CHAPTER 30: HARD TO HANDLE

"Tell me I should get out of this bed and go to meet Nate for my recording," Elara said to Antonio, who was panting heavily.

When Elara called him and asked him to come to her apartment because something had happened, he thought the worst and rushed there without a second thought.

The lift was on the twelfth floor, and it would’ve taken some time to come down, so he climbed all those stairs, all the way to the fifth floor, hoping and praying to God that nothing happened to her.

Who would’ve thought he would get to see this scene when he entered the apartment?

Before him, Elara was lying inside the blanket in a Pikachu outfit, looking as cute as ever, complaining about her struggle of not being able to come out of bed.

He kept looking at her for a few seconds before he shook his head helplessly.

Mr. George had warned him that his sister could be unpredictable and too much at times, and he would definitely feel like hitting her a few times.

"Come on, Miss Elara. You have a meeting. You need to get out of bed." Antonio grabbed the blanket and was about to yank it away from her when he paused.

"You are decent, right?" He asked to ensure, and when Elara nodded, he didn’t waste a second in yanking the blanket away.

"Get ready quickly. We don’t have much time. I’ll cook something for you in the meantime." Antonio helped her up while she flailed her legs, annoyed.

Antonio’s lips twitched at her actions.

Why did he feel like, rather than being a bodyguard, he was more like a babysitter for her? He shuddered at the thought and pushed her into the bathroom before opening her wardrobe to pull out the outfit for her.

His cheeks and ears turned red when he saw the undergarments stuffed messily in the wardrobe, and he quickly closed the door before hugging loudly.

"Mr. George definitely didn’t warn me enough," He muttered under his breath before walking to the kitchen to cook something for her.

He opened the refrigerator only to see it empty, stuffed with beer cans and water bottles.

With a sigh, he opened the cabinets one by one, only to find them empty.

He knew she could cook. The utensils, the used spices, and everything told him that. But why was there nothing stocked in the apartment?

It looks like now he will have to go grocery shopping for her. He pressed his lips into a thin line.

He was about to look for any dine-in outlets around where he could look for some breakfast for Miss Elara when the doorbell of the apartment rang.

He looked at the time. It was 9 am.

Who could be here in the morning? Mr. George? But if he were coming, he would’ve informed him.

Antonio, still grabbing the knife in his hand, walked to the door.

He saw an unfamiliar man standing outside, his brows knitting even more.

With a cautious expression, he opened the door.

On the other hand, Justin, who was here to bring some necessities for his boss that she had asked for, sighed.

If he didn’t have so much stuff, he wouldn’t have bothered coming by the door and would have climbed the window like always.

Now she wasn’t opening the door, and he hated waiting the most.

Wait. She had indeed told him about the password. Why didn’t he think about it? Justin sighed and was about to put in the password when the door opened from inside.

"I told you I don’t—" Justin started to speak, but paused when he saw a man open the door.

He looked at Antonio’s face and immediately knew he wasn’t his boss’s ex-husband, and if he wasn’t that, then who was he?

Justin’s gaze flickered to the knife in Antonio’s hand, and immediately sensing danger, he didn’t waste a second in dropping the contents on the ground and kicking Antonio further inside.

Antonio, who was already cautious, stumbled backward due to the impact but quickly reacted.

"Who are you?" Antonio asked, and Justin scoffed.

Rather than answering him, he raised his hand to punch Antonio.

Seeing how the man wasn’t ready to tell him his name or his connection to Elara, Antonio thought he was here to harm her indeed.

He didn’t hold back either and punched Justin’s face. He raised his hand to punch again, but Justin held his hand before twisting it and kicking him under the shin.

Antonio got out of his hold and bent Justin under his arm before kneeing him in the abdomen.

Elara, who had already taken a quick shower since she had taken a proper bath before sleeping, got dressed and walked out of her room, only to come face to face with two men on the ground hugging each other, both fighting for dominance.

Wait. Was this a live gay action in her apartment?! The possibility made her eyes widen with excitement, and she sat on the couch rather than interrupt.

As Antonio flipped Justin, she noticed Justin’s busted lip and nodded to herself.

They were tough and rough. Then again, what did she expect from the two strong men?

"Boss, why are you sitting there so calmly? Aren’t you going to act?" Justin asked with his hand on Antonio’s neck, ready to choke him, while Antonio grabbed Justin’s throat to do the same.

Antonio, who was about to apply pressure on the man’s throat, turned to look at Elara, who sat there with a smile, least bothered.

And did this man really call her boss?

"Boss?" Antonio asked.

"She is my boss," Justin said.

"She is my boss too," Antonio said.

Justin immediately left Antonio’s throat and fell backwards in shock.

"Y-you, what are you saying?" He asked, bewildered.

Antonio patted his clothes before looking at Justin, annoyed.

"Didn’t you hear me? She is my boss too because—" Antonio started, but Justin didn’t let him continue.

"How could you do this? You are cheating on me with this man? How could you accept another subordinate when I am still alive? I was ready to take a bullet for you. This is how you pay me back for my loyalty all these years? How could you?" Justin raised his voice, appearing hurt for real.

Elara tilted her head, a little disappointed because it turned out these guys were fighting for real and not making out before her.

"He is easy on the eyes," Elara pointed to Antonio’s face, and Justin quickly got up before he rushed to stand before her.

"But didn’t you say looks don’t matter? And what’s wrong with my face? Many people mistake me for a celebrity, too, when I get dressed up. How could you do this to me?" Justin asked.

Antonio, who felt like he was just a third party between the two, rolled his eyes.

The way the man was talking to Elara made it clear they knew each other. He walked towards the gate and grabbed the bags the man had brought.

He peeked inside and realized the bags contained everything necessary, including vegetables, and sighed.

So this man was missing Elara’s errand boy. Antonio thought, unaware that the man before him, acting all cute and friendly, was actually the right-hand man of the owner of the biggest street fighting ring and a gangster himself.

Elara, too unbothered, pointed at her hand.

"Look what happened," she pouted.

Justin’s gaze finally fell on the cast she had hidden under the scarf.

"Who did it?" Justin’s expression and tone took a 180° turn.

Elara just pouted and patted the seat beside her.

Once Justin sat there, she threw her legs on his lap.

"Massage my legs. I feel so tired after sleeping for so long," Elara groaned.

Antonio - "..."

Justin - "..."

Elara grinned at the two men before sighing when she remembered she needed to leave for the meeting soon—the meeting that would take place at the same company where Carla was an artist.

And the worst part was that she couldn’t bring Antonio there because no outsiders were allowed.