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"Let. Go. Of. Me." Lucian barked and shoved Salvo.
"Stop it! Both of you!" Bianca shouted, pushing both men apart before she ran out of the ballroom.
Salvo picked up Bianca's heels from the floor, stormed out of the ballroom, and followed her into the women's powder room. An elderly woman gasped when she saw the handsome man in the tuxedo enter.
"Excuse me, ma'am," Salvo said to the woman, then sat beside Bianca on the couch.
The elderly woman mumbled her complaint as she walked out.
Salvo handed Bianca her heels and then placed wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "BB, I don't like to see you so upset."
"Well, I don't like to see you and my brother fighting. And this is Matteo and Tessa's wedding day." She solemnly said as she placed the heels back on her feet.
"Everything is fine between Lucian and me. We've been friends since we were kids. But he came at me like this big brother saving his sister from some loser piece of shit street hood. It was insulting.Thatis whatI don't like."
CHAPTER 8
Tessa and Matteo flew to the Island of Maui for their honeymoon for a week. While they were away enjoying their special time together as husband and wife, Salvo sat with Enrico in his private office to discuss preliminary plans to adjust Matteo to a new chapter in his life. Enrico planned to step down in the next 2 years, and Matteo was to become the next boss of the Andolini family business.
"My father, Lorenzo Andolini, started his business, and he passed it on to me. As a result, I've made this massive empire grow even more powerful than my father ever dreamed. But I'm not confident in my son's ability to take over the business," Enrico began, and after he spoke, a dark, ominous feeling enveloped the room.
"Do you have confidence in me, Uncle Nico?" Salvo asked as he sat in the chair across from Enrico's desk.
"I always have, Salvatore. You were so young, hell, you didn’t even have hair on your balls yet when you witnessed the horrible things that had to be done to Jimmy Esposito after his botched attempt at killing me years ago. I knew then that you had what it takes to take care of business and handle the horrible things that must be done to command respect.”
"Then have faith in me, Uncle Nico. Give me one year. I will guide Matteo and shape him to be strong and confident to lead the Andolini business when the time comes."
Enrico stood from his desk, walked over to the window, and looked at the backyard. He sighed and said, "I feel as if God punished me so early in life. My wife, your Aunt Mary, is a good woman that I love very much. She had two miscarriages before Matteo was born but couldn't give me more children after him." He turned back around to look at Salvo. "I will give you one year from this day to help mold Matteo into the confident man I need to lead the Andolini family business."
Salvo left the chair, walked over to his uncle, kissed him on both cheeks and said, "I will not let you down, Uncle Nico, I promise."
It was a hot and humid Saturday night, and the Gold Lion was packed to capacity. Salvo stood looking through the two-way mirror at the dance floor from his office when Tony entered, breathing heavily as if he just ran a marathon.
He leaned over, planting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "We got a problem, boss."
Salvo had a strange feeling that the problem was concerning Matteo. "Tell me."
"It's Matteo. One of my soldiers heard some gossip going around in Brooklyn."
"Spit it out, Tony!"
Rumor is that some associate working for one of Frank Zucco's capos saw Matteo in a gay bar called Q-City a few nights ago. He's there again tonight.
"Fuck!" Salvo shouted, feeling himself sweat under his shirt collar.
Salvo's apprehension weighed heavily on his mind for months of the secret between him, and Matteo would someday get out. The consequences were too significant and very deadly. Just that afternoon, Salvo was on the phone with Bianca.
"Tessa came to talk to me earlier this afternoon," Bianca said. "She was in tears and told me their honeymoon wasn't how she had always dreamed it would be. The wedding night was awkward, and Tessa felt she didn't please Matteo, and this was her first time."
Salvo's shoulders tensed as he listened to Bianca over the phone. "Has Tessa said this to anyone else?"
"No, just me. I doubt Matteo was a virgin. I mean, he's been with a woman before, right, Salvo?"
"Of course. Matteo must have just had wedding night jitters, is all. It was the first time for both of them as husband and wife." Salvo said reassuringly, feeling guilty that he could not tell Bianca the truth about Matteo.
"Jesus, Salvo. Is Matteo a faggot?" Tony said, bringing Salvo back to the moment.
Salvo twisted his fists into the front of Tony's shirt and slammed his back against the two-way mirror. "Don't say that again, or I'll shove my fist down your fuckin throat! Got me?"
