Bought by My stepbrother, the don

Chapter 131: Is he Willing?

Carmen

It was a bad look for me and Nico as I simply settled calmly into my seat and crossed one leg over the other while listening to the conversation taking place before us.

I refused to think too much about how Nico had somehow become the third highest-ranking member in the cartel in such a short amount of time. Even more confusing was the fact that the leader himself was bold enough to demand thirty percent of Nico’s company.

Thirty percent.

It was practically the same amount Nico openly possessed himself apart from the shares secretly held by trusted people around him so nobody would realize he maintained complete control of the company.

A tactic I was also using for the Castilo head company, slowly gathering shares no matter how small each percentage was. Little by little. Quietly. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

"The leader asked you to think about it and give me a response before I head back so I can report to him."

Hassa’s smooth voice pulled me back to the present and all I could do was slowly flutter my lashes to hide the irritation threatening to show on my face.

The disrespect was unbelievable.

Whoever this leader was, it was obvious he didn’t like Nico, which only made it harder to understand how Nico had climbed so high within the organization so quickly. Men like that rarely kept people around unless they were useful to them somehow.

Dangerously useful.

Telling Nico what they wanted was one thing. Demanding an immediate response was something entirely different.

Yet that was exactly what they were doing.

The five men sat comfortably in their seats waiting for Nico to answer while Nico himself looked far too calm for my liking.

Even I was tense simply sitting beside him waiting to hear what he would say. freewēbnoveℓ.com

Still, Nico reached for the folder sitting on the table between them with slow controlled movements. His expression remained unreadable as he opened the documents and began flipping through the pages one after another.

I honestly expected him to skim through it out of annoyance.

He didn’t.

Instead, his eyes moved carefully across every page as though he was genuinely reading every single line written there. The room remained silent except for the soft sound of paper turning beneath his fingers.

The men dressed in expensive dark suits remained equally quiet. None of them exchanged glances or shifted impatiently. They simply waited.

Watching him carefully.

I also stayed quiet even though I already knew what Nico’s answer would be. There was no world where Nico would willingly hand over thirty percent of his company for all the money or protection they could possibly offer him.

Which was exactly why it was difficult to understand why he was taking the time to actually read the documents instead of throwing the folder right back into Hassa’s face.

Then finally, with one sharp movement, Nico snapped the folder shut.

The sound echoed across the large office.

He inhaled slowly before lifting his head.

"I’ve read it," he said calmly, his voice low and steady. "It’s a lot. Tell the leader I’ll need more time to deliberate on it."

"The leader insists on a yes or no response."

Hassa answered immediately.

The smile on his face never once slipped.

At that point it became obvious he was intentionally trying to provoke Nico into losing his temper.

There was no need to push things this far.

No reason at all.

Yet Hassa continued speaking with that same infuriating smile sitting comfortably on his face. The kind of smile that made me want to rip it right off him.

For a brief moment, Nico said nothing.

But honestly, he didn’t need to.

The anger radiating from him became almost suffocating. Heavy. Violent. Even sitting beside him, I could feel how hard he was struggling to keep himself under control.

The muscles along his jaw tightened visibly.

His fingers flexed once against the edge of the folder resting on the table.

Then suddenly, Nico got to his feet.

The movement was sharp enough that the chair behind him slid slightly across the marble floor.

"You have my answer," he said coldly.

His gaze locked directly onto Hassa’s.

"Get out."

This time there was no attempt to hide the anger in his voice. It was fully there now, hard and dangerous.

Even standing, Nico towered over Hassa and the other four men who remained seated for a second too long before finally standing as well.

I stayed where I was and simply watched.

None of them visibly carried weapons but I knew better than to assume they were unarmed. Men involved in cartel business never walked into meetings like this defenseless.

Danger was simply hidden better beneath expensive suits and polished appearances.

Hassa calmly adjusted the sleeve of his black suit as though Nico hadn’t just ordered him out.

That same creepy smile still remained on his face.

"I’ll inform the leader of your decision," he said smoothly before pausing slightly. "Better still... you should call him."

The statement lingered heavily in the room.

For the first time since they arrived, the atmosphere felt genuinely dangerous.

Still, Hassa dipped his head slightly toward Nico in a show of respect before turning around to leave.

The other four men immediately followed behind him with the same stoic expressions they had maintained since entering the office.

I remained seated and watched them head toward the large doors without saying a word.

It wasn’t until they completely disappeared from sight and the doors shut behind them that I finally spoke.

Such wonderful afflictions.

The sarcasm sat right on the tip of my tongue but I swallowed it back and instead released a slow breath.

"He wants your company," I said quietly. "That much is clear."

Nico didn’t respond immediately.

He remained standing exactly where he was, his eyes fixed on the folder sitting on the table as though there was some hidden answer buried inside those documents.

The anger in his expression still hadn’t disappeared.

If anything, it looked worse now that the others were gone.

The only question that truly mattered was how far the cartel leader was willing to go to get what he wanted.

But I didn’t ask that question aloud.

"I’ll call for a meeting with him face to face," Nico finally said.

His voice sounded calmer now though the tension in it still remained.

"I’ve helped him too much for him to betray me."

The words caught me off guard.

Shockingly, there was actual emotion on Nico’s face as he spoke. Not anger. Not irritation. Something deeper.

Something personal.

It was strange seeing that expression from him because I had never even seen him look that way when talking about Bianca or anyone else for that matter.

That alone made one thing painfully obvious.

His relationship with the cartel leader was far more complicated than I initially thought.

"Do you want me to go with you?" I asked.

Truthfully, I didn’t want to involve myself further in cartel matters. That kind of business was ugly, dangerous and unpredictable.

But if Nico and I were tied together now, then this was no longer something he could handle completely alone.

And judging by the dangerous look still sitting in his eyes, I had a feeling things between him and the cartel leader were only about to get worse.