My father walked into the kitchen in a light gray suit. The material shone against his hazel eyes as he sat down beside me. Contrary to how most people we interacted with, my father didn’t always dress for the occasion. While I wore suits just about all the time, he only wore suits when it was necessary.
So, when I saw how crisp his suit was, I knew how seriously he was taking this.
“I want to talk to you about what this union means for our family,” my father said.
“You’ve already explained it to me, and I agree to your terms,” I said.
“It’s more than that. It’s more than the family fortune and keeping specific ties linked to specific families, Enzo. When you take this woman as your wife, you will be expected to treat her a certain way.”
“I’m aware of this,” I said.
“The Conti family is powerful in this world. And if you screw with their daughter for any reason, it comes down on all of us.”
“I. Know. Don’t worry. One thing I’ve always prided myself on is my ability to treat women with respect.”
“This meeting has to go well. If could be disastrous for us if it doesn’t,” he said. “And there are certain topics of conversation you need to stay aware from unless they are initiated by someone else.”
“Work, jobs, and politics,” I said.
“And personal feelings towards any matter. When you walk into that house as the man they’re going to give their daughter to, your emotions do not matter. Only theirs, and only hers.”
“Dad, you don’t have to worry. I promise you, I’ve got this,” I said.
The two of us sat and talked for a long time at that kitchen table. He talked about Mom and how their marriage had been arranged. He told me about the time he first told her he loved her-- four years into their marriage. She had been pregnant with me and was experiencing complications, and he made a deal with God that day. He said that if Mom survived and his baby boy was healthy, he’d love both of us in all the ways he knew how.
Then one month later, I was born and my father proclaimed his love for her.
“Don’t wait four years like I did. Our marriage was nothing but a required union up until that point. I caused your mother a lot of heartache, and the only reason we didn’t divorce was because your mother literally believed she would be cursed for the rest of her life if we did,” my father said.
I nodded my head, allowing my father to get out whatever emotional dump he needed before we headed out to the car.
I knew what was expected of me and I knew how to treat a woman. Whoever she was, and no matter what she looked like, she would always have my respect. I had no idea if I was ever going to love her, but I knew I was going to respect her. She’d be the woman that stood by my side as I rose the ranks through my father’s business. She’d be the woman to bear me children. She’d be the woman that would keep my house while I was away.
Any woman like that deserved respect from men, even if they were never loved.
We pulled into the Conti estate and the land they lived on was grand. Beautiful landscaping of flowers and trees decorated their front and back lawns. There were rolling hills with the house encased on three sides by thickly-wooded areas. The mansion that rose from the horizon boasted of the wealth this family had, and I grinned as we pulled up to the decadent house.
One day this would all be mine.
“Now remember, Enzo-”
“Yes, Dad. I know. I promise, you have nothing to worry about,” I said.
We got out of the car and I saw the front door already being opened. A man in a tuxedo stepped out onto the porch, holding the door for us as we walked up. I buttoned my suit jacket and smoothed it down, grinning at my all-black choice. It was a signature of mine. I wore it whenever I meant business.
And today, I meant a great deal of business.
“The family is in the sitting room,” the man at the door said. “Down the hall to the right, first entrance on the left.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said. “And I enjoy that colorful bowtie.”
The man grinned at me as my father and I walked into the house.
Our shoes clicked along the marble floors as we strode down the right hallway. The ceilings were vaulted and the colors that plastered the walls were deep and dark. I looked at my father as we came to the entrance on the left, and I paused just before the door to take a deep breath.
I felt my father pat me on the back before we rounded into the room.
“Luca!” Mr. Conti exclaimed. “So glad you could make it tonight.”
“Gino. It is good to see you,” my father said.
The two of them were talking as a movement in the corner of the room caught my eye. I looked up to see what was going on as I waited to shake Mr. Conti’s hand, but the pair of eyes staring back at me were wide. Wide and brown and incredibly familiar.
“Enzo, it is good to see you again,” Gino said.
“Mr. Conti,” I said. “Thank you for having us this evening.”
I turned my eyes back to the woman in the corner as the patriarch began talking to me. I knew I needed to be paying attention. I knew I was probably worrying my father. But as those familiar brown eyes raked up and down my body, I could see the anger growing in them.
“Something in here smells wonderful,” I said. “Is Mrs. Conti hard at work in the kitchen?”
“She always is. I can never pull that woman out of there to save my life,” Gino said. “Tonight’s menu is her homemade lasagna with fresh garlic bread, freshly-brewed tea, and a pointless salad.”
“The salad isn’t pointless, Gino. You need to eat something other than meat.”
I turned my head and watched as Mrs. Conti came around the corner. She was wearing a red-splattered apron and a large smile, and I saw her in her eyes. The woman in the corner who I knew was growing angrier by the second at me. The two of them looked exactly alike, and I took in Mrs. Conti as she shook my hand.
