The following morning, I woke up and everything that happened yesterday rushed back into my head.
"Damn it."
I muttered then got out of my bed.
I took a quick shower and by the time I was dressed I could hear people talking downstairs.
Down the stairs, a group of my boys were messing with Nico. As I walked past them I said
"That's Carlo's son, I wouldn't mess with him."
The men quickly stopped and dispersed.
"They were just playing around, they really are good guys."
I smiled at Nico who had on the same clothes from yesterday and looked tired and sore from sleeping on the couch.
"Good guys, huh?"
He scoffed.
I rolled my eyes.
"Hurry up and eat breakfast then shower, I have to run by the office today and I'm supossed to show you everything I do business wise. "
At the Romano Office Building~~~~~~~
I sat in my office chair as I flipped through my files.
"Bianchi, Colombo, Conti, Costa, ah, here we are... De Luna."
I said pulling out a file onto the desk.
"Who is De Luna?"
Nico asked looking up from his phone.
"You mean who was Marco De Luna. He was taken out four months ago, but someone has just informed me about something we missed in his case."
"Why did you kill him?"
"Well that's Romano business, Valentino."
I smiled.
"Can you at least tell me why you need to go back to this case?"
"There is a wittness we accidentally missed."
"A wittness?"
"Yup, but it's not a big deal. I'll just send someone to take care of it."
"As in kill them?"'
"Well duh, Nico. We wouldn't stop by to simply visit her."
"'Her'? Is she innocent?"
"Does it really matter? She's a wittness, therefore a threat."
"And you are okay with killing an innocent woman?"
"Wow, you really have been away from the Family for too long."
I said while putting the file into my purse.
"No, I'm just not as cold blooded as you."
"Aww, don't worry, that's why you are here to learn."
"F*ck you."
"With that attitude, I think I'll make you come to the witnesses' house."
I spat flicking him off walking out the door and into the elevator.
The car ride to the warehouse was awkward and silent. I signed a bill for an order of supplies such as bullets, guns, first aid kits, bulletproof vests, etc. Nicolas looked the least bit interested in what I was trying to teach him about buying in bulk.
"Are you even listening, Nicholas?"
"Yeah."
"Then what did I just say?"
I asked folding my arms.
"Something about reading the fine print in a deal and counting the supplies."
"Someone must always count the supplies after an order in received in order to make sure you got a fair deal."
"That's what I just said."
"Uh, no, you didn't. Why would I count supplies for no reason?"
I asked as we got into the car.
"Cause you are sad and don't have any friends."
"Whatever, let's go."
"No, but seriously. Do you even have any friends who are girls?"
I thought about it for a moment then realized I didn't.
"What does it matter if my friends are girls or not?"
"It doesn't, but it is weird for a girl to have ONLY guy friends."
"If I recall correctly, you are here to learn about business, not my personal life."
"What personal life?"
He mocked.
"Wow, you are really acting mature."
My comment hung in the air for a moment then Nico spoke up
"I'm sorry for acting like a douche. I know you are just trying to help....It's just this isn't the life I wanted."
"It's okay, Nicholas. The mafia life chose us, not the other way around. Just try to learn for just this month so I don't dishonor our fathers' friendship."
"I'll try."
"Good, then prove to me that you are trying tomorrow when we go to take care of the wittness."
Back at the Romano Estate~~~~
"You obviously can't be sleeping on my couch for a month, so pick up your stuff and I'll show you to a guest room."
He nodded then followed me through a downstairs hallway to one of the many bedrooms in the house.
"Is this room okay?"
I asked Nico who put his Louis Vuitton luggage down on the floor.
"Yeah, thanks."
"I'll leave you to unpack. If you need me I'll be in gym with Vinny and Christiano."
"Okay."
I left him in the room and changed into a sports bra and yoga shorts to work out with my best boys, the Castellano brothers.
In the home gym~~~~
I did crunches on the matted floor as Vinny did pull ups on a bar and Christiano lifted weights.
"So I picked up the file with the wittnesses address on it for tomorrow."
I said inbetween crunches.
"Are we really taking that Valentino kid with us, Dani?"
"Yeah, has he even shot a gun before?"
The boys asked. Both of them were tan and muscular with dark hair, typical buff Italian men. They are the strongest men in the familiy, so they naturally were ranked up to my main guys, but I feel like they are more than just muscle, more like my two closest friends.
"Come on, guys. He's not that bad, you just need to give him a chance. He must be strong, he is Carlo Valentino's son after all."
