Hearing the greeting, Gabriel glanced over his shoulder at Masha, his gaze lingering on her short hair. She had cut it a few years back, yet he still could not get used to it. Whenever he caught sight of the short blond hair, an odd feeling welled up in his chest.
It wasn't because the hairstyle didn't suit her; on the contrary, it enhanced Masha slender's neck and gave her a playful look. However, Gabriel had grown used to her waist-length hair over the years, and he also knew just how proud she had been of its length. How could he not? She had always loved to flaunt just how perfect her hair was, grinning whenever she brought up the subject.
And yet, Masha decisively cut her hair short the day she made up her mind to become a security guard. She didn't tell anyone and went alone to the hairdresser. When she returned home, she shocked everyone with her new haircut—even Alexey stared at his daughter in utter disbelief.
"Long hair is a hindrance when I move," she explained with a laugh, rubbing her neck that now felt naked. "It's also quite a weakness in a fight. I don't want someone to grip my hair and rip it off. I heard some crazy stories from my martial art teacher, you know?"
"Is that so," was Gabriel's answer. His voice broke the silence and appeared to echo throughout the living room. "Well, it suits you."
"I think so too," Masha chuckled before shifting her gaze to her little brother, who seemed to be in a daze. She bent over and pinched his cheeks, laughing, "And what about you, hm? What do you think of my new haircut?"
"…" It took a few seconds before Misha reacted, as if his brain needed time to process the words. Finally, he stretched his tiny hands to hold his sister's wrists, then mumbled, "Short hair looks awesome on you."
"Right?"
Not denying nor approving, the boy pounced on his sister and hugged her waist tightly. A soft smile bloomed on Masha's face as she ruffled her brother's hair, which was getting longer with each passing day. She gently brushed a few strands behind his ears, soothing him in silence. It was a sight Gabriel could not forget.
"A while? We saw each other not even a few days ago," Stephan laughed, snapping Gabriel out of his thoughts. "You snuck in during working hours to take a picture of your brother, remember?"
"Well, that brat refuses to put on his uniform at home," Misha grinned, mischief glinting in her bright blue eyes. "He even runs away whenever I bring up the subject."
Since Easter day was just around the corner, Stephan had required his employees to wear bunny ears and a fluffy little tail. Knowing this, how could Masha not sneak in to take a peek? Her brother dressed up in a cute bunny-butler get-up… Needless to say, she had to see it with her own two eyes.
"Of course he won't be wearing it at home! Misha is unbelievably quick to change after his shift," Stephan snickered as Masha pulled a chair for Yuki. "On the other hand, it takes him forever to dress up. It's quite entertaining to hear him curse, though I admit I'm always afraid he's going to break something in the locker room."
"You know he hates fluffy-looking costumes, and yet you ask him to wear one on his first week of work," Gabriel cocked an eyebrow. "You're asking for trouble."
"You say that, but you also came to take a peek."
"The troubles are yours to deal with, not mine."
"You're a shitty friend, you know that?"
"Thank you."
"It wasn't a compliment!"
"Oh, really?"
While Gabriel and Stephan were busy bickering, Masha took a seat beside Yuki. She then crossed her arms before her chest and narrowed her eyes, waiting for their antics to end before opening her mouth again. Now, the playful tone was gone, and a hint of anger tainted her otherwise soft voice.
"Did you ask us to meet so we could plan out Jake's funeral? 'Cause I'm not sure he'll still be alive by the end of the day."
"Am I the only one who thinks Misha has enough self-control not to murder Jake?" Gabriel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He promised me not to strangle him this morning, so we shouldn't be burying my brother any time soon. Have some faith, will you?"
"Tsk," Masha snorted, disdain distorting her beautiful face. "Who said Misha would be the one to kill him? I'm itching to snap his neck like a chicken's right now. Did you know that ass called me this morning?"
"What for?"
