By the time Julian entered the estate, he could feel the tension thick in the air. The staff seemed nervous as they buzzed between the dining room and kitchen. They stayed in the former room for as little time as possible before coming back out.
"Is he back?" Julian stopped one of the maids who took his suit. He didn't need more than a dress shirt for family dinner. She gave a quick nod of her head before getting back to work. The youngest son thought he recognized the dark car parked out front. How odd Zane would choose to come back today without telling his brother. Oh well. Looked like he would be saddled once again with being the tension breaker between the two older Scarlets.
"Make sure you bring us in some extra wine. It should help to cut some of the tension." If no one else wanted it, he certainly would take it all for himself.
"Well, what a surprise to see two of my favorite people in the same room together." Julian greeted the two men in the most pleasant voice that he could muster. He tried his best to not shudder in reaction to the tension. It was so thick he was certain that a butter knife could've been broken trying to cut it.
"I didn't know that you had been planning to come back today brother. I would've picked up if I knew." He offered Zane a small hug. The other didn't return it. instead, palming his younger brother's waist pocket to see if he could feel the cigarettes hiding inside.
"That bad?" He asked, leaning further over to speak in a more hushed tone. Without taking his eyes off Bernard, he could feel his older brother offer a small nod. Julian could feel the tension in his older brother's shoulders. There would probably be a story behind that he could hear at a later point in time. For now, he would just give the other the cigarettes and let the matter be.
"It looks like dinner is going to be as good as always." The meals the chef made were always rather extravagant and far more than three men could eat on their own. Main courses, sides, desserts, snacks. Everything they made always covered the whole table. Almost as though leaving one barren spot would be akin to starving them.
"It looks almost the same as it always does." Bernard remarked, taking a sip of his water.
"How much longer are you going to continue staring at me like that? If you have something to say, you might as well let it out." Rathe than responding, Zane turned his attention away from his father. Focusing instead on lighting the cigarette he snatched.
"Have your manners gone so far that you'd willingly light up at the table? I thought that you were raised better than that." The only achievement the comments had were to add fuel to the fire.
"Really we are talking about being raised better and lack of manners? Considering you seem to think that it is fine to do whatever you please, I don't see how this is such a big deal?" To emphasize his point, the young mafioso took a deep drag of the cigarette before puffing the some out in his father's direction. The older man grimaced in response to the action.
"Perhaps I have allowed you to be spoiled too much to think this and previous behavior is acceptable. As your father, you're still to respect when you're here. Both as my blood son and in your role below me in this family. I expect nothing less than that if you don't wish to experience the same consequences as those below you."
"You wish to speak of consequences father? You might want to rethink what you say carefully. Come back to me about this matter after you've reflected on how the proper way to go about being a leader is." Zane hit a point where he longer cared what his father said to him. Far too pissed over what occurred previously to care.
The conversation didn't go any further once the rest of the food was brought out. The one rule everyone in the house relied on not being broken was silence at meals. The only one Zane would respect as it had been set by his mother. Exactly for these types of occasions. The only way to maintain the peace between the older Scarlet and his eldest son on the worst of days.
Zane put out his cigarette before eating. The only reason he would respect it was for the sake of his mother. He didn't dare to do anything that would disrespect what little left of her there was around the place.
Anything physical he took to keep with himself and the rest his father stored away. Claiming that it was too hard to look at after his late wife's passing. Zane knew though that was hardly the case. He just wanted it away because they no longer served any purpose to him. The young mafioso didn't doubt if his father could get away with it, the older man would've thrown most of it away. With his reputation though, that would've taken things a little too far.
Catching the look that Julian gave him, Zane made a motion to let the other know they'd talk later. Taking another night to go drinking after dinner didn't sound so bad at the current moment. If he didn't end up getting any other work-related calls. No one had gotten back to him yet about the drug ordeal. Something he didn't bother telling his father about after their altercation. He didn't want the older man to have anything he could hold against him.
Zane felt confident that if given three days, he would be able to have the issue solved without a problem. Both his men and those who screwed up knew how big the issue was. If they held any value in their life, they would get it sorted quickly as possible. Tonight though, it wouldn't hurt to let the matter slide for one more evening. Zane needed someone to talk with about his other issue anyway. He didn't think that Julian would have the answer but he might be able to give him some insight.