Clive didn't mind picking up Julian. The extra company meant that Zane could discuss his dilemma with someone else. Not that the driver ever minded the conversations. Sometimes the other just needed more than one opinion to make a decision.
"If you're going to be pulling me in on this, I want all of the details." Julian leaned back in the car seat, crossing his legs to make the ride more comfortable.
"What details exactly are you talking about? I already told you before that there isn't anything between us. I'm just simply trying to use her for my benefit. Not without offering something in return of course." Zane kept his eyes focused on the phone in front of him. Diego needed to hurry up with his report as did the other.
"Really? Because the talk you two were having seemed really intense considering there's nothing between you two. Her facial expressions were rather interesting to watch." Choosing to sit on opposite sides in the back of the car meant he couldn't nudge his older siblings. A suggestive eyebrow wiggle would have to suffice instead.
"She hates me. Well more like she hates the mafia in general. Anyone who is on the wrong side of the law. She's a paralegal mind you." The young mafioso needed that hatred though. It would come in good handy for their 'relationship'.
"Why would you go with someone who hates? Can you even trust that she won't try to do something or get close to you just to stab you in the back?" Julian frowned listening to his sibling. Did his older brother really think this plan through?
"You don't need to worry about that. I know for a number of reasons that she won't. Besides, as I mentioned before, I'm not going to be the only one getting something out of this deal." Zane looked up from his phone with a smirk,
"This woman actually has a head on her shoulders that functions. Quite the opposite of the ones my father usually picks for me." Julian didn't seem fully convinced but just shrugged his shoulders. The young mafioso would just end up doing whatever he wanted after all.
"Will I at least get the chance to meet her before everything falls into place? I would like a chance to get to know who my brother's girl is." Zane made a noise of contempt as Clive pulled into the burger joint drive-through.
"Order your food and stop talking nonsense." Zane ordered derisively.
"I see what you really think about me. I'm only worth a cheap meal." Julian leaned forward to get a better look at the options available on the presell board.
"I already told you earlier that I would treat you to something better once you do what I asked." This didn't stop his younger sibling from grumbling under his breath. What a disgrace. The sons of one of the most prominent mafia bosses in New Jersey were eating at such a low-class place.
"You don't need more than five minutes to choose. The options at these places hardly ever change." Zane didn't need to bother with the menu to know what he would be getting. Something sweet to help him think about the rough road ahead.
Julian took two more minutes before he decided. A decision only made in response to an impatient car honking behind them. No one knowing them meant getting treated like every other average Joe around them. After all, even average folks drove in posh, expensive-looking cars.
"I told you that you need to pick sooner. I don't want to be stuck behind someone who insists on incessantly honking that thing." Zane's trigger finger itched. Not like one could actually pull a gun out and shot in such a crowded place.
"It's not my fault that I have to decide which option is going to be the best of the worst. Take me somewhere better next time." Julian winced at his older brother smacked him in the back of the head while Clive ordered the food.
"You're too old to be acting like a child. It's not like this is the first time you've eaten somewhere like this." Zane pulled his credit card and handed it up to the driver.
"Besides, you've never been one to worry about such things in the past. Indulging isn't going to hurt your image that much."
"Then you wouldn't mind if I took a picture of you with your cookies and cream shake? With the right poise, I'm sure that it would make a great cover for GQ."
"If you must. If I do get picked for an interview, I will be certain to divulge quite a few interesting facts about my little brother." Zane's neutral expression made it hard to discern his level of seriousness. Julian kept his mouth shut after this though.
Julian might've made a lot of hard jokes and teased he'd never follow through with. Zane on the other hand did the exact opposite. His jokes were subtle threats and his seriousness was meant as a jest. In most cases.
"Clive you should have yourself something extra. You can't keep skipping meals and thinking that I won't notice." Zane could tell the moment they got their food bags that only his brother ordered a full meal.
"I'm not skipping meals. There are just other things that I will be attending to later involving too much good. I'm preserving my stomach space for this time." Clive checked the contents of the bags before handing back drinks and food.
"We now have lunch before we head back. Why don't you tell me all the details now? I know you keep saying that there isn't anything. There has to be something though. At least about who she is and all that." Zane sighed deeply before taking a drink out of his milkshake.
"You will find out later when you meet here. Nothing is on the table right now anyways for me to be able to talk to you about. If it doesn't go through, there's no reason for you to know about anything."
Zane made the conversation didn't go any further by shoving a French fry in the other's mouth the next time he tried to speak.