“You are a very handsome young man, Mr. Gambani. You will treat my daughter with respect, I’m sure,” she said.
“I owe her nothing less,” I said with a smile.
“Speaking of our daughter, come come! Serena! Come meet Enzo,” Gino said.
My eyes whipped back over to the corner as she stepped from the shadows. Her long brown hair was piled high on top of her head and those lewd and lustrous curves were covered in a teasing little dress. It fluttered just below her knees and covered her in light lace all the way up to her neck. Conservative, just like her family. But still clinging to all the places I’d had my lips on last night.
Her eyes were filled with shock and disgust as she stepped up beside her father.
“Enzo, meet Serena. Our daughter,” Gino said.
I held out my hand, palm up and waiting for her to slip hers within mine.
“Serena,” her mother said. “Take the man’s hand.”
She slumped her hand into mine before I brought it to my lips for a kiss. I kept my eyes locked with hers, trying to paint the picture that we had never met before. But as my lips connected with her hand, her eyes left mine and attached to the wall at her side.
“Please excuse our daughter,” Gino said. “She seems to have forgotten her manners.”
“She is meeting her husband for the first time. Allow her some time to adjust,” I said.
“Already sticking up for her,” Mrs. Conti said. “I like him.”
I grinned at her mother before my eyes turned back to her, but all she did was nod.
This was going to be a very long dinner.
6
Serena
I watched him come around the corner and my heart sank to my toes. Were my parents kidding me? Was this the man they were about to hand me off to? This man who threw his money around and didn’t give a damn about the women in his care? My father was shaking his hand and embracing them like they were already family. Like he had already sold me off to the highest bidder and they were coming to claim their prize.
I was disgusted that this was the man my parents had chosen for me.
My mother led us into the kitchen and sat us all down for dinner. I knew I would be required to participate in the mindless conversation. I drew in a deep breath as Enzo sat across from me, his eyes dancing along my form as he licked his lips.
Was he kidding me? Did he really think I would be okay with any of this?
My mother served up our plates, walking around the table like she was some servant. If Enzo thought for one minute I would do any of these things for him, he was sorely mistaken. I had a career I loved and a schedule I was already living. I’d bear him one child, no matter the gender, then I’d get on with my life. So, if he wanted a son, he better make our wedding night a good one, because he wasn’t touching me after that.
“Serena, you look wonderful in that dress.”
My eyes rose to Enzo’s as I nodded absently.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Serena?” my father asked. “Do you have something you want to say in return?”
I glared at him before I cleared my throat.
“I like the seat you’re sitting in,” I said.
“We can trade places if you wish to sit here,” he said.
“No thank you. I’ll take it once you’re gone.”
“Serena!” my mother exclaimed.
“Mind your tone, young lady,” my father said.
“It’s fine. I enjoy a woman with a bit of fight in her,” Enzo said. “It would be no fun winning her affections if she gave them to me automatically.”
“Or ever,” I said underneath my breath.
“So Serena, your father tells me you’re a grade school teacher.”
I turned my gaze to Enzo’s father and took a good look at him for the first time. They were eerily similar in a lot of ways. The shape of their eyes and the slope of their shoulders. Enzo was just as big as Mr. Gambani, and it seemed the only difference the two of them really had was their eye color.
He must get his amber eyes from his mother.
“Kindergarten, yes,” I said.
“How long do you plan on working?” his father asked.
“However long she wishes,” Enzo said.
“I can answer my own questions, despite what you might think,” I said.
My father glared at me as his fork dropped to his plate.
“Why don’t we go into the other room?” my mother asked. “I’m sure everyone has something they wish to talk about. Serena might simply feel… overwhelmed with all eyes on her.”
I bit down on the inside of my cheek as my father looked to Enzo’s.
“Luca, I have a fabulous vintage Scotch waiting for us. I’m sure there are things we need to discuss about some upcoming ventures. Would you join me?” my father asked.
I watched the two men get up as my mother shot me a look. I knew that look. It was the ‘obey yourself and behave’ look. I got it a lot as a child, but rarely did I ever get it as an adult.
And now, it was being handed out like candy.
Everyone cleared the table, leaving only Enzo and I sitting there. I picked around at my food, my appetite long gone as he cleared his throat. I didn’t want to talk to him. I didn’t want to be around him. All I wanted to do was get this over with and get back to my life. My work. My passions.
Without him staring at me from across a table.
“Serena-”
“There’s nothing you could say that would ever make me want to have anything to do with you,” I said.
I whipped my fiery gaze up to him as Enzo drew in a deep breath.
“We might be forced to marry, but we will never be a thing. Whatever my parents have and whatever your parents have, it won’t happen for us.”
