"We need to speak to your boss," Henry demands.
"He's busy—" she begins
"I don't care. He will see us now or I will tear this place apart," I command.
The hostess doesn't say anything else, she just disappears down a hallway and we don't see her again, but minutes later Elios Carrino is walking toward us.
"Gentlemen, what can I do for you?" he says to me, but the way he's so calm, pisses me the fuck off. I push it all down because I don't want him to see how any of this is getting to me.
"Don't fuck with me, Carrino. What are you trying to pull?"
Carrino's brow furrows with confusion, which honestly pisses me off even more. He relaxes a bit when he replies, "Let’s go to my office." He doesn't wait for either of us to answer, he just turns his back and walks down a hallway. We follow him to a non-descriptdoor.
Carrino opens it up and we walk into what is, obviously, an office, but it's bare bones. Nothing personal. This must not be where he does his normal business.
I go to open my mouth when Carrino holds his hand up to stop me, which only rubs me the wrong way, but I stay silent. Both Henry and I watch confused, as he pulls out a device from the top drawer of his desk, then continues to walk around the office looking for bugs.
Once Carrino is satisfied, he looks at us with a smug smile. He points to some chairs in the middle of the room. "I like to check my office before important meetings. You never know who might be listening, and I don’t mean just the government. Please, have a seat." He explains, even though we didn’t ask.
I don't respond but I do have a seat in one of the chairs. Henry doesn't, instead he stays standing behind me, ready for anything.
Carrino has a seat at his desk when he leans forward. "Now, can you tell me what this is about?'
"Mother fucker, you sent someone to our warehouse," I sneer at him, barely containing the anger within that is threatening to blow.
"I did no such thing," he says flatly.
"Yes, you did. We found one of your people and they admitted it," Henry says, pulling out his phone, showing Carrino the picture of his man.
"That's not mine. He must belong to father."
"Aren't you and your father one in the same?" I ask, giving him a questioning look.
"No. It's time for my father to retire, but he has a difference of opinion," he states with gritted teeth.
"Explain," I demand.
Elios lets out a breath before he begins. "My dad has early onset dementia, we've been trying to get him toretire. Obviously, he has other ideas, and a few people around him are enabling him."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"My dad wants to start doing business in this area, he's just going about it the wrong way."
"Well, if he keeps doing it this way, expect a war."
Carrino sighs once more, then his eyes light up and I brace myself for what he's about to say. "I have an idea. My father wants me to marry off my sister, Sofia, to a mad man in the Esposito family. I don't want her to be anywhere near him," he sneers, before continuing, "how about you marry her, and you can consider us allies."
"Sorry, no can do. I'm already married."
"Do you—" Carrino starts but Henry blurts out, "I'll do it."
Both Carrino and I look up at Henry with a questioning look, but he looks calm and collected. "Are you sure?" I ask.
"Yes," is all he says. I nod but take note to talk with him later. Turning back toward Carrino, I smile, replying, "Looks like we have a deal."
"Looks like it," he replies to me, but his gaze never leaves Henry as if he's trying to read his mind.
I stand up from my seat, extending my hand out.
