Taming the Tiger: Chapter 9

Kit let out a small chuckle.

"How can it be classified when I already know?" Kit teased Michael.

("Why do I feel like you're avoiding talking about Roman?") 

"Dad, I'm on his boat. You want me to gossip about the boat owner? Who knows where the security cameras are?" Kit responded casually. His stepfather fell silent for a moment.

("Fine, fine. If anything urgent happens, call me immediately. And stay away from Roman. I don't want you caught in the crossfire. Roman has more than his fair share of enemies,") 

"Yes, I'll be back in a few days anyway," Kit replied, before chatting briefly about his mother and other general matters, then ending the call. 

Kit exhaled in relief before his thoughts inevitably drifted back to Roman. He knew for certain that Roman was involved in the arms trade—that much was undeniable. But human trafficking? That, Kit wasn’t so sure about. If he trusted his instincts, he’d say Roman wasn’t in that business.

What Kit found more troubling was why the authorities suspected him in the first place.

"Well, it's none of my business. I'm just here to relax," Kit reminded himself before abandoning these thoughts and lying down to rest.

*** 

"Do you even know who I am? Who Miss Rina is?" Marco’s voice thundered as Roman’s men escorted them to their assigned quarters.

"Of course I know, sir. Otherwise, how could I work for the boss?" Norris, a tall, muscular man, answered in a calm voice.

"If you know, then why didn't you take us to better rooms than these?!" Marco continued to protest upon seeing their rooms.

"This room is actually quite good, sir. Besides, you came without an invitation and arrived mid-trip. The rooms you might consider “better” simply aren't available. You're lucky there are any rooms left for you to sleep in. Oh, and the boss said if these accommodations aren't suitable for you, you're welcome to leave," There was no fear in Norris’s voice. He had only one master—Roman. And Marco? He was nothing more than a troublemaker who had been a persistent thorn in his boss’s side. Norris had no reason to be intimidated.

"You—" Marco was about to lash out again when Rina gently touched his arm.

"It's fine. I, Rina, can stay here," the woman said sweetly to Marco, causing him to stop immediately, though he still looked disgruntled, clearly feeling slighted by the situation.

"Where is Mr. Roman, and when can Rina meet him?" Rina turned to ask Norris with a smile that she believed would make any man yield to her. But with Norris, this wasn't the case. He continued to regard her with the same cold gaze.

"The boss is extremely busy right now. I'm not sure if he'll have time to meet with you at all. Now that you've arrived, please rest at your leisure. We'll take our leave," Norris said before nodding to his men to depart.

"That Roman doesn’t respect Rina at all. This won’t do. I need to tell Grandpa to put him in his place," Marco grumbled in frustration.

"It's fine. We did arrive unexpectedly. Why don't we rest first and then walk around to explore?" 

"Okay, Rina, go rest," Marco replied before seeing Rina to her room. He didn't immediately enter his own room but turned to his two subordinates who had accompanied him. Initially, he had wanted to bring more men, but his father told him to take only two, fearing Roman might refuse to let them board. Otherwise, the mission that required him to get on this boat might fail.

"Have you contacted the Colonel?" Marco asked.

"Yes, sir," his subordinate confirmed.

"Good. Let's go meet him," Marco replied before they headed to the meeting point. He had already arranged to meet someone who had boarded this ship earlier to discuss business.

***

"He's on his way to meet Colonel Jerry, sir" Travis reported Marco's movements to Roman, as he had assigned someone to secretly follow Marco. Roman already knew that Marco had managed to board his ship by arranging a meeting with a certain Colonel, using his grandfather to pull strings and bringing Rina along as an excuse.

"Tsk, such a childish plan. He’s on my ship but doesn’t even consider how many eyes and ears I have here," Roman shook his head in amusement at the Accardo family's scheme.

"And about how they found out our ship's location?" Roman asked, glancing at his two secretaries.

"We’re still investigating that," Travis replied.

Roman nodded in acknowledgment.

"Boss, you have a meeting with Mr. Vadim in ten minutes," Nathan reminded him of his schedule.

Roman glanced at his wristwatch briefly before nodding and getting up. Then, he made his way to his private meeting room.

***

Kit woke up around 1 PM. He got up, went to the bathroom, and washed his face. Just as he was finishing up, his phone rang. When he checked, he saw that it was Jake calling, so he answered.

"What's up?" Kit said.

("Hey, where are you right now?") Jake asked.

"I'm in my room. Just woke up. What's up?" Kit asked back.

("Oh, am I bothering you?") Jake asked, sounding a bit apologetic.