Vinny hopped down from the bar and wiped away his sweat with a towel.
"True, Valentino men are tough."
Christiano put down his weights and laid down to bench more weights. I stood to drink from my water bottle then went to check on Nicolas.
He was sitting on the couch in his room with his laptop on his lap when I knocked on the door.
"Come in."
"Hey, I'm about to get ready for my dinner reservations. If you are hungry, I suggest you change, too."
"Ok, I'll just be a second."
He said not looking away from the screen.
"Is something wrong?"
"No. I was just looking at my bank account and I have millions back in my account. My dad must have reconnected me to the Family's money."
"Really? That's good, now you can buy whatever you need."
"Yeah."
He said then shut down the computer.
"Well dress nice, okay?"
I said leaving the room and going to my shower.
I walked into my closet with a towel wrapped around my body. The restaurant were going to was 5 stars, so dressing up was a must. I took the Chanel dress that I just bought off the hanger and pulled it on. I wore black pumps with the red Chanel purse and a ruby necklace and put my hair up into a neat bun. With a spritz of Gucci Guilty on my neck and a swipe of red lipstick on my lips, I walked down the stairs to the driveway where Nico stood in front if the car in an Armani suit and gold Rolex on his left wrist.
"I clean up well, don't I?"
He smiled opening the door for me.
"Whatever you say."
I said taking my seat as he came into the car with a chuckle. The driver took us to the New York hot spot and opened my door for me to come out. I swung my $2000 heels out of the car and onto the roll out carpet. As I walked into the restaurant, a waiter escorted me to my table. I lightly pulled on Nico's sleeve for him to listen to my whisper.
"A man named Gabriele Ricci will be eating with us tonight. He is a powerful man, so careful what you say around him."
I whispered to him then smiled as we arrived at the table in the reserved seating.
"Gabriele, how are you?"
I asked as he stood and kissed me on my cheek.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking. And who is this? I was told we were dining alone."
Nicholas stiffened at his remark.
"This is Carlo's son, Nicholas. He will be staying with me for a month."
"Oh, the Valentino boy who ran away from his duties. Good to see you came to your senses."
Gabriele said offering his hand for a gentleman's handshake. Nico hesitated before reaching his hand out to Ricci who gave him a firm handshake and drilled his green eyes into Nico's blue.
I cleared my throat hoping to break their stare. Gabriele released his hand and then pulled out my chair for me to sit. Ricci is a man of many privileges, such as owning the Ricci Mafia, chains of restaurants, country clubs, and race tracks. He was 30 years old and had brownish blonde hair and powerful eyes that has seen their fair share of death. My mother always liked Gabriele. When I was only 15 and Gabriele 22, our mothers would talk of us joining Families through my marriage to Gabriele. We were promised to be wed when I was of age. In my teenage years I didn't mind the thought of being married to the strong handsome 22 year old. He would come over occasionally to visit me and tell me stories of his recent gun fights and heists. I admired more him with every bloody story he told me, but that all changed when my father died. During those rough times I knew that I wouldn't have time for love and marriage. I had to completely put all my attention on the Family. That is why my mother gave up on her dream of me marrying a Ricci and moved away not wanting to watch me "waste my youth away." as she put it. Now that I have redeemed the Romano Family back from that brief state of chaos after my father's death, I have considered reconnecting with Gabriele.
"You look gorgeous, Daniella."
He said flashing a charming smile my way. I blushed like an idiot and replied
"Please stop, Gabriele, you are embarrassing me."
Nico rolled his eyes and was completely confused as to what was going on.
"What may I bring you to drink?"
The waiter asked appearing out of nowhere.
"I'll have a scotch on the rocks and Ms. Romano will have a glass of your finest French red wine."
My eyebrow raised in surprise of how he could possibly remember my favorite drink.
"And for you sir?"
The waiter asked turning to Nico.
"Just a glass of sparkling water, please."
"Of course. I'll bring those drinks right out to your table."
"How did you remember my favorite drink?"
"Well how can I forget? I was the person to give you your first glass."
"You should be ashamed, giving a 17 year old alcohol."
I laughed.
"Do you remember how you snuck out of the house to go with me to that party?"
He chuckled.
"The party where your college friends kept trying to take me home? Yeah, I remember.... you getting jealous and knocking a guy out!"
We laughed together.
"That guy had it coming! Haha, but that was an unforgetable night, wasn't it?"
