Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
“Well, that was fun,” Colton grumbles as the rest of us finish our coffee and stand up, following like good little ducklings.
As I leave, I turn back to look at Penny.
Her eyes are almost blank, like she’s no longer all there, and I feel a rush of sympathy for her.
We’ve never gotten along, and even if she made her own bed, nobody deserves to be abused.
I wonder if I can help her get away. It isn’t like he really needs her anymore.
I’m pretty sure he was just using her to get to us, and my father was smart enough not to share important stuff with her anyway.
She’s safe enough for now at home with Vienna and Stacey.
I’ll just have to factor something into my plan for her.
Maybe if she could get away from her own family who used and abused her and start a new life somewhere, she would have a chance at happiness.
My father would want that for her. He might not have loved her, but he must have cared for her not to have a convenient accident all these years.
“At least you get out of the dress fitting,” Vienna grumbles as we congregate in the foyer.
“Keep an eye on Penny for me,” I say under my breath when I stop next to her. “I’m worried about her. Also, you should know she sees Addison regularly. Maybe she can tell you about it.”
Vienna’s eyes light up with excitement, and she gives me a quick nod before kissing Colton on the cheek then returning to the dining room.
The other two watch her go, unable to hide the longing in their eyes.
Hmm, I wonder why she doesn’t show them affection openly anymore.
Did Mario threaten them? I guess it wouldn’t be seemly, considering Xavier is married to me, and Tristan is about to marry Stacey.
Ugh, it’s all a mess. I hope their love is strong enough to keep them together.
As much as I am still trying to hold onto my anger toward them, it is slowly drifting away as I see everything they have suffered through.
How can I judge them when I haven’t been where they have?
Who’s to say I would have done anything different?
Hell, I’m just trying to keep my head above water at the moment, and I’ve certainly not behaved like I would have in the past either.
“Try not to eat too much, Tori. You’re starting to look a little plump, and I won’t have you looking like a fat pig in my wedding,” Stacey says viciously as we follow Mario out the front door.
“Once we have the safe open, I will send her back in time for your fitting,” he promises Stacey without looking back, his phone in his hand as he types out a message.
I wonder if he’s having my dad moved already. That would work well for us.
I flip her off. I don’t need to look like a meth addict to make a dress look good. I’m confident in the way I look, and nothing she can say will dent that.
There is a limo waiting out front for us, and Mario and Gregor are already seated when the rest of us climb in.
There are two black town cars also waiting, already full of men to escort us.
This is going to be a shit show, but my staff has been informed of the sudden change and will hopefully behave appropriately so no one gets hurt.
The ride is quiet, since everyone is engrossed in their phones, but I just stare out the window and plan.
I think I’ve come up with a fairly decent one, but I need to talk to Mickey tonight and see if we can pull it off.
I want to do it in person and not risk anything I send being traced by the wrong person.
I even left my phone at home today. There’s no point in carrying it now that it is being tracked and every word is being scrutinized.
The ride seems to fly by, and before I know it, we’re pulling into the valet parking in front of the Lucky Diamond. The door opens, and Mario gets out, buttoning his suit and puffing out his chest. Gregor follows, as does Colton and Tristan. Xavier pauses, looking at me.
“Just keep it together a little longer, okay?” he asks quietly, and I give him a small nod of assurance, and he smirks. “Oh, I have no doubt you’re going to wreak havoc, but timing is everything.”
I let a small smile cross my lips. “I can assure you, my timing is impeccable.” I slide over the seat, getting out in front of him. When I turn to watch him get out, his eyes are on my ass.
“Timing isn’t the only thing that is impeccable,” he mutters as he stands and fastens the button on his jacket.
He looks hot. In fact, all three of them do, and if I was a lady who swooned, well, maybe they might have caused me to do just that, but I’m not.
Instead, I brace myself for the reactions to come.
Sage was well loved by everyone, and I can’t imagine my staff is going to be thrilled about my marriage announcement and the new management status less than twenty-four hours after his burial.
Adopting my resting bitch face, I follow Mario who has approached the front desk and is currently harassing the person who has the shift today.
