Love Me to Death (ON HOLD)

10. Daddy Knows Best

She pauses, taking a moment to look at a calendar on the wall. Judging by all of the writing on it, it's completely booked up.

"Sometime next year." She says a moment later, after having studied the calendar for a while. "That's the earliest he's available."

"I'll probably be dead in a year so I insist that I get to see him today." I'm growing tired of this back and forth game, but I don't want to cause a scene in a building that's wired with hundreds of audio devices and cameras. Martino Vignale isn't just a cautious man, he's a paranoid man. "I'll tell you what's going to happen here. I'm going to walk right past you and I'm going to find Mr. Vignale. You can send security after me, but just know that you'll be sending them to their immediate deaths."

I don't wait for her appalled response. I just walk past her like I said I would. Venturing further into the lobby, I debate on whether or not to take one of the elevators. They could shut them down as soon as I step on board, but that would be an inconvenience to all of the other visitors. And I'm too lazy to walk up twenty-one flights of stairs.

I take my chance on the elevator, hitting the silver button for the twenty-first floor where Martino's office lies. As the lift rises, I can't help but think about the elevator plummeting and crashing. That thought doesn't scare me nearly as much as it should.

Bing!

The elevator stops and the doors pull open to another lobby. This one is notably smaller than the last, but it's still got an expensive taste to it. The floors are made out of marble and the ceilings are high.

I'm pleased with the fact that the front desk here has been abandoned. I didn't want to have to go through another person to get to Martino. I don't have time to waste on anyone else.

I surpass the front desk, walking straight to the doors that lead to his office. I don't even bother knocking or announcing my arrival. I push past the tall doors, entering the room on my own accord.

As expected, he's sitting on top of his desk with his hands folded in his lap. His face raises in my direction when I barge into the room, his brows furrowing at the sight of me. He told me not to come here, but I don't play by the rules.

His brown eyes wrinkle at the sides as he purses his lips together. Running his fingers through his salt and pepper hair, he regards the client that's standing in front of him with weary eyes. Shit. I hadn't even considered that he'd be dealing with someone else.

"As I was saying," Martino continues speaking with his client as if I'm not even in the room. The man standing before him hasn't even turned his back to glance at me. Maybe he didn't hear me come in. "Someone stole from our business last night. A million dollars was taken."

"Only a million dollars?" A very familiar voice asks and I feel my heart skip a beat. Maybe I should've listened to the secretary after all. Rescheduling would've been better than this. "You're lucky you weren't here when it happened, sì? They could've killed you."

"I would've killed them first." Martino replies terse, his voice devoid of emotion. He messes with the gray lapels on his business suit as if he's trying to distract himself from something. "I'm going to kill them myself since someone can't seem to do their job right."

Martino reaches into a drawer on his desk, but he doesn't get the chance to raise his hand before Nevio points a gun square between his charcoal eyes. It takes me a second to realize that he has two guns and he's aiming one of them at me. He takes a step back from his father, widening his shooting range.