Chapter 11
STEFANO
Benedetta rolled her shoulders as if she were the one standing in the position of power. I supposed she was… for the moment.
Her next words affected Val’s future, but I didn’t know how much power I could afford to let her wield without losing mine.
I sat at my desk, stunned, waiting for her demands.
“Well? What is it you think I’m going to do for you?”
“I’d like to make a deal.”
I glared at her but said nothing.
Benedetta’s confidence waned, her trembling bottom lip giving her away. Then she cleared her throat and came across the room, meeting my gaze without looking away, something women like her were trained never to do.
Women like her were raised to believe they could never stand on equal footing with men like me. Or in any case, they knew enough to never act like it, common sense and human decency be damned.
She thrust out her chin.
“I want you to take control of my father’s men.”
The fuck? I tapped my desk with a finger and stared at her.
This wasn’t about me simply taking her father’s empire from him. It would have been mine if I’d married her, but that was the only bartering chip she owned anymore, and it was only good for finding a husband.
Was that what this was? Had Benedetta just asked me to marry her, so I could find the woman I really wanted to marry?
“You know my father’s sick,” she added.
She sank into the chair opposite mine and leaned forward over the desk, a move that offered a nice view of her cleavage if I wanted it. I did not.
Still, she’d been dragged into my home like a traitor, and now she attempted to barter with me like a man while trying to use her feminine appeal to soften my disposition.
Impressive. And fucking stupid.
I wouldn’t touch any woman but my Val.
Even so, it wouldn’t hurt to let Benedetta play all her cards and see where they fell.
“I’m aware,” I said. “Last I heard, his doctors gave him just a few more months.”
“You’ve heard only what my father has allowed.”
“Your father hasn’t allowed shit. I found the information myself. I’ve got leverage, and I know what’s going on. Trust me, your father’s base isn’t as airtight as he’d have you believe.”
Benedetta rolled her eyes. Under different circumstances, the show of disrespect would have had grave consequences.
I would give her a single pass this time—but if she wanted to bargain like a man, I would treat her like one from here on out.
“My father doesn’t have months left,” she said. “He’s always known the severity of his illness, and he leaked the information to rush negotiations with you, so he wouldn’t have to negotiate your deal from a position of weakness.”
I raised my brows. If what she said were true, the old man had made a sly move. I hadn’t thought he had it in him.
Good on him.
“It’s true. He picked you from an impressive lineup, and he knows you’re the one to…”
She paused to carefully select her next words. Smart girl.
“To eliminate a fair amount of competition. He admires your moves—your precise targeting and your surprisingly low death toll or loss of revenue.”
“Let me see if I understand your plan,” I said. “You want us to get married so I can take control of your father’s empire before he passes. In return, you’ll get me to Chicago to rescue Val. And after all that, which of us is going to explain to her why I’ve made her the fool in this scenario?
“Why even bother pulling her away from her family’s claim if I can’t override it with marriage? Those assholes would be back here quickly to take her home again, and I would be back to square one. Worse, they kill more of my men—and maybe they kill my son.”
Those last words pitched my stomach up into my throat.
Benedetta drew in a deep breath.
“That’s not the plan. I want you to assume control of my father’s men, yes, because they will never follow me and might even kill me, but I said nothing about marriage.”
“That’s the only way without upsetting the other families and involving the Commission.”
“No, it isn’t. It’s the easiest way, but not the only way. I have another idea if you’re willing to hear it.”
I waved for her to continue, my pulse echoing in my ears.
“I’ve had a contract drawn up that will temporarily hand you control of my father’s empire. Everything from his men to the businesses and the operations they cover. He’s no longer able to lead, but you are.
“With this agreement, Stefano, you’ll act as regent, safeguarding my family legacy until I find a suitable husband. Then, once I’m married, control passes to my husband.”
Ah. Yes, smart girl.
“I think you mean once I find a suitable husband for you.”
The corner of her mouth twitched.
“Absolutely not. The contract is set up that way, but off the record, I want your word that you’ll stay out of it. I want you to allow me the time and the opportunity to vet my own potential matches. I decide who I marry. You have no say in the matter.”
She pursed her lips and lifted her chin ever so slightly.
“Acting regents inherit the responsibility of choosing a husband,” I said.
