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I wave them off and head into the house. I walk toward the stairs but stop when Alessandro’s office door opens.
“I was wondering when you were coming home,” he says as he walks out. He is in a satin robe and long pants but without a shirt, from what I can see. He looks much older than I remember.
I give him a warm smile. “Don’t tell me you were waiting up for me.”
He smiles and walks over. “Of course. You are like my sister, Shirls. I can’t sleep knowing you’re out on those streets. What were you doing anyway?”
“Gathering information,” I say with a bright smile as I take out my phone and show him the photo. “Look, it’s Volkov’s rough proposal for Staten Island.”
He takes my phone and looks at it carefully before scrutinizing me. “How did you get this? Were you with Evgenii? After everything that happened and the danger you put the family under, he should be the last person you’re near.”
“Our family is united now,” I point out. “And that aside, I’m older and wiser now. I know I can manipulate him so that we can present the best bid for Staten Island. I will do what it takes to get our family this win.”
Alessandro looks at me and sighs. “Goodnight, Shirls.” He kisses my forehead and walks toward the staircase, muttering to himself about the woman in his family driving him to drink.
I smile. He’s an excellent leader and ruthless to anyone outside of our family. I go upstairs to shower and then get into my bed. I fall asleep thinking about Evegenii.
The following day I stretch as I wake up. I get ready and go downstairs, walking into the dining hall. It is bigger than the old one. I suppose it has to be with the ever-expanding family. I sit down opposite my adoptive parents Romero and Helena. I set my phone on the table and start to dish up some scrambled eggs and toast.
My phone buzzes, and Romero glances at it but doesn’t say anything about it.
Helena smiles. “You don’t visit often enough, Shirls. You really should come back more often. The kids are getting so big.”
I smile at her. “I know, Ma, but the West Coast keeps me busy.”
“It’s not right for a young lady not to have time to start a family,” she chastises me as my phone buzzes again.
The third time it buzzes, Romero glances at me again. “Who’s trying to get hold of you so urgently?”
I grin. “Who isn’t, Pa? But it’s not polite to answer the phone while I have a lovely breakfast with my parents.”
“Remember when she first got a phone?” Romero nudges Helena. “It was that summer we took the kids to the lake for Pierce’s thirteenth birthday. Got them each a new phone to gush over something and got Pierce that gaming computer he wanted so badly.”
I smile brightly as other family members join us. “I remember that! That was a great summer. We had so much fun with Nonno taking us out on the tube connected to the boat.”
“He loved making you kids laugh,” Helena says lovingly.
I have so many fond memories of the time I’ve spent with the Sorvinos, who I consider my true family. My biological family... Well, Romero made sure that my father would never hurt Pierce or me again, and my mother didn’t argue when, at seven, we moved in with the Sorvinos permanently. Dominic used to say that Romero had my abusive father offed and paid my mom off to let us go.
I’m so grateful he did.
My phone buzzes again, and I turn the vibrate off, not bothering to see who’s messaging. As other family members sit down, we chat about upcoming plans for some of them to come out to stay at our properties on the West Coast to watch Ariana race. Alessandro and Frankie will remain behind to manage the business side of things, but Dominic will be there, along with Kira and Tori.
I still find it strange that our family is connected to the Volkovs. I won’t lie, it felt like a bit of a betrayal at the time. I know Tori isn’t fully aware of what happened between Evgenii and me, but it stings. Only Alessandro and Frankie know the truth, so I can’t blame everyone else.
I finish breakfast and excuse myself, kissing my parents' heads before leaving the room. I pause when I reach my room and check my messages. There are several missed calls from Evgenii and quite a few messages. The last one asks why I left so early and didn’t wait until he woke up.
I shoot him a quick text back to let him know that I had said I had an early start and that I just thought it would be better to have that start from home. I send the text and grab my things, going into my makeshift office and powering up my laptop.
I transfer the photo of Evgenii’s proposal to my laptop and go over it. It isn't a bad proposal for what looks like a first draft. He’s not just offering them money but detailing positions for Pacheco family members within the area should his family take over. I can definitely up that, add a few shares to the profits we make to give him a pleasant retirement, and I’m sure I can sway him my way.
I have a meeting with them later today that I need to prep for. I want to get a feel for what it is, exactly, that they are looking for out of this deal. It’s surprising that Pacheco isn’t passing his legacy on to one of his sons. This kind of trade, this kind of negotiation, is entirely unheard of. I’ve never known a family to willingly give up a territory permanently for retirement, not when there are sons who are heirs. It’s just not how things are done, and even more so because of how profitable Staten Island is for moving Opioid products.
I start drafting my proposal, noting what questions I need to ask. I keep glancing at my phone to see if Evgenii has sent another message. I don’t want to message him. He’ll think he has me on a hook. I want him to be on his knees, begging me for mercy when I’m done with him. I want him to know how I felt when he broke me six years ago.
I sigh, I can’t let that be my main focus. Alessandro will be so pissed if I mess this up. He called me to do this for a reason. I’m known for making deals and closing them. It’s why I run the West Coast operations. I didn’t think Alessandro would ever trust me after I leaked family operational secrets to Evgenii when we dated, but he did trust me. He knew I’d never purposefully put the family at risk. He gave me a second chance, and I didn’t only grow our West Coast base, but now we are thriving and making more money than ever. Slightly trailing behind New York, but just.
I glance at my phone again and then put it away so it won’t distract me. Evgenii cannot distract me from what I intend to do.
