Billionaire Mafia's Manny
Chapter 155 - 154

Chapter 155: Chapter 154

Zeno held Ken’s hand as he walked behind Sebastian and Gerald.

He really had no business here, he was just here to speak to Gerald on behalf of the Leroy family, but from the way he saw it, it seemed like he was going to be involved in this renovation until the end; Gerald didn’t look like he was ready to speak to Cassian at all, and he was starting to believe that it wasn’t really about the accent, maybe it some sort of past business rivalry or something.

He’d still find out later.

"That stairs looks weak," Ken tugged Zeno’s hand, causing him to pause.

Zeno looked at the stairs Sebastian and Gerald were climbing, old and creaky, but it looked like they could still hold a little weight.

Zeno faced Ken, "It does look weak, but see? Two huge adults walked on it, it could hold your weight just fine if you don’t stump on it," He tried to convince Ken.

Ken looked, and when he saw that his father was out of sight, he smiled at Zeno, "I know they can hold my weight; I just didn’t want us to follow them," he shrugged.

Zeno widened his eyes, glancing at Cassian beside him before he returned his shocked gaze to Ken, "Ken," He called quietly.

He never Ken was this mischievous, he didn’t know whether to chastise him or to laugh.

"Ken, you know we’re working, right?" Zeno asked, stepping little smile playing on his lips.

Ken nodded, "But I don’t want to go up there; the place is so old and is allergic to dust," Ken faked a sneeze, looking up at Zeno and Cassian.

Zeno couldn’t hold his little laugh, "Mastering the art of deception, huh?" Zeno started to lead Ken away from the stairs.

Ken shrugged, placing his finger on his lips and glancing at Cassian to check if he heard what Zeno had said.

"Oh, Kenneth, you’re something," Zeno chuckled.

"You can’t the blame boy; business can be quite boring, am I right, Mr. Kenneth?" Cassian walked with them, standing beside Ken.

"Most definitely, I’d rather be a world champion boxer," Ken replied.

"You can be whatever you want to be," Zeno patted his head.

He controlled how he interacted with Ken in front of Cassian so that Cassian wouldn’t find out about their history.

"The boy really takes you as a role model, takes such a strong bond to achieve that," Cassian pointed out.

Zeno hummed, "Yeah, it does," He smiled.

Ken never let go of Zeno’s hand, the boy was scared of letting go and never seeing Zeno for another year, or worse, forever.

"Can I ask you something?" Ken looked at Zeno with all seriousness.

’Damn it, how am I supposed to say no? I don’t want him asking implicating questions in front of Cassian,’ Zeno debated wanting him.

He always had in mind d that this moment would come. Ken was inquisitive, and he would have wanted to know why he left, but he couldn’t answer his questions in front of Cassian; even alone, he still wouldn’t be able to answer his questions; Ken was too small to understand.

"What do you want to ask, Ken?" Zeno asked.

Ken was about to speak when a voice called him, "Ken, I’ve been looking everywhere for you, What the eff?" Andre halted abruptly as he stared at Zeno.

Zeno couldn’t react; he was starting to sense that something was up; why was Andre here, too?

"Zeno! Ken, you found Zeno?" Andre questioned and hurried over to hug Zeno, who only patted his back because he believed that all the bodyguards had supported Ida in blackmailing him, after all, no one stopped Ida when he came to fight him or when he labeled him a traitor.

"Hello, Mr. Cassian," Andre greeted Cassian.

"You know me?" Cassian asked.

"Of course, my boss is working with you, I have to know you," Andre replied.

"That makes sense," Cassin smiled.

"Damn, Zeno, it’s been ages, how-"

"Andre?" Sebastian called from the top of the stairs, stopping him from finishing his words.

"Come on, Ken, it’s time to go," He held Ken but Ken wouldn’t move.

Ken looked at Zeno for help, "Zeno, will I see you again?" He asked.

Zeno smiled at him, "Sure, we’re working together after all; you can always come with your father; how about that?" He replied.

"He wouldn’t let me," Ken glanced at Sebastian.

Zeno sighed, lowering himself to Ken’s height, "Then just Andre to bring you to me whenever you want, deal?" He hoped Ken would accept the offer, he didn’t want it to get to the extent where he’d be asked to directly ask Sebastian to let Ken come see him when he wanted.

He didn’t want Sebastian to find out about his home, club, or gym. The further away he was, the better it was for both of them.

"Okay, promise?" Ken narrowed his eyes at Zeno.

Zeno nodded, "Promise," He replied.

Ken removed his hand from Andre and hugged Zeno again, "I love you," He whispered to Zeno.

If Zeno was butter, he would have melted away from the warmth he felt from Ken’s words.

"Damn it, Ken, don’t be like this, I’ll see you around, buddy," He patted the boy’s back.

