Chapter 21Ari
Chapter Twenty-One
ARI
What an interesting turn of events. When I’d learned of the fundraiser, I thought it’d be another boring night in a tux. Well, minus Anna. Her in that dress had dialed up the night considerably. I wondered if she was aware of how everyone had stopped to look at her. The woman had a presence. A sexy confidence that radiated from her.
Michael Georgiou was a surprise. This building was his before Jason took it from him. That he’d shown up here meant there was a plan in motion. Unless the only goal was to rat out Anna, driving a wedge between us. I knew they were meeting. I was waiting for her to tell me when she was ready. I’d had guards following her each time she’d met with him. With the bubbling tensions between the families, I was only concerned for her safety.
The animosity between Jason and his father was a powder keg. I had to give my respects to Jason for how well he handled things. He’d been shocked to see Michael.
“Where’s Thomas?” I asked. I knew the answer, but I was curious how Jason would answer.
His jaw tensed and released a few times. “He had errands to run for me.” Yeah, his second had an errand all right. He was prowling the premises with a small army to make sure Michael didn’t try anything. One of the reasons I’d been comfortable enough to leave Anna with her father while I greeted those in attendance.
Anna reached out like she was going to touch her brother but then changed her mind, pulling her hand back. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine.” He smiled.
What I wouldn’t give to find a private space to pelt him with questions. The moment I could, I was calling Dimitris and getting eyes on Thomas as well. Maybe he was the one holding the knife behind his back, and Jason, blinded by friendship, couldn’t see it.
If that turned out to be true, I’d let Jason take care of him as would be his right in that situation. It also meant Anna was in danger because Thomas knew their strengths and weaknesses. She could say she was ambivalent towards Jason, but that was a lie. If Jason were in trouble, she’d do anything to help him. It would be easy to exploit that weakness.
“It’s fine,” Jason answered. “Have you met the mayoral candidate?”
“I have.” I flicked my gaze in the direction of the mousey blond man. “I don’t want to muddy your judgment. Meet him and tell me what you think.”
Jason nodded. “All right.”
I turned my full attention to Anna. “Are you okay? Did your visit with your father go okay?”
Shrugging, she replied, “It was fine until Jason showed up. I didn’t realize they’d both be here.”
“I didn’t either.”
“You think they’ll behave?” Her gaze landed on her father and then moved across the room to her brother. “It’s oppressively tense when they’re together.”
Nodding, I replied, “Yeah, it is. I’m glad fists didn’t fly.”
“Me too.”
“Let me introduce you to Jim Dwyer. He’s the one who’s going to be running for mayor. I want your opinion.”
“I can tell you from here he wouldn’t get my vote. He makes my skin crawl.”
“That’s a pretty strong reaction. You haven’t even met him.”
“I don’t have to. If he’s not a predator, he’s a predator in training. He isn’t a good man. Look who he’s associating with. Gabriele Moretti?”
“Me.”
She jerked her gaze to mine, and she took my chin in two of her fingers. “Don’t you ever compare yourself to him ever again, Ari. You couldn’t be further apart. You are a good man.”
No, I wasn’t, but with the fire in her eyes, I’d lose this battle.
“Jason… My father…” She licked her lips as her gaze dipped to the floor. Based on her body language, I’d say she considered them as questionable as I did. “I don’t know about them, but the rest of these men are rats in a sewer and he’s desperate for their money and approval.”
“All right. We will keep looking for a candidate,” I said, chuckling.
A flicker of surprise danced across her face. “Just like that? You’ll accept my opinion?”
When it was that strong? Yeah, I sure would. “I value your opinion. If you say he rubs you the wrong way, then the decision is made.”
Anna leaned into me. “I wish I could figure my father out. I don’t know what to think.”
“You want him to be a good man. Your emotions are conflicted because he’s hurt you. Once you reconcile all that, you’ll figure it out.”
“Ari.” Gabriele’s voice intruded on the moment I was having with Anna.
