Later that morning. . .
9:58 am

(A/N: Lila's fit of the day)
Lila sat at the head of the table, fingers thrumming rhythmically against the oak table in a mysterious sequence as she watched them —their beady eyes — darting around in panic each of them clearly wanting to save their lives.
Eleven of them were all seated but the twelfth person was still missing, Lila checked the time again and motioned to the guard to shut the door, time was up, only for one man to saunter in, clothes visibly soaked.
". . .close the doors." She glanced at the twelve of them, her eyes stopping on the last person to enter. "Mind giving us a reason you were just coming when I already said no lateness allowed, Mr ?." She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes.
"Lukas. I had some emergencies." His voice rang out, smug.
Lila raised a brow, Matthieu motioned to a guard stationed near Lukas, " Break his arm."
The guard moved forward immediately, "which side would you like to keep?."
Lukas stared, tongue-tied and eyes wide with horror. The guard getting no response carried on.
Crack
A raw and guttural sound tore out of Lukas's throat, the chair scraping loudly as his body bucked, eyes wide in horror as his arm lay limp. The guard stepped back to his position.
Several eyes stared at Lila in unison and she just shrugged, " Told you I don't condone lateness not to talk of misplaced audacity."
She stood to her feet and glanced at the twelve of them," Now that that is out of the way let's get to it. The last time I was here before y'all was when I took over, I was doubted and questioned about my ability. Now, I stand here before y'all again for two reasons. Firstly, to show y'all even if I didn't ask for this throne but since I got it, I'll claim it."
Nods and grimaces occur all around the room.
"But-" Lila raises a finger, "I was never done speaking, it'll be your turn to speak soon."
Murmurs erupted loudly at that and Lila frowns, "Tsk. I mean, I knew y'all were grave due but I didn't realize your brain has regressed to that of a newborn fully." She smirks, "don't y'all know it's common courtesy not to interrupt when someone is speaking, you really need to be taught a lesson."
Silence
She smirks, " Now as I was saying, the second reason why I'm here is for the hijacked shipment. It was cleared for shipping but got hijacked and there were no survivors. " Lila paused letting her words sink in as her gaze flitted across their faces, noting their expressions. " I assume y'all are aware of that, if you weren't, I'll educate you. That arms shipment was meant as a peace treaty with The Rakshasa Syndicate in exchange for more liberty in their country to deal, but it got hijacked just before it was miles away from France. That. . . occured on our turf, which is to say, it could have been any of you on the receiving end. If our shipment could have been hijacked on our turf, that means they must have had inside information."
One of them raises his hand and Lila nods " yes?."
"How can you be sure it was from us?."
She scoffs, taking a seat "That's easy, even a child would know when conspiracy is involved. Matthieu?"
He steps forward from behind her, " The shipment was jacked a few miles from the second checkpoint after clearance, they had the pass and they used it, they knew the time we'd be cleared and swooped in to attack. How could this have happened if there was no inside information? "
Lila nods, " We've got intel on who the insider might be, in fact, I've had this lead for some time now and I wanted to wait the son of a bitch out but he's proving smart. I've got the initials, home address—everything. So. . . I could just decide to visit the aforementioned man, and take care of him." She shrugs "Who knows?. "
"Mattheiu?." She called out again, voice soft.
"Yes boss"
"Any one with the initials, L.B is to remain here, any other person is to be seen out."
He nods and escorts them out, he stationed guards at the door and came back inside.
" So~ now let's get on with it. We've got two things to address now, shall we? ~" she faces the three panic stricken faces —Lukas Blaire with his limp arm, Lucien Blanchet with a stiff smile on his lips and Lance Baron— with her palms placed flat on the table.
Lila sighs, " Hah, it's quite unfortunate that I wasn't able to get the results I wanted. . . But I'll have to make do with what I have~" She clicks her tongue and motions to Matthieu.
