Chapter 5

XANDER’s POV

As soon as I finished all the paperwork, I headed home.

As I neared my mansion - yes, I am rich and live alone – I could already see three cars in my driveway. I’m guessing the three hooligans are already here. The guards know to always let them in. I parked my car and made my way inside.

I heard laughter in the kitchen so I decided to check the hooligans in there. What I saw made me regret my choice in friends. There were no words describe the mess.

There, in the middle of my kitchen was Max and Simone covered from head to toe in flour, eggs, icing and other stuff. I found it hilarious. But then I realized that my kitchen was in the same state as them. It was covered from ceiling to floor. It was as if a bakery threw up in my kitchen.

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?” my voice boomed throughout the kitchen.

They both stood there like a deer caught in headlights.

“Well, uhm, you see…. uhm….” Max began nervously, scratching the back of his neck.

“The thing is…. haha… ha…” Simone laughed nervously while looking everywhere except at me.

“Whoa! When you said you wanted to eat pizza, I didn’t think you meant you’ll make it and a mess.” I heard a voice from behind me.

“Oh, hey, bro. Sup?” he asked casually, as if nothing happened to my poor, poor kitchen. To be honest, this sort of thing was common in our friendship but I mean… I don’t like my house to be a mess.

“Sup? Really? Why on earth would you leave these two morons alone in a room without an adult present?” I asked.

“Hey! Who you calling moron?” “I am an adult.” Simone and Max whined simultaneously, respectively.

“We were deciding on what to get and then Mom called. So, I was gone for literally 30 seconds. I didn’t think they were going to MAKE pizza. I thought they were gonna ORDER it.” Marc explained.

“Yea, well. You two “-I pointed at them, “-get this cleaned.”

“Wendy, could you be a doll and get the maids to clean this up?” Simone said sweetly, making that annoyingly charming face. That’s what he thinks he makes. To me, he looks like a constipated chimpanzee.

“Wendy, no- “I stopped Wendy and turned to Simone “-you two will clean this mess by yourself.” I told them in an authoritative voice and turned to Marc to walk out of the kitchen but then I turned back to the two morons, “I better not find the helpers cleaning this mess of yours.”

They protested, but when I gave them the stink eye, they shut their mouths. I turned back to Marc and we made our way to the living room.

“So, what did Aunt Gloria want?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing. Just some wedding preparations. She’s making calls everywhere. I think she’s more excited than I am,” he said jokingly.

“Yeah. So, how’s Britney?”

“She’s okay. She’s been stressed about the wedding. Oh, right, I was supposed to ask you. Will you be my best-man?”

“I thought it was already decided that I would be the one, considering that the two morons in there are incapable of doing anything right.”

And just as I mentioned those two, we heard something fall and break in the kitchen.

We both stood and made our way to the kitchen. “Those two better not wreck my kitchen or I’m gonna break their bones.” I cursed under my breath.

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Now, let me explain a little bit more about K.A.R.D.

The JOKER brothers are Marco and Maxwell Pimentel- Marc and Max. They are the heirs of the PIMENTEL WEB. It’s mostly about tech stuff. They create web sites and stuff for those new to the business world. But it’s just a front. I’ll explain later.

Marc is 25 and is engaged to Britney Peterson -Simone’s step-sister- and Max is 20 years old and is dating Demi Grande -my sister. Simone and I are still bachelors. Simone is 23 and is not dating because “There is an entire ocean to explore. Why only catch one when you can have a school”. Simply, he’s a player and will continue his player ways until the ‘special one’ comes along. I don’t date, for an entirely different reason. I am BUSY. I run a business and I can’t have any distractions right now.

Anyways, more about Marc and Max’s business life. The PIMENTEL WEB is a family business but they own their own businesses. Marc’s business is a chain of café’s and restaurants around the world, he named his business, CRYSTAL. Max’s business, actually, it’s more of a charity for youth project. It’s like an art gallery/auction thing. He started it three years ago when he was really into art and stuff. Basically, young kids, teens or even adults give him their artwork and he keeps it in his art gallery: M. CRYSTAL and sells it off and gives the money back to the artists. So, you might have noticed that both the brothers named their business as CRYSTAL. Well, that’s a story for another time.

If you’re willing to stick around for that.