The Billionaire's Assassin [COMPLETE]

File 17: The Banquet

Seattle, Washington

2018

“Compliments from The Sun,” the waiter smiled innocently.

Not a second went by before Rex stood up, grabbed the young man’s arm, and pinned him to the table. The entire cafe gasped at the brutality. “Are you The Sun?! Who gave you this?!” Rex demanded, paying no mind to the shocked eyes.

At the same time, Mia opened the envelope with quivering hands, reading the note inside. Only one will do and we’ll be even. Frantically, she stood, knocking her chair to the ground, looking around the cafe. The waiter on the table whimpered in pain.

“Who?!” Rex asked again, practically seething in the man’s ear.

“I--I don’t know! Some woman in all black!”

Looking around, Mia’s eyes caught a woman with that description in a tight-knit cap running out the door. Following her gut, she headed straight after her, the woman picking up her pace once noticing she was being followed. Rex soon followed Mia’s lead, letting go of the waiter with barely an apology.

“She turned the corner!” Mia informed Rex, him catching up.

It’d been a while since Mia ran at such a speed but the thought of losing either of her children fueled her legs to cooperate. She speedily turned the corner to catch the woman trying to blend into a crowd crossing the street. The city was buzzing with life which made it harder for them to follow, avoiding crashing into civilians. From the corner of her eyes, she witnessed Rex racing towards the woman, concealing a knife. Once on the other side, he carefully maneuvered the weapon as he caught her arm roughly. They were now close enough to see she wrapped her face in gauze as Rex placed the knife against her back.

“I suggest you start answering some questions,” Rex threatened, pressing the blade into her backside, the fabric easily slicing open.

She scoffed and without hesitation, allowed the blade to pierce her skin as she crouched down to kick Rex’s legs out from under him. With a loud thud, he crashed to the ground, letting go of the woman. She fled down the street and out of sight within a heartbeat. Mia quickly picked up the knife, tucking it away, and bent down to Rex. “Are you okay?”

Sitting up, Rex rubbed the back of his head with a groan. “Yeah. Did she get away?”

“Yep.”

He ran a hand through his hair in irritation. “Damn it.”

She offered him a hand to help, which he took absentmindedly, gritting his teeth about the woman’s escape. “How’d she know we’d be at the cafe?”

Getting to his feet, he shrugged, brushing the dirt off his suit. “I don’t know. The cafe was a spur of the moment thing. Maybe she followed us.” He sighed, his attention finally wondering to Mia who wiped her skirt of imaginary dirt. “What did the note say?” She cleared her throat, deciding to head back to the cafe. For Rex’s sudden burst of aggression, she might have to pay off the cafe to stay in their good graces and keep their mouths shut. “You looked like you were going to have a panic attack.”

He noticed, she thought. She slipped the paper into his hands and he quickly skimmed over it.

“They only want one? One what?”

Mia began to head back to the cafe, Rex following beside her, squinting at the paper as though it’d reveal a hidden clue. “You’d understand if you came to dinner last week.”

He glared at her which she ignored. “I’m not going to apologize again.” They both stayed silent until they reached the door of the cafe, pausing while Mia slipped out her checkbook and a pen. “What’s that for?”

“To pay for their silence. You didn’t have to twist the kids’ arm like that.”

Rex smirked coldly. “He’ll be fine. Plus, I was on high alert.”

“Well, you’re ‘high alert’ actions are going to cost me a pretty penny.”

“Not like you can’t afford it.”

After paying the manager and waiter at the cafe for the ‘inconvenience’ they’d caused, they only had a cup of coffee to go and headed to the car. Once on the road, heading back to the office in silence, Rex spoke again. “They must be important.”

Realizing his frame of thought, she nodded, leaning against the window. “Yeah. They’re the most important things in my life. And they’re better together than apart.”

“When can I meet whatever--or whoever these two are?” I am risking my entire life and career for them. Then his mind prickled with a thought, nose wincing. They better not be some kind of pets.

A soft chuckle escaped her lips, eyes darting at him. “You missed that opportunity. But I’ll make some arrangements when they see fit.” She looked at him directly as he kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting on the door. “You better show up for the banquet. No ‘maybes.’”

“I’ll be there. I’ll be bringing a date, as well.” Since I have a feeling you’ll be bringing Eli Bridge-face. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Mia’s shoulders jolt at the word date before relaxing, inching her legs towards the door. The mischievous smirk only grew, taking pleasure in watching her squirm within his reach.

“I don’t care,” she lied while she thought, who’s this b***h going to be?

*~*~*~*~*~*

“Oh, these hors d'oeuvres are so cute,” Lydia bubbled, popping one in her mouth. She moaned erotically at the taste, inching closer to his side. Not that he noticed. Rex kept his gaze towards the grand staircase below the entrance, waiting for Mia’s arrival with her date. “And they’re delicious. Try one, Mr. Landon.”

When she gestured for him to try one, he accepted it with a handsome smile. “Thank you, mi Princesa.” She swooned at the pet name, biting her glossed lip seductively. “And call me Thomaz. You are my date tonight.”

