“Yeah, it probably would be a good idea for me to not just show up unannounced to a meeting with the mafia,” Noble drawled sarcastically, as he finished cleaning the table and tossed the disinfecting wipe, along with his gloves, into the trash under the sink.
“It’s not a meetingwiththe mafia. I’m just meeting one person who happens to bein,or rather, is the head of a mafia-type organization,” Ollie huffed while pulling his phone from his pocket.
The man’s irritating comment aside, he had to say it was nice being with someone who saw something that needed to be done and just did it, instead of needing to be asked.
Quickly calling Raymond, he stood there quietly as he waited for the man to pick up.
“Need something, Ollie? Or are you calling to reschedule?” Raymond asked as soon as the call connected.
“No, no, we are still good for tonight. I’m actually calling because my bodyguard—or rather, my boyfriend who happens to be a bodyguard—wants to come with me. And I figured it would be best to give you a heads up.”
“Full name?”
“Um, Noble Vincent.”
“Hold for a moment, please.”
“Okay,” Ollie said, sending Noble a hesitant smile as the line went silent. “I’m on hold.”
“I heard. He is probably looking into me.”
“I’m sure he’s not—okay, he probably is, but I’m sure it’s a harmless…background check?”
Noble snorted. “I’m sure.”
He would have responded to that, but Raymond came back. “Ollie, you still there?”
“I’m here.”
“He can come, but my men will not allow him to be armed in my presence. I hope you understand?”
As far as he knew, Noble generally didn’t go around armed, but he still eyed the man in question, as he already knew his boyfriend could hear the call well enough. When Noble shrugged, he said, “That’s fine. See you soon.”
“Tonight, my Little Librarian.”
Raymond hung up, and his brow rose as he pocketed his phone when he noticed Noble’s pinched expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Does he always call you that?”
Ollie blinked. “Sometimes. But, I mean, he’s not hitting on me or anything. He’s just usually super sweet to me. Also, I’m pretty sure I’m the same age as his oldest son, so that’s probably why.”
“I see… Should you really have told him about us dating?”
“Oh, Raymond’s bi, and if I’m remembering correctly, I’m pretty sure one of his current partners is a man.”
He knew the mafia boss had at least two, because he’d mentioned both a woman and a man to him in romantic contexts before, so...he was assuming they were in some sort of polyamorous relationship.
Noble sighed. “The mob is a lot more open than I thought.”
“I don’t know about that. It may just be him and his group. Though, he isn’t the only person I’ve worked for. I can only assume those he introduced me to for work are people he’s made sure are safe for me to be around.”
Relatively safe. The ones Raymond bought from were definitely not always on the safe side of things in any aspect, but he trusted the man enough to keep him safe during and in the aftermath. And so far, he had.
“How safe can working for the mafia really be?” Noble drawled.
“I mean, I don’t do anything illegal!” he huffed.
And he didn’t! The paperwork they provided was always legit. He wasn’t sure how far back things were legit, but that wasn’t really his problem. He never appraised goods that were questionable in their current holding. Usually, the only thing questionable was the person actually holding them. Really, the main issues usually came about when the people in question either didn’t like his evaluation, or the items turned out to be forgeries.
