Chapter 137: She Kicked
Out
"Is everything alright? Did I do sothing wrong?"
"You tell . I hear you have been flirting with the younger Scalese."
"Uh...I...should I have not?" Ricardo raised a brow.
Luca’s gaze was steady. "What are your intentions?"
Ricardo swallowed.
Intentions.
If only it were that simple.
"Uh...its complicated..."
Complicated didn’t even begin to cover it. His mind flickered back to Valentina’s face the night before—the flash of hurt in her eyes, the fire in her voice.
He deserved it.
"Does she know you are not staying?" Luca asked.
"Yes, I inford her."
"And?"
Ricardo exhaled slowly. "She kicked
out."
Behind him, Marco snickered.
Luca shot him a withering look before turning back to Ricardo. "According to her sister, you make Valentina happy. So I thought, you could stay on in New York, see where this thing with Valentina goes."
Ricardo hadn’t expected that.
In fact, he had co into this office fully prepared to be told to pack his bags and go back to Vienna with maybe an asisignnt or a ssage to deliver to Don Genovese. Instead, Luca was calmly suggesting he stay.
"Uh...I’m not so sure she wants to see
again."
"Okay."
Ricardo hesitated for half a second before the panic of losing the opportunity entirely kicked in. "But I would still like to stay on, if it would give
the opportunity to get to know her better." he quickly added.
Because he still wanted to try.
"I have had the managent spot of the club open for a while now. The forr one got greedy and I haven’t had any one to fill the space."
"I’m not working for the familia?" He wasn’t sure if that question sounded relieved or confused. Possibly both.
"No...but you will make just as much money. The club thrives with its classy and elite clientele."
Ricardo nodded slowly. Still, he couldn’t ignore the quiet sense of relief that crept into his chest. A job ant stability. Stability ant staying in New York. Staying in New York ant—
Valentina.
"I have just one rule, Ricardo."
Ricardo straightened instinctively.
"Do not mistreat the girls who work here. Is that understood?" Luca asked.
Ricardo nodded imdiately.
More firmly than necessary, perhaps.
Because despite his many flaws—and there were plenty—he had never been that kind of man.
"Of course, of course. Thank you Luciano." Ricardo said.
A chance.
That was all he had hoped for, and sohow, against all odds, he had gotten one. And it had nothing to do with Bianca Genovese.
Luca gave a small smile. "Now go inform your Zia."
Ricardo nodded quickly, pushing his chair back as he rose to his feet. "Thank you." He said again.
He ant it.
As he moved toward the door, he clapped Marco on the back in passing, the gesture friendly and casual. Marco had always been a difficult man to read. Sotis he seed amused by Ricardo, sotis vaguely annoyed by him, and occasionally he looked at him the way a guard dog might look at a stranger who had wandered too close to the gate.
Still, Ricardo gave him an easy grin before stepping out into the hallway.
"You have a problem with him being with Valentina?" Luca asked Marco.
Marco leaned back against the wall, arms folding across his chest as he stared at the closed door for a mont longer than necessary. "Not really."
"You have reservations."
The truth was, he had reservations about a lot of things—most of them involving Ricardo. "I don’t trust him." Marco said simply.
"Because he is chasing a girl you like."
Marco snorted softly at that. "I don’t see Valentina like that, Luca. I just think she can do better than Ricardo."
Valentina deserved soone steady. Soone certain. Soone who didn’t look like he might wake up one morning and decide to disappear halfway across the world.
"Well, Veronica says he makes Valentina happy. When Valentina is happy, Veronica is happy. My life is simpler."
Marco humd in response.
Still, sothing about Ricardo’s sudden determination didn’t sit right in Marco’s gut.
Maybe it was the timing.
He wanted to believe Ricardo ant well. He just wasn’t convinced yet.
"Marco, I am not going to ask you this again. Do you have feelings for Valentina?"
Marco looked up. "No."
Valentina was... Valentina. Strong-willed, sharp-tongued, stubborn in a way usually made him his life choices. He respected her. Liked her, even. But whatever he felt for her had never crossed that particular line.
And he knew himself well enough to recognize when it had.
"then case closed." Luca said.
The matter, at least in Luca’s mind, was settled.
Luca’s gaze shifted briefly toward the door Ricardo had exited through. "Make preparations for Ricardo to take over upstairs."
Marco pushed himself away from the wall with a quiet sigh.
Whether he trusted Ricardo or not, the decision had been made. And when Luca made a decision, the rest of them adapted.
"Yes boss."
As he turned toward the door, Marco couldn’t help thinking that this arrangent might either turn out surprisingly well...
Or beco an absolute disaster.
*****
Vee adjusted the straps of her dress one last ti, the cool tal of her tracker necklace brushing against the curve of her collarbone. She stood in front of the full-length mirror, taking in her reflection. The jet-black lace wrapped around her in delicate floral patterns that seed almost alive.
The nude panels created the illusion that the lace was crawling along her body, tracing every curve with ticulous intent. She had always appreciated fashion, but this—this was art. Bold, provocative, and utterly impossible to ignore.
Her fingers brushed along the sheer fabric at her thigh, and a shiver ran down her spine. The dress was short, scandalously so, revealing more than modesty would ever allow, and yet she felt powerful wearing it. She wasn’t normally the type to walk into a room and make heads turn, but tonight, she knew she would.
And not just for anyone—this was for Luca.
A week of perfect days and nights flashed through her mind. He had been obsessively attentive. There was a gentleness to his fixation, a tenderness that had her craving more. And she did crave more. Every second away from him felt like a countdown to a delicious inevitability.
Reviews
All reviews (0)