Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 233 -

James.

'There he is, being an asshole again,' I thought to myself, my jaw clenched as I watched the new butler, Sylvio, scurry about and set things up. Becca and I were currently at the hall where the wedding would be taking place. She'd hired a butler who was no less than a pain in my side. He favored little underhanded insults he thought would go over my head. "Oh, you're the groom. Beg my pardon, sir. I just assumed you were the father of the bride," he'd said. Comments like that drove me nuts.

At the moment, he was setting up some tablecloths and carrying some chairs over while I oversaw that everything would be going well. I leaned against the wall, my eyes narrowed as I observed, annoyed that he did his job well. Giovani was also here, always one to help out during times like this. "Friend of yours, then?" I asked, my tone a bit tired. Giovani chuckled in response, though it wasn't a kind one as he looked at the butler through narrowed eyes. "Yeah, I know the guy. He's done a lot of work for families in the area. He is obnoxious but good at his job," Giovani replied. "I think 'friend' is a stretch. More like a convenient person to know, who is expensive but worth it." He gave Becca a wave as the woman entered the hall to help out where she could.

Though we had hired quite a bit of outside help to set things up and make it perfect, Becca wanted some part in helping out here as well. I couldn't blame her; this was going to be a big day for the both of us.

Madeline was here with the kids, making sure to watch over them and discourage them from getting underfoot. Alessandro and Dahlia played around with toys they brought, behaving very well. I smiled, looking forward to having them at the wedding with us.

Some people opted for childless weddings, but Becca and I wanted the opposite. There would be plenty of hired help to watch over the kids of parents who wanted to bring them but also get some time to themselves that night. In our case, we had Madeline, but she had become such a close friend to us that we wanted her to have a break and be able to enjoy the wedding, too, so there would be other nannies available for our own children as well. All of them vetted, of course. Sylvio approached Becca. They were standing close enough to me that I could hear their conversation. They weren't being all that quiet, either. The butler said, "Oh, Becca, you look beautiful today! Your children are adorable. You have such a sense of style, dear."

"Oh, thank you!" Becca said cheerfully, smiling at the man and giggling with joy. She did a little twirl, then regarded the children who were having the time of their life, playing around and exploring while trailed by our nanny. "You are doing a wonderful job with setting up."

"Thank you," Sylvio replied. "Don't worry or strain yourself here. That's my job! We will make this a perfect night for you. I would ask your fiance to help out a bit, but he might get winded-a man of his age," he chortled, motioning over to where Giovani and I were sitting. "We won't disturb those two."

I rolled my eyes, having been more than willing to help, but my offers had been refused. Becca chuckled at his comment and looked up to beam at me, her eyes twinkling. I couldn't resist that look and smiled back, blowing her a kiss. "Oh, stop, Sylvio," she said, at least defending me. "I've told them not to help. I want James to enjoy this day."

At least Becca was happy, here and now. That made my heart warm. I commented to Giovani, "Obnoxious is correct. He seems to have a bounty of nice things to say to Becca but has been making underhanded insults toward me this entire time." Sylvio wasn't exactly Becca's age either, though he was younger than me. He was one of those guys who always thought he could charm everyone in a skirt.

"Hm, well, I hope you're not letting it get to you," Giovani said, wearing a knowing smile. "Problems like him usually tend to work themselves out. One way or another." What in the world did he mean by that? I gave him a sideways glance in confusion.

"Are you planning something? Care to enlighten me?" I asked, wondering why he was being so cryptic lately. Giovani shook his head, giving a chuckle and turning to place a hand on my shoulder, shaking it somewhat.

"No, no of course not. I'm just speaking metaphorically. I mean, I am always planning something, James, but I'm not planning to take out the butler. My concern is you. You have been very uptight and worried lately despite this being the time of your life. Becca doesn't notice it. You melt like butter on a stove for her lately. In the best of ways. It is cute. I do have an eye on things, though."

"What do you mean?" I asked, tilting my head. I asked him a bit about those off-feelings, and if there was something going on, but he never stopped reassuring me that all was well. Even if I had a feeling it wasn't.

"We both know you have some things left untied, but it really isn't something you yourself should be worried about. Family is important to us. If there were malicious entities dancing around in the shadows, that would be my business, even if they were after you," he said.

"Are there?" I asked, my voice a bit edged. Giovani chuckled and gave me a look. He let go of my shoulder and stretched, then cracked his neck. He turned to observe the hall being set up with tables and decorations again. "What did I just say?" he said cheerfully. He then said, "This is a wonderful choice of decorations, by the way. Did you and Becca pick them out together?" He was genuine even if clearly changing the subject. I sighed, then nodded. "Good taste," he finished.

