“No. Avery texted to tell me that Chiara met her cousin for a chat, and she came face-to-face with the man that her uncle wants to marry her off to.”
My dad’s face darkens instantly.
“Raf. You need to distance yourself from this situation. I didn’t want to say anything before the Law Gala, but the fact your association to her has been featured in that gossip blog multiple times is not really befitting for someone being groomed to take over one of New York’s most prestigious law firms.”
“Da—”
“No, son, I need to get this off my chest,” he cuts me off.“We’re obviously grateful for all she did for Marco, and it’s honorable letting her stay with you after the way things went down. She’s charming and beautiful, and you deserve to find a good woman to share life and love with—but you do not need the complications that come with that girl. That’s what she is, Raf. A girl. One with criminal connections. Now is not the time to have a savior complex. It’s bitten you in the ass before.”
“With all due respect, Victoria doesn’t possess one tenth of the qualities that make Chiara someone worth sticking my neck out for. And for the record, she doesn’t need saving; she just needs someone who cares about her welfare and won’t use her as a means to making another deal. I can’t in good conscience leave her out there like fresh meat for the circling sharks.” Then, more for my own delusional benefit, I add, “That doesn’t mean she’s the one I’m going to marry and have babies with, for fuck’s sake.”
He studies me intently. Maybe he can hear the way my heart is beating out of my chest.“You’ve already taken a bite of the forbidden fruit, haven’t you?”
I let the question hang, and he pinches the bridge of his nose then taps the envelope on my desk.
“You leave next Monday. It’s a week-long conference. Then I want you to go and network with some of our UK clients, get them used to speaking with you.”
“Dad. There is so much going on here.”
“You wanted the top job, and this is what it takes. You nurture client relationships. You lead on the blue-chip client cases and make sure you have oversight over every case—but that means handing over wading through the weeds to your team. This is what you want, what we’ve worked towards for the last ten years, isn’t it?”
He’s asking me, telling me, and shining a spotlight on the fact that he doesn’t believe I’m acting in the manner that tells him I do. That’s the Patrick Princi special.
I grab my suit jacket from the back of my chair and put it on.
He retrieves something from his jacket pocket, puts it on my desk and taps it.
“You’ll need a plus-one for this,” he says, hiking his brows. “It’s the Annual Lawyer’s Association Banquet.”
I pick it up and put it in my suit jacket wordlessly then stride towards the door, already texting my driver to meet me out front.
My dad calls my name, and I stop but don’t turn to face him.
“One day very soon you are going to be the figurehead and face of this company. The next generation of the Princi legacy. I know you can do it, but I’m not convinced it’s your top priority—and that’s concerning.”
It’s not my fucking top priority right now,I want to scream. The words echo through me, somewhat of a shock to me too. Ijust lift my hand by way of acknowledgement that I heard him, but I don’t have answers to what he’s asking.
“Tell Mom I said hi and I’ll come for dinner soon,” I call out.
Then I keep going on my mission to get home. To get to her as soon as I can.
As soon as I get into the back of the car, I hit dial on AJ’s contact and feel myself tremble with anticipation as I wait for him to answer so I can unleash the tirade of words blocking my airways.
“This better be fucking good, because I’ve got a busted head and a whole new set of fucking problems.”
“Are you that much of a fucking idiot?” I demand, foregoing a greeting.
“I’ve been called worse. But please, go on.”
“Did you consider that Marco’s shooting would have brought up a lot of trauma from her parents’ death? And then you drop a surprise meet-and-greet with a man she’s been fucking sold off to in some Godfather-type-shit arranged marriage. For someone who repeatedly says he’s trying to keep her safe, you’ve got a fucking funny way of showing it.”
“Are you finished?”
“No. And what is this I’m hearing that he put his hands on her and threatened to fill all her holes to shut her up? I hope you dealt with him.”
“You know what dealing with things means in my world, right?”
I let the silence hang between us.
