My Masters' Nightmare Season 1, Episode 7 Connections (5 page)

“
It’s only one, and he was
becoming distracted, so I thought this could focus him.” My father
placed a hand on my shoulder. “It’s good to see you home,
son.”

I smiled. “It’s good to be
back.”

He gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze and
lifted his chin in the direction of the lounge. “Have you met
Jagger’s girlfriend?”

“
S
ì
, she’s beautiful, they make a lovely
couple.”

“
I disagree. I thought he would
have enough sense than to ask a Salvi over.”

“
She’s a
Salvi?”

“
Unfortunately. That
famiglia
is bad
news.”

I nodded, understanding what my father was
saying. The Salvi don had once been friends with my father, but
something had happened between them that my father refused to talk
about. Still, I was surprised that he had allowed Sophia to set
foot inside the house, considering how much he disliked
them.

My father squeezed my
shoulder
again. “Have you been having fun in America?”

I laughed. “Fun? I’ve been working hard at
my studies.”

“So, you’re telling me you haven’t been
sowing your wild oats? Because, I must say, I would be disappointed
in you, if you didn
’
t at least ruin some
American
figa
,” he said,
smiling.

I returned his smile.
“I have a different
woman for each day of the week. Monday is a blonde, Tuesday is a
brunette, Wednesday is a redhead, and oh, I have twins for
Thursday. You get the picture.”

He laughed. “That’s my boy. And, tonight
you will be meeting with the Rosso girl.”

My smile dropped.
“Now, why would I
want to ruin my first day back?”

“
You know why,
Frano.”

“
Father, I have no desire
to marry her, nor any other female for that matter.”

“
You don’t have a
choice, son; we
need to join the families together to make a stronger unit. Don
Donatelli is pressuring me again, and I’m sick of butting heads
with him. Yesterday, I sent him a present of one of his messenger’s
heads, telling the
bastardo
that if he tried pressuring me again,
the next time it’ll be his
head
.”

“
That’s a sign of
war.”

“
No, it’s a warning. Though, we
would be in the midst of war if it wasn’t for the
Padre
and his twin
calming the waters. However, the situation is still precarious, so
I want to guarantee that the Rosso
famiglia
are behind us, which means you must marry
Angelica.”

“
She is not my taste in women;
she’s too prissy and annoying. Can’t you find someone
else?”

“
Like that bitch Camila
Donatelli?”

I smiled. “
S
ì
, I like the look of her, and if you want the
Donatelli to stop fighting us, she would make a better
choice.”

“
Definitely not. You don’t know
that girl like I do. She will slit your throat while fucking you,
then open our doors wide for her
famiglia
to take over.”

“
Can I fuck her at least once?
She’s got a nice ass.”

My father laughed.
“
Always the
comedian.”

“
No, I mean
it.
Voglio scopare quel pezzo di
culo
.”

He grinned.
“You really want to fuck that
piece of ass even after my warning?”

“
S
ì
.”

His grin widened. “Well, I guess someone
has to fuck the Donatelli over, so it might as well be you. Just
make sure you do it here and the bitch is tied to your bed. Though,
only do her once. I don’t want that girl getting her claws into
you. Anyway, Angelica has a firmer ass,” he cupped his hands,
grinning wide. “I wouldn’t mind a piece of that.”

“
You’re a dirty old
man.”

“
My oats may be sown, but
my cock doesn’t know it.”

I laughed. “I’ll have to watch you
around my soon-to-be-wife then.”

“
Good boy,” he said,
patting my arm. “I knew you would say yes.”

“
But does she know I’ll be in
America for another year?”

“
That’s none of her business.
You marry her, and if she isn’t to your liking, get a mistress. And
anyway, she should be grateful. After all, she’s the one who asked
for you.”

I grimaced. Back in
high school,
Angelica had followed me around constantly. I had made the mistake
of fucking her once and ever since she’d been after me, and now
she’d accomplished getting me with my own father’s help.
Regardless, it was the best thing for both of our families if we
married, because it would make us a formidable force against the
Donatelli. I was just relieved that the
Padre
was around to calm the murky waters for
the time being, my godfather truly a godsend.

Resigned
to my fate, I indicated to the
staircase. “I should get some sleep if I’m to meet with her
tonight. I’m a bit jetlagged.”

“
Good idea.” He excused himself,
then disappeared into the passageway that led to his office. I
headed across the dining-room and lounge, casting a glance at
Sophia and Jagger. They were sitting on the couch, watching a movie
on TV. Jagger looked awkward with his elbow on the couch, giving me
the impression he wanted to put his arm around Sophia, but was too
much of a pussy to do so. Sophia looked up at me as I picked up my
luggage, her
innocent smile so sweet that I couldn’t resist smiling back
at her.

I ascended the main staircase and rolled
my suitcase down the passage, heading for my room. I entered it,
dumped my suitcase, then stripped off my clothes and lay down on my
bed, falling fast asleep within minutes.

***

A
loud cry woke me. I opened my eyes
and sat up, wondering where the hell the sound had come from. A
flock of seagulls flew past my window, giving me the answer. I
pushed out of bed and headed for the bathroom, taking a shit,
shower, and shave, then dressed in black pants and a crisp white
button-down shirt, leaving the top few buttons open. Once my hair
was combed back, I left my room, finding the
Padre
closing Jagger’s door, making me
wonder why he’d been in there. The man as usual was dressed in a
black garb and had his short grey hair combed back.

