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“Oh, she’ll be back soon. I’m sure.”
She didn’t sound sure.
“That’s not what I asked. Where is Elsa?”
A beat of silence passed before she relented, “S-she went on a date, sir.”
“Thank you.”
I hung up and dialed Elsa’s cellphone.
Voicemail.
Slamming my hand on the wall, I hung up. Any text or voicemail I left in this state would only hurt. She had all the cards. I was so damned sick of it.
When I got back to the table, Asher and Gio were still fighting over his wedding venues. I was tired of it all. My patience for their indecision far exceeded my normal threshold.
My knuckles rapped the table once to gather their attention.
“Valentino’s will work. We can send out texts an hour before the wedding with the location for each guest’s arrival.”
A question lingered in all their eyes, but I ignored them all.
My thumb traced the length of a tunnel on one of the blueprints.
“One hidden guard outside each entrance, one at the entrance to check guest lists, one at the underground entrance to the church, and three dozen at the church dressed as wedding guests, along with your personal Black Security guards.
“You’ll have at least a dozen undercover Black Security guards patrolling the exterior, dressed as beggars or hot dog vendors. That kind of thing.” I made eye contact with Asher. “I trust you’ll be able to coordinate the rest of the details with your security team and event planner.”
Without another word, I stood up, pushed my chair in, and headed to the bar, my message clear—get the fuck out. L’Oscurità was Asher’s restaurant and bar, sure, but it was mine in all the ways that mattered.
Asher respected that.
My staff respected that.
My customers respected that.
If only my family would respect that.
When she saw me approach, Tessie casually slid her glass of contraband lemonade toward Ariana before her eyes lit up.
She turned to me. “Are you done? I don’t want Aunt Lucy to die, but you guys have been here all day!”
At Tessie’s words, Ariana straightened up, and I cursed my baby sister’s big mouth.
My voice was firm when I pointedly said, “Aunt Lucy’s not dying. We’re going over the security for her wedding as a precaution. There’s a difference.”
I added the last part for Ariana’s benefit, because I didn’t want her running to the cops about Lucy.
Tessie’s intelligent eyes narrowed. “Are you using big words because you want me to stop talking? Because I know what ‘precaution’ means.”
Of course, she did.
I leaned against the bar, a sour taste in my mouth as I spoke. “Sorry, kiddo. I’ve got to train Ariana. Her first shift is next week.”
Tessie and I rarely saw each other, but I had a thriving business to run, employees to care for, and customers to think about. It sucked, but it was also the real world.
I had a son in Alabama and a baby sister in California. Meanwhile, the Romano territory covered Eastern Canada and Northeast America.