“Well, yes, on paper. But if we have a verbal agreement—like we once had regarding not having children—and I have your word that you’ll hand the responsibility to me, then we can make it work. Let the men think whatever they want.
“Because the only way this happens is if I get the right to choose my husband. Let me find someone I personally deem worthy, Stefano. Then you’ll be free of me.”
Her eyes misted, and at some point during her speech, she’d gone from calm and collected to openly pleading.
I folded my arms and squeezed my biceps.
“And what criteria would you use?”
Benedetta stared at the desk.
“Criteria of my choosing. It’s no concern of yours.”
“Oh, but it is, sweetheart. Anything that gives the Commission more power than me will be a hard no. I want the right to veto your choice.”
“Do you really think I’m not aware of the cards I hold and the type of men who covet my inheritance?”
Her voice had risen in pitch and volume, approaching a level of disrespect I wouldn’t tolerate a second time.
I narrowed my eyes and dipped my chin.
“Careful, Benedetta.”
She thrust her fucking finger in my direction.
“No, you listen to me. I agreed to marry you. I’d resigned myself to that fate, then I allowed you to break our contract when Valentina showed up. Not only did I not complain, but I understood. Because I understand that love is rare, and when it’s found, it should be honored.
“Now I’m giving you a better chance to reclaim that love. All I’m asking for in return is the opportunity to find mine. Can you honestly say I don’t deserve a shot at something more than all this?”
Her eyes roamed about, tears on the verge of spilling, as she opened her arms to gesture around my office.
Tears wouldn’t sway me. She should have known that.
Benedetta clenched her hands into fists then, her long nails no doubt cutting into her soft flesh. She wanted this more than I’d thought, and she made several valid points.
But she still hadn’t sold me.
“Do you deserve a normal life? Probably,” I said. “Can you have that? Highly unlikely. People like you and me, we don’t get to be normal. We aren’t made for normal.
“A mafia princess with no living brothers can’t just go off and fall in love with a dentist or computer programmer, for fuck’s sake, and expect him to transform into a kingpin. Nor can you expect love to fall from some goddamn tree and into your lap. It doesn’t work that way. It isn’t that simple.”
She huffed out a breath and stood.
“Look, Stefano, I’m not expecting to find the kind of love you have with Valentina. I’ve seen the way you look at her, the way she looks at you. I’m not asking for that.
“I just want to marry a man I respect, a man who won’t beat me, who might even be worthy of all that comes with marrying me. I haven’t deluded myself into thinking it’ll be perfect, but I do want to choose him myself. I believe I deserve that much.”
I drummed my fingers on the desk, considering.
She was right. For better or worse, Val was the love of my life. And without Benedetta’s help, I couldn’t see another way to get her back. If Benedetta could provide me with the info I needed to bring my girl home, maybe I did owe her the choice.
I rubbed my chin. “Okay.”
Her eyes widened. “Okay?”
Of course she didn’t quite believe it. She’d probably walked into this conversation expecting to be refused.
“Have your father’s lawyer finalize the contract. As far as your father—or anyone else who’s aware of the situation—is concerned, I’m choosing your husband. Privately, you have my word… the choice will be yours if it doesn’t fuck with my position, my businesses, or my family.
“We’ll let everyone believe the decision rests solely with me. And we will together weed out the men who only want you for the power that comes with your hand. At the very least, this gives you space to find love on your own terms.”
She nodded. “How would we determine?—”
“If they’re only after power, Benedetta, they won’t court you—they’ll be courting me.”
She returned to her seat.
“The contract’s already been drawn up.”
Grabbing the leather bag at her side, she pulled out a large envelope, and handed it to me.
“You should know I was planning to come and plead my case with you this afternoon anyway.”
I skimmed over the pages inside the envelope. The terms seemed in order, so I added my signature on the line above my name and handed the contract to her.
“Let me know when your father signs it.”
She picked up my pen and signed her name beside mine.
“No need. He died this morning,” she said. “And thanks to you, I’m now his only surviving heir. No death announcement has been made at this point. I’ll leave that to you now.”
As she pushed the papers back at me, she radiated a challenging vibe, the look in her eyes daring me to deny what I had done to her family.
I wouldn’t deny it, not to her.
Before Val came back into my life, I was set to inherit the power Capaldo’s men would have given me.
Now? I had it anyway.