Chapter 3 Dinner day 1 act 3
The confusion had started. My first little surprise had already been found, and it was causing ripples in the pond. The more ripples, the better. Did you think no one would ever rock that boat of yours? I will rock it, and I will watch you all fall into the water.
Alexander
“I want to leave,” Ava whined. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard. A shiver ran down my spine, and I wanted to slap her and tell her to shut the fuck up. But I didn’t. Instead, I nodded and let her take my arm. We walked out of the drawing-room and headed for my part of the manor.
“I have work to do,” I said and headed for my office. Ava knew what it meant. She wasn’t allowed inside.
“But I’m bored, you need to entertain me,” she objected. She caught up with me and stopped me by pressing her body against mine. My hands moved on their own and cupped her firm arse, pressing her closer against me. She almost purred and kissed me. This usually worked; it usually distracted me and had me redirecting my focus to her. Not today. I ended the kiss, gently pushed her to the side, and walked past her.
“Not today, Ava. I need to work,” I told her.
“What the fuck, Alex! Don’t come begging later when you want it,” she shouted after me. Most of the time she hid that side of herself, often well enough for me to forget it was there. When things didn’t go her way, on the other hand, she showed her true colours. I shut myself into my office and sank down into the chair behind the desk. Rita’s cousin. I hadn’t seen that coming. What on earth was Grandmother thinking inviting her? I knew the old woman had liked Rita. From the moment I had introduced Rita to the family, my grandmother had told me I had picked a good one. There had been a friendship between them that grew deeper when my grandfather passed away and Rita took care of my grandmother when she was sick from heartbreak. I sighed and rubbed my hands over my face. Family was hard. In my younger, more naive, days, I thought it was easy. Find a woman you loved, court her, marry her, have kids, be happy. Simple. I had got a brutal awakening. Life was never that easy. I opened the top-left desk drawer and looked into it. In a silver frame was a photo. Rita. She had been special. Full of joy and happiness. I was drawn to her like a moth to a lamp in the darkness. I had pursued her relentlessly for a year. She didn’t want to be tied down; she wanted to have fun. I chuckled when I remembered the things I had done to get her to be mine. We were both stubborn, but I more so. She gave in and agreed in the end. In a way, it ruined both of us. A knock on the door woke me up from my thoughts.
“Come in!” I called as I closed the drawer, shutting away my memories with the photo.
“Don Alexander, news from the docks,” Renaldo, one of my closest men, told me.
“Good or bad?” I asked.
“Good. The shipment is in good shape. Everything is there as always,” he told me. I grunted. “We will start distributing it to the buyers tomorrow. Will you be there tonight when we repack?” he asked.
“No. I have a family dinner I need to attend,” I told him. He nodded and left. Milo had delivered again. Time and time again I tested that bastard, and every time he succeeded in meeting the challenge. It was fucking irritating! My grandmother had insisted that as Milo was part of the family, he should have a position in the business. Since the old man made me head of the family, I had been working on proving that Milo didn’t deserve it. He was just annoyingly good at what he did. According to me, he wasn’t really family. He was so far out on a side branch that it shouldn’t count. A little voice in my head asked me if my hatred for him had anything to do with how he had always been able to make Rita smile. Even near the end, when she never smiled, Milo could stroll in, say three words to her, and she would give him a smile. I hated him! Why did he get her smiles? He was the son of a bastard. He wasn’t worthy of her. Fuck! I had decided I wouldn’t think about her. I picked up the phone to call my manager at the Black Swan, the most popular speakeasy in the city.
“Joey, has the delivery come in?” I asked.
“Yes, boss. We are ready for tonight. I have talked to our men in the force; they tell me it will be a quiet night,” Joey said.
“Good. I won’t be coming by; I have a family thing. You know what to do,” I told him.
“Yes, boss,” he said. We hung up, and I realised I had been hiding long enough. I had been working long enough, I corrected myself. I was the Don. The Don didn’t hide. I walked out of the office and into my bedroom. Ava was on the bed, reading a magazine.
“I have a headache,” she said.
“Suits me fine,” I grumbled.
“I might not be able to come to dinner,” she told me. I stopped halfway into the bathroom, turned around, and took a hold of her chin.
“I don’t care if you have an ice pick sticking out of your head, you are coming to the dinner and you will smile and be pleasant and fucking like it. You nagged me to bring you along to this. You will not embarrass me in front of the family. Do you understand?” I growled in a low voice.
“You are hurting me,” she whined. I didn’t give a fuck.
“Do you understand?” I asked.
“Yes,” she told me.
“Good girl. I need a shower. When I get back, that fucking headache best be gone,” I said, letting go of her and standing up. “And make sure you wear something appropriate for dinner,” I added before walking into the bathroom, shutting the door, and undressing. It took me longer than usual for the water to make me relax. I needed to forget about Rita. I needed to ignore Milo. I needed to grow some balls and decide what I wanted to do about Ava. I walked out of the bathroom with a towel around my waist. Ava was sitting by the vanity, putting on makeup.
“Good girl,” I told her and kissed her neck. I pulled out a blue velvet box from a drawer and placed it in front of her. “For you,” I said. She opened it and looked down on a diamond bracelet.
“Thank you, baby,” she told me, stood up, and kissed me.
“You have earned it,” I told her, picked the bracelet up, and helped to fasten it around her wrist.
“I love it,” she said. We were both playing our roles well. I just wished there was more than that.
“Let’s get ready. This time dinner won’t wait, not even for the Don,” I told her. She giggled, because she was expected to, and I kissed her, because I was expected to.
