Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 91238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
The men all look like angry bulls. Renzo’s annoyed, Saul’s still raging, Gian’s tense and quiet, and Carlo’s just trying to hold them all together. I expected anger, but I didn’t have any idea it would blow up into violence.
But I guess it makes sense. These are men used to fixing their problems with their fists. If I had known Gian was going to take some punches for me, I might’ve brought a first aid kit or something.
“I have an offer to make,” Gian says once the room is quiet.
“I don’t want anything from you.” Saul’s face wrinkles with disgust. “How could you do this to your own brother?”
“You don’t even care about the fucking girl,” Renzo says, exasperated. “I understand, he made you look bad, but get it together. You’re acting like he stole your one true love.”
“I’m acting like he embarrassed me,” Saul snarls. “Worse than that. He made me look weak. How the fuck am I supposed to help run the Famiglia now? Every soldier and Capo will whisper behind my back. They’ll say I can’t even keep a woman from my own brother. It’s pathetic.”
“Which is why I want to offer you something,” Gian says, keeping calm.
“Fuck your offer. Didn’t you hear me already? I want you to get on the phone with our lawyer and get the divorce started.”
My heart picks up its pace. I look at Gian with a little panic, but he’s focused on Saul and his face remains still. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Then we have nothing to talk about.” Saul starts getting up.
“Sit the fuck back down,” Renzo says. “And don’t look at me like that. I’m not your brother right now. I’m your fucking Don.”
“How convenient. You’re the Don when you want to be and my brother when that suits you. Fuck you all then.” Saul turns away and starts walking toward the door.
“You can have my Vegas outfit.”
Gian’s voice cuts through the tension like a shark’s fin through bloody ocean water. Saul stops, his shoulders tensing. I can see his face: he’s surprised, still angry, but interested. He slowly turns around.
“Explain,” he says.
“I made arrangements before we came back to Philly. You all know I take a cut of the gambling cashflow and it made me very wealthy. I’m offering to give you my entire book, my employees, the whole operation. All the money, everything. It’ll be yours to manage how you want. I’ll step away. We’ll tell everyone you and I cut a deal. You get Vegas, I get the girl. Since we’re in love.”
Saul doesn’t move. I stare at Gian, my head dizzy, trying to understand the magnitude of what he’s doing.
“Bro, are you serious right now?” Carlo asks, sounding about as shocked as I feel. “That’s your fucking baby.”
“I know.” Gian’s face is set, his lips a thin line. “I understand what I’m doing.”
Saul’s head cocks. “What’s your angle here?” he asks, but most of the anger’s gone now, replaced by cold curiosity.
“Like I said. Allegra and I are in love. I knew it would fuck things up for you, which is why I’m willing to make this huge sacrifice. You get Vegas. I get the girl.”
“I don’t recall being consulted about this,” Renzo grumbles, but he looks a lot less pissed off.
I want to speak up. I want to stop this insanity. Gian can’t give up the business he built for a fake marriage that’s only going to last a single year. I get that he needs to find a way to save face and keep his family from breaking apart, but this is too much. I would rather he told them the truth than sacrifice something he really cares about.
But if I open my mouth now, it’ll ruin everything. Gian worked hard to get us in this position and he already made the arrangements. Am I being selfish by not saying anything? Or am I just giving Gian what he really wants? I don’t know, but I feel completely overwhelmed and out of my depth. I wish he would’ve warned me about all this and given me a chance to talk him out of it. But now that we’re in front of his brothers, I can’t find my voice.
“Are you sure?” Saul asks, not sounding convinced. “You’re seriously in love with her?”
“I am,” Gian confirms. “What other reason could we possibly have for making a mess of all this? I don’t want to hurt you, Saul. You’re my brother and I care about all of you. This thing with Allegra, it just happened.”
Suddenly, everyone’s looking in my direction like they’d forgotten I was there. My cheeks turn red, burning bright pink, and I wish I could draw into myself like a turtle hiding in its shell.
“Here’s the deal.” Renzo’s voice draws everyone’s attention away, which is a huge relief. “If Gian’s serious and he really wants to give up Vegas, I’ll allow it. Saul can manage things remotely. We’ll sell this to the city as a stupid, lovesick moron making a horrible mistake, and a shrewd businessman profiting from a golden opportunity. Everyone will believe it, since we all know you never really cared about the girl. Does that work for you?”