Page 165 of Girth (Marked Skulls MC 1)
“This contract could be huge.”
“That family? Are you serious?”
“Twelve million dollars. It’s the biggest contract we’ve had.”
“It’s a massive cleanup.”
“Who do you think Luca will pick to head it up?”
A twelve million dollar contract? That was something I needed to get ahead of. If I could convince my father to let me take this contract, I could not only prove my worth and value to Serena, but I could forever cement my place as my father’s heir to his throne. I needed to be the one that was picked to oversee this project, no matter what it required of me. Taking on a contract like this was a massive step in the direction I wanted to go.
But when I walked into my father’s office, he didn’t look up from his paperwork.
“Dad?”
He kept writing, like he hadn’t heard me or something.
“I wanna talk to you about the latest contract you’ve apparently taken on,” I said.
And still, his hand kept writing.
“You need hearing aids or something?”
“No, but apparently my son needs restraint,” he said.
I felt the blood rush from my limbs as my father turned his face up to mine. Never in my life had I gotten this stare from him. I’d seen him give it to others. Men he killed when they betrayed the family and men who wouldn’t pay up their end of the bargain. But never had I gotten that look myself.
“Before you open your mouth to lie to me-”
“I would never do that,” I said. “Not with that look on your face.”
“I received a call from Gino. The wedding’s apparently been called off,” my father said.
That fucking woman. She was going to ruin everything.
“I can explain,” I said.
“I don’t give a damn about your explanation, Enzo. I gave you one job. One measly job. To be the man I raised you to be and take that woman’s hand in marriage to solidify our future. And you cocked it up.”
“It’s all a misunderstanding.”
“Is being in the club with another woman a misunderstanding?” he asked.
“It wasn’t like that. It wasn’t romantic. Gia was there and she put her arms around me.”
“Gia? Did you hug her back?” he asked.
“Why is everyone so concerned with that? Who cares if I hugged her back?”
“Because appearances are everything!”
He roared so loudly at me that my ears began to ring. He flew up from his chair and I actually took a step back. There weren’t many people in this world I was afraid of, but my father? With his temper?
He was terrifying, and I wasn’t so sure he wasn’t going to kill me for this.
“I’m not giving you my biggest contract because I can’t even trust you with a timid, quiet little girl! Now get the hell out of my office.”
“Dad, this isn’t-”
“You’ve got two choices, Enzo.”
I held my father’s gaze as he smoothed his hands out over his button-down shirt.
“You can either make this work with Serena or you can find yourself a different path.”
“What?” I asked.
“You heard me. You’ve shamed me and your mother. You’ve made very powerful people think we raised nothing but a mindless, spineless playboy. I raised you better than this, Enzo. Broke my back and took lives with my own two hands while your mother whipped you into shape. And you were not an easy child. Defiant. Loud. Had a mouth on you the size of fucking Sicily. But I fought your mother in beating it out of you. I fought her every step of the fucking way. That brazen attitude and that mouth would do you well on this seat. But never in my wildest dreams could I have ever thought you would’ve treated a woman this way. Ever.”
“Nothing happened with her,” I said.
“It doesn’t matter, Enzo!” my father said. “It doesn’t matter what did or did not happen! All that matters is what it looked like and how it made that girl feel. Do you not get that!?”
My father was panting, his hands clenched into fists as they dangled by his sides.
“Fix it like a man or you will be kicked out of this family.”
“But Dad-”
“You heard me, boy!”
I clenched my jaw and physically bit down on my tongue. I watched my father take a deep breath through his nose, then he sat back down into his chair. With a flick of his wrist he dismissed me, like some errand boy he was breaking in.
I walked out of his office with my head spinning as two men approached my sides.
“Seriously? My father’s having me escorted out?” I asked.
But all the men did was try to take me by my arms.
“My legs work,” I said as I shrugged them off.
Then I made my way back to my car, lost with what my next move was going to be.
Chapter 14
Serena
It was the last day of school and I couldn’t have been happier for it. My body physically hurt trying to push through my days. My parents tried to convince me to take some time off. To let a substitute teacher, handle the last couple weeks of school. But I couldn’t leave my kids like that. They were my only shining light in the darkness I felt spreading over my limbs. It hurt to get out of bed and it hurt to eat. It hurt to walk and it hurt to smile. I wished someone else knew about what was going on. I wished there was someone else to talk with besides my parents. Every time it came up my father started a verbal rampage and my mother would take to trying to calm him down.
It was never about me, or the pain I was experiencing.
I had no idea how I could fall for a man like Enzo. But I knew I had. Something like this wouldn’t hurt as much as it did had I not fallen for him. I was an idiot. A grade-A idiot to think something like an arranged marriage would change a man like Enzo. I’d heard horror stories from the girls about playboys who smiled at them in bed before leaving and hopping right into another woman’s bed. I’d heard stories from my friends about men trying to pull the wool over their eyes and lead double lives and all sorts of crazy stuff.
But I never thought my parents would try to hand me over to a man like that. I never thought their judge of character would be so off.
I waved my kids off as the busses pulled out of the parking lot. It was officially summer break and everyone was racing to get out of the school. People were slamming into my shoulder with all of their things in their arms, ready to get back to the lives they had ahead of them for the seven weeks we had off.
But all I did was sit at my desk.
I stared at the wall, feeling my body sink into the chair beneath my legs. What was I going to do now? Stare at a wall for the entire summer? I was supposed to be planning a wedding. I was supposed to come back to school a married woman. I was supposed to be leading a different life than this. A life where I was going on dates and taking weekend vacations and getting to know the man who would help me father my children.
But instead, I was allowing silent tears to slip down my cheeks in the middle of a darkened, empty classroom.
“Knock knock!”
Whipping my head over to the door, I saw Jamie come in. She was holding two massive milkshakes and a smile on her face until she saw the tears streaming down my cheeks. She pulled up a chair from the corner and handed me a drink, then she reached out and smoothed the tears off my skin.
“It’s time to talk,” Jamie said.
“You’re going to think I’m insane,” I said.
“Try me.”
“You know how my parents are old-school Italian, right?”
“Very, yes.”
“The set me up with a man to marry a couple of weeks ago,” I said.
“What? You’re getting married to some guy you don’t even know?”
“That’s not even the worst of it. And no, I’m not getting married anymore.”
“He was a dick, wasn’t he?” she asked.
“When they told me they had found a suitable husband, I was actually excited. Arranged marriages, once you accept them, sort of make a love life easier to navigate. I can go out and have fun without trying to get attached or anything because I know my parents have my best interest at heart eventually.”
“That’s fucking weird, but we’ll go with it. Sure.”
“I went out that night to have one last night of fun, and found this very handsome man. And I broke one of my rules.”
“Shit. What rule?” she asked.
“I went back to his place.”
“Well, it’s not the worst rule to break. Was he any good? Oh shit, you fell in love with the guy, didn’t you?”
“He was wonderful. Rocked my world, Jamie. But he was rude as hell the next morning.”
