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“Oh, good. You don’t spend enough time with your friends. Always working. It’s not good for you.”
“I know, Papa. I’ll try to do better.”
“I just want to see you happy, myangioletto.”
“I know you do. And how about you? You seem to be doing well today.”
“Oh, I’m doing as well as can be expected to be stuck in this place.”
“Are they not treating you well?”
“They’re fine. They just act like I’m nuts or something. Like I’m dim in the head but I’m not. I know what they are up to.”
“Whatwhoare up to?”
“The people who work here. Crooks all of them.”
“Crooks?”
“They are taking advantage of the health system, using false insurance claims to make more money. Plus,” he lowered his voice and glanced around before bringing his face closer to the phone. “I think they are laundering money for the mafia.”
Sienna tensed and glanced at me before looking back at her father. “Papa, be careful saying something like that. You can’t go around accusing people of being part of the mob.”
“But they are and I’m close to cracking their whole operation. You just wait and see. Your mom is going to be so proud when I tell her how I took down the mob.”
Sienna’s face dropped at the mention of her mom, and I caught a slight quiver of her lip. “I’m sure she will be, Papa.”
I placed my hand on her arm in an attempt to comfort her and she flashed a grateful smile in my direction. Just then someone else walked into her father’s room and he looked away from the camera giving her a chance to swipe the stray tear aside.
He talked to someone off screen for several moments before turning back to her. “Well, my dear, I need to go. They say it's time to head to the dining hall, but you’ll call again tomorrow, right?”
Sienna glanced at me, and I nodded with a gentle smile.
“Yes, Papa. I’ll call you again tomorrow. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
The phone screen fumbled slightly as we caught a glimpse of her father’s room tilted sideways before being blocked by the side of his pants then the screen went black as he stuck the phone in his pocket without ending the call. Sienna and I shared a brief chuckle as she shook her head and ended the call.
“Thank you for letting me call him. It means a lot.”
“Of course. Now, why don’t we go have dinner? Teo and Mia are going out so it will just be the two of us.”
"Oh, I haven't done my hair, or anything..." Sienna started but I shook my head.
"You look beautiful. Come."
Sienna looked surprised by my compliment and that made me smile. I stood and offered her my hand which she took. The feel of her soft hand in mine sent a strange feeling through me and I found myself needing to breathe a little deeper as I ran my thumb over her knuckles and guided her to stand.
We were just about to head into the stuffy formal dining room when a thought crossed my mind. I turned to look at Sienna and raised my brow slightly. “How would you feel about having dinner on the terrace tonight? It’s a nice night and I feel like a change of scenery would be good for you.”
Sienna smiled brightly and nodded. “That sounds great.”
“Good. I'll let Bianca know.”
Chapter 12
Sienna