I turned to him. “Hello, Gabriele. How are you? Is your granddaughter okay?”
“She is. Thank you for asking.” His gaze roamed to Anna. It ran from the tip of her head to her toes and back up. “Who is this fetching beauty?” His voice dipped low like I wasn’t standing right next to her. The muscles between my shoulders tensed.
“I’m Anna Georgiou, Ari’s fiancée. It’s nice to meet you.” It was as if she could sense the shift in my mood. She palmed my chest, displaying the ring on her finger, and pressed herself against me.
Gabriele kept his eyes pinned on her. “What a lucky, lucky man.”
“That’s what I keep telling him.” She chuckled and touched her lips to mine, holding my gaze.
I covered her hand with mine. “I’m very aware of how lucky I am.”
“I don’t remember receiving an invitation,” Gabriele finally peeled his gaze from Anna and pierced me with a look. Because we didn’t send one and I’d offended him, which wouldn’t typically bother me. Until I was ready to go to war with him though, I would keep the peace.
“I’m sure that was a simple oversight due to the rushed nature of the wedding. Please accept my apologies. Let me offer a personal invitation with the hope that you’ll attend. It’s Saturday at two.”
“Thank you. I would be honored. I’ll see you then.” Gabriele gave a slight bow and returned to the group surrounding Jim Dwyer.
Anna put her back to him, acting as though she was fixing my tie. “What happened to his granddaughter?”
I placed my hands on her hips and kissed the tip of her nose. “He said she was molested by Marco.”
She brushed her lips across mine and whispered, “That man wears a crown of broken souls and leaves destruction in his wake.”
A chill raced down my spine with the way she described him. I couldn’t have said it better myself. “I know, sweetheart.” I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it. “I’m sorry I had to invite him. For now, I need to hold my cards close to my chest.”
She lifted her gaze to mine. “You think he’ll come to the wedding?”
“Probably, but I’ll keep him away from you.” If the man so much as shuffled a toe in her direction, I’d break it. The threat of war be damned.
Anna pressed her body against my side and faced the people in attendance again, smiling. She was playing her part, and I appreciated her willingness to do so.
Jason strode over. “Dwyer is too eager for approval. If he’s already licking shoes, what will he do when he wants more? I won’t back him. ”
“No. My family won’t either.”
Anna’s brother looked at her and smiled. “I’ll see you Saturday.”
“See you then.”
He was only a few feet away when Anna glanced at me. “I’ll be right back.”
She hurried to catch up to him before he landed inside the mass of people. They spoke for a moment. Jason nodded and smiled. When she returned, she was glowing. Her eyes were glossy, and she chewed her thumb.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” she responded. “I asked him to give me away, and he agreed.”
I was a bit surprised by that. “Really?”
Her gaze dipped to the floor. “I’d thought about asking my father, but something’s stopping me. Jason and I used to be close, and I don’t know him as well as I used to, but for some unknown reason, I feel like he should be the one. I don’t have a reasonable explanation why…you must…”
“Think things are stressful right now, and sometimes we have to rely on intuition in matters like these.”
Anna lifted her head, her eyes connecting with mine. “Thank you.”
My faith in Jason was still on shaky ground, but if I went with my gut, I got the impression that he loved her, and I was glad that they were moving towards some sort of reconciliation.
“He loves you.”
With a heavy sigh, she nodded. “I’ve missed him so much. We used to be best friends.”
If I could I’d tell her I would, but it wasn’t my place. Plus, I didn’t have all the details. Giving her partial information could potentially put her in danger. “Would you like to go home?” I asked.
With a sigh, she replied, “Yeah. You mind if I say goodbye to Papa?”
“No, let’s find him and then we’ll leave.”
I’d give Lucas the verdict on Dwyer tomorrow, and then begin looking for a new candidate. We were entering a new era. With the Benoit thing settled and the influx of money, we would be working on expanding again. We’d need friends in city government.
As for Michael and Jason, my thoughts were muddled. Maybe I’d give my brother my feelings on Gabriele instead.