"Lance, why don't you take a seat? What kind of coffee do you like? I'll have someone whip up a cup for you," Monty said, trying to sound as accommodating as possible.

Lance shot him a look. "Dude, you are seriously annoying."

He didn't even bother to glance at Monty or the others, keeping his eyes fixed on Calliope instead. "Hey, Callie, who are these weirdos? Are they your family or something? I never even heard you had family—I figured they were all dead and gone!"

He gave the run-down office a once-over. "Why are you even working at a dump like this? If you're so into running a company, I could just buy you one, you know! Seriously, just let someone else handle this mess for you and come with me already. Weren't we supposed to head out together?"

Lance rattled on, barely pausing for breath.

Calliope ignored him, laser-focused on her work.

Finally, without even looking up, she said, "Lance, if you don't shut your mouth, I'm gonna shove a couple of dirty socks in it!"

Lance blinked. He shot upright from his chair.

Turning to Monty and the others, he said, "Alright, you three, come entertain me. I've got nothing better to do, and who knows how long Callie'll be stuck working."

"Absolutely, it's our pleasure!" Monty replied eagerly. He was determined to leave a good impression. If JK Group ever ended up working with the Jewell Group, that'd be a dream come true.

Lance dragged all three of them over to play a game. "Ever played poker?" he asked, pulling out a deck of cards.

Monty and the guys exchanged glances. Sure, they'd played poker, but they figured Lance, having lived abroad, wouldn't be that great at it.

Turned out, they were dead wrong. Lance was a card shark. He played fast, smart, and ruthless—and he wanted to bet cash.

Three rounds later, Monty and his group had lost every hand, and their wallets were hurting.

"Man, you're brutal!" Monty said, wiping sweat from his brow. "We can't beat you!"

"Yeah, I'm tapped out," Valerian admitted. "Can we play something else?"

Monty winced at his empty wallet. He'd hoped to win a little extra cash, but now he was even more broke.

Horatio and Valerian were just as shocked. Who knew this rich kid would be such a hustler?

"No offense, but you guys suck!" Lance teased, shaking his head. "If it was Callie playing, she'd have me betting my pants by now!"

He grinned. "You guys act like you're family, but you're nothing like her. How can you be so clueless?"

Monty and Horatio exchanged pained glances.

Lance kept muttering, laying into Monty and the others, especially Horatio and Valerian. He went on about how Calliope's other brothers—who'd grown up with her—were all sharp as tacks, nothing like these two. He even started wondering if they were just pretending to be her brothers.

The comparison stung. Horatio and Valerian felt a pang of jealousy. Calliope was their real sister. How could he be closer to those other guys? It didn't seem fair. Maybe they needed to step up their game and actually connect with her, or else they might lose her for good.

Soon, Calliope wrapped up her work. She handed off some documents to Franco and turned to Monty and the others.

"Alright, while I'm out, Franco's in charge. If anything comes up, just give me a call."

"When will you be back?" Monty asked, looking a little worried.