"Not at all. Where are you trying to take me?" Kit asked knowingly, making Jake chuckle.

("I was gonna ask if you wanted to grab lunch and maybe hit the casino afterward.") Jake replied.

"Sounds good. Give me ten minutes, and I'll meet you at the main dining room." Kit agreed.

Jake confirmed before hanging up. Kit got ready quickly and then left his room, heading to the dining room where he had agreed to meet Jake. When he reached the dining floor and was about to step inside, he accidentally bumped into a woman who had just walked out. It seemed like she hadn't been looking where she was going. Kit instinctively reached out to steady her.

"Oh, excuse me," the young woman said.

"It's no problem," Kit replied. The woman looked at Kit, quickly assessing him before stepping back. Kit released her without thinking much of it, though he had to admit she was quite beautiful.

"Sorry, but do you know which way to the casino?" she immediately asked Kit.

"Oh, you can scan the QR code from any staff member. They'll have a map on your phone," Kit answered.

"Thanks," she replied with a slight uptilt in her tone before walking away.

Kit watched her go, wondering why she had sounded so haughty. Maybe it was because he wasn’t dressed in high-end fashion. At the moment, he was wearing faded jeans and a plain white short-sleeved T-shirt from a local Thai brand that his friend had sent him. Initially, he thought his friend had sent it as a joke, especially since they had shipped five dozen of the same white T-shirt despite the brand having multiple colors. The message that came with it had said, "Since you love them so much, I figured I'd send you more!" Kit had spent an hour ranting about it over the phone. But after actually wearing them, he had to admit—they were pretty comfortable, and he didn’t have to think too hard about what to wear.

"Falling for a pretty girl, huh?" Jake teased as he walked up, having seen the whole thing.

"Not at all. Just looking," Kit replied casually. "So, what do you want to eat?"

The two of them made their way to a table and ordered their meals.

"By the way, isn't Roman having someone watch over you today?" Jake asked curiously.

"Why would he need to have someone watch me all the time?" Kit responded with a small smile.

"Oh, right! Roman invited us to take the speedboat out for some fishing tomorrow. You interested? I already asked him," Jake said as he remembered.

"We won't be bothering him, right? To be honest, even though he's my idol, I feel really nervous whenever I'm around him," Jake said while making an exaggerated gesture. Kit just chuckled softly.

"It's no bother," Kit replied, though secretly thinking that Jake wasn't the only one who felt intimidated around Roman. Kit himself felt that way sometimes, especially when Roman looked at him with that intense gaze. Kit felt like his whole body was on fire every time.

"Okay, what time are we going?" 

"In the morning. I have to tattoo Roman and Danil in the evening," Kit explained, causing Jake's eyes to widen.

"Seriously? You have the equipment?" 

"Roman's having someone bring it," 

"Wow, he must really want you to do it if he's going as far as getting tattoo equipment delivered to a boat in the middle of the sea," Jake teased.

"To be honest, I don't think we're that far from shore,"

"In that case, could I get a tattoo too?"

"Let me talk to Roman first. If he doesn’t mind sharing the equipment and we have everything needed, I’ll tattoo you too. That way, I’ll have something to do to pass the time," Kit said with a grin. 

They continued eating and chatting before heading to the casino. Some gamblers who remembered Kit from his first few days playing approached to greet him and ask what he was playing so they could follow his lead.

"What's going on?" Jake asked, confused. Kit laughed softly.

"I played roulette earlier and those guys bet the same numbers I did and won big. They probably think I'm their lucky charm,"

Jake's eyes lit up. "For real? Then let me ride on your luck too," Jake said. Kit led Jake toward the roulette table, but before they reached it, he bumped into a woman who wasn't watching where she was going.

"Hmm," Kit raised an eyebrow slightly when he realized the woman was the same one he'd met outside the dining room.

Coincidence or clumsiness? Kit wondered to himself. The woman turned to apologize but paused, then frowned at Kit, leaving him quite confused.

"Are you following me?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

"Huh? Me, following you?" Kit asked in return.

"Yes. You knew I was coming to the casino, so you followed me, didn't you?" the woman insisted. Jake, overhearing this, smiled slightly at the woman's confidence.

"Miss, I don't want to be harsh with you, but I think you're overestimating your importance. I was planning to come here with my friend anyway. We're all on the same boat right now. True, this ship is huge, but people do run into each other. I've met other people before and they didn't assume I was stalking them," Kit said in a calm voice. While his mother had taught him to be a gentleman with women, she had also taught him to choose carefully who deserved such courtesy.

