I tried to talk myself out of doing this and telling Gennaro he can go fuck himself and his daughter, but if I wanted to show I was no longer the beast, I needed to pay him a visit. Viviana was nothing to me, and I’d been clear about my intentions to never marry her. McKayla was my way out. The only thing I couldn’t explain was how that kiss changed me from wanting to kill her to feeling obligated to protect her. I was still against her doing the piece on my father, but we compromised, and she was continuing her work, but it would no longer bring up issues with our family. I had a talk with her boss a few days ago, and we agreed I wouldn’t kill him if he dropped the article on Nevio.
Flashback.
I stalked through the office with my men behind me and forced the door open. I caught Joseph and some woman kissing.
“Who the fuck—”
Going around his desk, I jacked him up by his shirt and pushed him against the wall.
“Aghhhh!” the woman screamed, and Enzo took her out of the room.
“I’m sorry! Please, don’t kill me,” Joseph begged.
“Listen to me and listen clearly.”
“Okay… okay…” he stuttered.
“You know who I am?”
He nodded, and I squeezed his neck.
“Answer me!”
“Yeahhhh…” he rambled on.
“Anything having to do with the Calabreses will be destroyed. Do I make myself clear?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, sir?”
“If I find out anything about my family in this newspaper, they’ll find your body floating in Lake Michigan.”
“I promise, it won’t happen.”
I released him and helped to straighten his shirt.
“Mr. Joseph, I called security,” a guy wearing brown slacks, a white shirt, and a blazer with a short buzz cut spoke from the door. Enzo strolled over, and I motioned for him to stop.
“No need for an audience. Mr. Joseph and I cleared up a misunderstanding.”
“You might scare other people, but you don’t scare me.” His voice trembled from doubt. I studied him for an extra moment, then smiled.
“What’s your name?”
“All that matters is that I know your name,” he replied.
“Rory, leave it alone.” Joseph fixed himself up.
“Rory… Mhhmmm. Well, Mr. Rory, I’ll leave you and Joseph.”
“What did you do to McKayla?” he questioned, and I tensed up at her name being brought up.
“McKayla is no longer your concern.”
“And Rena.”
“Well, you might need to call my brother Sante about that situation.”
“Mr. Calabresi, is everything all right?” the security guard asked, and I grinned as Rory and Joseph’s faces looked perplexed.
“Everything is great, Gerald. How are the kids?”
“They’re great, sir. Thank you again for the recommendation of the school,” he answered.
“My pleasure. Anything I can do to help.”
“Wait, are you going to arrest him for trespassing?” Rory remarked.
“Why? He owns the company,” Gerald responded. Both their mouths dropped in shock, and I shook my head.
“Joseph, remember what I said, and Rory, you’re fired. Gerald, escort him out.”
Present.
“When I get married, it’s going to be for love and only one time.”
“You have no choice.”
“I thought we were getting to a better place?” She moved a piece of loose hair behind her ear. She washed her hair the night before and had my place smelling like strawberries. She didn’t know I was here when she was asleep, and I looked in on her in the room.
“We are in a better place.”
“So, just marry Viviana.”
“You owe me.”
“I—”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses. This is the deal we agreed on.”
“An arranged marriage and kidnapping is not a deal I agreed to!” She pushed my hand away, stomped out of the kitchen, and tried to go back out on the patio with my father. I grabbed her around the waist and went upstairs to my bedroom with her screaming to put her down.
“Let me go!”
“Shut up!”
Slap!
I smacked her on the ass, and she squirmed and wiggled to get down. McKayla was short but thick in all the right places. The second I pulled her into a kiss at my parents’ home, I was ready to fuck her on his desk with Viviana watching.
“Put me down!”
“Savio! I’m leaving,” Father called out, and I waved him off. Enzo would make sure he got to his car fine. I pushed my bedroom door open and dropped her on her feet, shutting the door behind me. I then leaned against it to keep her from leaving.
McKayla paced in front of me, and I finally noticed the small freckles on her nose. Her chest heaved up and down; she was getting riled up to fight back.
“Mr. Calabresi!” she yelled.
“He’s gone.”
She clicked her tongue and looked around my room.
“This is your bedroom.” She motioned her hand around.
“We can keep things the same; you have your room, and I stay in mine.”
“I’m not marrying you.”
“It’s no longer an option.”
“What do you mean?”
“Gennaro wants you dead.”
“But I didn’t do anything.”
“You know too much.”
“I thought you’re some type of big badass mob boss.”
McKayla didn’t know that Gennaro basically declared war if we didn’t kill her and was convincing the other heads at the table. I tried to spare her feelings, but I wasn’t into babysitting and handling the comments from my family about why I had her kept alone in the penthouse.