I feel all eyes on us as we follow him, Mario’s men at our backs. Jennifer’s panicked eyes seem to drift over the group before reaching me. She scowls, and I roll my eyes. Jennifer always did have an inappropriate crush on Sage, but he never did anything to dissuade her, the incorrigible flirt.
Mario’s voice is getting louder, and we are drawing even more attention from guests, so I clear my throat and step up to the counter.
He scowls at me, but when I gesture around the room, he frowns and steps back, letting me take the lead.
Optics are everything, and he isn’t presenting good ones at the moment.
“Good morning, Jennifer. How are you this morning?”
“Fine,” she replies disrespectfully. Jesus, what is with all the people surrounding me growing some balls?
“Fine, Ms. Russo, thanks for asking,” I prompt flatly, and she blanches, because she must see the annoyance on my face.
“Sorry, I’m still recovering from Sage’s death. You’ll have to excuse my abruptness,” she says snippily. I saw her at the funeral, weeping like a widow. Stupid bitch. I wave my hand, gesturing for Xavier to step forward.
“This is my husband, Xavier Maricuso, and he is taking over the role of CEO for the Lucky Diamond. That is his family. They will be afforded all the same privileges the Russo family have. We are merging our empires, and I am taking a step back, but I am sure you received the system wide email I sent out, didn’t you?
” I hold her gaze, and she fidgets a little before giving me a quick nod.
“Good, then I expect you to treat them like you treated any of my family.”
“Is it true that Mr. Russo has passed?” she asks boldly, looking at me directly, and I have a moment of pure rage before adopting a look of devastation.
“Yes, he was in a fatal accident yesterday, but unfortunately, business will not allow me to grieve,” I explain, and her eyes narrow.
Jennifer is an idiot if she thinks I’m going to allow any of this to go unpunished.
She’s going to be called into a meeting with Bryce and learn she’s suddenly fired.
It’s the least she deserves. Before she can respond, I continue, ignoring the tears welling in her eyes at the news.
“Please have Bryce and the heads of housekeeping, reception, catering, entertainment, guest relations, security, and the pit bosses all called to an urgent, in-house meeting in the conference room in half an hour. We would like to make this transition as smooth as possible.”
I don’t wait for her response, turning my attention to Xavier. “I’ll show you to your office,” I tell him, leading the way to the elevator without a backward glance.
It opens when we get there, and he and I step in, followed by Tristan, Colton, and Gregor. When the doors close, Mario grabs Xavier’s arm. “Be careful, boy. You are CEO in name only.”
“Remove your hand before I remove it for you,” Xavier growls at his adoptive father, and Mario flinches.
“You made me CEO because you wanted to pull strings from the shadows. We can’t do that if you start to throw your weight around.
We will draw too much attention to ourselves, and you do not want that.
We only just got the FBI off our tails after Lorenzo’s huge fuck up. ”
Mario looks disgruntled but does as requested. “I demand the same kind of respect they give him,” he snarls at me, and I give him a demure smile.
“I’ll be sure to let everyone know.”
“Good, because what I give, I can also take away.” Mario is livid, and I feel a little smug. I knew my staff wasn’t going to react to the takeover well, but unlike Jennifer, most of them are smart and will keep their heads down.
I acknowledge the threat with a small nod, which seems to placate him.
Colton clears his throat. “I’ll skip the meetings.
I have some Maricuso business I need to go over,” he tells everyone, gesturing to the laptop bag under his arm.
“I also need to head to the warehouse and look over the drug inventory. Now that we don’t have a chemist, we need to make sure we are still producing the product we need. ”
“Where are the weed farms, Tori?” Tristan asks, and I scowl at him. I was hoping they forgot that we are the major supplier to the legitimate business here in Suncity and throughout the West Coast.
“That was Sage’s department, and he and Gio dealt with all of that.
I guess someone in the organization may know, but I would have to ask around.
I never bothered with that because they had it well in hand and have for years,” I lie, and Tristan wrinkles his nose in annoyance.
He knows I’m lying but won’t call me out.
“After all, it’s not a woman’s place to question a man,” I remark, and Mario nods his agreement, picking up what I’m putting down, but none of the others do.
Gregor scoffs, and the other three just smirk.