"Yes, I called my friend this afternoon to invite him. We weren't following you at all," Jake added. The woman felt embarrassed at being called out by both men.

"I'll have you know, I'm a guest of the owner of this boat," the woman invoked Roman's name.

"Everyone here is the owner's guest," Kit replied.

"But I'm a special guest of Mr. Roman Vasillo," the woman insisted. Kit raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Is there a problem here?" One of Roman’s men, who had noticed Kit, immediately approached them.

"This man is following me—" The woman started to say, intending to have Roman’s man deal with Kit, but before she could finish, the man actually bowed slightly toward Kit.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Kit?" the man asked respectfully, making the woman stare at Kit in confusion.

"It’s nothing, just a little misunderstanding. You should have someone keep an eye on this lady before she bumps into someone else and causes an injury," Kit said casually before nodding at Jake, signaling him to head toward the roulette table with him.

The woman looked like she wanted to say something.

"Miss Karina, where are you headed?" Roman’s man asked, as it was his job to keep track of her activities.

"Who is that guy?" Karina demanded, growing frustrated at the way Roman’s men were treating Kit with such respect.

"You don’t need to know," 

Karina was annoyed, but there was nothing she could do. She was alone, and she hadn’t found Marco yet. Left with no other choice, she stomped off in frustration to find a gambling table to distract herself—only to end up at the same roulette table as Kit and Jake.

The table attendant recognized Kit and bowed to him, knowing his importance. Jake secretly thought that their boss would definitely be losing more money to Kit again. This made Karina watch Kit with increasing suspicion, wondering who he really was. Karina assumed Roman had instructed his staff to show respect and give special treatment to her, but instead, she found that hardly anyone paid her much attention. Roman's staff treated her like any other guest. 

Kit knew the woman was watching him, but he didn't care. He immediately placed his first bet, and many others quickly followed his lead, including Jake. Karina, however, refused to bet the same way Kit did.

"Wow!!" A loud cheer erupted from the table as Kit won his bet. That meant everyone who had followed his lead had won as well. Karina, who had bet against him, had lost.

As the game continued, Kit and the others kept winning, round after round. While there were a few losses here and there, they were rare and barely noticeable. Karina, on the other hand, had consistently bet against Kit—and had lost a considerable amount of money because of it.

"Hey, isn't this a bit strange?" Karina asked with a slightly arrogant attitude, causing everyone to turn and look at her.

"What's strange?" a woman asked in return.

"He keeps winning every single round!" Karina said, convinced that Kit was somehow cheating and determined to expose him.

"You don’t think my friend might just be lucky?" Jake countered.

"No one is that lucky," 

"Well, you've been losing in almost every round. Is it possible for someone to be that unlucky?" Kit asked in return, making several people stifle their laughter.

"I still don’t believe it! You—" Karina turned to the dealer. "Call security! Have him searched! He must be hiding something!" She was convinced Kit was cheating, though she couldn't figure out exactly how. If she could unmask Kit, Roman might appreciate her and treat her better. 

Kit, hearing this, made an annoyed face before turning to the roulette table attendant.

"Well? Are you going to search me?" Kit asked.

"No, sir. We're quite certain you're not cheating," the employee replied respectfully, making Karina turn to look at him with displeasure.

“You’re being incredibly careless. I’m going to tell Mr. Roman,” she said, her tone pressing but not outright yelling.

“What’s going on here?”

A deep voice—one Kit recognized instantly—sounded before the crowd instinctively parted, making way for the casino’s owner. Roman entered with his bodyguards, walking directly toward Kit without so much as a glance at Karina.

“Mr. Roman!” Karina greeted him excitedly, prompting Roman to briefly turn his eyes to her.

“Good evening, Miss Karina,” Roman acknowledged her.

Karina tried to move closer to him, but one of Roman’s bodyguards swiftly blocked her path. She almost snapped at the man but managed to hold herself back—she couldn’t afford to look rude in front of Roman.

"What's going on here?" Roman repeated his initial question. Kit remained silent, curious to see what Roman would say. He also had no idea what Karina’s actual relationship with Roman was—if she even mattered to him at all.

“This lady here requested that we search Mr. Kit,” the dealer reported.

At that, murmurs spread through the crowd. If the dealer knew Kit’s name, it was clear he was someone important—otherwise, the staff wouldn’t have been so respectful to him from the start.

“For what reason?” Roman’s voice hardened.

"I've been lucky, winning almost every round. She thinks I'm cheating," Kit answered.