Matthieu clears his throat, " we've got intel that the guy has dealings with Rome, Russia and America."
" Guess what y'all three and the guy have in common?. " Lila taunts , clearly loving every second of their fear, " Y'all have been to one of these three countries in the span of last month till now." She starts counting on her finger, " Lukas went to Rome, guess that makes him a Romanian. Lucien went to America, an American by blood and Lance went to Russia. . .a Russian guru among us."
" And speaking of America, that's where we, " gestures to herself and Matthieu " would be going for Christmas~ You know it's the festive season, " Lila smiled but it didn't reach her eyes , "so I'm telling y'all this to dare you. Try anything and everything —all you've ever known, your family, friends, even pets— goes to ruin. "
Silence
"But I know y'all won't do that." Lila clapped and stood straight " Since you've all gotten the memo. We'll need to move on to the next agenda on our list. "
" Apart from the Intel we got, y'all have got other things to explain. You've got tons of suspicious activities but. . .it's not gonna be fun if I lay all my cards out now, will it?. So y'all can go~, we'll continue this later. Take care ~" She smiles, waving at them.
The three of them scurried out, their hearts in their throats and their backs drenched with cold sweat at Lila's blatant threats.
Ha ha ha ha ha
A clear crisp voice rang out in laughter as Lila threw her head back and laughed till her stomach ached.
" Hah," she sighed, content. "They are so fun to deal with, they've got literally no backbone. "
" It might just be because you're terrifying, don't you think?. " Matthieu chuckles, eyes locked on her smile.
" Nuh uh. That's just part of my appeal. "
He nods, eyes curving into crescents. " Has any one ever told you, you look pretty when you smile? "
Lila felt her left eye twitch in response, " yeah."
"Mn. What now?"
"What else? We're going on a vacation ~."
"You really meant that? But we've still got tons of things to do, we can't just be wasting productive time cause it's almost Christmas."
Lila groaned, "don't be such a party pooper and let the pilot know we'd be flying. Hmm?" She asked with her hands on his cheek.
He groans, throwing his head back "Okay. When are we going?."
She hums, her hands locking around his neck, " what's today's date?."
He lowers his head, gazing into her brown orbs, " Today's the 23rd."
" Of December, no?"
"Mn." He hummed.
Lila leans in rubbing her nose against his, "We'd be leaving tomorrow. " She said her voice barely above a whisper
" Are we gonna lodge, or we'd be staying at your house?. " Matthieu asked his hands snaking possessively around her waist, pulling her flush against him.
She pulls away, removing his hands from her waist, ears flushing scarlet. " That sounds dirty coming from your mouth. "
Matthieu tilts his head, confusedly still gazing at her, seemingly in a daze. ". . . "
" Ahem, We'd be staying at my place in Los Angeles. No need to lodge."
"Mn. Let's go home, no?."
"Okay."
They smile at each other and stepped out of the hall, moving down the hallway and entering the elevator.
"Oh yeah, how many days should I pack for?." Matthieu asked.
Lila chuckles, amused. "Silly you, we'd be staying there till next year. We should at least have some fun, right?. " He nods. " And regarding your stuff, don't pack, we'd get new clothes when we get there so the next time we're going, your stuff would already be there."
Mattheiu's eyes contracted slightly, thoughts running through his mind. Is she planning for me to move in with her? Planning for the future??
Lila, upon seeing him become deathly silent, shook him slightly. "Are you okay?."
The elevator dinged open, "yeah. I am, let's go."
"Okayy."
And so ladies and gentlemen, they made their way home, each to their own thoughts. Goodnight ~
A/N:
Heyy, everyone ✨
I hope you're fine, take care. It's Lila's fit up there.
Btw, Mattheiu is a simp, Incase I didn't make it clear before. Oh and the story's timeline is a bit different 🌚.
Byeee~~
Ps: I'm Nigerian and I'll be writing their time abroad based on what I've found online so pardon me if it's awkward. . .