“Get a hold of yourself!” Carmine snarls. “This is why you’re not going in first. You can’t even take orders from me, much less be trusted to be out in the field right now.”
“Fuck you,” Tommy spits and takes several steps back. “Whatever. Fine. I can get intel without running it through your precious system.”
“I don’t want you getting yourself involved yet,” Carmine repeats himself. “You’re staying here and cooling off, got it?”
“I might have to stay here, but I’m not staying in here with all of you fuckers,” Tommy growls and stomps out of the room.
“God, he’s like a toddler,” I mumble under my breath. “But he’s not wrong. He would be the best for the job, even if he might risk losing his head.”
Carmine ignores me. It makes me set my jaw and decide not to say anything else, if he wants to play the game his way, then fine. We will.
“Right now, I want Damian and a few other guys, Phillip and Margo, on intel,” he explains. “I don’t want any arguments. We’ve had half a dozen walk out on us after the news of me taking over the Fiorellis as leader, I don’t need anyone else digging their heels in or making it any more difficult than it already is.”
Damian nods. “You can count on me, just point me in the direction you want me to go.”
“Good. I want you to check in on their strip of businesses first.” Carmine adjusts his suit jacket. “Tiberi and Cassian, I want you to dig up all of the info on the Bianchi we have in the files. Alessio, all I want you to do right now is not get in Damian’s way. I don’t care what the two of you have going on; don’t let it keep either of you from doing your jobs.”
I nod stiffly.
We’re dismissed just like that, while Carmine and Soren stay in the boardroom talking to Edwardo.
I follow Damian out of the room and down the hallway.
“I need to make a call before I head out,” he tells me.
I raise a brow. “Your cousin?” I ask him.
He nods. “She needs to know what’s going on, or at least…that I won’t be around anytime soon.”
“Alright. I’ll be here. You’d better say goodbye before you leave,” I remind him.
He smirks at me. “You know, I might start to think you’re obsessed with me.”
I roll my eyes. “Maybe just a little, Mr. Rossi.”
“Ohh, well, Mr. Dresvanni, I’ll be right back. I swear.” He gives me a little wink and then disappears into the living room. I can hear when he’s finally on the phone. Just the sound of his voice.
I lean against the wall near the entry way, and admittedly, I’m actively trying to listen in. Not because I don’t trust him, but because I want to know more about him. About his family, about how he interacts with one of the only members of his family he talks to.
“No, I’m not going to be there for a while,” he says into the phone. There’s a short pause. “No, it’s…well, it’s not about a woman.”
I smile to myself crookedly as I listen.
“It’s about a man. A man and his family.”
My eyes shift to the side as Cassian walks by me.
“Where’s Nikolas and Beau?” he asks.
“Upstairs I think, settling in,” I reply.
He nods. “I’m going to go check on them. I’m the youngest, besides them. I think it’ll be good to let them know they can talk to me. Someone around here needs to be willing to talk about their feelings,” he murmurs the last part.
“Be my guest,” I motion towards the end of the hallway and the stairs.
Cassian disappears up the stairs, and I tilt my head to the side, listening in once again.
“I’m safe, I promise. Safer than I’ve ever been on any other job at least,” Damian is telling his cousin. “There’s work for me to do here, and I want to be here. I promise I’ll visit as soon as I can.”