Giving him a sultry look, she inched closer to whisper in his ear as she caressed his thigh. “Hopefully, after this banquet, we can do a little bit more than just date, Thomaz.” She flipped her hair behind her shoulder, flaunting her sleeveless off -white dress that exposed just a sliver of her smooth leg to his pleasure. She leaned back in her chair, granting him a little sneak peek with an impish grin. Finally, Rex’s attention had fully been bestowed upon her and not that stupid staircase.

“Good to see you still got the ladies all over you,” a familiar voice mocked.

Lydia leaned back into her seat, adjusting her dress while Rex glared up at Jenna...Hanna, he reminded himself, exasperatingly. “What do you want?” he snapped.

Hanna crossed her arms over the sequin top of her dress, blonde hair messily spirling down her shoulder. She wore more makeup than usual and he noticed a few of the male guests were already eyeing her from behind. In all honesty, if Rex hadn’t met her in his previous life, he would have wholeheartedly offered her a drink and a place at their table. But he wasn’t caught in her spell. Hadn’t been for years.

“I need to speak with you for a moment about a few”--she looked over Lydia who now scrutinized her from head to toe with a scowl--“personal matters.” She gestured to talk over by the bar, away from Lydia’s gossiping ears.

Begrudgingly, Rex stood from his seat, leaning over to whisper in Lydia’s ear. “Behave yourself, little kitty. I’ll be back with some champagne.”

Lydia giggled at the new pet name. “I’ll be waiting.”

Hanna rolled her eyes, trying to retain her previous meal as she turned her back, heading towards the bar. Rex followed with broad steps, towering over her with pride. Most of the room kept their eye on the handsome new CEO and it fueled him with an internal need for attention and affection he hadn’t felt in years. There was something nostalgic about it.

“Did you study the information about Andrew Ivanson and his businesses?” she queried.

“Yes. But the question is: why? For some millionaire business mogul with a company Mia wants to buy and expand?”

Hanna tilted her head to the side. “That’s what businesses like ours do. We build, buy, expand, and sell businesses and he has something that Mia has been eyeing for years. So I need you to be on your best behavior.”

He smacked his lips. “I’ve been on my best behavior since I got here.” He’d been counting the times he’d stopped himself from cracking necks from co-workers who eyed him the wrong way and throwing women on the table to have his way with them. This was a complete one-eighty from the life he lived only weeks ago, infiltrating the mafia in California. And it was making him itch within his insides.

“Stay on it then. Here comes Mia.”

Rex turned towards the stairway. The air in his lungs froze at the sight of her unconsciously. His heart thumped rapidly like a man yearning for oxygen, for salvation, for her. Mia-Amber stepped down the stairs in a beautiful two-piece dress, the top a crimson red with off the shoulder lines of pearls. The bottom a long black satin skirt parted in the middle. When she walked closer, his eyes caught the decorative pearls clipped in the mane of curls she wore like a crown.

Mi Reina, he mused breathlessly. Mi corazón.

Staring at Mia’s radiance, he wondered if he could spare a few broken necks and hearts for her again. Then shook it out his head. He was getting too comfortable. However, he’d come to understand the roles of Mia’s current lifestyle, and it was becoming easier to pinpoint ways of destroying them.

Noticing the man she’d woven her arm through, he frowned callously, nose flaring. It was Eli Bridgemont grinning charmingly at her side in a black tux, golden hair slicked back. Rex turned around at the bar, ordering a quick shot of vodka. The bartender was speedy on the order, Rex tilting it in his mouth within the same minute as burning flames ran down his throat.

“Jealous?” Hanna guessed slyly.

He gave her a rageful stare from the corner of his eyes that had her numb. “I loved Mia so much, I wanted to marry her in high school; first and only time that ever crossed my mind. So yeah, I’m f*****g jealous.”

Hanna couldn’t believe her ears. She remained silent and stunned. Leaving his empty shot, he headed towards the couple who were being greeted by a few other guests, Mia smiling beautifully at their compliments. Just as he’d approached them, they chuckled at something before Mia caught him in her sights.

“Mr. Landon, how nice to see you,” she beamed in an overly chipper voice. She was turning on the charm for everyone and within her eyes, she hinted for him to do the same. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Zen Comfort’s new CEO, Thomaz Landon.”

Rex smiled handsomely at all of them. “It’s a pleasure to be here tonight.” He trembled when he felt an arm lace through his, looking down at Lydia who only grinned innocently. “And this is my date, Lydia…”

“Cooper,” she finished politely. “Lydia Cooper. Nice to meet you all.” Her piercing eyes settled on Mia with envy. “COO, you look gorgeous tonight. And is this the famous boyfriend, Eli Bridgemont?” She could feel Rex grow tense by her side at the name, only expanding her envy of her boss still smiling.

Eli offered a hand to Rex with a polite nod. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. And I’ve heard so much you, Mr. Landon, from my dear Mia here.”

The smirk on his face, eyes obviously wavering to Mia with heated lust, had Rex’s chest in knots. My dear Mia? Rex mentally scoffed. We’ll see who she leaves here with tonight, by any means necessary.