"Don't tell me you didn't see the do not microwave label on the other side!"

"It's not legible enough, Tigress!"

"You know what, Alvaro? I'm beginning to think you really are as blind as a bat!" There was a pause. "And don't touch me with those slimy hands!"

"Well, this is interesting," Tobias said quietly but still loud enough to get both of the arguing children's attention.

"S-sir, good morning." Clara stuttered immediately putting distance between the young lawyer who was trying to smear her with mayonnaise and she took out a cup of coffee from the aforementioned microwave.

"Gato, good morning!" Varo's eyes gleamed with pure mischief and excitement. It was way too early in the morning to have so much energy.

"Good morning. I just thought it would be better to break up the noise rather than having Eniola come down here and Clara getting scared again." Tobias responded as he took his seat by the kitchen island and was handed the coffee by his assistant.

"I did not get scared before." She grumbled.

"For some reason, Tigress here is scared of that beautiful woman," Alvaro said as he turned to the sink to wash his hands. "Clara darling, help me with the tap, por favor?" He asked watching in amusement as the woman glared at him and stalked out of the kitchen.

"How was your travel yesterday, Varo? I was unable to have a discussion with you because of your gossip with Eniola." Tobi started as he stirred his cup, frowning as he could see right through it. Clara did not put enough milk in this.

"That is true. She's awesome." Varo smiled for a moment then wiped his hand with a kitchen rag. "She has the most charismatic personality, unlike Queen Elizabeth who just left."

"Clara? Clara has a very-" Tobias paused. "-a very unique personality. She grows on you eventually." He answered as he watched his friend snort and rummage through the overly stocked fridge and ended up getting an apple and a carton of milk.

"That woman is uptight as fuck, hermano." Varo rambled on as he violently bit into his apple. "I mean, am I not hot enough? Look at me!" He gestured at his body as he chugged down the carton of milk.

He would have looked cooler if it were vodka instead of lactose-free milk. But Tobias decided to make no mention of it.

"Are you just upset that Clara, my assistant, has rejected your advances?" Tobias quipped, finding the situation rather amusing.

"Bro, it is like these English women are of a different breed. Who does she think she is? With the snobbish accent and impossibly smooth legs..." His anger wavered at the end.

Tobias rolled his.

"You've known her for barely more than a day. And Clara isn't as cheap as your clients who cannot afford their legal bills." He answered honestly.

That English woman had never been in a serious relationship for as long as she worked with him. She was always so professional and as Alvaro would say... Uptight.

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing." Varo frowned for a moment then perked up. "At least the men and women are gorgeous."

"I take it that you had fun in Varedaro?"

"The best fun. A different partner for every night." Alvaro chuckled. "Mateo says hi, he misses the family and hopes we all meet soon." He added and Tobias frowned.

Of course, they would miss the family. Especially after he had to dissolve them after what had happened with Rebecca.

"Your men are anxious, jefe. They feel they have no other purpose. I feel the same way too sometimes. It's the main reason I even jumped on the quickest flight to this place. Don't you have plans for the future of the family?" Varo's carefree attitude was long gone by now.

Tobias had no plans. He feared for the well-being of his family. He feared what the future held.

"Let's talk about this after we're done with the situation before us, Varo." He answered, sighing deeply.

He actually had to sit down and map out his plans for the family. He couldn't afford them wandering idly in the different parts of Europe. It would cause a lot of issues for him.

Varo kissed his teeth as he quickly put his hair in a small bun and sat across from Tobias. "Where's Miss Gillian? I have a few questions for her and your dear Clara-" He snorted. "-did not give me enough information to work with. She just emailed me the trial date and said you would handle the rest."

"Oh," Tobias responded and cleared his throat. "That sleeping beauty upstairs is quite a handful. She has a few minor charges and a major one."

"What major charge?" Varo asked leaning in with interest. Tobias could see the same spark in his eyes light up again.

This man's skills did help build his lawyer persona.

"Attempted murder. Unfortunately, a police officer is suing as she almost decapitated him." He answered after sipping his coffee and allowing the bitter taste to settle on his tongue. "There is no evidence. My sources say the only signs of anything even pointing to assault are just a couple of red marks. Barely bruises." He recalled looking at the pictures taken of the allegedly assaulted officer that his men had sent him in Minnesota.

"That's... That's something." The Cuban sighed in thought and looked towards the sound of footsteps. "Miss Gillian, good morning!" He greeted making Tobias turn as well.

