RD 3 Ch 9

Chapter 9

After getting dressed in a flurry and having Simone adjust my suit and tie, I was ready in a three piece suit that fit me surprisingly well. 

Simone brushed off my shoulders. "You look delicious," she hummed in my ear. 

"You are a goddess," I replied, bringing the top of her head to my lips and kissing her while trying to instill just how much I meant my words. "Thank you for the suit." 

Simone gave me a saccharine sweet smile. "Of course, you're worth it, and so is Gloria. Now, don't stay out too late," she said, smacking my ass as she passed me by.

Before I could grab her, she giggled and danced out of my reach, leading me out of the room. 

Gloria was waiting at the kitchen table, sipping what I assumed was an espresso from a tiny cup. She put it down with an empty clink, standing up straight to regard me fully.

I was doing the exact same, noticing her pair of pumps that matched her lavender hair. My eyes trailed up her legs before they disappeared into the bronze sequined dress that cupped her figure immaculately, exposing her pale cleavage and bare shoulders. My eyes were drawn to the diamond-studded choker and the teardrop crystal earrings she was wearing. They had a hint of color to them, and I knew without looking more closely, they would likely match her pumps and her hair. The most important of all was the satisfied smile that crept onto her face as her eyes drank me in before meeting my own with a hunger and carnal desire as she bit her lip. She might be grumpy with me, but that didn't change the fact that she wanted me.

"You cleaned up nicely," she said, throwing a jacket over her shoulders. "I made the reservations," she added, holding out an arm. I wasn't stupid enough to miss my cue.

I stepped up and hooked my arm in hers, though I didn't let her lead the way. Instead, I pulled her along with a few strides. She wasn’t going to be in charge tonight. "Jenny or Amanda?" I asked. 

"Jenny, of course," Gloria said. "She drives my car."

I chuckled and walked with her out the door. 

***

"You can let us out here. I think it would be nice to walk the rest of the way," I said to Jenny. 

"Of course, Lord Bran," the driver pulled over immediately and stopped the car. Gloria gave me a smoldering look before she uncrossed her long shapely legs as Jenny hopped out to let her out first. 

"You know, Bran," Gloria said, as I got out on the other side. "I think a walk does sound lovely." 

"What is a date without a good walk?" I said, holding out my arm and making her come around the car to me.

The sequins of her dress swished as her long legs took graceful strides over to me.

"Walks are the best part of a date," I said. "You can enjoy a meal, a movie, whatever. But it's the walks before and afterwards that really make it special." 

"Then why the meal? Or the activity?" she asked. 

"Because you really need to have an excuse to go on a walk nowadays," I gave her my best smirk.

We began walking along the sidewalk, her heels clicking, and her dress swishing as the only noise accompanying us for the moment. She took my arm, gently leaning on it, far more like a delicate princess than a mobster.

There was a moment of sheer contentment between the two of us on the warm spring evening. We fell into sync as we moved.

“So. Circe.” Gloria broke the silence, though there was no edge to her voice.

“She’s been quiet.” I said, having not heard much from her since she arrived.

“Last I heard, she was flying about America. Though my people reported she was back today. One of them saw her stats.” Gloria’s lidded look told me how much that information concerned her.

“She’s an ally. Her connections, of which I’m sure she was reestablishing, will help us find instances. I want to offer her the Mul Branova to clear out the instances. We’ll have to pay a heavy tax back to the Heros Clan, but getting them levels and experience is worth it.” I glanced at her. “But I want to turn that brilliant work brain of yours off tonight. Tell me a story from your childhood. Ever get yourself in trouble with Carmen?”

Gloria snorted. “I was a perfect little princess.”

“So, spoiled rotten. Got it.” I nodded along.

She rolled her beautiful eyes. “No. I was actually very mild mannered, did well in the private tutoring and was rewarded generously by my father for my abilities.”

“Did he buy you a pony?” I teased, only for her face to go stiff. “Wait, he actually bought you a pony?”

“Yes.” Gloria sighed. “I learned to ride when I was eight after he got me the pony. Carmen was gentler when my mother was alive. She got to be the big bad don, and while Carmen wasn’t exactly a teddy bear, he was eager to please the three of us.”

“You don’t talk about your birth mother often.” I commented, hoping for more. Even in my past life, Carmen didn’t talk much of her and their three children together all met terrible fates.

“Carmen would say that I take after her.” Gloria told me quickly. “In the pictures I can clearly see it. What I remember is a little scattered. She was a force to be reckoned with though, that I remember. As a little girl I saw the biggest meanest men you could imagine get down on their knees in front of her and literally kiss the ring.”

There was a sparkle of admiration in her eyes.

“So, she was a badass.” I tried to imagine an older Gloria sitting on a pseudo-throne and making mobsters kiss her ring.

Gloria hummed in agreement. “She was. My mother absolutely ruled the Family, and our family. Imagine as a kid watching someone bleeding, clutching a gunshot wound and she made him kiss the ring before she’d acknowledge them. You did what she fucking said.” Gloria laughed despite the rather gruesome example.

I shook my head. “Here I thought I had it rough.”

“I was not rough with us at all. She just didn’t hide the business from us kids. From the get go she wanted us going forward with eyes wide open. I thought she was invincible… until she died.” Gloria’s mood soured slightly and her arm on mine loosened.

