11_ARNOLD

"Why are you doing this?" she asked her brown eyes sparking with restrained anger.

After leaving her bosses office, she had ushered me to the breakroom to talk, more like walked fast ahead of me, while I struggled to keep up with her.

Looking at her now with that fire in her eyes, her lips twisted is displeasure and her arms folded across her chest, I knew I had found my new addiction.

I slowly sat down on an empty seat, leaving her standing staring down at me. I couldn't piece together why she was angry. If there is anyone that should be angry, it should be him, because she was driving him to a point of insanity.

He smiled slowly as he watched her anger give way to confusion and then acceptance as she took the seat next to him.

"You know, I have been thinking about you since that night you saved my life"

Silence

"I had to find you. I mean, my life is still in danger and you..."

"You already have a lot of security guards" she interrupted looking me dead in the eye then averting her gaze almost immediately.

"But none of them can take on three guys at once without a scratch on their body. That leaves me to wonder, who exactly is Jada Smith?" he smiled at her as he noticed her anger returning.

"What do you want from me?"

He stared at her as if she had two heads, because he was sure he already made it clear.

"I want you to find out who is doing this and protect me while you are at it"

She let out a sigh.

"Fine. Seeing as I don't have a say in the matter, let's set up a meeting tomorrow. We have a lot to talk about" she said standing up, he remained sitting.

"You have very beautiful eyes, Jada" he said slowly as he stared at her face. She blushed slightly and something tugged at his heart.

She cleared her throat "flattery won't get you anywhere" she said as she headed for the door.

"I wasn't trying to flatter you; I was just stating facts. You are very beautiful" He stood up and walked towards her, she made no attempts to move.

He ran a hand down her cheek in a light caress and watched as she took in a breath and stepped back as if he burned her. He stuffed his hands into his pocket to avoid reaching out to her again. His gaze travelled from her eyes which were wide with shock to her lips and he instantly had the urge to taste them. It didn't help his case when her tongue darted out and licked them. He had to look away.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Jada" he said and walked out without a backward glance, because he knew if he looked at her again, nothing would stop him from pulling her into his arms.

He stared out of his Lamborghini at the mansion before him. It had been so long since this place last felt like home. It was out of respect for his father that he was here, his mother's text had meant nothing to him. After he left SPS, he had received a call from Dad pleading with him to show up for the family dinner, that was all it took for him to make up his mind to attend.

A knock on the window jolted him out of his thoughts, he looked up to see his sister staring at the tinted glass. He pushed a button and the window slid down.

She smiled when she saw him.

"I thought you would never come"

"I almost planned on not coming" I muttered as I rolled up the glass and got down of the car.

"You look well" she commented giving me a brief hug.

"And you look well too" I said as I got into step beside her as we walked up the long drive way to the house.

"Don't try to be polite, it's doesn't become you. A simple nod would have sufficed" I rolled my eyes as I muttered under my breath "women".

The door swung open as soon as we got to it, to reveal a short, portly man in a butler uniform.

"Welcome" he muttered with a slight bow as we walked past him.

Before they made the turn leading to the dining room, he could already hear her laughter, that laughter that always sounded like it was forced.

Diane Rossman looked almost the same to him. She still had her dark blond hair flowing in curls down her shoulder, her eyes still held that slight ting of mischief to them. The only thing different about her was the fact that she looked older. It had been about five years since he last laid eyes on her physically.

"Arnie" she smiled widely as she stood up to hug him. I rolled my eyes at the theatrics. The last time he was at this house, she couldn't even bother herself to look him in the eye. He hated it anytime she called him that, but he just smiled and returned her hug, she was after all his mother, even though she never acted like one.

"You look so handsome, I'm sure all the girls would be drooling..."

"Mum" I cut her off, rather more sternly than I intended as I took the seat opposite her.

But trust Diana Rossman, she won't be quiet until she finished what she had to say.

"I was just complementing my son, when did that ever become a crime" she rolled her eyes as she took a sip of her wine.

I groaned inwardly and I heart Harley clear her throat, trust her to remove her self entirely form the conversation.

"Diane, lay off the poor boy, he just got here" Dad said as he made his appearance at the table.

Alfred Rossman, quiet, soft-spoken, and the wisest man he knew. He was lowkey my role model, if only he spent more time at home with his family, he would have somewhat perfect in my eyes. I always wondered how he landed a woman like Diane. I guess in this case, the saying opposite always attract was at a serious play.

We all stood up as soon as he entered the room, out of respect, he was after all still the head of the house.

"Dad, it's so good to see you" I said with more honesty, than I would like to admit.

I gave him a hug.

"It's so good to see you son" He whispered as he held me at arm's length to take a good look at me.

"Dad I'm also here too" Hayley said in a small voice, clearly vying for dad's attention.

Dad gave her a small smile before opening his arms wide for her. Hayley had always been daddy's princess, even as we grew older, that never changed. That's why I was so shocked when he handed the company over to me.

"I always see you around. He is a prodigal son. I have to give him all my attention now, because I don't know when next I would see him if he leaves"

I heard mum sigh audibly as we all took out seats.

Dinner was served shortly and we all dived into it. It was just like old times except this time Mum was giving me all her attention and it was the weirdest feeling ever.

****

The man was restless, he paced the entire length of the room, his hands itching to punch something or maybe kill someone.

The business was not doing so well, not with the police sniffing around and his men getting hunted down like dogs. someone was definitely leaking information to the police

He still had Arnold Rossman, that wealthy bastard to deal with. His money had helped his business, but when he stopped bringing it, the business started suffering. He doesn't know what he signed up for, but in more ways than one, he was already involved.

He ran his hand down his face as exhaustion finally kicked in.

He lit a cigarette and took a slow puff as one of his men walked into the room.

"Boss" he said with a slight nod of his head.

"I need you to find a way to get the police off our back. There must be someone feeding details to them, I need you to find that snitch"

His man nodded slightly and left him to his thoughts.

God save that damned woman if she was the one. He would definitely kill her, that was for sure and he would enjoy every moment of it.