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He stares at me in disbelief, his sneer disappearing in an instant. “You can’t do that.”
“The hell I can’t. Get out.Now.”
The guard’s eyes flicker with uncertainty, but then he takes a defiant stance, crossing his arms in front of his barrel chest. “I told you. I take orders from Carmine Mucci. No one else.”
“Is that right?” I sputter, reaching across the desk for my father’s desk phone. “Well, let’s just call him, shall we? And see what he says when I tell him that not only are you disrespecting me, you’ve spent more time staring at my tits than you have at my face since you came into this room!”
“Am I interrupting something?”
A voice from behind him causes the security head to swivel on his heels, hand reaching for his waist, where a gun is surely hidden. Antony D’Agostino is standing in the doorway to the office.
“The staff let me in,” he explains, locking eyes with me. With a quick frown as he takes in the situation, Antony shifts his glance toward the guard. “What’s going on here.”
“I just fired him,” I say coldly. “But he is refusing to leave.”
Antony swivels toward the guard. “Surely you don’t want to be seen as trespassing on Mucci property?” he asks smoothly.
The guard opens his mouth to snap out a reply, but then seems to think better of it. “This ain’t right,” he mutters. “She ain’t in charge.”
“Until Carmine Mucci is back, Sera is the head of this household. This is a household matter. Her decision is final.” Antony speaks almost nonchalantly, with the air of a man who is used to having his words obeyed without question. “Now, leave. I need to speak with Serafina. It’s a private conversation.”
The guard presses his lips together, but says nothing. With a quick nod, he strides out of the room, leaving us alone.
“That son of a bitch!” I seethe.
“So, what was the problem?” Antony asks mildly.
“The way he just spoke to me!” I throw up my hands in impotent rage. “If he had everdaredspeak that way to my father, he’d be worm food by sunset!”
“What did he say?”
“And then!” I continue without answering. “He immediately jumps to attention and does exactly what you say!You!” I start to pace back and forth, my hands fisting at my sides. “Not even a Mucci!” I can’t believe that my authority as my father’s daughter is so shaky that it took the head of another family to give my words the weight they deserve.
“Calm down, Sera…” Antony murmurs.
It’s exactly the wrong thing to say to me right now. I whirl to face him. “Don’ttell me to calm down!” I bite out, my voice rising. “Have you never actually had a conversation with a woman? Do you know how goddamnenragingit is when a mantells us to calm down?Youtry living as a woman in this stupid world!” My hands fly apart, taking in the room, the house, this compound, this whole damnplanet. “Especially inourworld! Where women arenothing! We have no power, no agency! Nothing!”
“Sera, I’m sorry.” To his credit, Antony does actually look apologetic. “Look, do you want me to go make sure he’s leaving?”
Maybe he expects me to be grateful for the offer. But I’m not. Instead, it deflates me. Sighing in defeat and exasperation, I stop pacing and lean against the desk.
“No,” I say wearily. “You having to talk to him is just part of the problem. What Iwantis for a man not to have to talk to another man just to get that person to treat me with a modicum of respect.” I look at Antony. “That man would never have dared speak to me that way if my father were in the room. And that’s the whole point. I only ever get taken seriously if there is a man’s power behind me. By myself, I don’t even matter.”
“That’s not true,” Antony murmurs.
“You know it is.” I want to shout the words at him. But I don’t have the energy anymore. “Why are you here, anyway?” I sigh, sinking down into my father’s chair.
“Well.” He takes one of the leather chairs facing the desk, crossing his legs in front of him at the ankles. “Given the conversation we’ve just had, you probably won’t want to hear this, but I know your father was supposed to meet with his union men today.”
I suppress a flash of irritation, and manage not to ask him how he knows this. “And?”
“I’d suggest putting that meeting on hold. At least until Carmine is back and can handle it.”
“No one but us knows where my father is right now. There’s got to be some speculation that he’s dead. The meeting can’t wait.” I square my shoulders in a power stance and draw myselfup straight to look down at him. “Everyone needs to know that the Mucci family is strong.”
“They won’t have that impression if his daughter is the one taking that meeting instead of him.”
“I have been Carmine Mucci’s most trusted adviser since I was twenty-one,” I spit back. “These men are going to learn to respect me. Don’t get in my way.”