“If you would give me a chance to-”
“No, because I know men like yourself. You’re smooth talkers and big promisers, but none of you ever follow through on anything. You say what’s necessary to get past the rough patches, then you leave when it’s convenient for you,” I said.
“I am going to be your husband. I will never leave your side,” he said.
“Funny, you were very anxious to do that this morning.”
“Is that what this is about?” he asked. “I treated you very well this morning. Did you not feel welcomed in my home?”
“I felt like a decoration you got tired of the morning after.”
“It’s not like I could afford myself to get attached, Serena. I was meeting my future wife. I’m looking at her right now. What did you think was going to happen this morning? You were going to stay and we were going to fall in love?” he asked.
“And now you expect that to happen? After cleaning my clothes, buying me new underwear, and tossing me into some town car after leaving me alone in a place I wasn’t familiar with on a side of town I’d never been to? Is that how you think respect works?”
I watched him clench his jaw as he sat back into his chair.
“You left me, Enzo. And I didn’t expect you to keep me around or let me stay, but you threw your money around thinking it would somehow make up for the fact that you left me in a place that wasn’t mine, stuck me in a car that wasn’t mine, and left in the care of a driver whose name I didn’t even know. If you had a daughter and a man did that to her, what would your reaction be?”
I watched him bristle as I sighed.
“Exactly,” I said. “You think it’s respect because the transition was smooth for you leaving, but it wasn’t for me. You respected your need to get me out of there, but you didn’t respect how any of that made me feel. We will never be a thing, Enzo. Ever.”
I watched him turn his head towards the window as I sighed. I picked up my glass of iced tea and brought it to my lips as I tried to keep my tears at bay. I didn’t expect love. I didn’t even expect a man to care. But I expected my parents to find me a man that would at least respect me. That would at least take my feelings into consideration when making decisions. But instead, they were passing me off to the biggest playboy on the damn block. And for what? Business? Money? Connections?
Sometimes I hated the family business.
7
Enzo
To say the dinner went terribly would be an understatement. And I had no fucking idea how to make it any better. Every time I called Serena, she sent me to voicemail. Every time I sent her a message, it went unanswered. I made several attempts like my family asked me to in order to get in touch with her, but everything was fruitless.
“Did you compliment her?” my father asked.
“I did.”
“Did you ask questions about her to show interest?” my mother asked.
“I did that as well.”
“Well, there must have been something you did to upset her, Enzo. And whatever that is, you have to fix it. We have a wedding to plan and we can’t do that with the two of you bickering already like this,” my father said.
“I’m trying the best I can. But there isn’t anything I can do if she won’t take my calls or return my voice messages,” I said.
“Then dig down into that creative mind of yours and find something,” my mother said. “Because if she’s this unhappy, there’s a chance Gino Conti will back out of this deal. And that will spell disaster for whatever job you wish to have in the business.”
My family was right. No matter what it took, I had to try and make nice with Serena. There were details for the wedding that needed to be ironed out and things that needed to be discussed. And if she thought ignoring me would get me to go away, then she was going to understand how much she really undere
stimated me.
After washing off my bloodied hands in the sink, I went home and got changed. A fresh suit and a spritz of cologne would go a long way in showing Serena why I was there. I gave myself one last look in the mirror before I grabbed my things, then I hopped into my car and headed to her parents.
When I got to their homestead, no one was there but the butler. He let me in with a smile, then ushered me to the room where both of our lives had changed. A fire was roaring and the furniture was beckoning for me, but I didn’t want to sit. I clasped my hands behind my back and stood by the fireplace and asked the butler to let me know when Serena was home.
Then, I waited.
I waited for almost two hours before I heard the door open. I heard Serena conversing with the man at the door, but then I heard her voice grow louder. Agitated. Clearly, she knew I was here, but it was her stomping down the hallway that alerted me to her anger.
I turned around as she came around the corner and flashed her a kind smile.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
My eyebrows raised at her choice of words as she took a few more steps towards me.
“I already told you. I’ll marry you, but I’ll never love you,” she said.
“You never said anything about love,” I said. “Merely that we would never become an item.”
“What are you doing in my house?”
“I want you to go out with me,” I said.
“This is the easiest thing you’ll ever have to do,” she said. “All you have to do is show up on your wedding day, Enzo.”
“You can call me ‘Enzo’, if you’d like.”
“I’d rather call you ‘asshole’.”
“If it suits me, then so be it. Though I’d like a chance to change that.”
“How? By throwing a little more money at me?” she asked.
“By taking you out to a proper dinner and getting to know you,” I said.
“Stop the antics, Enzo. You don’t need them with me. This is already arranged, whether we get along or not.”
Enzo: The Gambani Mafia Page 3