"Morning, Princess." He gave her a small smile as he saw she was still in her sleeping clothes.

"Morning." She answered cheerfully as she made her way to the coffee maker.

"We were just talking about you." Varo called out.

"What about?" Her pierced brows furrowed in confusion then settled. "The court case then?"

"Exactly." The man responded. "I have a few questions Questions that I would need you to answer. Will that be alright?" He asked and she hesitated for a moment but nodded in agreement.

"Sure, I have no problems with that." She gave him a polite smile and turned to her brewing coffee.

"Bueno, I'll just get my phone and notepad." He answered and left the kitchen.

Not even five seconds later—

"Clara, You left my fucking luggage in the car!"

"You mean you left your luggage in the car. You were too busy acting out Tokyo Drift on the motorway!" Clara screamed back and they could hear Alvaro groan in frustration.

"You know, normal people call it a fucking highway!"

The man walked back to the kitchen to report to Tobias.

"You see, Gato? You see? That woman is impossible!" He hissed and left again.

"It's only been a day and Alvaro has gotten more words out of Clara without her stuttering than I have." Eniola joked settling into Varo's previous seat.

"He does bring out the best in everyone." Tobias replied as he drank the last of his coffee and relaxed in his seat.

"He's alright. How was your night?" She asked half heartedly as she poured some of the milk into her coffee.

Tobias was jealous.

"I had a good night-" hardly had any sleep because I was on the phone with my personal detectives all night. He wanted to add.

"The bags under your eyes say otherwise." Enny narrowed her eyes at him for a moment then went back to her coffee.

He didn't think the dark spots were that visible especially when he had already freshened up.

"I didn't know they were that obvious." He stated truthfully.

"They're not but you haven't given me that smile that lights up your crystal eyes. It's obvious you're tired." She answered back and he felt his heart warm up at the sight of her big brown worried eyes.

She cared.

"I guess it's the jetlag." He tried to reassure her, even doing as much as patting her nest of a hair.

"Do you think I will go to prison?" She suddenly asked after a few minutes of her sipping her tea and Tobias twirling a spoon between his fingers, obviously lost in his thoughts.

"Battery and trespassing don't necessarily call for a prison sentence. The rest, I can't be so sure."

He really wasn't sure.

She was facing at least community service and a few fees but coupled with the attempted murder issue, he didn't know what to expect with the American legal system. But again, he knew Varo was too good to let her actually serve jail time.

"I think Varo is better suited to answer that."

"Okay..." She quietly replied and sipped from her coffee that was quickly cooling.

~~~

"You sure you don't remember anything?"

"Nope."

"The pictures don't ring a bell?"

"Nope."

"You sure?"

"For fuck's sake, Varo. I'm sure."

Alvaro watched her for a long minute before looking back at the photographs in hand.

"Unless you've got four arms, I don't see how possible it is to strangle someone without the handcuffs imprinting on their neck..." Alvaro's brows crinkled in thought as he carefully compared his answers from Enny and the pictures in front of him.

"If you were at the back of cop car, the only means you had to strangle him would have been using the handcuffs you were bound with as some sort of choking device..." He trailed off, adjusting his reading glasses.

"So if what you're saying is true, you're not the person guilty of trying to choke the officer but it was someone else. Someone entirely different or just a part of an elaborate ploy to send you to prison." He finally concluded before lifting his eyes to Eniola who occasionally watched Tobias reading a book at the far corner of the room.

He was bored out of his mind and listening to Varo go all Sherlock Holmes on the case was not entertaining enough.

"I have an investigator and a lawyer as a friend, isn't that wonderful?" Tobias said mainly to himself but Clara who was checking the office reports overhead it and snorted.

"Are you sure you remember nothing, Gillian?" He asked her for the hundredth time.

"I've told you over and over again, I don't remember anything. All I remember is being thrown into the police vehicle and painfully landing on my wrists and waking up in a prison cell with all my piercings yanked out and placed in a plastic bag!" She almost screamed and pushed herself further into her seat.

Tobias could almost feel a sense of deja vu.

"And you said you were not drunk?" He questioned again and she just shook her head.

"I was only on my third-ish bottle of beer. I wasn't even tipsy!" She answered, running her palm up and down her face. Alvaro did not seem to buy a word she said.

Her own lawyer was never like this. He always went with the flow and told her what she wanted to hear, he never questioned her like she was a damn criminal.

"I call bullshit. We're taking a drug test." Varo announced, not looking from his phone as he dialed a number while she stared at him with wide eyes.