Chapter 36
Thirty-Six
NICO
I’m on edge. Just being around my family usually has that effect, but there is something running underneath the surface that I can’t figure out. My father is interested in Regina; it’s obvious. He doesn’t usually single guests out, and especially not female ones.
Lunch is set out on the side, and we help ourselves before heading to the huge dining table, and I groan inside as Desiree takes the seat beside mine as Regina sits on the other side of me.
As we begin, Desiree’s husky voice steals my attention. “You have surprised me, Nico.”
“In what way?”
Luckily, Regina is chatting to mom who is on her other side, and I’m loving the connection they already share. I don’t know why it means so much to me because this is all a fabricated lie, anyway. However, what began as a kind of business deal has become a lot more personal real quick.
“I thought we had an understanding.”
“I wasn’t aware of one.”
My tone is smooth and disinterested, and she shakes her head. “Come now, Nico, don’t play me for a fool. We are both aware that our families are hoping to merge through marriage and, as the heir to the empire, you were expected to marry for power. Not–” She whispers, “Lust.”
“Power?” I maintain a cool facade. “I have all the power I want, Desiree, and in my mind, true power comes through freedom of choice. Would you sacrifice your happiness, your future and freedom for power even if it makes you unhappy for the rest of your life?”
The insult scores a direct hit, and she replies through gritted teeth, “Are you saying that you would be unhappy to spend your life with me, Nico?”
“Yes. I am.”
I’m brutally blunt and give no shits what she thinks, and her eyes flash as she hisses, “You’re a bastard, Nicholas. Does Regina love that quality in you?”
“She loves what I tell her to love.”
I fix her with a dark glare, loving how she shifts a little on her chair, her pupils dilating as the blood drains from her face as I say in deep undertones, “I am not an actor following another man’s script, Desiree.
Perhaps in time you will thank me for putting an end to something that would only bring us years of misery. ”
I pointedly turn away and rest my arm on the back of Regina’s seat, and as she turns, her gaze would melt the ice caps as her expression burns with desire.
I can’t resist and drop a light kiss on her lips, and she sighs against me as she whispers, “How long?”
“Thirty minutes.”
“Are you joking?” She groans, and I chuckle to myself. If I had my way, we would leave this table now because I have a much better use of our time. However, duty calls, and lunch with my family on Christmas Eve is the main priority now, and there is nothing I can do about that.
As it turns out, thirty minutes turns into two hours and doesn’t end there. When we finish the liqueurs and coffee, my father announces, “Come, we will leave the women and head to my den. I have plans I want to run past you all, Vito included.”
My heart sinks, and Regina sighs beside me. “Will this never end?”
“I won’t be long. I’ll rescue you as soon as possible.”
She nods, and as her eyes follow me out of the room, I can only imagine the hellish afternoon she is about to endure. She has nothing in common with our guests, which fills me with happiness because if I thought she was anything like Desiree or Katrina, she would not be a part of my future.
“Nico.”
We are sitting in my father’s den, in wing-backed chairs while a large fire keeps the chill of winter away.
The bourbon is plentiful and cigar smoke rife, and as I endure the usual pastime, I find myself wondering what Regina is up to right now.
The use of my name brings me back into the room, and I note that Vito is watching me carefully as he says roughly.
“We had an agreement.”
There is an ominous tension that’s almost palpable, and a part of me dies inside. Here we go.
“What agreement?”
I fix him with an enigmatic response, and he leans forward. “My daughter. I was under the impression it would be your ring on her finger and not this stranger.”
“Regina.” I remind him and shake my head. “You are wrong, Vito, with respect. Your agreement was with my father, not with me.”
The man himself is watching with a blank expression, offering no insight into what his thoughts are right now.
Vito says angrily, “You disrespect me and my daughter, and I want you to give up this woman and do your duty.”
“My duty?” I shrug. “My duty is to my family, yes that is true. It’s to my job as CEO of Viper Holdings. That is my duty too. My duty, however, is not to your organization, Vito. I have my hands full with this one, and I apologize if you thought otherwise.”
Vito makes to speak, his anger evident, and my father’s voice cuts through the atmosphere like a machete.
“Vito.” His husky drawl commands attention, and I’m on edge wondering which way the blade will fall. It could go either way, and I am prepared for the fight.
“You are my oldest friend, and almost a brother to me.” Vito nods, a triumphant gleam in his eye already revealing he expects to get his way.
“But Nico is my son. My heir, well, one of them anyway.”
I detect my brother’s interest because, like me, they are probably wondering how this will end.
