"Hewhat?"
"Jumped a flight of stairs. Landed clean. Took off his helmet and bowed to the cops when they caught up with him at a red light ten minutes later. They couldn't even be mad."
Carla nods. "And there was the time he rode his bike into a hotel lobby because someone dared him to. You never know if tonight's the night you'll watch him fly too close to the sun."
"And somehow not fucking burn," Dario adds.
I glance back at Gio. He meets my eyes, just for a second, and smirks.
I get it now. The whole performance thing.
Always daring someone to stop him. It isn't just chaos for fun.
It's classic defense. Push the world before it pushes you.
It's control, in his own twisted way. He breaks rules because it's the only thing no one can take from him.
He probably thinks that if he sets the fire, he can't get burned. I've read about people like him, but this is the first time I've seen it up close.
7) To The Golden Boy
Gio
I don't even bother tying my tie properly. It's hanging loose around my neck like a peace treaty I never signed.
And I don't give a fuck about it.
Judging by the way Rava looked at me when I walked in, I think he took it personally. Good.
The meeting hasn't started yet. Everyone's still sipping espresso, pretending to like each other.
I can feel angry faces on me. Rava looks like he slept on a business plan. His hair is perfect. His sleeves are rolled exactly once. No more, no less.
I slide into the seat across from him. I lean back. He doesn't look at me.
Someone, I think it's his uncle, looks at me. "So, Gio, how's the alliance going? You two learning to play nice?"
I lean forward a little, resting my elbows on the table. "We're surviving it, sir. We manage to stay in the same room without flipping tables. That's step one, isn't it?"
Soft laughter. Then Rava's father speaks.
Ugh. "Well, survival's a strong word. But I suppose when your life's more speed than structure, staying upright must feel like an accomplishment." He chuckles at his own joke.
Son of a bitch. I don't laugh.
I turn my head slowly, the grin still there but colder now.
My eyes settle on him. "Charles," I say, "you speak with the confidence of a man who thinks I don't remember."
The smile freezes on his face. I tilt my head just slightly, smiling now.
"I do. So don't sit there and pretend you're some moral authority." Heavy fucking silence.
You can feel people stop breathing for a second.
I lean back in my chair, relaxed. "Don't worry though," I add lightly. "I'm here to work. Not to settle debts."
Rava's mother intervenes. "Let's move forward, shall we?" They start the actual meeting. Talk turns to expansion, new properties across Europe, all about fresh experiences, elegance, blah blah blah.
