Chapter 1

DANTE'S PENTHOUSE, LOS ANGELES.

The music was blaring so loudly he could hardly hear himself, as much as he enjoys throwing parties in his home. Nothing prepares him for the noise and the cramped room. No matter how much he seeks a small gathering, they would always turn up in plenty. Only Dante O'Neil can throw the best and most expensive party in the entire city. The smell of different sweats morphed together makes his head ache every time.

Sniffing, Dante dragged his staggering self to the bar where his most reserved friend, Aiden Carter, served the drinks. For every party held, he resolves to stick to the bar. Aiden was bad at holding his alcohol and does himself and everyone a favor by not mingling with the others.

"Care for a drink?" Aiden inquired.

"If I take one more shot, I will probably end up in a coma. I am good." Dante waved it off. His eyes blurred. He had promised himself not to drink beyond his usual intake. But his stubborn self had decided to partake in a "never have I" game and ended up chugging almost half of the drink put up for the game.

"I see, the game, uhn," his friend mumbled, and when Dante nodded in response, a small laugh escaped Aiden's lips.

Dante sure is a bad boy, one of the finest of Los Angeles' prominent and good-looking bachelors. Despite being a renowned web designer for the most exotic companies in Los Angeles, Dante thrived on the earnings of his grandfather, who runs a renowned pharmaceutical company in New York. Being the only surviving bloodline, Dante ensures to enjoy the benefits to the fullest and never ceases to extend the chances to his friends and the different kind of ladies he spends his time with.

"How about we go for a ride? You are sober," Dante suggested.

Aiden raised a brow, "and who would look after the people here? Moreover, it's three-thirty in the morning. Don't you think you should take a nap?"

Dante groaned, "stop trying to advise me. Shawn is right here; he can handle everyone." Their eyes searched for Shawn, and they saw him receiving a pleasurable blowjob with his head thrown to the back from a red-haired lady. Dante grinned. "This is why I love Shawn."

Scoffing, Aiden dropped the napkin he had in hand. "and it's obviously the reason why you prefer me as your driver. Crazy being."

Laughing loudly, Dante stood up from the stool and was about to make a move for the door when something hit him from behind. "What the f..." His words didn't form as he was forced to keep mute at the sight of a fuming Renee.

"You bastard!" Renee screamed, bringing the music to a halt. Everyone stared at one another, confused about what the noise was all about.

Dante chuckled awkwardly, "Renee, baby. You are here."

"You son of a gun!" She bellowed, hitting his chest. "how dare you sleep with my friend?"

He scratched the back of his head, "what friend?"

"Don't try to pretend. I saw the message exchange between you and Penelope. To think you slept with each other on my birthday! How much of a scum can you be?" She wailed.

"Oh, that. It was just a one-time thing." He shrugged. His words got him a filled cup of alcohol thrown in his face. "Shit!" Dante cursed under his breath.

"Did you just deny sleeping with me more than once? You and I had sex at the hotel last night!" Penelope came forward to defend herself; she felt betrayed because of how much she had bragged to Renee about her escapades with her friend's boyfriend.

Dante kissed his teeth, glaring hard at both ladies. "The last time I checked, I am not obligated to be with just one of you. I can be with anyone at any time I choose. You're lucky; you should be happy that you got a taste of me. Now get out, both of you. And if anyone is still interested in enjoying the free drinks and food, toss both of them out of my house."

Within the blink of an eye, two hefty guys had lifted each lady, making their way towards the door. Dante looked unfazed by their curses. He wasn't new to the trend, and everyone knows him for being controversial. It's almost like a consolation prize for him to appear in the tabloids every week. DANTE O'NEIL, THE NOTORIOUS HANDSOME HEARTBREAKER.

Still, none of the ladies learn from the falls of their predecessors and choose to give in to him. They had the crazy thought that he might eventually choose either one of them, which makes it more fun for Dante to involve himself with as many ladies as he wants. Most of them were models; he always has a way of causing a ruckus among the entertainers.

"You, my man, are the only mentor I will always look up to," Shawn praised him, joining them at the bar when everything had fallen back to order.

"Do you always have to back him up?" Aiden looked displeased.

"And why do you always have to act offended?" Shawn retorted drunkenly.

Dante had a proud smirk on his face, "I did well, right? Those two have been a hard nut to crack. And I had to spend so much to get their attention. Sucks, right?"

Aiden pushed at his head, "Nothing here sucks except your lifestyle. Your parents would be disappointed."

"But I won't even notice because they are dead, man." Dante laughed uncontrollably, joined in by his aide Shawn. "Please, come take me on that ride, Aiden."

Taking a deep breath, Aiden huffed in exhaustion. "Let's go." He said, checking his pocket for a car key. Shawn stayed back as his eyes met with the red-haired lady. Appears they have unfinished business.

"Wait a minute," Dante told Aiden as they walked towards the elevator. His eyes landed on one of the ladies he had been trying to talk to all night, but she was being followed around by a guy who looks like her boyfriend. This time she was alone. Clearing his throat, he tapped her shoulder. "Need a ride?"

The brown-eyed, innocent-looking face smiled shyly at him. "I would appreciate it."

"Let's go then." He gestured towards the elevator.

