"Che cazzo ci vuole tanto, Sofia!" I growled into the phone from my seated position in the cream colored interior of the black limo.
"Lucien, hai chiamato cinque minuti fa per farmi la stessa domanda" she exasperatingly replied, from the other end of the phone call.
She does have a point, but I don't give a fuck.
"I don't give a fuck! You both better be down here in five minutes!"
I ended the call because she will no doubt try to guilt trip me into giving her like thirty more minutes, which will inevitably make us late to my father's stupid event, and I hate when my time is not respected, so I try to respect other people's time also.
What is it with women and using a lifetime to get ready for just a night's event?
Sofia healed up pretty quickly, it's been ten days since I taught her a minor lesson, and the mansion has been peaceful ever since.
She took the news of the gala better than I expected, but Romano didn't, and that annoyed the fuck out of Sofia.
I've handed her to Sofia to groom her, physically and mentally, I just hope she doesn't take out her love-hate feelings for Romano on the poor girl.
"We have four shipments coming in this week, don, but Chisea called to warn us of the feds, apparently, it's raiding week"
My right-hand man spoke up from behind his iPad, he was positioned directly in front of my black suited frame.
His royal-blue tuxedo, paired with blank pants, and his diamond adorned neck reflected the lightning in a phantasma of colors.
I removed my shades.
"Postpone the shipments." Came my short reply.
"Don, we need those shipments this week. We're low on supplies, what's left wouldn't last up to Tuesday, and seeing as today is Sunday-"
"There is a war coming Romano, we both know that, the last thing I need right now is the feds on my trail, so do what you're told and postpone the fucking shipments!."
He fervidly nodded in acknowledgment.
I get his surprise and hesitation to postpone our shipments, as I don't usually adhere to these types of warnings on a normal day, and if anyone tries to disrupt us, we take care of them. But I can't do that now, I've got to be extra careful, I might be the ruler of the deadliest mafia, but we aren't invincible, and I am very well aware of that true fact.
After barking orders into the phone in Italian, Romano shut his iPad, and turned his full attention towards me, alerting me of an incoming serious conversation.
"I've been seeing Sofia around Sylvia… a lot."
I didn't reply, it sounded more of a declaration than a question.
"Don, I think I might be missing something." He gave me a pointed look.
"You are." came my blunt response.
His stunned expression was quickly masked, evidence that he's used to my blatantness.
"I… have I done something wrong?" he asked, looking confused as hell.
"Not really, you're Afterall a human, so it's normal."
Now he looked even more confused than earlier.
"Don... io non... sto perdendo qui." He swallowed.
"Cut the crap Romano, you like her, and don't even try to deny it. I have no problem with whomever you choose to whore around with, but when she starts making you weak is where I'll have to step in, fully!" I growled out.
Romano hung his head low, pinching his nose. Did he think I haven't noticed? Right from when he ratted out Matteo, I knew there was something imbuing in him for the young woman.
"Yeah I… I still… but... Sofi-"
His stuttering was interrupted by the sound of the limo door being pulled open, and in came Sofia first. Clad in white halter neck dress that stopped at her mid-thigh, the iced-out lace behind the dress seemed unserviceable as it only helped in flashing a considerable amount of skin, whilst the dip behind the dress gave a sneak peek of her tantalizing waist. She matched the look with a silver miu miu handbag and silver heels. She looked somewhat darker with her make up, and a single iced out tennis chain, dangled her initials SDM and sat elegantly around her neck. In the corner of my eyes, I caught my right-hand man shamelessly gawking at my sister, I smirked.
"Finally! After what a decade?" I asked, my words heavily fastened with sarcasm.
"Fuck off, brother" she replied, clearly still annoyed I had hastened them up. I was about to taunt her a little bit more, when I almost choked on my words.
She slid into the limousine, the soft glow of the interior lights danced across her features, accentuating her glowing porcelain skin. My breath caught in my throat, I subtly glanced at Romano, and his reaction was just as expected. Dazed.
I looked towards her again, and I couldn't help but ask myself, how had I not noticed her beauty all this while? Her light makeup only emphasized her natural beauty, how the mascara framed her eyes, and a hint of rose-colored lip gloss that added a touch of allure to her full, plum lips.
A sudden thought of how they would feel like crossed my mind, and I discreetly shook my head. What the fuck?
My eyes raked her entire frame, the black gown she wore, the way it hugged her curves in all the right places, flowing like silk around her legs, the extensive split that started from her right mid-thigh downward, the dress was strapless, but the sweetheart neck shape did justice to her chest. I swallowed, staring a bit too long at said chest.
A choker glimmering around her neck caught my eyes, her ears were lit up with an iced-out stud also, my eyes moved down to her hands, and her wrists and fingers were equally lined with diamonds also. As she moved and settled into the seat, the diamonds seemed to come alive, casting tiny shards of light across the interior of the limo.
While Romano and I sat facing each other, she and Sofia settled with the same arrangement. Sofia sat in the chair beside mine, as she did beside Romano, giving me a clear view of her, as Romano got to have a clear view of Sofia.
Even though I tried not to, I couldn't help but let my eye drift towards her. For a moment I forgot to breathe, forgot everything except the woman sitting beside my right-hand man, radiant and stunning in her elegance. The world outside receded and all that mattered, the soft scent of her perfume, the gentle curve of her neck, and the promise of the magic that seemed to emanate from her very presence.
My eyes drifted from the shiny, black heels she wore, up to the split in her dress that had my eyes trailing its length to her delicate waist, up to her chest, where my eyes stayed for a moment too long, before hesitatingly moving up to her neck, then her jaw, and the her lips, where I savored the sight of their full heart shaped nature, my eyes slowly went up to her eyes, I thought I was being discreet, only to find her earthly brown eyes openly staring right back at my hazel ones.
I felt something shift within me, the moment our eyes connected, I don't know what it was, but I felt it, like a slowly building wave of an ocean. I kept the eye contact, a little bit darker now, hoping she'd get the memo and look away, but she didn't. It wasn't until Sofia loudly cleared her throat, that we broke the eye contact.
Fuck!
I quickly glanced at Romano, hoping he didn't notice that too, luckily his focus was completely on his lit screened iPad, as he drowned himself in work. I knew I shouldn't, but I couldn't help myself as I stole one quicker glance at her. Fucking look away!
I completely ignored my mind, and kept my gaze on her. As if she felt my eyes on her, she raised her head, and caught my stare for a brief moment, before looking away, and biting her bottom lip in the process.
God!
My eyes down casted towards that action, and I felt something else shift, and it sure as hell wasn't anything within at all.
Fuck! It's going to be a long ride.
Why did I agree to go to this stupid gala again?