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
Chapter 9: Tough ChoiceEltan Storm"Hey, Eltan, what's up?" asked my eldest sister-in-law, Alena."Hey, Xian. Oh, my God, he has grown up so much!" I gushed over the little baby boy in her lap.Alena shot me a flat look through the laptop screen. "You could at least acknowledge his mother," she muttered."What's to acknowledge about you, Big Sis? You're as pretty as ever, but Xian has grown up," I reasoned, my hands itching to hold my nephew in my arms. But they were now temporarily staying in New York as Elian was expanding our business there."Sure, sure. What do you want? I'm busy.""Busy doing what exactly? It's the weekend."Alena rolled her eyes. "I'm a mother and a wife, Eltan. I'm always busy.""Sure, that's why Big Bro is surfing Netflix for a movie to watch with you guys." I could see the black and red reflection of the Netflix display on the cup Alena was drinking from.I heard Elian laugh and say, "Busted."I watched as Alena threw a cushion at her husband from the couch,
Chapter 10: Unexpected DevelopmentEltan StormI'm sorry, Mom and Dad. I'm letting you guys down again.I couldn't board the jet at the last moment. More like, I didn't.I tried to force myself to go to Arizona tonight, but the continuous flashes of Faith's sad and disappointed looks made me order my driver to take a U-turn from the airport.After that, I went home and grabbed my birthday present for Faith. And here I was right now, at the Berserkers' casino bar counter, trying to get Faith's attention as she busily served drinks to the customers."Hey, Faith," I called out, but she didn't pay me any heed and flashed a smile at the customer to whom she served a drink. "Hey?" I tried again, but she rushed to make another drink for a new customer.I was starting to get annoyed—annoyed at the fact that she was paying someone else more attention than me.I stood up from the stool and went to stand right in front of her."One Faith's special," I ordered."Just a minute—""Faith, who am I?"
Chapter 11: Fever PanicEltan StormIt had been a week since Faith's birthday, and things between us were better than ever. It truly felt like she has given me a place in her life, and I never wanted to lose that.However, the fact that I let my parents' murderers get away kept nagging me. The men I sent to Arizona instead of me couldn't get them. If it was me, I could have caught them and finally brought peace to my parents. The guilt of that ate away at me. I didn't know what I was doing. Getting revenge had been my purpose for the last two years.But now... I was totally off-tracked.Faith was consuming my every thought. It wasn't good for me. A part of me wanted to stay away from her, but a bigger part of me wanted to stay close to her. That's why once again, without fail, I was present at Berserkers at night to meet Faith.I was sitting at the bar counter waiting for Faith, but she was nowhere in sight. When I ran out of patience after ten minutes, I texted her, asking where she
Chapter 12: Morning With HerEltan StormI was sleeping on the couch when I felt something warm cover me. Being a light sleeper, I jolted up, ready to reach for my gun under the coffee table and shoot whoever was near me."Oh, sorry to wake you up," a familiar apologetic voice stopped me.I looked at the red-haired woman standing next to me and blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't dreaming. She looked like a goddess with her bed hair and rumpled bartender uniform. It sure made some fantasies arise in my mind—like how much better she would look with a few red hues on her collarbone and neck.This was too good to be true. But she was still here even after rubbing my eyes.Why is my dream girl the first thing I'm actually seeing in the morning— oh, that's right. I brought her home last night.I sat upright and ran a hand through my face to get rid of the dirty thoughts in my head. "No, no, it's fine. It's not your fault. Even the littlest sounds can wake me up."Faith hummed half-he
Chapter 13: DangerousEltan StormIt had been two days since I dropped Faith at her place after she spent the entire day with me at my place. We regularly texted each other, and she told me that she was fine, but I still yearned to see her. I couldn't sleep at night because I kept thinking and worrying about her.Was she eating well? She didn't faint again, did she? What was she doing with her time now that she had a whole week off? Was she missing me like I was?Finally, having enough of my thoughts driving me nuts, I grabbed my car keys and decided to drive to Faith's home. I debated on texting her or not, finally deciding on surprising her.On the way, I got confused over get-well-soon flowers or chocolate. So I decided to get both of them. After all, she deserved the world at her feet. Compared to that, these were just small things.Stopping in front of her apartment building, I got out of the car and grabbed the small bouquet of flowers and chocolate. I was smiling ear to ear whe
Chapter 14: A New LeadEltan Storm"I feel so bad, Faith. I kind of feel like it's my fault. Especially since it happened the day after I turned him down. Maybe I was too harsh on him?""No, Candy. It wasn't your fault. It was just an accident, not a suicide."I listened to the conversation between Candy and Faith while leisurely sipping my drink at the bar counter. Today was Faith's first day back at work after her week off, and Candy was expressing her sorrows to Faith."I think someone may have cursed him," Faith added, giving me a narrowed look.I simply continued enjoying my drink, not a shred of guilt tugging at my heart.Candy nodded and said, "I should go now. Or else, Boss might think I am slacking off.""It's alright. You're allowed to mourn as much as you want, but just don't hog Faith when I'm here, okay?" My expression was normal, but my tone was only an edge below threatening.Both Faith and Candy seemed like a shiver ran down their spines. Faith too because she now knew