Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
This made him laugh.
“I did tell you I was sorry.”
“Good, and you can keep saying you’re sorry by enjoying this meal.”
He went to his seat at the head of the table, and she smiled as he picked up his fork and speared a potato. He didn’t bother to cut it in half, just shoved it into his mouth and started to eat. After a second, he frowned and glanced down at his food. “Fuck me, that is good,” he said.
She laughed. “It’s just a warm potato salad with a spicy chicken sandwich and a salad on the side.”
“Two salads on one plate?”
“Do you have a problem with your vegetables, Mateo?”
“No, but there’re two salads on one plate.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “You already like one salad. Try the other before you judge it.”
He sat down this time, and rather than go straight into the sandwich, he took a bite of the salad, and she watched.
“Okay, you’re a witch.”
She laughed. “I’m a witch?”
“There is no way two salads can taste this good!”
“I’ll consider that a compliment.”
“You should.”
Ella cut into her sandwich and took a bite. She loved spicy food, especially chicken.
“Tell me again why we have Lewis back at home?”
“You didn’t want me to cook for you, so I figured you didn’t trust me.”
“He’s fired and you are hired.”
****
Mateo didn’t want to bring his wife to one of the mafia meetings, however, it was insisted upon. As head of the mafia right now, the few capos that were left wanted to know who he had married.
He’d taken Ella to dress the part, and she looked stunning in the red dress, with her long, blonde hair curled. He’d even gotten a makeup artist to help with the makeup and hair, and she looked like the ultimate package as they arrived at Luca’s home.
On arrival at Luca’s home, Ella had been taken by his wife, Kelly, to mingle with the rest of the married women.
Mateo had left six capos alive, all of which had voiced their support of him becoming heir of the Alfonso Mafia. All the other capos had arranged marriages prior to his takeover, and none had opted for divorce. They might have been interested in breaking tradition to have a strong leader, but not when it came to marriages.
He saw the disapproval from some of the women, and if his wife was left feeling anything but welcome, he would go on a rampage.
“Do you want to tell me what this is about?” he asked, turning his attention to Luca.
“Look, we know you’re capable of handling anything thrown your way. You have proven it time and time again. Some people are ... upset that you didn’t give their daughters a consideration. Instead, you opted to marry an outsider—”
“Shut up,” Mateo said.
Luca’s face went a bright shade of red, and clearly, he wasn’t used to being told to be silent. Mateo didn’t give a fuck if he upset the man. What he had to say didn’t matter to him.
“There are traditions—”
“The same kind of traditions that mean I should never be in this seat in the first place. If you remember, my father wanted to put my brother Enrique in that title, and I recall you didn’t like the idea of him running things, did you?”
“Your brother—”
“Half-brother. We only shared the same father and had very different mothers.” He loved interrupting him. This is why he would never be a good fit to be boss. He didn’t follow the rules. Yes, he was strong and fought his way to the top and understood the rules, but to put it plainly, he didn’t abide by them.
From the moment he made the decision to have Ella as his wife, he knew it would upset the capos, and the truth was, he didn’t give a fuck what they thought. They were only interested in the wealth and status he could provide them. This is what he did, which is why for a long time they did leave him alone, and he wanted them to go back to leaving him the fuck alone. He didn’t want to constantly be giving them reasons why he did the shit he did.
“Your half-brother did not have what it took to take care of things. He would have handed us over to anyone stronger. You know this, and I know this. We all know this.”
“And instead, I’m the one who keeps our enemies at bay.”
“There is talk—”
“There is always fucking talk,” Mateo said. “It never stops with the gossip and shit you want to talk about. I married Ella. She was my choice. You got a problem with that, say so, and trust me, you can all be on your own. I don’t want or need any of this shit.”
He was not interested in being told what to do.
Luca stared at him and then nodded. “I will talk to the others.”