AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Got it.” I nodded and straightened up in my chair, realizing I’d been slouching. “No more. No less.”
My father raised his eyebrow, leaving no room for interpretation. “I mean it, boy. Don’t fuck this up like you always do.”
“I won’t.”
3
ANDRO
These fucking galas were always the same.
Fake smiles. Ridiculously hard handshakes that threatened to break every bone in your hand. And unholy amounts of money being passed around for various causes.
Most of which were not at all philanthropic.
There was an inordinate amount of people vying for my attention compared to past events. Likely, the news of my impending takeover had spread far and wide. Others wanted to make connections with me, establish relationships either inside the boardroom or the bedroom. I wasn’t looking for either one tonight.
I circled the room several times, hoping a previously unnoticed omega would catch my eye and some kind of solution to my problem would materialize in front of me. Unfortunately, that wasn’t happening. Sure, plenty of omegas were throwing themselves at me, I had room numbers and room keys in all my pockets, but none of them were what I was looking for.
In fact, the only omega my eyes kept drifting back to was Joseph fucking Santoro. The one guy I had no chance of convincing to marry me. Not because he wouldn’t want to. I had no doubt I could seduce him. Over the years, I’d caught him watching me almost as closely as I watched him. So I knew the interest was there on both sides.
But for the same reason I couldn’t entertain the idea of being with him, he couldn’t consider being with me.
Our families had a decades-old rivalry. Though, rivalry was a bit of an understatement.
Because of some bad decisions made by our great-great-grandfathers, my family and Joseph’s family were enemies. In fact, both patriarchs had tried to have the other killed on several occasions.
Santo, as Joseph’s dad was called, was a lower level thug than my father, but he had high aspirations and was always trying to move in on our territory. The Santoros were like a pesky fly that wouldn’t go away.
As far as their business dealings, they had zero integrity. Sure, Ferrinis broke the law, but we always had a reason. We weren’t cruel unless it was deserved.
My father was mostly reasonable and could forgive many indiscretions, but trying to steal his business was playing with fire. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how either man had managed to survive all their petty attempts at retaliation. But somehow, they had and were both in the same room tonight, something we generally tried to avoid.
Our full security detail was monitoring Santo and his alpha sons, just in case he got brave and tried to make a move. Tweedle-Deeand Tweedle-Dum—I never bothered to learn their real names—weren’t likely to make it very far even if they did try something. But we were always prepared.
Which was why we were more successful than them.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” Louie asked, standing at my flank in the front corner of the room.
My gaze was locked on Joseph. The omega sat between both his brothers, as if they were holding him captive. I didn't think for a moment that it was about security. Their mistreatment of the omega brother was the worst-kept secret. “I was just thinking about the stupid feud we have with the Santoros. It’s amazing Dad is still alive.”
Louie just shook his head and glanced over at the Santoro table. “Yeah, it’s too bad. Joey is so cute. He’d be the perfect omega for you. If he weren’t part of that family.”
“Yeah…” As I stared at him, Joseph looked over at me and got caught in my gaze for several seconds before having his attention pulled back.
“What was that about?” Louie crossed his arms over his chest as he watched the omega almost as intently as I did. “Which one is that?”
“I don’t know.” One of the Santoro boys had smacked Joey on the side of his head because he was looking away…at me.Fucker.
Joey flinched but covered it quickly.
I continued to watch and let the wheels turn in my head. “You know, he would be perfect. I could tell Dad that he’s the only person I could possibly think of marrying, and it’s either Joey Santoro or no one. Maybe then, Dad would give up on the wholemarriage clause. Either that, or let me marry his enemy and bring a Santoro into the family.”
Louie turned to me with his jaw locked before chuckling quietly. “Dad would shit a brick. He’d probably keel over right on the spot.”
“Yeah, probably.” That wasn’t actually my intention, but it would solve at least half my problems. Not that I didn’t have a good relationship with my father. We were okay. But it was much more of a business relationship than a familial one. My loyalty was based on fear and guilt, not because he had earned it.
“Definitely.” Louie grabbed a glass of champagne as a tray passed by. “But more likely, Dad would make you do it just to piss off Santo. Then you’d be stuck with Joey and an alliance with their family that we don’t want or need.”
