It had been a few days since Victoria and Ross' moment. Let's say she wasn't uncomfortable around him (well, maybe at the very beginning) and was now at her little space.
Victoria was now more clingy with him, which meant, he was having a difficult time because he also had work to do, even if he would like to spend much time with her.
"Daddy, can we watch a movie? Pleease?"
"Baby, I told you I need to finish with this paperwork. We've alredy watched one this morning, didn't we?" Ross said, not really looking at her as he was anxiously searching for a pen on his desk. He let out a sigh of relief once he found it.
"But daddy!"
"Vicky, we've alredy talked about this. Why don't you go watch it for me, so when Daddy finishes here he can go cuddle with you?"
She stubbornly huffed and crossed her arms, and Ross couldn't get angry at that. In other circumstances, he would have chuckled at that, but he knew neither of them were in the mood. Also, he couldn't blame her. Ross found cute how dependant she was after that day, and was glad she had had a good time, so he also wanted to spoil her a little.
"Don't be upset, you can pick whichever you want. Why don't you cuddle with Brownie for a while? Ah, and ask Marcus to give you a cookie, yeah?"
Her expression changed after that, quickly nodding and already rushing to his brother.
The man sighed on his seat and ran a hand through his hair. He had a meeting with Williams that day, because they still couldn't find any clues on the traitor matter. The Caruso were all expectant about it, and were hoping they could at least get some information.
So, basically, that meant they all had to work a lot more. Even if they were used to it, that didn't mean they felt stressed about it.
Anyway, Ross kept writing and making a few phone calls for at least one hour, until he recognized William's. He immediately answered, waiting for him to speak.
"Hey Ross, I'm getting there in 10. We need to talk about-"
"Something 'bout Bianco?"
"Uh, no. I still couldn't find something useful, but we need to have a meeting with the Morello soon. The sooner we make a deal about the wineyard, the better"
"Shit, I forgot about that" Ross said, throwing a pen on his desk. He knew he had had a lot going through his mind the past weeks, but it wasn't acceptable to him. "When can we meet?"
"I've already told them tonight-"
"Tonight? Are you serious?"
"Yeah, as I've alredy said, the sooner, the better. Vincenzo's right behind us, Ross, we need to make some business with the Morello now"
"God, alright. But why, of all the places, did it have to be there?"
"Come on, Ross. I know you don't want to go because of her, but it's gonna be quick, as always"
In the end, Ross said it was okay, and hung up before heading to talk to his brothers, alredy feeling a slight headache. The problem wasn't having a meeting. The thing is, Victoria had to go with them, too.
Let's say a mafia's club was... different. And honestly, he knew how the rest of the Caruso would react, but it couldn't be helped at all. The only things that could be seen in those places were naked women and suited men smoking cigarettes talking about business. Ross wanted to kill Williams for choosing that place, but now it wasn't time for that.
...
To say they were all worried about their little girl was an understatement. None of them liked the idea, and Ross had a bad feeling about it. But, considering there were going to be lots of bodyguards and goons made them feel a little better.
"Baby, can you get out of your little space for me today?"
Victoria slightly pouted at that, it wasn't fair. She had been her normal self the last few days, so she was kind of angry at the fact Ross was asking her to get out of her little space again. She didn't answer, instead, she kept caressing Brownie's head.
"I promise we'll cuddle a lot after this, alright?" He said, before she could protest.
Victoria let out a defeated sigh and slowly nodded, earning a thank from him.
"You're gonna be okay. We'll just be there for a few hours and then we'll leave" Marcus said, joining the conversation.
"I'm not scared, though? But I thought no one could knew about me"
"Well, it's different. Remember when we went to the practice a few days ago?" She nodded, "everyone saw you, but it's okay because they're on our side, right? It's the same this time. It's... about loyalty. They wouldn't sell us" Ross patiently explained to her.
The girl didn't really understand that, or any mafia stuff, but trusted them too much, so she would do as they said. Ross stood up from his seat next to her and left to talk to Williams, who had got there about an hour ago.
"Ah, Jake bought you a dress" Marcus said "it's on your bedroom, I think"
"Really? I was fine with my clot- uh, nevermind, thanks"
"Oh, and we'll leave in an hour"
Her eyes widened at his words. An hour wasn't enough for her to finish her make up, hair and getting dressed. She rushed to the bedroom, not really answering to him.
The dress she saw was really pretty. It was neatly put on the bed, and its shiny details made her instantly fall in love with it. She was definitely going to thank Jake a lot for that.
On the floor there were also a pair of shoes that matched the dress' color, and a note that said "I thought you would like these ;)" from obviously Jake's handwriting.
She shook her head and went into the bathroom to take a quick shower. The girl wasn't nervous before, when they told her about it, but now she was feeling really anxious.
Ross and Marcus had explained to her that it was a dangerous place and that she had to hold someone's hand all the time. At first Vicky thought it was exaggerated, because she could perfectly take care of herself, but she decided not to go against it.
...
She didn't know how, but in forty five minutes she managed to make a simply but elegant bun as her hairstyle and also finish her make up. It was simple, too, but was still good.
As soon as she tried the dress on, she felt too excited. It had been long since she had last felt that pretty, because she wasn't the type of getting out of her house too often. Her shoes were the perfect size, too, and she felt surprised at Jake for knowing that.
"Alright, I better get going"
As soon as Victoria entered the living room, she was met with four pair of widened eyes, surprisingly staring at her. It's not as if they didn't find her pretty, but it was their first time seeing her in such a nice outfit.
"Uhm, is it that bad?" She asked, her smile quickly fading.
"Yeah, it's terrible" Jake answered, earning a hit on the head from Jeff. "God, it was a joke"
She ignored him, though.
Ross "daddy's" instincts kicked in and he positioned himself in front of her, noticing her deep blush. He brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear and said,
"It's not that. You look gorgeous, princess" she gave him a smile and he smiled back, admiring her cute expression. "Shall we go now?"