6. A SIT-DOWN

Lena woke up to the morning sun glistening into her through the window blinds. She quickly shut her eyes at once to deter the sun from reaching them.

She whined and remembered she wasn't in her father's house anymore, she groaned and yanked the blanket Tina gave to her the previous night, off her body.

She let out a soft yawn, looking around the living room to feel someone's presence. Then, she remembered Tina told her she would leave very early. 

She must have slept for too long, she stood up and thought of where to go, her clothes were in the room she shared with Darian, she didn't want to see him that morning but she didn't have a choice.

She huffed an annoying sigh, got off the couch, and walked toward the room, the door was left open, and she figured he wasn't naked again.

She walked into the room but didn't find him, she heaved a sigh of relief and crouched down on the bed, she was still surveying the features of the room when she heard footsteps approaching her, she turned to check who it was and it was the almighty Darian, she closed her eyes in chagrin. She had hoped she would not see him that morning.

"Where did you sleep last night?" His deep baritone voice echoed through the room, loud and scary but Lena didn't jerk in fear.

Staring at everything in the room but him, she shrugged and said. "You told me to sleep in the living room and that was exactly what I did."  

Darian said nothing, he stood straight, gawking at her but she made sure she didn't raise her head to look at him, she knew his eyes would be bloodshot from how raspy his voice sounded, but she cared less.

He picked up the wristwatch from the cabinet and wore it over his wrist, he adjusted his tie and Lena secretly admired her husband. He looked so handsome in the black suit he wore, his shoe shone so brightly and she could bet it was worth thousands of dollars.

She wished she could stand up and help him with the tie —that was the kind of life she fantasized about with her husband. But she couldn't, she sat down there and watched him do his thing till he left the bedroom.

Darian strode to the garage and the driver was already waiting for him, he took the bag from him while he went to meet with the bodyguards.

"No one leaves or enters this house today aside from Tina and me." He said authoritatively.

They nodded their heads in understanding and Darian left them, he went back to join Jay in the car.

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A few hours later, the car arrived at his destination, he clutched his hands together in anxiety, and he raised his head slightly to check if everyone was around. Seeing their cars, he knew they were all waiting for him to show up, he whispered some words to Jay, and they hurried out of the car.

There was a sit-down at Dawson's secret chambers located at Park Avenue, and Darian's presence was highly demanded as the prospective don.

He got into the dark room, and heaved a sigh —he was there again. He could easily make out his seat, and recognized everyone who was seated, even though the room was dark. As he walked towards his seat, Jay followed closely behind.

He sat down and whispered to Jay to lower his gun, he stared at all the faces, and at that moment, a dim light came on.

"Darian is here!" A shrill voice beamed. "Shall we proceed with the meeting?" An elderly man who owned the voice asked them and they agreed without hesitation.

There was decorum in the large room, as everyone awaited what he was about to say.

"Darian! You should be punished for getting married without inviting us." Gaius, the elderly man from before, rebuked him. His bodyguards pointed their guns at Darian but he curbed them with his hands.

"Yes, he should. You don't acknowledge us as family members!" Another one chirped in, and the bright lights came out at that moment. He was a man in his mid-forties, had a well-chiselled face, a body that fit for a model, and one that would make any lady bow to his feet, he had a pretty face and there was only a little difference between him and Darian.

Darian turned to him with a heavy scowl on his face, he said nothing and just gawked at him as he spoke.

"The Dawson family should be respected and anyone who does anything without our consent is not fit to be in our midst." Another man concluded, Darian stared at his uncles and just shook his head lightly, a sly smile playing on his lips.

"I have got a wife, when would I be crowned as the Don of the Dawson Mafia family?" He demanded as he stared into their faces, trying to read their expressions but it was blank as they all seemed to be taken aback by his response to their words.

When no one gave a response to his question, he slammed the table hard and had the wines arranged on it rumbling and almost falling to the ground.

He stood up and stared at them. His finger moved from face to face. "This post rightfully belonged to my father before he died. It's so unfortunate, he wasn't able to mount it before he died..."

"Yes, because he died a coward and left behind an illegitimate child." Judson jibed, mainly to get on Darian's nerves.

"Watch your mouth, Judson," Darian warned, jerking a finger at him.

"And what would you do if I didn't? What?" He stood up and headed towards Darian. "Would that change the fact that your mother was a prostitute who your father slept with in his tipsy state?" Judson glared into Darian's eyes.

"Watch your tongue!" Darian roared and made for Judson, he clutched his cloth to his neck and almost suffocated him but Judson's bodyguards were quick to rescue him from Darian. "Watch how you talk to me, you old fool." He warned him.

Gaius stared at them and smiled, he had always admired Darian, he had a short temper and could easily pull a bullet to anyone's head, he had all it took to be the Don.

"Whatever happened between my parents is none of your fucking business." Darian cussed, his jaw clenching as he glared at Judson.

"We shall meet with your wife, and when we are satisfied with the woman you married, we shall start with the coronation rituals," Gaius announced to them, completely ignoring their banters.

"That was not the plan Gaius!" Darian frowned. "My father couldn't take the throne because he was killed..."

"Your father didn't take the throne because he didn't prove to be a responsible man, and he was a coward while he lived." Gaius corrected Darian.

