Page 7 of The Chameleon

Some even better than themselves.

Levi would be the first to crack. Matteo could always rely on Levi’s honesty and loyalty to make him confess to whatever it was that he and his brothers were secretly up to. Levi was the key. Once Levi confessed, Isaac would follow suit in solidarity with his best friend. Then, of course, Jared would have no choice but to admit his part in whatever scheme they were planning because, well, he was dating Isaac, which meant that he was always involved in whatever it was that Isaac was doing.Rafael was the newest to the group, so he would fold once he saw his other brothers confessing. That left Teo, Gunnar, and Anders, who would give up primarily because, at that point, they probably would have lost interest. This would then leave Diesel—the one man who would continue to lie to Matteo’s face, mostly because he was stubborn and refused to give in to Matteo and his charm.

Diesel was always the hardest of his guys to crack. He listened to Matteo out of respect for him, but if he didn’t want to do something, he always found a way or loophole to exploit, which would allow him to do what he wanted without…technically… disobeying Matteo.

So Diesel was never the one Matteo wasted time on trying to crack.

“What?” Matteo asked once again, eyes roaming over each of their annoying faces.

“That guy’s been eye fucking you ever since you placed your order,” Diesel piped up surprisingly, giving a slight nod over Matteo’s shoulder.

Matteo was used to people checking him out when he was out in public. He was good-looking, rich, and powerful—all qualities that seemed to make women moist in their panties and men hard in their drawers. But he wasn’t interested in dating. He had done the whole love thing once before, only to have his heart torn out and mangled by the one person he thought truly understood him.

No, he was not interested in opening his heart once again.

He and his heart had come to an agreement. His heart would allow Matteo to fuck whomever he wanted, whenever he wanted, without getting attached or making him feel…things.And in return, Matteo promised never to let another man get close enough to everimprinton his heart again.

“Someone wants a piece of Daddy’s dick,” Isaac chirped, always the classy man.

Rolling his eyes, Matteo took a sip of his cognac and ignored the chatting young idiots he had brought with him to tonight’s performance.

In a way, he was relieved that it wasn’t something worse. Once, the guys decided to play a little game called “Will they? Or won’t they?” The premise waswill the random person they hit on agree to go into the bathroom and suck their dick, or won’t they?Even though Matteo promised to murder any one of them who participated in the game, he couldn’t help but notice each of them giggle as one of them disappeared to chat it up with a random male. In another odd turn of events that night, the bartenders only seemed to be serving soda whenever one of the boys tried to order anything alcoholic.Strange.

“What? Can’t say you’re not fixin’ to bust a nut. How long’s it been since you got your dick wet?” Diesel asked, taking a swig of his beer and watching as some older gentleman passed by with his wife. That boy could always sniff out an easy target.

“My sex life isn’t any of your concern,” Matteo responded, smoothing out the front of his suit vest, ensuring that everything looked neat and proper.

At events like these, image was everything. People watched, and people talked.

The name Sabarino was well-known across France and certain parts of Europe. Originally from Italy, the Sabarinos decided to move to France almost a century ago, where they made the châteautheir family home.

To the general public, the Sabarino family fortune was considered old money, having amassed the majority of their wealth over several generations. When asked, Matteo simply explained that his family was involved in investments. In reality, investments were only a tiny portion of the Sabarino fortune.

“All’s we’re sayin’ is that we can entertain ourselves if you decide to slip into the men’s room and give that dude what he’s clearly cravin’,” Jared added, shrugging his shoulders as he sipped his beer and looked at his brothers.

The men surrounding Matteo were not brothers in the familial sense. They were not bound by blood or any type of marriage. They were brothers because they had all bonded. They shared in each other’s pain and were always there for one another whenever needed. They protected one another and stood by each other.

Matteo and this group of smiling idiots were family.

“Come on. Let’s go grab our seats before the opera starts,” Matteo muttered, gesturing for Teo to lead the way.

“Fine,” Teo groaned, placing the cap back on his water bottle before turning to head toward the large double doors that led to Matteo’s private box.

Yes, Matteo had his own private box that he used once a month, bringing the boys with him to soak up some culture. Working atLa Maison de M, Matteo liked his guys to be cultured and well-versed so that they could easily converse with any of their clients at the club.

Given the large number of dancers Matteo employed, he always made sure to alternate which guys joined him at the theatre each month. While there were a few dancers—like the ones present tonight—whom Matteo was much closer with, he always made it a point to treat each of his employees fairly.

Some of the guys, like Levi and the twins, had actually come to enjoy these trips to Paris to see whatever opera, play, or ballet was performing. Tonight’s performance was a rendition ofMedea, a stunning tale of betrayal and vengeance, something Matteo hoped would interest the boys.

Fixing Rafael’s bowtie—yes, Matteo insisted that everyone come to the opera dressed to impress—he smiled at the newest member of their family.

“Are you looking forward to tonight’s performance?” Matteo asked, locking eyes with the stunning Spaniard who looked as dashing as ever.

Rafael joinedLa Maisona few months ago after moving from Barcelona to Paris. This was his first time attending the opera with the group, and he appeared excited about the experience.

“Si.I’ve never been to the opera before. This place is like a palace,” Rafael noted, eyes taking in every detail of wonderment throughout the theatre.

Wiping down the shoulders of the young man’s suit, Matteo loved seeing the look of joy and excitement when one of his guys got to experience something amazing for the very first time.

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