"Rina was just concerned on your behalf, Mr. Roman. If he's innocent, a simple search would settle everything," Karina said in a sweet, coaxing voice.

"There will be no searching of Mr. Kit at all. No matter which table he plays at, no matter how much he wins, let him play," Roman stated flatly, causing Karina to pause momentarily. Kit raised his eyebrows in surprise but couldn't help smirking slightly.

"How well do you know him, Mr. Roman?" Karina asked for confirmation.

"He's my special guest," Roman replied. Kit felt his head swell a little—though he generally disliked using people or giving orders, being protected like this wasn't so bad.

"Oh, I see.” Karina turned to Kit, speaking in a suddenly sweet voice, “Rina must apologize to you then. I was just worried about Mr. Roman's business and wanted to look out for him. I hope you won't hold this against me," Kit was amazed at how quickly she could change her facial expression.

"It's alright, I don't mind," Kit replied with a slight smirk, which irritated Karina, though she couldn’t afford to show it.

"But you're free now, aren't you, Mr. Roman? Since you came to see me," Karina turned to Roman, making sure everyone watching knew just how important she was.

"I'm not free. I was just passing by and thought I'd check in on Kit," Roman answered in a cold tone, not sparing her a glance. He knew exactly why she was here, and he had no intention of humoring her—or considering the feelings of either his grandfather or her father.

"Kit, the items you requested have arrived. Would you like to go check if everything is there?" Roman spoke to Kit in a noticeably softer tone than he'd used with Karina, making her wonder who Kit really was and how important he must be to receive such familiar treatment from Roman.

"Really? That was fast. I can go check now," 

"Good. I'll have Norris take you," 

"But Norris is supposed to stay with you, boss," Nathan, who had been standing behind them, interjected. Roman turned to him with an impassive expression, while Travis simply sighed at Nathan’s persistence.

"Tell me, Nathan—who gives the orders here, you or me? And what about the rest of my bodyguards? Are you saying that without Norris, they’re incapable of protecting me?" Roman’s voice was calm but carried an unmistakable edge.

Nathan immediately lowered his head in acknowledgment. "I apologize, boss," 

Roman then turned to Norris, who bowed his head in understanding without Roman having to say anything more.

"This way, Mr. Kit, Mr. Jake," Norris gestured for them to follow. Kit and Jake gathered their chips and left without hesitation, while Roman walked off to handle other business.

Karina, however, attempted to follow Roman, only to be stopped by his men. One of them politely informed her that their boss had pressing matters to attend to and couldn’t spare any more time for conversation. Frustrated, she had no choice but to stay put.

"That was satisfying to watch," Jake remarked as they walked, grinning. Kit responded with a small smile.

"She's actually quite pretty, but her manner of speaking, what’s up with that?? What amazed me was how quickly she changed her attitude when Mr. Roman arrived," Jake continued. Norris heard this but offered no comment.

"Forget about her," Kit said dismissively.

"Now that I think about it, she does look familiar. I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before. Uh… Norris, right?" Jake turned to confirm the man’s name.

"Yes," Norris replied.

"Do you happen to know her name? I can’t seem to remember it," 

"Karina Da Silva," Norris answered plainly. There was no need to hide it—after all, she was a public figure.

Jake nodded, muttering the name under his breath before pulling out his phone to do a quick search.

"Ah, Karina Da Silva. So she's a model. No wonder she looked familiar," Jake said, holding up his phone for Kit to see. Kit took a glance at the screen but didn't show much interest—he didn’t recognize her.

As they arrived at a room, Norris opened the door and led Kit inside. Kit's eyes lit up the moment he saw the tattoo equipment and tools laid out before him. He had to admit, he missed his shop and working with his own equipment.

"Can I stay in this room for a while?" Kit turned to ask Norris.

"Of course, sir. This room will be your designated tattoo studio. If you need food or drinks, you can call room service. And if you require anything else, just let the bodyguards outside know," Norris replied. Roman had sent him here partly to ensure Kit was settled, but also because he had another task to take care of.

"Thanks," Kit responded before Norris stepped out.

Kit then turned to Jake. "Let's check the supplies and get everything set up for tomorrow."

Jake, clearly excited, eagerly helped. He had always been interested in getting a tattoo himself.

***

“Marco! There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you,” Karina called out.

She felt abandoned—despite the fact that she usually had an entourage following her. However, since she had boarded Roman’s yacht unexpectedly, she wasn’t allowed to bring her people along. Only two of Marco’s men had accompanied her.

"Sorry, I was handling some business," Marco replied. “Have you seen Roman yet?” 

