Eltan Storm
A year has gone by since Faith and I moved to New York—a year of us living together. To say it was an understatement; it was bliss.
"Where are you right now?" I asked over the phone. "Weren't you supposed to have dinner with Mrs. Martin?"
"I was having dinner with Anna, but then, duty called, so I rushed over. I have to hang up now. I'm busy."
"Which duty—" Before I could ask, she cut the call.
I let out an annoyed sigh.
It was ten at night. It could be either of the duties since she maintained two jobs—one as the manager of the second branch of Berserkers, and the seco
Chapter 1: The New BossEltan StormIt had been two years—two fucking years since my parents were killed in a bomb blast. Their funeral was something I would never forget; not that I would ever want to. I needed to remember exactly what I felt when I was standing in front of my parents' burned corpses so that the fire of my vengeance never dimmed.I was their youngest child—the most adored and spoiled one. I used to be the goofy troublemaker among my siblings. I had been the only one who didn't go down the family business path. That's why my parents were protective of me and almost never let me out of their sight. Not like they would restrict me a lot. In fact, they would let me get away with stuff that they normally wouldn't allow Elian and Lance. Even when they sent the two of them out of the city, Mom and Dad made sure I was always within their hands' reach, whether it was their impromptu dinner plans or dragging me to their boring business parties.Mom and I were like besties; we
Chapter 2: Press Or Not?Eltan StormFaith's reaction after learning I was the new boss was somewhat hilarious. She froze like an ice sculpture in her spot the moment I didn't decline the claim, thus confirming her belated guess.I got up from my seat slightly and arched an eyebrow. "So you bitch about your new boss right in front of him, and then, you say you don't care at the same time as long as you get your paycheck on time."She bit her lip—utterly embarrassed. "... Sir—Boss... what shall I call you?"I leaned toward her ear and whispered, "Eltan."She took a step backward and shook her head. "No, no. How can I call my boss by his name?"It was amusing to watch her unfiltered reaction, so I continued, "Why? You call Lance by his name.""But Lance is Lance. You are my new boss and," she stopped talking for a while and gasped as something struck her mind. "Oh my God, I just bitched about my new boss to my new boss."I put my hands in my pocket and agreed unrepentantly, "That you un
Chapter 3: Stranger talkEltan Storm"Capo, you can't lock yourself inside your room forever!" Denver hollered from outside my bedroom."Tell me to come out once you have located those bastards," I replied, my eyes fixated on the canvas in front of me.After two whole years, I had taken out my painting kit. I couldn't stop thinking about Faith. I wanted to go see her. But I knew I shouldn't. I needed to stay away from that girl for my own sanity's sake. Because if I saw her beautiful smile with dimples one more time, I would be a whipped man. And I couldn't afford that. I had more important goals.Since I couldn't go meet her, the next best thing was to paint her. My fingers were itching to pick up my brushes for her, but I resisted. However, I finally gave in to the temptation on the third day.Since I remembered every detail of her perfectly, I had been busy stroking colors on the canvas for two days, trying to create a perfect masterpiece of Faith.I smiled to myself in satisfactio
Chapter 4: No Disappointment?Eltan StormThe room was small and the lights dim, with no windows. The walls used to be white, but they had been stained red over time and one had heard more gut-wrenching screams than one could count.In that room, there was only me on a comfortable black leather chair and a familiar face quivering in fear on a steel chair, tied with chains. He was unharmed yet, but the sweat beads rolling down his face clearly indicated that he knew he wouldn't remain unharmed for long. Well, he wasn't wrong.I caressed the sharp knife in my hand as I looked at the in charge of the cargo."I won't ask you why," I uttered coldly."I am sorry, Capo," Meris murmured.I snickered. "Meris, my boy, you should have thought about the consequences of betraying your capo before. Then again, if you had thought about it, you wouldn't be here at the torture cell, now would you?"I got up and walked toward him."Capo, they... they bribed me..." he tried to reason out."Then you shou
Chapter 5: FriendsEltan StormIt was like it was just the two of us at that moment, boring into each other's eyes until Faith broke it by letting out a meek, "Sorry?"I realized that I was far too close for her comfort and backed off. I sat back on the bar stool and lied, "I mean, I don't want to disappoint my employees."I noticed a faint stroke of red on her cheeks as she turned her head away and nodded her head.I took a sip of my drink and started, "So as we were discussing, tomorrow can I expect to have you as a partner?"She shook her head and said, "I work from evening till morning."But there was no rule that I couldn't bend as long as it was my territory."Well, then, I'm giving you a paid-off day tomorrow." Her eyes widened for the third time tonight. "So will you come now?"She considered it for a moment before finally nodding her head in agreement. I almost wanted to scream in happiness.Yes, finally, I would get the chance to know her more personally. I couldn't wait for
Chapter 6: Driving Me CrazyEltan Storm"Wow, you're so good at everything. It's hard to believe you're not a regular," I complimented in awe when we were walking toward the bar counter after finishing a few winning rounds of roulette.Faith chuckled. "Believe me, I'm not. It's my first time playing. Maybe it's just beginner's luck.""I sure didn't have such miraculous beginner's luck when I started playing," I replied. "You won a damn lot of money.""Yes. But are you sure you don't want any part of it?" she asked."No, I'm good. I would feel weird since I'm the owner," I lied. That wasn't the reason, but I had a feeling she wouldn't accept the entire money otherwise. "That reminds me. Since you won so much money, why don't you renew your medical insurance with it?""That's a great idea," she said as we sat down at the bar stools. "What do you want to order?""Faith's special?"She laughed. "You can't get that from someone else.""Then, I want you to make it.""For that, we would need
Chapter 7: Sweet Eltan?Eltan Storm"You're a bad boss," said Candy all of a sudden, interrupting me and Faith in the middle of a fun conversation."Excuse me?" I arched an eyebrow."—is what everyone has been saying," Candy completed."Why? Eltan is a really good boss," Faith said instantly, and a smile formed on my lips.Just a few days ago, if someone asked her this, she would have to think twice before answering. But due to my regular presence at the casino for the last few days, her opinion of me had drastically changed, and so had her attitude toward me."Well, you would think that, of course, because the boss favors you. But the rest of the bartenders think that Boss has a crush on you and that's why he doesn't pay attention to any other employees. He just comes here to chat with you." Well, all of that might be right. "By the way, none of these are my words. I lost a bet, so I had to come here and say that." Candy flashed me a tight-lipped smile. "So now please excuse me, Boss
Chapter 8: Invitation To HomeEltan Storm"See you tomorrow then, Faith," Mark said before he stepped out of the car.Faith tried to roll down her window to say bye, but I locked it. Assuming the button was broken, she started waving at him. So I drove off, cutting her off mid-wave.Besides, I pinned Mark's location in my GPS. With the way Faith and he chatted all the way while making me feel like a third wheel, I didn't think I would feel comfortable keeping him alive very long.Once we were out of Mark's lane, Faith turned her gaze at me and earnestly said, "Thank you for dropping Mark off.""It was no problem." As long as I got to see you."Sorry if we made you feel left out.""It's okay. It's not like we three have anything in common to discuss." What was I saying? Where was this understanding side of me coming from? Didn't I throw this side of me under the rug when I took over the gang?She smiled. "That's very understanding of you. Thank you.""You know, you have to stop thankin