Ken smiled brightly, "Bye," He waved to Zeno before ignoring Andre and walking out of the hall.

"See you," Andre nodded at Zeno before following Ken behind.

"Mr. Cassian, please get your representative to come and explain a few things to Gerald," Sebastian said and walked away.

Zeno scoffed quietly, ’Arrogant bastard,’ he cursed Sebastian in his head.

Cassian nodded, "I apologize once again for the inconvenience, Zeno," He said to Zeno.

Zeno shook his head, "You know, it’s not really an inconvenience, you know me, I would have been in my gym boxing someone down, so it’s not as if you’re depriving me of my precious sleep; I rarely home, plus, I love diversity. Who knows, I might really want to join your line of business. Let’s go," he smirked and walked up the stairs.

He wasn’t really bothered; he just took this as one of his adventures in Paris; if he could just overlook Sebastian, then he would find that this was an exciting job. Seeing Ken again had also somehow managed to lift some kind of weight off of him.

"Careful with the stairs," Cassian called from behind.

Zeno only nodded and kept climbing. He reached the top and looked around to search for where Sebastian and Geral had entered.

"It’s right there," Cassian held Zeno’s hand and led him toward a long passage.

They entered the first door that was left open. Zeno found Sebastian standing beside a broken window, looking out of it with his back to them.

"Zeno, just a little question, does Mr. Leroy intend on purchasing all his renovating materials from us? There are quite a few rooms on this floor that weren’t included in the lists he forwarded to me and I’m afraid the funds he’d sent won’t be enough to cover them," Geral said to Zeno.

Zeno glanced around the room, noticing the broken shards of mirrors on the floor, he wondered what this room was used for in the past.

"It must have been a minor miscalculation on our path. It’ll be rectified before the end of the day, and the rest of the funds will be sent to you, right, Cassian?" He turned to look at Cassisn.

"Yes, Mr. Gerald, it will be taken care of, you don’t have to worry about it," Cassian promises.

Gerald didn’t look convinced, "That’s what I was told last time, Cassian," He replied.

Cassian glanced at Zeno before smiling at Gerald, "This time is different, I promise,"

"How about this? Give Mr. Leroy a call and tell him the situation; it will make everything easier. Everyone is cooperating," Zeno suggested to Cassian.

"Great idea, give a second, Gentlemen," Cassian smirked at Gerald again before leaving the room.

"Excuse me," Gerald said and followed Cassian out of the room but it didn’t seem as if he wanted to eavesdrop on Cassian’s call.

Zeno was left alone in the room with Sebastian, who was still staring out of the window. He quietly walked over to the other side of the room and looked out of the other windows.

His phone suddenly rang and he immediately answered it when he saw Nicholas’ name, "Hi," He didn’t want Sebastian to know who he was speaking to.

He had a lot of things to tell Nicholas, but he couldn’t say them here; he listened to Nicholas quietly and gently dismissed him, "I understand; I’ll be back in less than an hour, I promise," He said, and ended the call.

"Cassian, huh?" Sebastian’s voice spoke behind Zeno, startling him.

Zeno frowned and quickly turned to face Sebastian; he was surprised to find him behind him; when did he get here, why was he here, and why was he even speaking to him?

He forced his eyes to look away from Sebastian as he subtly shifted away from him, cursing his heart racing; he fixed his hands in his pocket, not trusting them to be steady as he faced Sebastian.

He didn’t want Sebastian to think he still had the slightest effect on him.

When he was sure there was enough space between them, he faced Sebastian and asked, "What did you say, Mr. Sebastian?" His voice was steady and professional.

Sebastian’s face was unreadable, he pinned Zeno with his unblinking gaze, shamelessly and openly staring at him, "You’re daring Cassian now?" He asked calmly, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly.

Zeno frowned; he must have misheard or imagined; he stared at Sebastian as if he’d suddenly grown ten heads, "It’ll be great to keep the conversation one hundred percent on the business, Mr. Sebastian; it’s unprofessional to ask such a personal question. Do feel free to ask about anything concerning the project; I’ll be more than willing to provide you with the best answers," He even managed a forced smile after his speech.

Zeno wanted to be anything but professional; he was fuming! How dare he?

What the fuck made Sebastian think he could ask him such a dumb question? He wanted to scream out all the profanities he knew at Sebastian but he just gave Sebastian a polite nod and walked out of the room.

Sebastian balled his fists, his jaws clenched. He never in his life imagined that the person who once sought his attention and love would be colder than ice toward him.

It struck a sensitive nerve inside him, and for some reason, he wanted to break whatever relationship it was between Zeno and Cassian.

He smirked, slowly but surely; he’ll get what he wanted, he didn’t make plans for nothing.