Chapter 4 – The meeting

Two weeks later, Angel pinched the bridge of her nose as she made her way out of the building.  She needed lunch and a stiff drink after that stupid meeting.  She knew she was going to have fights on her hands, she was ready for that.  What she wasn’t ready for was pig headed men and their old style view who wouldn’t even let her speak.

                In fact, after she bid them a good morning, they insulted her by asking her to pour their drinks and to fetch their breakfast.  And after those comments, all she saw was red.  Two and a half hours later, she had a massive headache and wanted nothing more to drink and then go to the shooting range.  None of the heads of the families would dare disrespect her dad, or her brothers, but her, they just didn’t care.

                If they had been at her office, she would have pulled out a gun and made them listen, granted that would have only made them afraid and the meeting still wouldn’t have gone as planned.  But it would have made her feel better, and wasn’t that the important thing?  Although, Angel never lost her temper, ask anyone, which is why a lot of people questioned her.  Could she really be as ruthless as everyone needed?  What most failed to understand about her was that yes, she could; already had been.

                She had shot more men than her age and killed over half of them.  Oh she cried when she got home, but in front of her men, she didn’t hesitate, didn’t back down.  But, no one knew that either.  Her dad had kept a pretty tight lid on who ‘Angel’ was and most people were expecting her brothers.

                With that, and a sigh, she sat down at the table and looked over the menu, only glancing up when the waiter came up to ask for a drink order.

                “Double shot of whiskey.”

                “Make that two.”  Angel glanced from the waiter to Damian.  “May I join you?”

                “Please do.  Two please.”  The waiter nodded and walked away.  “Hello.”

                “Hi.  I saw you come in and you looked…”

                “Pissed off?”

                “That would be it.”

                “I am.”  The waiter brought the drinks and said he’d return for their order.  She took a sip, and moaned at the burn.

                “What happened?”

                “I meet with the heads of the families, introducing myself.  The next thing I’m told is to serve the drinks and fetch breakfast.”  Damian spit out his drink and she smiled.

                “They showed that much disrespect?”

                “Sì (yes).  Had that been my father, he would have had their heads.”  She shook her head and sat her menu aside.  “How did your date go with Rosa?”

                “Oh, uh, it was nice.  She’s a quiet one, isn’t she?”

                “Yes, sadly.  But she will do anything that makes you happy; when she isn’t studying that is.”

                “What about you?  Why aren’t you married?”

                “Pick your reason!  I’m the next in line and in charge and no man would want that; having someone over him, it’s bad for the ego.  I’m braver than most men, proven that time and again with my own men.  I get my hands dirty in this business, men don’t like that.  I have this nasty scar on my face that takes the beauty away, along with all the other marks on my body.”

                “It doesn’t take away your beauty, Angelina.”  She froze as her name rolled off his tongue.  No one but mama called her that, but she liked it, a lot!  “How did it happen?”

                “I was protecting my sister.”  Damian clenched his teeth together at that.  Here he was, sitting with such a beauty that was smart, fiery, and brave and wasn’t his, nor could be.  God damn it, that didn’t work for him.  Rosa was beautiful and sweet, and yes, pampered, but she could never fill the role of his better half and he saw that.  The question at hand, though, was how did he make the right woman see without offending anyone?  “You grew quiet on me.”

                “Le mie scuse (my apologies), thinking is all.”  She smiled at him.

                “Grazie (thank you), for joining me for lunch.  I thought I wanted to be alone but your presence soothed me.  Normally, no one can.”

                “What do you mean?”

                “Everyone irks me when I’m pissed and they usually avoid me.  You knew I was pissed and still sat down; makes you a brave man.”

                “Or a stupid one.”  Angel tilted her head and carefully looked at the man before her and slowly shook her head.

                “No, not stupid.”  They both shared a smile before turning to the food that was placed before them.

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                “Do I need to have a talk with the families?”  Angel passed a look over the paperwork again before setting it aside to look at her dad, who had come into her office rather quietly.

                “Would that do anything?”

                “It might bring in a bit more respect.”  Angel leaned back in her seat and looked at her dad before shaking her head.

                “No, dad, it wouldn’t.  It would only show that when things are bad that I go to my dad and that I need him to fight my battles.”

                “Perhaps, but…”

                “No.  I will get their respect on my own.  I’m in charge, or will be, which means that I’m still the one to protect them, the one to lead them.  When they have no one to stand behind them, they will crawl to me.  I fully know how these men are, how they act, how they think; they will need me, need this family.  They are stupid now, but they won’t be when I show them just WHO is boss.”  Antonio tilted his head to the side as he regarded his daughter and the glint in her eye; she knew what she was doing.  He had heard what happened earlier and couldn’t believe it when he heard, how these men were.  But, he also respected his daughter and knew that she was right, him stepping in would be the worst thing.

                “I also heard you had lunch with Damian?”  Angel played with the pen on her desk and nodded.

                “Sì , guess he was nearby and saw me, said I looked pissed off.”

                “And he took a chance to join you?”      

                “I told him the same thing.”  Antonio watched her, seeing the look in her eyes and had to shake his head.  His daughter was smart, but she could be a very hard headed woman.  He stood up and walked over to her, kissing the top of her head.

                “Angelina, being a Don isn’t hard for you, but you will need someone to ground you.  Make sure you don’t lose sight of that.  Female or male, being that grounding tool, that is a vital role to have.”  He could already see that, after all, Angel didn’t shoot Damian when he walked up.  He had to talk to his wife.  Maybe she could come up with some ideas of how to make Angel see that she would be a better fit with Damian rather than Rosa.  His wife was always good with that.

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                Later that night he sat with his wife in bed and discussed the problem he saw with Angel.  Not that he wanted Rosa unhappy but Rosa was also way younger.

                “What do you think mio caro (my dear)?”

                “I think your daughter is a lot more like you than you realize.  If you are certain they would be better than him and Rosa, and then make it work out were they had to see each other?  I won’t stand by, though Antonio, and let any man try and push her over or stand in her way.”

                “Do you think I would want that for her?  Not at all!  But I do feel that Damian would give her respect when she needed it, and be the controlling one only where it mattered.”