Blade family never pampers the heir till after the final training." Cathan didn't want to say anymore but the doctor's questions seemed unending.

"What next?" The doctor asked, seeming interested in the life of this mafia family.

"If he lives, then it's time for the PP," Cathan chuckled. The remaining bodyguards lowered their heads so the doctor couldn't see them grinning.

"What's that?" He asked, lost.

"Pleasure and power. You are looking at the next CEO of the Blade Towers. He is also the ruler of the dark mafia, hence, Grandpa's brutal training," he shrugged. He recalled how Casper had been thrilled at the last part. The reward was great but some people died along the way and others gave up, choosing a life outside of the Blade household. Casper was determined, especially when his father chose love over the final training and left. He was deduced to protect his fathers legacy, and stop his Grandpa from name shaming him.

"I still don't think it's worth it," the doctor sternly said but no one spoke anymore while he began treatment for the man on the hospital bed. Suddenly, the guards stiffened, making the two men mute, as an old man walked in, wearing a white suit. He looked fierce, the hairs on his head white, his long beard unshaven but neatly kept.

He wasted no time with formalities and asked straightforwardly. A new set of guards had entered, forcing Caspers guards to wait outside. Cathan bowed his head in greeting but didn't move. He was never supposed to leave Caspers' side ever. He and Caleb but Grandpa found a way to get them away before the suicide test.

"What is his condition?" Grandpa asked. His aura made it impossible for anyone to disobey him.

"Bad but he will be fine," the doctor honestly said. He was seeing Grandpa Blade for the first time and the man gave him a scare. His father had warned him to never offend the old man. His family was a generational medical response to the Blades.

"How long will it take?" The old man's sharp eyes examined his grandson's sick body but there were no traces of emotion in his eyes.

"A month or two," the doctor bowed slightly. The man who was old and yet strong and fierce, it gave him shivers.

"A month is too long. Make sure he's out of here in two weeks," Grandpa gave a final verdict in a deep calm voice. His word was law. The doctor opened his mouth to explain why it wasn't possible, but shut it when Cathan gave him a warning glare.

"But Grandpa," Cathan was about to plead but Grandpa knew exactly what he wanted to say and didn't want to hear it so rather, he asked,

"How was your trip?"

"Fine, Grandpa but," Cathan gave it another try but Grandpa again stopped him indirectly.

"I'll take my leave now. Less I forget, find out what happened to the cameras at the hotel. I couldn't see anything." It was an indirect accusation. Even in Caspers' unconscious form, Grandpa didn't trust him.

"Are you suspecting an injured and vulnerable man?" Cathan had lost it and slightly raised his voice. Grandpa gave the unconscious man on the hospital bed a suspicious glare.

"You have no idea who he is. My grandson is very intelligent," he said in both accusation and appraisal. He had to admit that over the years, he never saw one like Casper. He was the only one who seemed to be just like him but also very different from him. It was a very confusing analysis but not even his secret illegitimate son was as fierce as him therefore, he wanted to wipe out the most capable competitors, to make it easy for him. It was just unfortunate that Casper survived. The old man didn't want him to see the light of the day.

"But…" Cathan wanted to object but Grandpa wouldn't give him a chance.

"Get to it and watch him. Where is Caleb?" He asked on his way out. Caleb was the one who called Cathan to get Casper to the hospital. To protect Casper, he was working on getting a hold of everything that happened in the hotel before Grandpa did.

"Getting items in the manor for Casper," Cathan lied. With Grandpa's blank expression, he couldn't tell if he believed him but surprisingly, he didn't ask any more questions. After all, only Cathan and Caleb could enter into Caspers' manor at any time.

"When he wakes up, he has to explain what happened at the hotel or another test awaits him," Grandpa defiantly said, rendering them speechless.