Darian loathed whenever his father was referred to as a coward, it hurt down to his spine and he just wanted to prove to them that he was largely different from his father.

"That was why we asked you to marry a wife, to have a home and avoid an illegitimate child the second time." His words hurt Darian, but he held down the pain, he couldn't disrespect Gaius. 

"I am not an illegitimate child, I am the real son of my father," Darian argued.

"All thanks to DNA. Your mother was never accepted by the family and you could as well be an illegitimate child." Gaius curtly stated.

Darian exchanged a glare with Gaius and said nothing.

"Now that you have proven that you can be better than your father, we would consider giving the throne to you but that's after we've met your wife and asked her some crucial questions." He told Darian. "Schedule a date to bring her to Dawson's family house, that's where the meeting will be held." He finalized.

Darian bowed to Gaius and took his seat, no matter how rude Gaius was to him. He had to respect him at all costs.

"The Antonioni family brought in some new weapons, and they asked that we come to check. As you all know that we need to restock the Dawson family warehouse, we do not have enough weapons anymore." Joe, who was the secretary and an uncle to Darian informed them, and they all agreed to pay some money into the family account to get the weapons.

"Darian, you are the youngest here, and you should respect your uncles before you mount the throne as the Don," Gaius said to Darian, his brows lashing against one another, and his eyes focused on Darian.

"You should tell Judson to watch his mouth and stop talking about my parents in such a disrespectful manner." Darian intoned.

Gauis cautioned Judson, but that didn't change the fact that they loathed each, and would never agree on terms. Judson wanted the throne as much as Darian did and he would do anything to get rid of Darian.

"That would be all for today. But before we leave. I would like to issue a warning to you all." Gaius lit his tobacco for the first time, gingerly taking a drag. He looked up at them and smiled. "Enemies are lurking around. I got some information that they are on the lookout for the Dawson family. I want you all to tread carefully and watch your backs." He stared at their faces, wiggling his head as he spoke.

"Do you have an idea who's behind this?" Darian asked Gaius. "Any family you know about?"

"I don't know anyone but our men are out, and there are informants everywhere. They broke into the warehouse two days ago and went with some of our weapons. The bodyguards on duty have been held down though and they are still going through interrogation because they easily let them in." Gaius poured the blue wine into the small cup in front of him and sipped it gently, he dropped the cup and looked back at them.

"How come we didn't know about this?" Judson asked him.

"I got the report late and I wanted to thoroughly investigate before talking about it," Gaius answered him.

"They stole from us?" Darian asked with a scoff. "They must be some baby Mafia who don't have enough money to get their weapons. I suspect the guards on duty, they should be dealt with."

"That's what we are doing and I hope they confess. No one steals from the Dawson family unless you are ready to die. We worked hard for everything we have today!" Gaius took a drag and sent the smoke to the ceilings. "That would be all for today." He concluded the meeting and they all vacated the venue.

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Lena was scrolling through the messages in her email when she suddenly stopped at one. She opened the message, and it was a response from Mayfield High school —she had applied for the job as a teacher in the school, and even gone for an interview, she was waiting for a response before Darian married her, and there it was —a response from them, she was one of the few candidates selected to work at Mayfield High School.

She jumped for joy when she saw the mail, she thought they had forgotten about her.

"Oh my God, oh my God!" She read the mail over and over again till she was too happy to read. "Oh my God, I got the job! I got the job." She genuflected, she was glad she wouldn't have to stay at home all day anymore, she read the message carefully and was meant to resume work the following week.

She was still reading through when Jay and Darian barged into the house, she greeted them but only Jay responded to her.

Darian ambled across the living room, heading into the room, while Jay stayed back, he spoke and had a chat with Lena before retiring to his duty post. 

Lena wasn't sure of what to do, she'd been home all day, and Tina prepared some food for Darian before leaving. She kept her phone on the table and stood up, she walked towards the room and stopped abruptly.

She didn't want to bump in and see his naked body again, she stayed still for a while. Moving closer to the door, she gently knocked.

He didn't respond to her, so she stayed in the hallway. Darian yanked the door open and looked at Lena, she pursed her lips and bowed her head to avoid his stares.

"Hmm," She raised her head to talk to him but he walked back into the room, she entered behind him.

She sat on the bed and wasn't sure of what to say. 'Was she to break the news of the job she just got to him, or ask him how his day went?' She was confused as she secretly stared at him.

"Get ready, we are going to the Dawson family house tomorrow." His deep husky voice sent chills to get skin, she looked at him and was about to talk but lost the words again. She just didn't know what to say or how to behave around him. "You should be on your best behaviour when you get there, and don't be too quick to give responses to the questions asked. Follow every instruction that I will give to you." He said authoritatively.

"Am I to meet with your family?" She was nervous.

"Yeah, you are meeting with the most important members of the Dawson family." He managed to respond to her question.  "Oh my, I'm starving." He rubbed his tummy like a little child and Lena smiled. Lena smiled, he could be vulnerable too.

She nodded and was about to ask a question when he wore a shirt and left the room to eat some food at the dining table.

Lena huffed a sigh, plopping on the end. The questions could wait.

Faithy💓