Not that the dinner would be any different because I knew my father was up to something with this meal. He wasn’t the type to meet outside of our family home for a meal if it wasn’t for something that would benefit the Family.
The Family that he had reminded me on the call last night, I would take over sooner than later. A Family that would need an heir after me and therefore meant that he was pushing the idea of a bride on me again.
At thirty, I didn’t know why he was making a fuss about marriage. I was already handling all the legitimate businesses and preparing to take over a lot of the things my father handled that were off the books. He was having a harder time than I expected loosening his reins, but it was out of fear of me having to shoulder too much of a legacy.
He always gave me a choice, even in things like this marriage business. There was the choice to say no, but I knew that the look on his face if I said it would be too much of a disappointment.
And I couldn’t stand to disappoint them more than I already felt like I was doing.
My hand went to loosen the tie I was wearing, feeling like I needed to catch my breath as I gripped the wheel tighter. How the hell was I still influenced this much by my father at my age?
This meeting had to be a contract meeting. Either to feel out how our families would feel together, or maybe it was already done, and I just needed to fall in line with whatever my father had planned.
Marriage contracts were common.
We use them to build alliances and stop bloodshed. Sometimes they were just between old friends who drank too much sambuca and smoked too many cigars. But they were considered an honor and a privilege among many. Most of my family had been brought together with these contracts, even my own parents.
I had seen firsthand how they worked together and how they were in love, a blessing and a curse in our life.
Love was the easiest way to get distracted. Distractions caused mistakes. Mistakes meant death.
Sighing out, I pulled into the parking lot of City Hall not even wanting to look at the time because I could feel the way pressure was gripping me already. Holding me tight in the lock of anxiety I was feeling
I was going to be late meeting my soon to be wife because I had trusted Enzo to do something I should have done in the first place. My father was going to give me one of his looks that made me drink too much at 2AM, rethinking every decision in my life and wishing that there had been a spare born and not just one heir.
Sometimes the pressure felt like too much and I would drown in it.
My car door slammed as I grabbed the suit jacket, shrugging it on and pulling off the tie that felt like a noose, tossing it in the back seat. I took the steps up into the building, tugging at the door and frowning when it was locked.
Christ on a cracker.
“You can’t leave. You need to-”
“If you don’t fuck all the way off I’m going to take my heel and stab it right through your thick fucking skull.” Enzo had been cut off by a female voice and I watched them round a corner of the building in a mix of slammed doors and echoing heels on pavement.
I was thankful he was desperate. At least it showed he cared enough about this or maybe my wrath, to fight for it. Enzo was loyal, that I did trust. But the woman who was walking beside him didn’t seem to give him the time of day and that made me furious that she was giving him such a hard time.
Tied up in municipal government hierarchy was just the sort of low level annoyance I didn’t need to add to my mounting issues the club was giving to me and I was ready to let whoever this city employee was know it.
And then she came into view and my heart hammered, the headache that throbbed in my skull vanishing as my mind became overwhelmed by her.
She was gorgeous.
The woman must have been in her early twenties, with dark curls that flowed down her back, shining in the afternoon sunshine. They bounced as she stormed away from Enzo, not seeming to care that he was even talking to her still. She had sunglasses on to hide whatever hue of beauty her eyes might be. The full lips on her, painted with freshly applied red lipstick, had me thinking about how my cock would look wrapped up in that shade. How it would smear on her lips as she gagged on my length. Spit dripping from those lips as her lipsticks washed off from the smear of my cum on them.
Great, now I was getting hard looking at this woman.
The heels she wore with her black suit added a few inches to her and she was still short next to Enzo who was only 5 ‘8. She would dwarf next to me but with the way she carried herself I don’t think she would be intimidated and God help me, that sent another ache of longing right to my cock.
I shifted on my feet, hand readjusting myself as I took in her appearance, trying to get a quick read on the situation to understand more of what was going on around me so that I could play it to my advantage.