My father leans forward and fixes him with a thoughtful gaze.
“While Viper Holdings has grown considerably over the years, Vitoben has not.”
The air is sucked out of the room as my father fixes Vito with a blank glare.
“You have one child, no son or heir to hand the business to, so you are relying on longevity by merging with Viper Holdings because Desiree would bankrupt your business within weeks, and you know it.”
Vito nods, regret heavy in his expression.
I am aware that Vito had a problem in conceiving children, despite the number of women he went through in an attempt at securing a dynasty, and yet Desiree was the only result of that.
Rumor has it his wife at the time was having an affair with one of the guards, which would also explain why Desiree looks nothing like her father.
It’s an impossible situation, and the only hope he has is of merging with our family to continue his empire in the long term.
My father turns to me, and I’m worried about the thoughtful gleam in his eye.
“What do you say, Nico, would you be willing to help out your uncle Vito and push aside your infatuation with this woman for the good of family relations?”
I don’t hesitate.
“No, I would not.”
I swear nobody breathes in the room as Vito’s sharp intake of breath could cut the tension building.
Despite his lack of heirs, Vito runs a business that is not to be overlooked.
He has many contacts and affluent businesses, and if we don’t merge, somebody else could swoop in and take it all.
It’s a cutthroat world we inhabit, more than most, and he will be relying on our protection, with his company the reward.
I add, “I have grown this business exponentially over the years. It is financially stable and one of the most successful in private hands. I have nothing to prove and nothing I owe. This is your agreement, but I am my own man and will not be dictated to about my personal life.”
I lean forward, fixing the two men with a hard glare, wondering if this will indeed work out in my favor. Bringing Regina here was always a fifty-fifty shot because no matter how much I fight this, if my father decides it’s happening, there is little I can do about that.
“There is another way outside of marriage.”
I have Vito’s attention as he puffs on his cigar.
“We merge as a business only, making certain you and Desiree are catered for. She will be wealthy and free to pursue her interests without sacrificing her freedom. It’s what I do.
I take businesses and merge them with ours, paying a good price for them while strengthening our position.
You will be free to enjoy your retirement knowing your business is in safe hands and your daughter has our protection. ”
My brothers are silent; this is not their fight, and yet my father decides to involve them with his next question.
“Nico makes a good point, but before we vote on that, is there anyone else who would be willing to marry Desiree and therefore step up as Vito’s successor at Vitoben?”
I find Julius and watch with interest because, for some reason, he is showing more than just a passing interest in Desiree.
His expression is inscrutable, and Simeon is the first to declare his intentions.
“No. I am happy with my current position.”
Joseph quickly adds, “I have more than enough to deal with in London. We are at a crucial stage in our development there, and walking away from that would harm our position.”
I must hand it to my younger brother; he learns quickly, and my father’s small smile tells me he knows it too.
All eyes turn to Julius, who has watched and remained silent, and then he shakes his head slowly.
“My interest in your daughter does not include marriage to her.”
“Your interest?”
Vito puffs hard on his cigar, probably to steady his nerves at a meeting that is not working out well for him.
“I have information from an impeccable source that Desiree is planning her future in a very different way.”
“What are you talking about?”
Vito’s jaw drops, and my father’s attention is now firmly focused on his most devious son.
“The Rossis.”
Just dropping the name into the conversation is enough to blow this meeting apart because Flavio Rossi is the heir to a rival mafia family with designs on our empire. We have long known about that, and yet he is nowhere near powerful enough to challenge us—yet.
My father’s tone is ominous as he growls, “What do you know?”
“She has met with him on several occasions while pretending to be at the spa. They meet and spend the day together; some say they are lovers.”
Vito’s rage is immediate, and he grinds the cigar into the ashtray and yells, “What the fuck? Who told you this?”
“Calm down, Vito, Julius has it under control.”
My father reassures him, and as we turn to Julius, his eyes gleam with adrenaline. He loves this shit, and I’m not surprised that he discovered this at all.
“My intention was to get close to her to see what she might let slip. With your permission, sir.”
He addresses Vito with respect, which appears to calm him a little, and he nods.
“You have my permission.”
As this new knowledge is digested, I breathe a sigh of relief, my brother’s words coming back to me. ‘You owe me one.’
I definitely do because there is no way now my father would entertain that woman as part of our family and Vito has no other choice but to agree to our terms because if Flavio Rossi gets his hands on his business, Vito would undoubtedly be sent to an early grave and it wouldn’t be long before his daughter joined him.