“Your parents are coming to dinner tonight.”
“How… Wait, what’s the catch?”
“No catch. I wanted to apologize to your father and meet them since we’re going to be in-laws.”
“This a trick?”
“No trick.”
She reached out and picked up a photo of me when I was younger and playing soccer. She looked like she belonged in the room; trying to fight that feeling was a losing battle.
“How does this work exactly?
“What work?”
“Marriage, you and this world.”
“I’ve never been married.”
“So, you’re just testing it out on me.” She grabbed another photo of me and my brother and tossed it at my head. I moved out of the way before it hit me, and it fell against the wall.
“Are you crazy!” I ran to grab her, and she jumped on top of my bed and ran out of my grasp.
“Asshole!”
She went to the door and tried to open it up, but it was locked. I licked my lips, slowly approaching her, and removed my jacket.
“Don’t come any closer.”
I rolled up my sleeves.
“Or what?”
She lifted her right brow, then glanced down at my dick.
“Come and find out.”
“McKayla, I swear to God if you knee me again, I’m going to spank you.”
McKayla flipped me off and looked around the room for something else to toss at me, but I made it to the door and placed my hands on both sides of her face.
“Can I at least have a date?” she asked.
“A what?”
“Date.”
“I don’t date.”
“What do you do with your women?”
“I fuck.” I shrugged my shoulders, not sweetening the answer for her.
“You’re a prick.”
“What do you use in your hair?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“This isn’t a fairy tale, McKayla. I never said this would be love.”
“I want a date, and then we can talk about marriage.”
“The marriage is happening whether we go on this date or not.”
She pushed against my chest, but I didn’t move.
“How long do we have to be married?”
“At least a year.”
“A year!”
“Gennaro’s a boss; he needs to be convinced, and Viviana is a part of that convincing.”
“This is about your girlfriend.” She turned her head, and I grabbed the bottom of her chin, causing her to look back at me.
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“What other secrets are you hiding?”
“None,” I lied, not telling her about me buying the newspaper she worked at. Once she finished with the story, I would kill it and make her think her boss was behind everything. Keeping Joseph on worked out in my favor; he knew he was walking on borrowed time if he double crossed me.
McKayla was strong-willed, and her hard glare seemed to look through my soul and knew I was lying. I cleared my throat and moved away from the door, unlocking it to allow her to walk out.
“I need to shower and prepare for my parents to come over.”
“That’s fine. I have a few items coming for you try on.”
“Can Rena come to dinner too?”
“No.”
She stopped, and I bumped into her back. She almost fell, but I grabbed her around the waist to stop her.
“I want a double date tomorrow night with Rena.”
“Sante can barely stay in the same room with her.”
“Oh, I know the feeling.” She snatched away from me and stomped down the stairs.
“Be ready for dinner in two hours. I have a few phone calls I need to make.”
She ignored me and slammed her bedroom door. I groaned and walked down the hall to my office. I locked the door and called Sante first.
“She didn’t kill you yet?” Sante laughed over the phone.
“Fuck you.”
“I can tell you’re stressed.”
“Man, I don’t think I can go along with this marriage.”
“What’s the alternative?”
“We vote the Greco family out.”
“That’s calling for war.”
“Why won’t she just walk away?”
“Who?”
“Viviana.”
“It’s hard to tell, since your love life has exploded overnight.” He laughed.
“Where’s Rena?”
“Hopefully in hell,” he mumbled.
“So, your guest is driving you just as crazy.”
“You have no idea, and you owe me big time.”
“What has she done?”
“Where do I start? The crazy bitch shot me, then almost set my house on fire.”
Right as I was getting ready to comment, a knock came at my door.
“Let me call you back.” I walked around to unlock the door and saw McKayla’s gaze lighten up.
“They arrived with some dresses.”
“Anything else?”
“Is the dinner going to be formal or—”
“Pick out whatever you want; you own all of them.”
“What do you mean?”
“I bought all of them for you.”
“But how do you know my size?”
“I had Rena help pick them out.”
“Am I supposed to pay you back for them? I already have to pay you back in marriage.”
“Just pick something out; not everything is a fight.”
I stepped back and slammed the door in her face.
“Bastard!”
“I know!”
I smirked at her comment and went back to work, so I could be free for her parents’ visit. They didn’t seem like the type to be good with their daughter up and marrying a man they’d never met. I just hoped it wouldn’t come down to me putting a bullet in her father’s head. I knew I was a bastard. But the Calabresi family always came first above anything else, right or wrong. That was the rule of our family.