Chapter 244 - A Very Mafia Christmas Pt.2

"So you came in here to steal the sweets and both me while your fiancé is off doing that?" Ryan asked as Lean sat on one of the far counters. She wasn't really in his way, she made sure of that but she had requested to be given cookie battery while she kept him company. 

"Is there something wrong with that?" The princess asked with a raised eyebrow. The batter was thick enough that she didn't even bother with a spoon. It was also easier to eat with her fingers and she didn't mind if they got a bit sticky. Ryan shook his head. 

"Only if you blame me later on when there isn't enough for you to eat." He replied as he worked on putting together another batch of cookies. It was easier if he had everything together ahead of time. Less work when it came to swapping them out in the oven. 

"You don't really think though that he will be able to do it?" Lena shrugged her shoulders.

"If he's determined enough, he'll find a way to do it." She replied before putting more of the batter in her mouth. 

Samuel was indeed determined and wasn't about to let getting enough people together stop him from creating some holiday memories. He couldn't do it with his family this year though the princess said that it would likely be safe to go and visit everyone on new year's. 

Jovani was the first one that he reached out to. He knew that his younger cousin was always up to do something different and fun.

If Lena was involved it somehow made him all the more keen to join in.

Eve was away visiting her own family so it wasn't like he had a special someone to spend his holiday with. In fact, he decided to command Alonso to come with him. He thought it might give the other something different to do that would help him relax.

He only agreed as he didn't want to reject a command from his boss. Otherwise, he'd have stayed locked up in his office working away at paperwork and other things that needed his attention.

It somehow always piled up right before the start of the year. Jovani wasn't that great at paperwork which was why Alonso ended up going through all of it for him and only leaving the signing part for the older cousin. It worked better in the long run. 

A son of one of Jovani's more distant relatives had also come to pay a visit. Jovani decided to let him tag along since he was only twelve and he thought that it might be something he enjoyed. 

Once he had gotten them on board, he determined that Jeff and Clive. The younger of the two mafia men was more interested in joining in than the other older one. Caroling wasn't something that he had ever done before but it sounded rather interesting. 

Clive was more reticent but agreed simply because he figured that he'd likely end up getting pulled into being the chauffer for whatever outing Samuel and the princess would be doing anyway. 

"Keep in mind though, that I will only agree to do one song and that's if it is one I am particularly fond of young sir." 

"That's fine, it's just supposed to be for a bit of fun anyways. Trying it once is the important part. If you don't like it, you don't have to keep doing it." Samuel assured the other. 

He assumed that the five people he had collected would be enough if he included himself and Lena into those who would be singing. Plus, Jeff said he would see if his younger brother would like to come along as well. He didn't know if the other would be willing to sing but knew that he would likely enjoy whatever they did. 

He would have also asked if Julian or Zane wanted to join them but he already knew that they didn't have any free time. There were things that they needed to take care of so that they could actually be home Christmas day and through the new year. 

Lena would have been doing the same except Zane wasn't letting her since it was her first Christmas after her engagement. Plus, they had given the employees two weeks off at their business so there wasn't even any reason for her to go in. Anything that did need her attention she either could take care of without leaving the house or James could handle it in her stead. 

That was one of the reasons why she had agreed to do whatever Samuel wanted if he agreed to her terms, there wasn't much else to take up her time until after the next year started. 

"Five people? Is that enough?" The princess asked. She was still occupying the kitchen during the few hours that it had taken for Samuel to get everyone to agree to what he was asking for. 

"If you include me and you, it makes seven. Jeff said his brother might come along as well." 

"Make it eight then for a good even number." The princess commented. 

"Ryan will be joining us as well." The chef turned to look at Lena with a shocked expression on his face. It was obvious his first time hearing anything about this. 

"If this is something that I am going to have to go along with, you'll be joining us as well." She said in a rather resolute tone of voice that caused him to shut his mouth before he could protest. 

He knew better than to argue with the princess when she had set her mind on something. It was most likely that she was forcing him to come along with her because of one of the comments that he had made earlier.

it wasn't like the chef could really protest either. They wouldn't be doing it until the following night which meant that there was plenty of time for him to take care of anything that he might need to before joining everyone else.

He would only need to figure out if he would be serving dinner late or earlier the next night and how many additional mouths was he going to have to feed. 

Lena wasn't entirely thrilled about it but it wasn't like it had been the worst thing that she had ever agreed to in the past. It also came back to the fact that Samuel seemed oh so excited for what he had put together. 

She wasn't about to dampen that for him.. Maybe though she could get away with only having to sing one song if she participated in all of the other activities he wanted them to do.