"We saw each other yesterday… my name is Ira—"
Lucius raised his hand, cutting the young man off immediately.
His face was calm, but there was no mistaking the annoyance in his eyes.
He leaned back in his chair, one hand still resting on the table beside his empty plate of chicken.
"Let me rephrase that," Lucius said flatly. "I don't know you. So how do we have business?"
The words hit harder than Irael expected.
He froze for a moment, his prepared introduction falling apart.
He had expected to control the conversation, maybe even intimidate Lucius, but now the ground already felt wobbly a bit, but still all this he could handle.
He forced himself to breathe, forcing his anger back down.
"I noticed you've been hanging around with her," Irael said finally, his voice low and serious.
His eyes moved to Esmeralda, who was still eating as if he didn't exist. He didn't know why but he was really annoyed by it.
