Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Conner lounged back, settling in, and said, "With Mr. Nettleton's kind of pull, if I step down now, there's no doubt some ambitious guy in Newtown will make a move and the whole place will go to hell again. Sure, things are peaceful now- people don't settle scores with fists anymore-but in a world that flips on a dime, who knows what's coming next? You know what they say: it's better to have a gun and never use it, than to need one and come up empty."

He gave a wry grin. "Between Mr. Nettleton and me, we've racked up more than a few enemies. If I hand over power, it won't just be outsiders gunning for me-the Dark Web would have my head in no time. So, Mr. Nettleton's not going anywhere. Newtown's still under my watch."

He went on, "But since I said it out loud, you know I've thought it through. If Mr. Nettleton wants to go further, something's gotta change. We'll run a double act: one side out in the open, I'll start up the Conner Group; on the down-low, I'll keep my old brothers close."

He shot a look at his kid's dad. “Just look at him—business tycoon by day, kingpin of The Silent Ring by night."

Teddy glanced at the friend who'd been quiet this whole time, then back at Conner. "He's not even human-manages both the boardroom and the back alleys. But you've never run a business. Think you can handle both sides at once?"

Conner looked at Andre, the so-called superhuman. "Want to see me try?"

Mars strolled over, dropped into the seat next to Andre, and threw an arm around his shoulders. "Andre, you've been silent since you walked in. I've been waiting for you to weigh in."

Andre finally spoke up. "Hernandez Group has this new energy project-right now, they're the only company in the world with this tech. I've already locked in a deal with their well, vice president. Perfect way for Conner to get his foot in the door in a new business."

Mars blinked. "We're still arguing about whether Conner should switch lanes, and you've already mapped out his next move?"

Teddy arched an eyebrow and grinned. "So that's what you were quiet about, huh, Andre? Figuring out what Conner should do if he goes legit? The Hernandez family's the hottest ticket in town and you finally got them to the table—just to hand the deal over to Conner?"

With the Hernandez Group holding the world's only license for this tech, a Cedillo- Hernandez partnership would mean those two families splitting the global pie. Now, Andre was cutting a slice for a friend. Most would call that reckless, but Teddy, who always kept his distance, understood the real meaning.

Andre said The Eldoria government wants this tech too. If Conner gets the rights, it's like adding an extra layer of armor. At first, I wanted this for the Cedillo family, but giving it to a friend feels right." noveldrama

Teddy looked at his friends and smiled, heart full. The luckiest thing in his life was having these four.

After the meeting, Conner felt a quiet warmth in his chest. "Thanks, Andre."

Andre shot him a look. "Get out of here."

All four burst out laughing.

Between them, if one ever needed

bet

, the others would move

and earth-no matter

no matter what.

when,

swrongs to

Except for Henry, who spent the whole conversation completely lost.

Andre

"looked over at Conner.

"Running two lines isn't easy. You going to have your hands full. Are you ready?"

Conner raised his eyebrows. "Guess I'll get a taste of Andre's busy life."

Andre's lips twitched. "Doubt it. My life's busy for just two reasons: my kid, and his mother."

Meanwhile, a certain kid watched the grown-ups wrap things up, thinking-Dad still hasn't come to pick me up.