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“I knew you would. Yeah, I did have to go to quite a few interviews; one was two days before my wedding. I had to write an excruciatingly long essay, and the dean of admissions made it very clear that he won’t appreciate any negative publicity. You know, with me being married to an assassin and sister of a Don, and all that. He threatened to expel me if the family gets dragged into the press again.”
I frowned, pissed off by what I was hearing. That’s what I hated about all the fancy schools I’d gone to. All the suits on their high horses, believing they were so much better than us. Well, they had another thing coming.
“He can’t fucking do that, Catherinelle. Is Gesinburg still the dean of admission? Next time he says something so unethical to you, remind him that his boss owes me more than a handful of favors.”
“Don’t worry about it, I already dropped your name. They remember you.” Of course they do. I was the Valedictorian of my class. “Also, with my SAT scores and my extracurriculars, they had no choice but to take me. I got my admission letter this morning.”
“And the interviews?”
“I’ve knocked those out of the park. I’m adorable; I can charm anyone. My only obstacle was the second interview when I was encouraged to bring my husband and mountain man here couldn’t bother to put on a suit.”
Hugo made a specific growling sound before speaking.
“I told you I’d only do it once, and I did it when I married you. It feels like I’m in a fabric coffin.”
His wife pinched his chest.
“You look handsome in a suit. Anyways, Roman, Columbia is a good choice for my bachelor’s, right?”
“Cat, we’re talking about an Ivy League school. The sole fact you got in is a huge deal. I bet their bachelor’s program is amazing.”
Gino raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.
“You bet? Didn’t they give you your diploma?” He questioned with a smirk on his face.
“I went to law school at Columbia, but my bachelor’s is from Harvard. I was out of town for quite some time, remember?” When I got into Columbia Law is when I returned to New York City and found Salva. She turned my life upside down. If I would have stayed at Harvard Law, maybe now I would have been whole.
“I can’t keep track of all your fancy diplomas.”
“Well, you should, boss, because they keep you out of jail.”
He gave me a smile and a nod.
“You’re right. Come on, we need to celebrate my little sister’s success.”
“You want to go into design, Cat?” I asked, genuinely interested.
After finishing high school, Gino didn’t pressure his sister to do anything. She was already set for life, her account loaded, her future with Mustafa set in stone, so he let Cat make her own decisions. After her eighteenth birthday, she traveled around Europe with Hugo for a couple of months, then she got busy with family. Gino got married, then she had to organize her own wedding. Time passed, but I was proud that she decided to go back to school. The Nucci family was full of smart men and women. They were genetically tenacious; after all, the Nucci crime family was richer than some countries in this world. As Gino’s consigliere and lawyer, I’d had the privilege of being pushed more towards books than guns. What can I say; all the private schooling and expensive colleges made me appreciate education in the classic sense.
“God, no,” she said and laughed. “I can’t draw to save my life. I’m more interested in the entrepreneurial side of fashion. Maybe I’ll be the first Nucci that goes into business legit.”
“Hey.” Her brother threw a napkin at her, “More than half of my assets are honest businesses. Watch your mouth.”
Right then, a cute, redheaded waitress came to take our order.
“Welcome to Waterside Bistro. I see my colleagues already served you coffee. What else can I get you?”
Gino took the lead on that one.
“Bring us your entire brunch menu, one of each, a bottle of your top-shelf champagne, and a lemon water for my wife. Roman, scotch?”
My liver kicked me from the inside, reminding me that we don’t drink anymore. I was not recovered yet.
“No, just water for me too.”
The girl ran to punch in our order and, right after, little Enzo started to become a little fussy, so Muse invited Catherinelle to take a walk along the Oasis in hope that the fresh air will make her son take a nap. Cat took Maximus along too and it was for the best. My butler kept up with Max’s schedule, but a big boy like that could only benefit from some extra exercise.
After they were out of our view, Gino turned to me with a mocking expression on his face.