With that, Giovani dismissed himself for a bit, getting a call regarding matters he needed to take care of. I was left here, for now, watching the butler and Becca interact. That guy was incredibly annoying, a feeling I really couldn't shake. I couldn't wait until my interaction with him was said and done because he really ground my gears. He definitely wouldn't be offered a long-term position after the wedding was over.

Becca went off to check on the children when he approached me, a snide look on his face. He said, "Your soon-to-be wife is wonderful. The two of you are so very different, sir. It leaves one to wonder how she ended up with someone like you." I remained polite, though I spoke through a clenched jaw. "We have had our ups and downs, but are very happy together. Our family is growing, and in a very good spot." It took me everything not to respond with my own snarkiness. Who did he think he was, speaking to me like that?

"Oh, married because of the kids, huh? Always a shame to see that happen," he commented, once again tossing in that underhanded insult that was driving me up the wall. I twitched an eye, then shook my head.

"Not at all. The kids deserve married parents, yes, but we genuinely love each other. Again, we had many ups and downs, but matters worked out in the end for both of us, and we are very happy together," I said, wondering why I had to defend myself to this guy.

"How sweet," he said, though I doubted he meant it. He looked me up and down, and said again, "I'm just so surprised, given you are so much older than her. I wonder if she will ever regret not marrying someone younger... someone in his prime."

Annoyed now, I motioned toward the room. "Pardon me, but don't you have a job to do? I know you came to us highly recommended, but if you can't get back to work and stop analyzing everything, I might have to replace someone who talks less and works more."

He twitched his lip in annoyance but dipped his head. "Yes, sir, that is very true. It would be a shame, since I gave up several other opportunities to work on this one on short notice. My servies are always highly sought-after. That said, back to work indeed." Mercifully, he returned to his work and left me alone.

Some time later, Becca bounced over and embraced me, saying, "The kids have been having a blast here, James. Everything is set up for them to be happy too. They have a large play area with tons of toys, some really large ones. We should get some like them at home. The kids really seem to love them."

I chuckled, returning her embrace and holding her close. She smelled wonderful, of her typical floral perfume. I ran my fingers through her hair, causing her to relax in my other arm before pulling away and giving me a huge smile. I said, "I would say they have plenty of toys, but you can never have enough of them, right?" I winked at her, causing her to chuckle. I then said, "Things in here are going well, the adult room, rather. The butler may be an ass, but he does get the job done."

Becca blinked in confusion. "Oh? An ass? Sylvio? What makes you say that?" she asked, and I just let out a sigh. I didn't want to worry her with this, or think I was being uptight for no reason. Therefore, I just shook my head, grumbling a bit but not elaborating.

"Nevermind that. It's not something you should worry about. I will talk to Giovani about it later. The important thing is that the setup is going well," I said to Becca. Hopefully, she wouldn't burden herself with too much worry about things like this.

Thankfully, she dropped it quickly, doing a twirl in front of me and beaming. "Alright. I trust you, James. Giovani has been super helpful every step of the way in this, hasn't he?" she asked, prompting me to nod.

I leaned forward and gave her a deep kiss, which she returned. She even deepened it, exploring my mouth with her tongue for a while and prompting me to groan with satisfaction. Eventually, and unfortunately, the kiss had to end. We stared at each other lovingly for a while before I finally answered her question. "Yes, Giovani's helped us out quite a bit. I'm proud to have him as my best man." My cousin had been very honored to earn that title at my wedding. With that, Becca went to go check on the kids, likely playing with them as well. I kept overseeing the wedding preparation, jumping in to help when I could. Or rather, when this butler wasn't jumping down my throat for me not to do so. He kept the annoying spree of underhanded insults up, tanking my mood as time went on. Giovani eventually returned and asked me what was wrong. I said, "The butler and his tendency to be an asshole. It's getting on my nerves, but I'm tolerating it."

"Like I said, obnoxious, but good at his job. Trust me, I'm not a huge fan of him either. He did come highly recommended, though. I'm sure it will all work out in the end," Giovani said, with a hint of amusement in his tone.

I wanted to ask him what he meant by that but looked up to see Becca waving me over, wanting my opinion on something. After shooting Giovani a curious glance, I pushed off the wall and walked over to help Becca. Did Giovani know something I didn't know? Probably. Anymore, it seemed like that was always the case.