See, this is where I need to remind myself of the books I’ve read. Having naughty thoughts about the mafia queen is like number one on the plotline list of things I need to avoid. Easier said than done, though. I might be the world’s most boring person, but I still have carnal urges and functional eyeballs.
I roll my eyes because I can hear Pete’s mocking tone in my head as he repeatscarnal urgesback to me with a grimace. It’s times like this, when I use words like that, he thinks I’m one cat away from living as a spinster. He could be on to something.
Shaking my head, I surge on with scrubbing myself clean. That is, until I clean a certain body part and I realise Allegra succeeded, even if she didn’t mean to. The mafia boss has turned me on.
Bloody marvellous. I’m already failing. Nothing I can do about it now. I just need to be extra vigilant going forward. No more thoughts about Allegra and what her mouth can do…or those long fingers.
Dammit.
8
Allegra
Theextracurricularactivitiesdidtheir job. I woke refreshed and ready to put everything that happened yesterday behind me. Well, I still have the chat with Lorenzo to get through first.
Rosa left my room a little after 2 a.m. We were never the type to cuddle after sex. No reason it would start now. I slept well, and the second my eyes opened, I felt a fresh wave of determination roll over me. Bonnie might have gotten under my skin temporarily, but no more. My plan is to get back to work.
I feel invigorated after a fast five-mile run on the treadmill. I wish I could go outside and run through the lanes, but it isn’t safe. I’ll save that for Sicily. The scent of the vines is much more appealing than cow shit, anyway.
Showered and dressed to kill, I march to Lorenzo’s office, where I know he will be. I forego knocking. I’m too revved up to be polite. His gaze snaps up as I barge in unannounced. As usual, though, he is a master of schooling his features.
Sitting opposite, I cross one leg over the other. I’m not here to play patient games with him. It’s time to have my say.
“Yesterday was unacceptable, Lorenzo. I deserved better than that.” He opens his mouth to protest, but I cut him off. “I have earned my spot at the top of this family tree. It might be your name, but it’s my management that has kept this family going. I have given you every ounce of trust and loyalty, yet you don’t offer me the same in return. I am hurt.”
Lorenzo has never heard me speak so candidly. I’m usually a fortress where my feelings are concerned, but after yesterday, I can no longer trust him to read the room. He should have known what Bonnie’s appearance would mean and how it would affect me. And maybe he did. He just cared more about her, than me.
“I run every part of the business because you asked me to. Hell, you trained me to do this—to be your heir. Now you have Bonnie, but as far as I am concerned it changes nothing. She is a temporary blip. We both know she doesn’t want anything to do with you or the Ferrante name. So I’ll cut to the chase, and I apologise if this hurts, but Lorenzo, you need to hear it. If you have some delusion that your long-lost daughter will step up to claim her birthright, you are mistaken. And even if she does, I will fight herandyou, every step of the way. I earned this.”
We sit silently for a long time as Lorenzo contemplates my words. I don’t mind; I want him to soak in every one of them. Finally, he sighs. It’s a defeated noise I’m not used to hearing from him.
“You’re right. You deserved better, Allegra. And I know you’re angry, but I promise I have no intention of taking this family away from you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I’ve been dealing with the Arellos for years. How could you not tell me about Bonnie?”
He jerks an eyebrow at the use of his daughter’s first name. I bite the inside of my cheek because I should have kept it professional. That’s more than once I’ve used her first name.
“The secret just became too big. And painful, if I’m truthful.”
I see the pain in his eyes and it does affect me. I love the man, and I’ve done everything in my power to keep him safe and happy. It hurts I can’t stop him from feeling this pain.
“The truth is all I want, Lorenzo. We could have been keeping an eye out for her years ago. Or made sure the Arellos never found out. You left us vulnerable, and now we have a bigger issue.”
He drops his head, and suddenly, he looks tired. There is a reason I am taking over. Lorenzo is done. He is mentally drained, and unlike in some families, he isn’t scared to admit it. Instead of dragging the business into the gutter out of sheer stubbornness, he’s handing over the reins to me.
“Is she okay?” he finally asks.
“She’s a pain in the fucking ass! But she’s got fire, Lorenzo, and a sharp tongue. I see you in her.”
His eyes well with tears. “I could have known her…if I’d made the right choice.”
“Fenza would have torn her to shreds if she’d found out.”
Fenza Ferrante had been Lorenzo’s wife; a woman feared by everyone, including yours truly. She was vindictive, even to those she supposedly loved. Bonnie and her mother would have both met a grisly end. It was only by the grace of God that Fenza got drunk one night and drowned in the bath, and Lorenzo finally got free of her.
It sounds unkind to speak ill of the dead, but Fenza was a demon in human form: twisted and cruel. Lorenzo had no choice but to enter into the marriage for the purpose of producing an heir. When it was revealed Fenza was barren, she became even worse. No one was safe from her ire.
As soon as she was gone, which was only a year and a half after Lorenzo sent his mistress and unborn child away, he was able to rebuild the family into what he wanted, not the vision his father dreamed of. Papa Ferrante was old school and wanted to keep the family business that way. Lorenzo saw the wisdom of change and appointed me as his beneficiary. I was only three when my parents were killed, and I became the adopted daughter of Lorenzo Ferrante. He literally trained me my entire life to become a leader.
