The Mafia King's Unknown Doctor Wife novel Chapter 379

Joshua was clearly annoyed, though he was trying not to show it. "Hello again, Massimo," he said pleasantly enough. "Now why exactly did you ask me to meet with you?"

Massimo huffed out a short laugh. "I would think the answer would be rather obvious, given the current situation," he replied. "You're a well informed man."

Joshua frowned. "Look, while I appreciate that you actually contacted me rather than trying to engineer some happenstance meeting, I've already told you everything I can. And even if I decided to mimic your... more flexible morals, I'm not part of the FBI investigation."

Massimo had known that much. That wasn't why he called Joshua to this small, quiet diner on the opposite side of town. But he'd let Joshua think whatever he wanted—so long as it let Massimo get to his real goal.

"But you're staying busy at your prosecutor's office, aren't you?" Massimo questioned right back. "You've been visiting different police stations a lot more frequently."

"It happens when I have a tighter workload," Joshua replied, oddly defensive.

"And just how tight is that workload?" Massimo pressed. "It must be keeping you incredibly busy."

"I get by just fine, Massimo—though your concern is... noted," Joshua stated, his voice starting to sound more frustrated.

Massimo grinned at that revelation. It only made Joshua's frown deepen.

"But what did you actually want to talk about—"

"Your family is still in Colorado, yes?" Massimo asked.

"Why is that relevant?" Joshua clipped out. He was starting to sound more and more like an annoyed lawyer that was dealing with an unruly witness.

Elena quickly learned that Noah wasn't a talkative person. Ordinarily, Elena wasn't either—and that wasn't a fact she normally minded. But this meant that they walked around the little galleries at snail's pace without talking at all.

Elena tried to ask some questions about the local art scene to get a conversation going, but Noah would just quickly explain everything. Elena would fail to think of a follow-up question. Then they would be stuck in another awkward silence.

So Elena tried instead to point out nice features of the different art pieces they saw. She remarked on the shapes of different sculptures, the beautiful colors of some glass pieces, and the subjects of various paintings. But that didn't get Noah talking for much longer either.

As they went through different exhibits, Elena realized how little she knew about art. Honestly, all her comments started to strike her as incredibly shallow—just pointing at the odd use of materials or how particular colors might have been used to imply some vague feeling. She felt particularly embarrassed when she tried to say how one sculpture might have been posed so oddly to evoke a feeling of sadness or being overwhelmed in the viewer and then Noah pointed out that the title of the piece was "Happiness."

Elena simply didn't know enough about the art scene in general to make any high-class comments without looking extremely foolish. So she stopped trying. Though it was awkward, Elena tried to just focus on enjoying the art pieces in her own limited way.

Most of the art pieces were incredibly forgettable. Elena was sure some artists worked very hard on them, but many felt like they were just trying to make something flashy without putting any heart behind the effort. After finishing a third exhibit, Elena was certain this outing was a complete disaster.