Chapter 32: Wife’s taste in men

Around the round table, four people were seated in silence.

On one side, Jace and Ava sat beside each other. In front of them, Sienna and Callahan sat next to each other.

Jace and Sienna exchanged a brief glance and decided that the carpet was the most spectacular view in the room.

Ava examined Callahan as if he was a new specimen introduced in a biology lab, "I thought you wouldn’t make it here today. I was expecting Sienna to show up alone."

"Is it so?" Callahan glanced at Sienna briefly before turning to Ava.

Ava nodded, "The men she dates never make it to this round table because they never last."

Translation: Even if you somehow managed to bewitch my friend, the spell is going to disappear in no time!

"My apologies," Callahan picked up a glass of juice and took a sip, "My wife has a terrible taste in men. I am working on that. As her friends, you won’t face more disappointments in the future."

"Drop the pleasantries, Callahan and get to the point. What’s your relationship with..." Ava trailed off and froze suddenly.

"What... did he say?" She turned to Jace.

"Mr. Hawke said that he has been fixing his wife’s taste in men by being with her."

Callahan raised a glass of juice to Jace, wordlessly thanking him for the translation. Jace raised his wine glass and both the men had quietly made peace.

Ava slumped in her chair as she looked at Callahan and Sienna in disbelief.

The war was over before it even started.

Sienna’s phone buzzed in her bag. When she saw the caller ID, the light in her eyes dimmed.

She excused herself and stepped out of the private room, "Dad..."

"Sis, were you expecting a call from daddy? As of now, he doesn’t want to see your face," Kira sighed, "Since you blocked my number, I borrowed his phone to invite you for the Friday family dinner. Seth would be here as well and I know you are sad after knowing about our engagement but..."

’Beep beep beep’

Nestled in the comfort of her bed, Kira glared at the phone after Sienna hung up on the call.

"You seem displeased. The call didn’t go well?" Seth entered her room and climbed into her bed.

Kira immediately perked up in his arms, "She is upset since she heard the news of our engagement."

"Let her be," Seth pinned her hands above her head as he buried his face in the dip of her breasts.

"Ah... We are at home," Even as she spoke, she had already unzipped his pants, "I was worried you might have feelings for my sister... ahhh!"

The words turned into moans as the man thrust inside her, "Let’s not talk about her," His movements got rigorous as he spoke.

...

"The three of you went to the same school. If I am not wrong, Ava joined the Film Academy and Sienna went to Imperial University. What about you, Mr. Hawke?"

Ava had recovered her senses by now. When she heard Jace’s question, she chimed in, "With his superior grades, everybody was talking about him going to Imperial University. But, I heard he never showed up."

"I went abroad," Callahan said.

At this moment, there were some noises outside. Ava stood up and opened the window of the private room but soon, her face turned solemn, "There are reporters outside and they are crowding around someone..."

"They couldn’t be here for Sienna, right?" Jace stood up as he dialled Sienna’s number, "She is not answering the call."

"The situation back at the airport was dangerous. Let’s go..." Ava’s words trailed off when she turned around and caught a dark expression on Callahan’s face.

But before she could even register it, the man’s back was turned to her as he stormed out of the room.

Jace and Ava exchanged a glance before they followed him.

"Leon, dispatch the private security team. Contact the headquarters of the Media Society..." Callahan’s command came to a halt just as he reached the crowd of reporters.

"It’s not Sienna," Ava hurriedly said when she saw the reporters surrounding a young woman, "She is a rising actress, she must have tipped them off to get them here."

But Callahan’s face turned frostier. Suddenly, there seemed to be an ice wall around the man, as his chilly eyes scanned the perimeter.

"Maybe, she is in the washroom. I’ll check," Ava said.

Except, Sienna wasn’t found anywhere. In a matter of 15 minutes, the entire ambience of the restaurant had shifted. The reporters were gone and the place was sealed by a team of private guards.

"Who dares to cause trouble at my place..." The manager had just entered the security department when the man seated on the chair lifted his face.

The manager paled, "M-Mr. Hawke...’’ He glanced at the security team and the monitors covering the entire room, "Quick! Fetch the CCTV footage quickly..."

Callahan didn’t say a word as he closed his eyes, his forehead propped on his knuckles. But with every passing moment, the air around him felt more suffocating.

Seconds turned into minutes and the room seemed to shrink around them, the air growing heavier with every passing second.

Nobody dared to breathe too loud, afraid of incurring the wrath of the man seated in the center.

"What’s wrong? We already gave you the time when our friend left the private room. Why is it taking you so long to fetch the footage?" Jace questioned.

The manager trembled and responded with a small shake of his head.

"It’s a scheduled maintenance day and we... we are having difficulty retrieving the footage..." The head of the security team announced.

Callahan’s eyes opened and the manager tumbled over to his knees, "M-Mr. Hawke, it’s our negligence. Please, give us a chance..."

Callahan wordlessly pulled out his phone and dialled a number.

"Shut this place down," Callahan’s voice was low but it permeated in everyone’s skin like a chill, causing them to shiver.

The manager’s face blanched as his body trembled involuntarily.

But before they could even recover from their shock, Callahan’s next command followed, "Lock down the Amethyst City."

"This is bad..." Ava whispered.