CHAPTER 126: LAUNCH WITH GENNY

Braelyn’s POV

The soft clicking sounds of heels against the marble floor announced my presence. Genny looked up from her phone once she noticed someone approaching her table and gave me an approving smile.

"I wasn’t expecting to get here earlier than you. " She casually mentioned giving a brief hug. I had decided to call Genny for lunch. It was the same restaurant she had invited me to only for us to run into Joey there

I nervously laughed off her statement, and we both took our seats at the table. Genny quickly called for the waiter to take pie orders

"I wasn’t expecting it to be easy to get reservations," I mentioned, remembering when I informed Genny of my last-minute plans. She had assured me she could get a table

Genny shrugged then handed the menu to the waiter after she made her choice. "Advantage of knowing the owner. Joey owes us for the last time."

I noticed how her tone wasn’t as hostile as it was. I also made my order and the waiter left.

Genny’s eyes immediately narrowed suspiciously at me. "What did you want to talk about?" She mentioned.

Our table was closer to the wall, and the way the tables were placed, created a bit of privacy. " I am looking for someone.." I drawled studying her expression.

Genny claimed her family had once had dealings with the Orlov family so by chance she might have useful information. I didn’t want to carelessly ask other people to avoid the risk of Raphael discovering something

"Someone..." Her voice seemed sceptical. I nodded. The waiter arrived to pour our wine and assured us the first course was almost ready.

"Yes, it might sound crazy, but it’s important ", I explained. Her frown deepened but she agreed anyway.

"I hope it isn’t too crazy ." She replied. I chuckled lightly at her answer before I finally said what I had in mind.

"Do you know of any Killian Orlov probably from the Orlov family?" I asked and her face paled immediately as if she could not believe what I asked

Genny reached out for her drink to take a sip before asking carefully. "Why are you inquiring about the Orlov family? They are dangerous." She said lowering her voice to avoid the risk of anyone overhearing us

"I can’t go into details but do you have an idea? "

She went quiet for a moment. At the same time, the waiter finally arrived with our first course. The aroma of the piping hot soup stirred something in my stomach and I eagerly picked up my soup to take a sip

"Please enjoy..." The waiter chimed before leaving the table. Genny didn’t reply until the waiter was far enough away before she answered.

"The Orlov Family are not primarily from this city. Their influence actually expands from abroad so there isn’t much information about their family members..." She explained. My brows furrowed, wondering how the Volkovs ended up stepping on the Orlov family’s toes if they weren’t from the same country.

No matter how influential the Orlov family might be the Volkov family were home titans and honestly if Killian was truly an Orlov his opening a branch here and competing with the Volkov family although it might seem like business held a deeper meaning

"So you don’t have any idea.." She shook her head.

"Not exactly, although I am certain there is no Killian Orlov from the main family, but it might be a member of the extended family, and there was a chance he might not even be associated with the Orlov family..."

That was a possibility I had thought about. The surname Orlov wasn’t exclusive to the family Genny knew. It might just be a coincidence.

My frown deepened. If he were from the branch family, could someone from the branch be that powerful??

I blew on my spoon slowly before taking a sip. "Is there any way for you to confirm if he was a member of the family?"

Something flickered across her gaze. She placed her soup back into her plate. "I can ask my family for a favour since we still have a considerate good relationship with the Orlov but I don’t know when a reply might come."

The rest of the meal went on peacefully. We moved on to talk about lighter topics. By the time we were done, we both had praises for the chef and were laughing heartily while we walked out of the restaurant.

"I think we should visit here often.." Genny drawled before she suddenly stopped, her shoulders hunched, she was taller than me, so I couldn’t see ahead, but her reaction was enough for me to sense something was awfully wrong.

She suddenly grabbed my hand and then yanked me into a corner before sneaking a peek ahead. My curiosity piqued and I tried to look ahead trying to see what got her so startled

My eyes widened once I spotted who it was. Joey and Amber. It looked like they were having an argument with Amber begging Joey...

My mind immediately went back to the conversation I overheard that day. It was hard hearing what they were saying but Joey didn’t look like he was giving her the light of day to voice her thoughts.

I strained my ears further to get some snippets.

"You are the one he trusts the most..." Amber’s voice drifted my way. Genny was completely engrossed in the drama. They didn’t bother going somewhere private; it was safe to assume Amber had run into Joey.

Joey groaned. "What do you seriously want from me?" He snapped at her looking agitated. "He doesn’t like you, and I am not going to risk my friendship to soothe your ego. You should let go."

Amber flinched, her eyes pricked with tears. "Are you really going to let things be? We can’t..."

Joey cut her off before she could finish her statement. "I think this is where this conversation ends and probably our friendship." He stated and she went still

"I did like you for a long while but those feelings will never be reciprocated. I understand things can’t be forced, that’s why I am cutting off things." He explained.

Amber didn’t look good and Joey didn’t seem like he was joking. "You are seriously throwing our friendship away because I didn’t reciprocate your feelings." She hissed

His expression remains calm. "It is more than that, Amber ", he said, his tone then turned calmer.

"I want to start on a clean slate. My family is arranging a marriage for me and I am thinking of giving it a shot. I need to let go of an old flame to move on..."

What stunned me wasn’t Joey’s reply. Arranged marriage was still common in high families like the Alvarez family despite this being the 21st century

What left me stunned was Genny’s reaction. She looked like her soul had left her when she heard that reply.