She carried a purse I knew cost $4000 dollars with a matching scarf draped effortlessly around her neck in a way that made me want to unwrap her like the expensive present she was, trail kisses down the column of her throat. Bite that smooth skin on her neck and mark her.
I was going to hell for the distractions she was providing me with. Shaking my head slightly I refocused on this mystery woman.
Money looked normal on her. As if she had always been dealing with the finest things in life and her Dior was the same as other women would carry their Target bags. She wasn’t dressed on a public servants budget and that piqued my interest; who was paying her to work there? Was she an enemy? Or did I just need to buy her signature?
Moving down the stairs, taking a few at a time in order to catch up with them, I cut them off. My eyes were watching the way Enzo relaxed when he saw me, like she had been giving him trouble and he needed backup. The moment of relief and then fear that I was here hit him because he knew I was supposed to be meeting my father.
Good.
Fear was a great motivator and I wanted him to know me being here was serious and that if it didn’t go well he would need to be working extra to make it work well
“I’m so sorry to catch you late this afternoon. My name is Dante Luchese. I’m the owner of-”
“I’m done for the week. If you wanted something signed you should have come during business hours. Now, if you will excuse me.” She tried to side step but Enzo stepped closer and wouldn’t let her pass. The way her lips pursed together, annoyance so clear on that pretty face of hers as she grew frustrated.
She sized him up and for a second I wondered if she was going to hit the man in front of her. The way her hand curled around her keys, slipping them between her fingers to do more damage when she hit, was impressive. Obviously, she had some training in situations like this.
My smile was forced as I shrugged like there was nothing to be done about him blocking her. She was holding my gaze, knowing that Enzo might be blocking her but I was the one who could call him off. Which I would do if she worked with me.
Holding out my hand I took the papers from Enzo, opening it to the last signature that I needed to open the club tomorrow. Thinking about once this was done I could finally have this business done.
We were opening a restaurant with both an upstairs and a downstairs nightclub, as well as a few private areas in the building for other business. Upstairs would be more relaxed, quiet and a good spot to get a drink or maybe dance a bit. It was designed with the idea of being seen by people and having them spend their money.
It was a legit business upstairs. The restaurant and nightclub would make good money that would help wash the money that was being made downstairs in the clubs reserved for the club members.
A gentlemans club, where they could work out in one the gym that was below the restaurant. A floor below that was where they could take their goomahs for dinner without fear of being seen by their wives or wives of friends. And below that was where they could find their next goomah.
I’m sure there would be plenty in the basement that ended up being an issue but that’s why we had so many people in the city on payroll. To turn the other way when things got a little bit too much.
Except for this little bit, apparently. I didn’t know who was paying for her here but I would get to that soon enough.
“Opening night is tomorrow. Why don’t you sign this and I can save you a-”
“Dante’s Inferno. How original.” Her tone suggested that she thought this was some sort of joke. One that wasn’t very funny to her.
The way her arms crossed over her chest, hands tucked in showing she was absolutely not signing whatever I wanted and making me furious she had the audacity to cut me off. She shook her head at me and I knew she was rolling her eyes under those sunglasses.Her blatant disrespect, how she didn’t seem to care who I was irked me.
I wanted to fuck the defiance right out of her mouth.
And I needed to get those thoughts out of my head because I was very aware I was about to be engaged.
“I’m late for a meeting. I do not have the time to sit here and argue with you about a paper that I will not be signing so, Demon, why don’t you get on your phone and start calling in all the favors that you will collect from everyone in the city and promise them a spot in your hell? I have my own waiting for me.”
Enzo was still blocking her but she was done with waiting for him to get out of the way. Her heel came down on Enzo’s foot, the howl he let out as she ground it in before walking away from us, the calm tapping of her heels echoing through the empty garage as she walked away from us.
I was stunned and turned on from the way she had gone head to head with me, not seeming to care about what I wanted or who I was.
