“I mean… okay, I guess,” I say. “But why didn’t anyone tell me before I got here? Seeing them for the first time was a shock.”
“Because Vanessa was texting you every day with updates,” I tell him. “We all knew that. So we didn’t say anything.”
“Did she know you found me when you did?”
“No. I didn’t want her stressing, waiting up all night for you,” he says. “It was hard on her. She came here every day like clockwork. Looked for you every day with me. Spent more time in this office than I wanted her to.”
“Who had her text me every day? Was that you?”
“No. One of her friends from the hospital suggested it,” he says. “It helped her sanity. Trust me. The first few days after she found out she was pregnant, she’d just stand there staring at the driveway, waiting for you to pull up.”
My chest tightens.
“She quit her job at the hospital so she could be home as much as possible, just in case you showed up,” he continues. “When she realized it wasn’t going to happen like it does in the movies, she poured herself into finding you. She stayed focused. Dedicated. Up until two days ago, she sat in that chair you’re in right now, going over every piece of information, trying to pull it apart.”
“She did all that?”
“Yeah. And she made sure everything was ready for the second you got home.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your office. Food. Anything she could control,” he says quietly. “It really fucked with her, man, you being gone. Havingsomething ready for you helped her cope, especially when I never had updates.”
He exhales. “Even after the twins were born, she spent hours doing it. Talking to them about you. Holding onto you any way she could.”
I swallow.
“It messed with her head,” he adds. “So you need to take care of her. Make sure she’s okay.”
“Did she ever tell you any of this?”
“No. Juliet and Alonso noticed what was happening at your place and told me. We didn’t confront her. We just asked around, subtly. She confirmed it.”
He meets my gaze. “Just watch out for her.”
“You had Alonso watching her?”
“Yeah. Why not?”
“Just an interesting choice,” I say. “You don’t usually let him do things on his own.”
“He’s done plenty on his own,” Gino replies. “But he was the one I knew would be a friend to her. No jokes. No bullshit. Just support.”
I nod. “Yeah. Good choice.”
He smirks. “You know I run things around here, right?”
“Barely,” I shoot back, snickering.
The next few hours pass with the two of us catching up. We go over everything that’s happened in the last year and what still needs to be handled to close out the remaining Russo deals. Adding more properties to the portfolio means more money, but it also means more reason to keep the business as clean as possible.
THIRTY-FIVE
MATEO
After spending the last few hours in Gino’s office, he decides it’s time for lunch. I assume Juliet will bring us food, but I’m surprised when he says we’re eating downstairs in the kitchen. Something about him has shifted, and I really want to know why.
As we head down the stairs, I hear far more voices than I did earlier.