"To threaten me, what do you think? That bag of shit hired a private detective to track my every move, so he knows I wasn't working yesterday and went to the restaurant with Yuki instead. The detective took pictures and did a shitload of other things, like wiring Yuki's apartment. We had some sweet conversations yesterday, ok? Anyway, all that to say that Jake dared to blackmail me to—"
Masha stopped talking mid-sentence, suspiciously eyeing Gabriel, whose lips stretched into a faint smile. Her mouth twitched, then she clicked her tongue and bent over to steal Gabriel's plate of sweets.
"You knew it'd happen, didn't you?"
"Well, it was bound to happen one of these days. You're well aware of my brother's personality, aren't you?"
"Shut up. I've always been careful, and Yuki and I mostly meet at work during lunch, rarely outside. Yet you insisted that I took her out to a nice restaurant yesterday. It's fishy no matter how you look at it."
"Did you record the conversation?" Stephan interrupted. He had an idea of what his friend had in mind. But god was Gabriel twisted—not like he was any better, however. He'd probably have done the same thing in his shoes.
"Of course. Gaby told me to record every phone call from that jerk." Masha squinted, scrutinizing Gabriel's face. "I see... You need that recording, don't you?"
"I do, yes."
Masha slumped a bit more in her chair at these words, angrily taking a bite of a cookie. As the seconds went by, everyone kept quiet and watched the young woman vent her pent-up frustration on the sweets. Only after eating everything on the plate did she speak up again.
"Couldn't you have told me? I seriously freaked out when he called!"
"I'm sorry, but your reactions would have been a bit off if I had told you. You're not a bad liar per se, but you can be quite cold, and a cold reaction was not what I needed."
"Sometimes, I wonder who's the jerk between you and your brother," Masha snorted, pulling out her cell phone from her pants and throwing it on the table. "But well, you did warn me that this kinda thing could happen, so I'll forgive you. Just this time though."
"Thank you for your understanding."
"Yeah, yeah. Just put the recording to good use, will you?"
"Certainly," Gabriel smiled coldly, stretching a hand to take the phone. He'd need to transfer the recording to his computer first.
"I have one question," Yuki said, her delicate face appearing as emotionless as always. "I don't think the detective stopped tracking us just yet. Won't your brother know that you met with us today? At least, the café is not wired, so he won't know what we talked about, but still."
"He already knows," Gabriel answered in a casual tone. "I told him I wanted to meet with Stephan, my girlfriend, and my girlfriend's friend. But that doesn't matter. You know how much he hates Stephan, right?"
The girls nodded, well aware that Jake could not stand being in the same room as Stephan. With this in mind, they couldn't help but peer at their friend, who was leisurely sipping on his coffee.
"What? He's a jerk, but he has one fine ass."
In a well-practiced manner, they all pretended not to have heard him. Stephan never hid his sexuality and purposely ogled at Jake's buttock and slender waist whenever they met. Every time, it sent shivers crawling down the man's spine. Of course, Jake told his brother about his friend's improper behavior, but each time he brought up the subject, Gabriel replied that he was most certainly imagining things.
Jake didn't have solid proof and couldn't condemn Stephan, not without risking getting on Gabriel's bad side. He also didn't like pointing out that a man was after his ass. So, in the end, all Jake could do was avoid Stephan like the plague.
"Anyway, I told him that Misha needed to go to the shopping mall and that I'd be grateful if he went with him. Let's say he jumped on the opportunity to flee. He'd rather babysit Misha and Tristan than bear with Stephan."
Again, they all looked at Stephan, not knowing what to say. And to the probing eyes, the man responded by making a victory sign.
"…"
That guy had no shame.
"Alright, let's listen to that recording, shall we?" Gabriel changed the topic, deciding to ignore his childhood friend. "Unless there are things you don't want us to hear."
"Nah, I've got nothing to hide," Masha answered with a blush on her cheeks. "I already told everything I wanted to say to Yuki, so…."
Gabriel nodded, then took the cell phone and flipped it open. But just as he was about to unlock it, his own cell phone rang loud and clear. Frowning, he carefully pulled it out of his pants and took a peek at the caller ID. Black lines seemed to fall upon his forehead, his mouth twitching ever so slightly.
Speak of the devil: the phone call was from Jake.
__________________________
Chapter revised on 2022-06-14
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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