“Seriously? What in the ever-loving fuck? Why not?” Gio calls out.
“Isabel doesn’t want to see you, and Mia doesn’t want to see you.” He indicates to Gio before swinging his gaze my way.
“Tough shit. I’m going. They can’t keep me away,” I proclaim.
“Me too. Who the fuck do they think they are?” Gio echo’s my sentiment.
A chuckle brings our gaze to Matteo, who had remained silent so far.
“Something funny, Matteo?” Bash asks.
“Not at all. In fact, you guys are acting ridiculous.”
I growl at his words. “Watch it, Matteo.”
“I mean no disrespect, Lorenzo. You guys are clueless. Here you are, making decisions about their lives, and you don’t even think about the fact that maybe you should clue them in. Then you have the audacity to wonder why they would exclude you? Lorenzo, Mia’s in love with you. You have a woman who would do anything to be with you, and you keep telling her no. Then, when she tries to move on and have a little much needed fun, you want to ruin it. Either claim her or let her go. You can’t have your cake and eat it to.”
He turns to Gio next. “And you. I know what happened in the past, and I honestly cannot blame Isabel for hating you. You keep pursuing her even though she has repeatedly told you no. Give it up. If you really loved her, you would let her move on. If you really loved her, you would want her to be happy. I can tell you that’s all she wants for you. She wants you to be happy without her.”
He lets out a huge sigh. “And, Bash.” His eyes swing to his. “You need to learn to put your foot down a little more with Sofia. Trust me when I say she knows which buttons to press to get what she wants. She isn’t always thinking about safety. You need to lay down the rules and tell her there’s no negotiation. All these girls want is to feel like they still have some sort of control over their lives. I agree with Lorenzo and Giovanni being at the party. In the background though. If they really want this party, they need to understand we need our best there to protect them. Stand your ground,” he tells each of us while looking us in the eye. “Fuck, I think I would rather deal with the women.” He turns and leaves the room. We all stare at the door in silence for a moment.
“Do I need to kill him?” I break the silence first.
“Normally, I would say yes. No one speaks to me that way with the exception of Sofia. Unfortunately for you, I understand what he’s saying. He’s right.” Bash leans forward in his chair. “Don’t repeat it, but he is. I’m going to tell Sofia she can have this party at Ivory. They want to do it for all the guards who have been protecting them and a couple of people from Bello Italiano. Mia also wants to invite some people from the clinic. I can’t have all those random people here, but the club can be secured. I’ll tell Sofia that you two will run security. From the shadows though. No interacting with the girls unless they are in direct danger. Understood?”
“This is fucking stupid,” I mutter.
“Are you going to claim Mia?”
I stay silent.
“Then leave her alone. Matteo isn’t wrong about how you two have been acting lately. Get your house in order.”
Bash moves to leave, but Gio speaks up.
“I think Matteo has been spending too much time with the girls. Maybe we should give him some time off. Invite him to more manly things.”
Bash chuckles. “I think Matteo is in the perfect position. He has a unique insight into our women. We would be wise to use it.”
∞∞∞
“The hens have arrived.”
I chuckle at Matteo’s code word for the girls. I don’t know how Bash’s conversation with Sofia went, but the party was planned quickly after it happened. A week later, on a Saturday night the club has been closed to the general public.
“You going to be okay tonight?” Gio asks from beside me.
Bash made it clear we are not allowed to go down to the main floor unless there is a safety concern. So instead, we are stuck up here in the VIP lounge looking over the floor. I know the moment Mia walks through the door. I can feel her energy like a beacon. My eyes slide to her.
Normally she looks like innocent the angel my mind believes her to be. Not tonight. Tonight, she looks like a vixen. A woman on a mission to lure every man within a twenty-mile radius into her dark web.
Her hair is different. It’s curled with different strands of purple and red intertwined with her gorgeous blonde locks. A shiny necklace hangs around her neck, dropping low, begging for eyes to follow it into the cleavage and see where is ends. The dress? That dress has “fuck me” written all over it. It’s short, tight, and black. It clings to every one of her curves, accentuating all of them. Then those legs. Mia’s a short girl, but she knows how to showcase her legs and make them look longer. Tonight, she’s wearing a pair of red high heels that make her legs look a million miles long.
I bite my lip looking at her. My thoughts immediately jump to what she would look like bent over with me fucking her from behind.
She looks up at me as if she can sense my stare. She can’t see me though. We kept the lights up here off. Gio and I are hiding in the shadows, meant to be keeping an eye on the crowd, but I cannot keep my eyes off her.
She looks away then and starts laughing at whatever Sofia said.