At that moment, I realized she had some abandonment issues. Odd to call it that since it wasn’t like her mother went willingly.

I quickly reacted, not letting her pull away as she opened up to me.

I snatched up her arm and placed it back around mine even tighter, squeezing her to me. “Enough of that. Tell me a good memory about her.”

Gloria tapped at her full lips. 

"My mother wasn't exactly... well, she wasn't the touchy-feely type," Gloria began. "But I do recall a time not long before her death. I would have been about ten and I made this really terrible cake," she explained. She paused before continuing.

"Wait, let me back up. My mother was big on tradition, especially on Sundays. On Sundays, there was always a family dinner. Everyone had to be there, or she would have someone go out, find them, and drag them to the table. And it wasn't just the immediate family, it was the top end of the mafia and their families as well. About 20 people," Gloria said, waffling her hand.

"During one of these dinners, I made this cake. It was one of my less perfect moves. It was lopsided and about as dense as a brick. But, I proudly put it on the Sunday night dinner table, right next to the chef made New York strips. My mother took it and ate the whole thing herself."

"She ate a whole cake?" I asked.

"It's not like a giant cake, Bran. It was like,” She made a shape with her hands. “I don't know, not much bigger than a cupcake," she clarified, erasing the brief mental image I'd had of an older Gloria devouring an entire cake one Sunday night.

"But it was cake. I mean, that wasn't too hard for her," I goaded her on, knowing there was more to it.

"After dinner, she took me aside and told me that when I made a cake next time, I needed to use sugar," Gloria laughed. "That was a terrible disaster of a cake. But she ate it with a smile. Then, afterwards, she also showed me where the family recipes are. She had a homemade cookbook in the kitchen. Not that she really ever cooked, except for the holidays. Though, part of my mind is half-convinced that she just put the finishing touches on after some worker set it up."

Gloria was talking a lot more than she had lately and I wanted to keep it going.

"It's the thought that counts, right?" I asked. Gloria nodded, her eyes on the distant horizon.

"It's the thought that counts. She made sure that I watched her eat that terrible cake with a smile on her face. She was a good mom," Gloria said, leaning against me. "Say what you will about how she handled business. But she was a good mom." 

I smiled and pulled Gloria against my hip, happy to hear a story about her childhood. "I do think this calls into question your perfect little princess childhood, though. If you didn't know to use sugar in cakes, how could you be a princess?" 

Gloria snorted. "I think I used sugar. I honestly don't remember how I made that abomination. I just remember the thing felt like a brick when I gave it to her," Gloria laughed.

I loved the insight into what made Gloria tick, and I loved the smile that she gave me while remembering the memories. Not to mention I was getting to see a very different side of her tonight. That boded well for breaking down her walls.

“It's been forever since I thought of that time," Gloria said. "It's been a lot of competition between me and my brothers for years.”

“And now you've firmly pulled ahead," I pointed out. 

"Orvin's already trying to hoard system gold so that he can catch up once he gets access to a system," Gloria smirked. "Too bad he doesn't know what a secret weapon I have." Gloria winked at me.

“Oh I have a few tricks up my sleeve if he even touches your shadow. I want you, Simone and Nyx to be peerless.” I rubbed my chin.

“Peerless. I like the sound of that.” A rough voice broke our moment.

The restaurant wasn’t that much further, but it seemed we were going to have to make a small stop before we reached it.

I glanced over my shoulder, a glower firmly on my face. “Careful.” I said to the man.

He was wearing a nice robe in the middle of the night. For a split second, I thought he was homeless, but then the quality of what he was wearing changed my mind. His hair was a black mop of curly hair that fell down around a pair of sunglasses at night and nearly his all of his olive skin.

An inspection prickled at my skin only for me to brush it aside.

“Well, that’s rude.” I snorted, turning around fully to face him now as Soul Gaze gave me an idea of what I was dealing with.

[Matthais Volker

Level: 287

Class: Demonic Swordmaster - SS

Status: Lusts for battle, eager, aroused

Strength: 1580

Agility: 3605

Vitality: 1655

Intelligence: 629

Spirit: 641

…]

He wasn’t a demon. He was just some twisted version of a sword master. His skills were all dark and fire attributed attacks to go with it. Most worrying however, was that he was certainly a sword master in truth.

Hidden among the litany of skills was one that brought me no small amount of concern.

[Sword Force E]

I had achieved that in my past life and far beyond it, but it took hundreds of years and the ability was dangerous. Razor sharp mana would come off his blade with each swing.

“How’d you do that?” He asked, tilting his head, not at all threatened as a sword and scabbard appeared in his hands. “It doesn’t matter. I just got into town and here I found a pair of powerful initiates that I’ve never heard about before. It seems I’ve been out of it too long.”

“I would be careful about drawing that blade.” Gloria stared down her nose at him. “It won’t end well for you.”

Putting a hand on Gloria, I tried and failed to draw her back. The stubborn woman was resisting me.

“But it's been so long since I’ve had a good warm up. Vincent promised me an instance that would entertain me.” The man had a manic shine to his eyes. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve longed to exert myself again?!” He threw the scabbard aside, rushing Gloria with his sword.