The
Padre
smiled at me. “It’s a blessing that the
good Lord has brought you home safe and sound, Frano.”

“
Grazie,
Padre
.”

“
It’s just a pity that his light
isn’t shining over your
casa
right now.”

“
What do you
mean?”

He indicated to Jagger’s
door
.
“Gabriel is devastated over your father’s displeasure, but I’m
afraid I have to agree with your father on this matter. It’s
dangerous to get into bed with a firehead devil.”

“
What’s a firehead
devil?”

“
A Salvi. Your father had a talk
with Jagger, saying he couldn’t see their wicked daughter anymore.
That’s why I was in his room, calming the poor boy
down.”

“
She’s not wicked; in fact she
seemed rather harmless.”

The
Padre
frowned. “That demon is far from harmless,
so make sure you keep her away from him.”

“
I think he should be free to
date whoever he pleases, and it’s not like it’ll last, he’s only
sixteen.”

“
That is coming from a man who
sees an ocean full of fishes, whereas Jagger only sees the one on
his plate. He gets fixated too easily, falls in love at the drop of
a hat. He barely knows this daughter of Eve, yet is already talking
about love and marriage. He is a romantic who will get his heart
broken.”

I nodded, agreeing
on that last
statement, especially since the girl didn’t appear to be as
interested in Jagger as he was with her.”

Crying started up
from Jagger’s room.
The
Padre
smiled at me sadly. “Don’t worry; I will settle the boy.”
He opened the door and disappeared inside, Jagger’s crying picking
up.

I turned to the staircase, grateful that
we had such a kind man looking after Jagger. I headed down the
staircase and called out for Alberto, stopping as my father came
out of his office passageway with Angelica and her father, Don
Luigi Rosso. I flinched as my stalker laid eyes on me. Angelica’s
pretty face instantly lit up. She had long brown hair done in
ringlets and a curvaceous body clad in a flowery dress, all of
which I would like if it wasn’t for her insufferable
personality.

She rushed over to me, giving
me a hug. “
Ciao
, Frano.”

I refrained from grimacing.
“
Ciao
, Angelica.” I gave her a kiss on both cheeks, then pulled
away.

Both
of our fathers walked over, looking
very happy.
I still didn’t want to go through with the marriage, but
understood it was nothing more than a business transaction and a
good one at that, it was just a pity I had to suffer the fool
before me. My father directed all of us into the lounge. Servants
came out, bringing refreshments. They placed it all on the coffee
table, then disappeared, leaving us alone to talk. My father
started discussing the marriage arrangement with Angelica’s father,
while Angelica jabbered on about shoes, for some goddamned reason
thinking I would find it interesting. I just wished she would shut
up, not only because I
couldn’t give two flying fucks about
shoes, but because
she had the most annoying high-pitched voice. It made my balls want
to shrivel up and die.

The doorbell
rang. I ignored it,
expecting a servant to answer. It went again several seconds later.
I glanced at the front door through the opening onto the entrance,
wondering why no one was answering it. Angelica placed a hand on my
lap, regaining my attention. My eyes went to her tits, her
straining cleavage distracting me. Giggling, she placed a finger
under my chin, prompting me to look up at her face. She smiled at
me, then started talking about what her name would be when we got
married: Angelica D’Angelo. She jabbered on about it meaning
an angel of an
angel
as if
I didn’t already know that, the woman the queen of stating the
obvious, so when the doorbell rang for a third time I pushed to my
feet.

“
Mi scusi
,” I apologized. “I need to
answer the door.”

She nodded, the woman totally clueless to
the fact I disliked her.

My father’s focus shifted to
me, giving me a look that
told me to sit back down.

“
No one is answering the door,”
I said, pointing to it.

“
That is a servant’s
job.”

The bell ra
ng again. “They must be busy,
so I better answer it.” I took off before he could stop me,
grateful for the distraction. I dashed across the floor and pulled
open the door, finding Sophia standing on the other side. Her eyes
widened when she saw me.

“
Frano,” she breathed out, those
pretty lips of hers parting.

I stared at them, wondering
what they tasted like. They quivered, making me look up.
“
Is something troubling you,
bella
?” I asked.

“
Can I please speak to
Jagger?”

“
You only saw him a couple
of hours ago.”

“
He was upset when I left. I
don’t know what I did wrong. I went to the bathroom and when I came
back
he was
having a conversation with your father
, who told me to leave. I just want
to make sure he’s alright and to apologize for whatever I
did.”

“
There’s no need,” I said,
remembering what the
Padre
had told me.

“
Can I still see
him?”

“
It’s not a good time right now,
he’s still upset. The
Padre
is in his room calming him down.”

Her face fell. “I’m so sorry. Please pass
on my apologies. I will go.” She went to leave.

I grabbed her
arm
, having
no idea why I did it, other than I wanted her to stay. She stared
down at my hand for a moment, then looked back up at my face with a
smile, attraction making her pupils big.

I
quickly let go of her arm. “You
should stop staring at me like that,
ragazzina.
”

Her smile disappeared. “I’m not
a little girl
.”