CHAPTER 69: JOEY ALVAREZ

Braelyn’s POV

Joey already had a booked table. I stared at his grip, which wasn’t as tight as he pulled me towards his table. It was located on a quiet corner of the restaurant.

His table was tucked into a corner near the windows overlooking the balcony garden. A soft breeze blew over the table, with the bustling city beneath us. Sunlight glinted on the glassware.

People were chatting far enough away to feel private.

The moment we sat, Joey leaned forward, his voice still low and calm but his eyes were sharp as if he was trying to read through me.

"So," he said, threading his fingers on the table. "I guess this is where you start to talk," he mentioned. He looked tired but his eyes were still sharp.

"What do you want to talk about?" I acted oblivious. Joey arched a brow at me, a smile gracing his lips.

"You should be a bit kinder to me, considering I just saved you from a sticky situation." My lips pursed into a thin line, was he going to use that as a bargaining chip over me

I arched my brow at him. "You want me to repay the favour. Although I am glad you helped, I could easily manage." Joey chuckled. Soft and restrained.

" Just tell me the truth."

My heart stumbled. I didn’t want to talk about my precarious situation. Where the hell was Genny? "The truth about what?" I whispered.

Joey held my gaze. His teasing smirk was gone. In the blink of an eye, it was like he had changed.

"About you. Raphael. And Lucien." His voice dropped. "From what I saw earlier... that situation isn’t simple, Braelyn." he started.

I could feel my stomach twist. He knew Raphael. That was expected if he was close to Lucien he should know his family. I didn’t know the extent of how close they were.

Lucien hadn’t told him. "You are not dating Lucien." He stated with certainty.

"What makes you think so?" I asked him. He sounded very certain about his words.

Joey sighed, a waiter approached to take orders. Joey waved him off. "Please come back later. We aren’t ready to order yet." He chimed with a soft smile.

His dazzling smile made the waiter’s face heat up. He glanced at me after the waiter left.

"It was hard to believe he fell in love so easily, and you don’t look like the type that plays games," he muttered, my brows furrowed, trying to figure out what he was trying to say. Did Lucien have a past lover?

"I don’t want to make assumptions, I’m just concerned about Lucien. What’s the deal between him and his nephew?"

I was curious about what he meant by Lucien could not fall in love so easily. He knew something and probably wanted to just hear from me.

I sighed, placing my hand on my thighs. "I understand your concern but there’s no need to worry. If you have questions Lucien is more suited to answer them ." I said with a weak smile.

He was stunned by my reply. A soft laugh followed. "You are pretty interesting." He chimed. Soft footsteps stopped by our side.

"Lynn..." I heard Genny call softly. I glanced at her. My face scrunched up at her outfit. Genny was pretty despite her off-fashion taste. I was trying to figure out what she was wearing.

"Genny... " My tone dipped. "You decided to get artistic today." She shot me a glare. Genny walked towards our table.

It was a group table which made me wonder if Joey was having a guest. "What’s up?" She chimed, then glanced at Joey, who had a blank face. Her lips twitched.

"I wasn’t planning on running into you here Joey. I thought you had business to handle." She asked him. My eyes darted between them trying to get the gist of it.

"I had business to handle here but came across Lynn. We were just talking before you arrived." He explained. His tone was a bit harsher compared to what he used on me.

She forced a smile. "You can get back to business then. Lynn and I have some catching up to do." Genny pulled my hand, urging me to leave, as a second more in Joey’s presence would kill her.

A small smile finally tugged at the corner of his lips. "Why don’t we eat together? After all, we are heading the same way after lunch." Joey offered. Genny’s face scrunched up. She wanted to reject him immediately but Joey beat her to it

"I just want to return the favour for the gift last time, and it will be a good idea to know more about my photographer," he grinned. My eyes narrowed at him.

"Are you guys having a photo shoot together?" I blurted before I could organise my thoughts. Joey immediately chirped in

"Yes, I’m modelling for an advert and Genny turned out to be the lead photographer ", he replied. Genny’s face turned ashen. She really didn’t like Joey, I wondered if he was making things difficult for her on set.

"Thanks for the offer but we will have to turn you down. I already made reservations for another table. I don’t want my money to be wasted." Genny mentioned. Her grip on her purse tightened. It was a good excuse, but Joey’s gaze made her nervous.

"That won’t be an issue," he said wryly then beckoned for a waiter. The waiter immediately rushed over.

"Are you ready to make your order?" He enquires. Joey shook his head lightly before he glanced at Genny.

"Refund the reservation fee made under Miss Genevieve Moreau’s name. The table can be put up for reservations. Miss Moreau doesn’t need it." He instructed, and the waiter nodded.

"I will inform the manager immediately Mr Alvarez." The waiter left immediately, leaving Genny and me stumbling.

"Alvarez..."I was stunned by his surname. It was the name of one of Volkov’s biggest partners. It was expected that he came from a reputable family, but I never imagined a son from the Alvarez family being a game streamer.

Genny was left speechless at the fact that he could refund her reservation fee ..

"The surname sounds familiar, doesn’t it? " Joey chimed before adding. "Your money will be refunded before the meal is over. You should take a seat."

Genny reluctantly sat down, "Do your family own this place?"

Joey smiled, "What do you think?" Genny was taken aback. The Alvarez family wasn’t into the hospitality industry..I suspected he owned this place.