He looked me in the eye implying that he was talking about what happened later that night. That night is always in the back of my mind when I think of Gabriele.
Memory (7 yrs ago )~~~~
The guy fell flat on his face after Gabriele punched him. The crowd continued to party around the scene where I stood in my mini dress and Gaberiele with his fists clentched. The guy had been pressuring me to go with him to his room and wouldn't stop even after my countless refusals. Gabe saw him pulling my arm and he just swung.
"Let's go, Daniella."
He said wrapping his arm over my shoulder. I nodded and held the hand he draped over me.
We drove back to my house in his Cadillac and parked on the street. I unbuckled my seat belt and said
"I'm sorry about what happened tonight."
"Don't say that, Daniella. It wasn't your fault at all."
I sighed then reached to open the car door when he pulled me close for a kiss. My eyes were opened wide in surprise, but soon closed and I kissed back. My lips tingled and I wrapped my arms around his neck. His hands cupped my face and I was on cloud nine. The kiss was so sweet and loving that I was prepared to give myself to Gabriele, but he pulled away after his hands wondered down my back.
"Is something wrong?"
I asked.
"No, I just don't want to take it too far."
"Oh, because I'm only 17 and you're 22? I already told you, Gabe, age doesn't matter to me."
"That's not it at all. I just don't want to spoil anything before our wedding. I want it to be perfect on our honeymoon."
My heart melted and I understood. Just the thought of Gabriele and I married and on our honeymoon gave me butterflies.
"I love you, Daniella."
"I love you too, Gabriele."
We kissed one last time before I ran back into the house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It was one of the best nights of my life."
I said completely forgetting that Nico was sitting at our table.
"What happened to us?"
He asked.
"I think I'm just going to leave and let you two enjoy your dinner alone."
Nicholas said standing from the table.
"What are you talking about? Stay, Nicholas."
I asked him hoping he wouldn't be offending Gabriele by leaving.
"No, I'll just pick up something to eat on my home. See you later, Daniella. Goodbye Ricci."
And with that he was gone out the door and hailing a taxi.
"I'm sorry about Nicholas. He was probably expecting just him and I eating together."
"Oh, that's alright. You are not to blame for his immaturity."
The waiter set down our drinks then took our entree orders.
"So how's life?"
I asked changing the subject.
"Well business wise, it's been great. I recently signed an alliance contract with the Bambinos, but personal life has sucked for a long time now."
"What do you mean?"
"I've tried seeing other people, but I have yet to find a girl who I can see myself marrying."
"Maybe you just aren't dating the right kind of girls."
I pointed out as our food was placed in front of us.
"No, I haven't because they aren't you."
I was surprised at his sudden confession.
"You know I never wanted to cancel our marriage. I knew that marriage was the last thing on your mind when Luca passed away 3 years ago, so I decided to back away and let you take on your new life as leader. Now that you seem to have your business in order, I don't understand why you haven't called me. It was I who had to call you just to ask you out for dinner. And then you come in here with the Valentino boy thinking that if he was here I would not bring up any of our personal matters. Well guess what, honey, we are going to talk about it. Now."
I sighed after his long speech.
"Okay. What do you want to talk about, Gabriele?"
"Us, Daniella! I want to talk about us. Why don't you come back to me?"
I looked at Nico's abandoned glass and asked
"You still want me? Even after all of these years of me avoiding you?"
"Of course, I will never stop loving you."
I blinked away a few tears. Those three words. Words that made my heart burst every time he would tell me them.
"I...I need some time to think about it."
Gabe leaned back in his chair.
"More time."
"Please understand."
"...I do. Just.. Don't forget about what we had, okay?"
I nodded. I still felt love for Gabriele, but I just don't know if I am ready to open up again. He paid the bill and then he walked me outside.
"Can I drive you home?"
He offered.
"Okay."
The valet pulled up his Ferrari and handed Gabriele the keys. He opened my door then got in the drivers seat.
The cars engine roared on then sped off.
In the drive way~~~~
Gabriele shifted the car into park then reached for my hand.
"Daniella,"
I looked at him as his large hand held mine.
"Why don't you come by my place on Tuesday?"
"....okay."
He kissed my hand then smiled
"'Till then."
"Goodnight."
I went inside my house and kicked off my heels. The house was quiet and dark, I wondered if Nico was in his room. I really don't want to have to explain myself to him, but it was my fault for taking him. I slid out of my dress and got into my bed with only my panties and bra.