“I have, but he was too busy,” Karina answered, sounding slightly annoyed. "By the way, Roman has a special guest with him, but I don’t know who he is. I’ve never seen him before, but Roman seems to be giving him special treatment," 

“What’s his name?” 

“I only caught his first name. I don’t know what family he’s from, but Roman called him Kit. I overheard them talking about something arriving, but I have no idea what it was,” 

Marco paused for a moment, thinking. "I’ve never heard that name before, but I’ll have someone look into it," 

Karina nodded in agreement. Marco then suggested they grab something to eat, while he discreetly ordered one of his men to investigate and get a picture of the man named Kit.

***

The Next Morning

The day before, Kit and Jake had spent the entire day in the tattoo studio preparing equipment. By the evening, one of Roman's men came to inform them that Roman wouldn’t be able to join them for dinner. Instead, he had scheduled breakfast together the next morning. Kit didn’t ask too many questions and simply went to have dinner with Jake. They later had a few drinks at the bar, all while being discreetly watched over by Roman’s men. Eventually, they called it a night, resting up for their fishing trip the next day.

“You told your father already, right?” Kit asked as Jake came to his room to fetch him for breakfast.

“Yeah, I did. The moment he found out I’d be going with Mr. Roman, he practically waved me off without a second thought. He didn’t even assign a single bodyguard to follow me,” Jake said, laughing. His father knew all too well how skilled Roman’s bodyguards were.

Kit simply nodded before they both left the room, following one of Roman’s men who had been waiting for them. They made their way to the dining room, where Roman was already seated with Danil and Ivan.

"Kit, you look damn good today," Danil teased.

Kit merely shrugged. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said.

Jake greeted everyone with a casual good morning.

“It wasn’t long. Have a seat,” Roman replied.

Today, Roman was dressed in relaxed, casual clothing, which was a rare sight. Kit found it slightly odd but had to admit—no matter what Roman wore, he always looked good. Then, out of nowhere, an image of Roman in swim trunks flashed through Kit’s mind, making him quickly shake his head in an attempt to erase it.

“What’s wrong?” Jake asked, confused.

“Nothing,” Kit replied, trying to regain his composure.

Roman then signaled for the staff to bring out breakfast. They had only been eating for about five minutes when a commotion was heard outside the private dining room.

Norris entered, his expression unreadable.

"Mr. Marco and Miss Karina are here," Norris announced.

Roman's expression darkened slightly.

"Let them in, but their men stay outside," Roman instructed. Soon Marco and Karina entered the dining room.

"Hey little brother, didn't think to invite your big brother and your fiancée for breakfast?" Marco teased. 

Kit raised an eyebrow at the word fiancée. So Karina is engaged to Roman? The moment those words were spoken, Roman’s expression turned cold. Karina, noticing this, quickly grabbed Marco’s arm.

"Don't say such things, Marco. Rina and Mr. Roman aren't engaged at all. We're just in discussions," Karina said gently, though she couldn't help adding that playful hint at the end. For some reason, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of dislike toward Kit. At first, she had assumed Roman would invite her to breakfast as a welcoming gesture, but no such invitation came. She and Marco had to have their men investigate just to find out that Roman was here in the private dining room. Only then did they rush over.

“Even if I didn’t invite you, you’d still show up, wouldn’t you?” Roman replied, completely ignoring Karina’s words and addressing Marco instead. Marco looked at Roman with displeasure but tried not to show it, aware they weren't alone in the room.

"Hello, Ivan, long time no see. Danil is here too?" Marco greeted Ivan and then looked at Danil with suspicious eyes.

"Would you see me if I weren't here?" Danil asked in return, as he disliked Marco equally. 

Kit and Jake smirked slightly, suppressing their laughter. Marco’s face stiffened at the retort, but he let it slide. Instead, he instructed Karina to take a seat, then sat down beside her without waiting for Roman’s invitation. Karina felt a little awkward but maintained a composed expression.

"Oh, you have new friends too?" Marco asked upon noticing Kit and Jake. He already knew who they were but pretended not to.

"You must be Jacob Pienno, son of President Leonardo Pienno, right?" Marco asked.

"Yes, hello," Jake replied politely. Marco then turned his scrutinizing gaze to Kit. He knew only that Kit had been invited as someone who had done Roman a favor, but he wasn’t aware of his background.

"And you are?" 

“Kit,” he replied curtly, offering no last name, no mention of his parents—nothing.

It wasn’t because he was ashamed of being an ordinary person. In truth, he simply had no desire to engage with Marco at all.

That response pleased Roman immensely.