Aiden groaned; it was going to be a long morning after all. He mumbled profanities under his breath, wishing he had remembered to bring his AirPods along. Dante and the girl giggled to each other within five minutes of the ride, and the next thing he heard was his friend moaning and the girl's sucking sound. His torture came to an end when Dante's phone rang.

Mumbling a string of curses at the sound of the phone distracting him from the moment. He had ignored the first two call entries, but the phone kept ringing. Dante stared at his phone. The caller ID read Grandpa.

"Shit!" He cursed out loudly, yanking

I apologize for the interruption. Here's the continuation of the corrected text from where we left off:

*****************

O'NEIL PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY, NEW YORK.

Ethan shook his head pitifully as the other line kept ringing with no response. He didn't stop calling because he knew for sure that his grandson was wide awake. Not after pulling off such a public mess. The call eventually went through on the third trial.

"Took you long enough," he growled into the phone.

Dante made a loud yawning sound on the other end. "Top of the morning to you too, Grandpa, and it's barely morning yet around here, and I am sure you know it's a three-hour time difference. But it's obvious you don't care. To what do I owe this concerned call?" He muttered in his usual taunting tone.

Ethan sucked his teeth, "Dante, you and I know, calling you is one of the things that stress me the most. Give me one reason why words about you didn't just hold themselves back in LA and had to make their way to New York and ruin my mood?"

There was a loud movement in the background; it was obvious Dante had no idea he was trending yet again. "Grandpa! I already told you to unsubscribe from that crazy tabloid. Aren't you too old for that? I never counted you as one to like gossip so much."

Ethan couldn't believe his ears, for a moment he hoped Dante would deny being the one. Instead, he did the exact opposite with no shame. Ethan had heard that posting such controversial news earns such bloggers a lot of money. It would have been fun to watch if his grandson wasn't their most talked-about person.

"Shouldn't you be ashamed, Dante? When do you intend to curb this ridiculous lifestyle of yours? This isn't a good name for the family and business."

Dante groaned, sounding frustrated; he refers to his grandfather as a nagging old man. They never get to talk for a minute without him complaining. "Don't bring that up, grandpa. This is why I left New York to enable me to enjoy my life to the fullest."

"There is nothing enjoyable about that life of yours, young man. Instead, you are like a parading monkey. Have you lost your mind? Where exactly did I go wrong in training you? I wish I could see you right now and hit you hard with different golf balls; probably you will come back to your senses." Ethan said in one breath, trying to hold down his pants.

The young man laughed, "I doubt if killing me is on your agenda, grandpops. How about we just talk a little later. I am in the middle of something."

Before Ethan could say anything, Dante had hung up. When he tried to call back, his line wasn't reachable. Ethan sighed heavily as he held up the tablet again, watching the video of his grandson being hit and drenched in alcohol. How he gets to watch such annoying videos without losing his mind surprises Ethan himself.

Dante had always been a naughty kid since he was young when Ethan's son Kingston, who was Dante's father and his wife, died in a car accident when their son was barely eight. It had been a tough journey for Ethan, but he had stood his ground, ensuring to be there for his grandson as much as he could while also running the family business.

The moment Dante got to his senior year in high school, he became reckless, and his name seemed to always turn up as an erring student every week. Ethan was almost losing his sanity over the boy; the only relief was his outstanding performance in his studies. However, getting in trouble with the opposite gender was Dante's most cherished goal. When Dante insisted on studying at the University of California, in Los Angeles, far away from home, Ethan didn't object.

Which was unlike Ethan, as the fear of losing Dante like his parents had made him keep the boy next to his side all through the years. However, Ethan knows letting Dante stay back in New York will bring nothing but trouble to both of their futures. Now, it's been over six years since his grandson relocated to LA.

However, Dante ensures to put him in a worried mood due to the heart-clenching news written about him every now and then. The thought of his boy getting labelled as a bad egg and how much it would ruin the company's name, which he had toiled hard for over the years, made his heart feel heavy. A sharp pain struck his chest as he inhaled; Ethan moaned, holding his chest tightly.

Grabbing the bottle of water next to him hurriedly, he drank to his fill. Gasping for breath, Ethan held onto the table edge to ease himself. The door opened, letting in Ariel, his secretary and, safe to say, right-hand man. She was just returning from a meeting with the head of departments on his behalf.

Ariel rushed towards the old man at the state of his colored face. "Are you okay, sir? Do I need to call the doctor?"

Ethan waved a dismissive hand, "I'm fine, Ariel. I was just trying to calm myself from all the anger boiling inside of me."

"Oh," she muttered, rolling her eyes, "did you call Dante concerning the video?" Ariel inquired, knowing that was the only thing that could bring the old man's blood pressure to a rise.

Ethan sniffed, leaning further into the chair, "I will never seem to understand where I went wrong exactly in raising that kid. He makes it look like all of the years of moulding him to be well-behaved were a waste of time."

"He is a twenty-six-year-old man, who knows what he is doing clearly. Don't heap the blame on yourself; he is well aware of his behavior and has chosen to be a nuisance. That isn't your fault."

A chuckle escaped Ethan's lips; Ariel was always the blunt one. She never tries to hide her irritation towards something. He decided to change the topic.

"How did the meeting go?" He asked, making an attempt to stand up, but he felt a hard tug instead.

Ariel was about to respond to him when Ethan collapsed against the chair, falling off onto the hard floor. "Ethan!" She screamed, running towards him.