Chapter 12

The next morning Gerald sat behind his desk with a fresh cup of coffee that had already gone cold. The city looked the same from his office windows, but the weight from last night still sat on his shoulders. 

He kept seeing Lily’s face when he kissed her. He kept feeling the way her body had responded to him. It was becoming a problem.

Mako walked in without knocking and dropped into the chair across from him.

“We have a mess,” Mako said.

Gerald leaned back. “Talk.”

“Cleo has been busy since the party. She is telling anyone who will listen that Lily is nothing but a paid sex toy. A temporary hole you bought for fun. Before she started talking, people were actually starting to believe you might be serious about the girl. They had never seen you act like that over a woman before. You claimed her in public. You almost started a fight with Elliot Rivera over her. Now Cleo is making sure everyone remembers she is just a contract.”

Gerald’s jaw tightened. “Of course she is.”

“It is working,” Mako continued. “Some of the older families are already repeating it. The respect you gained last night is slipping.”

Gerald rubbed a hand over his face. “What else?”

“Luciano wants a meeting this evening. They finally agreed to sit down.”

That made Gerald look up. The Luciano family had refused him for months. They had called him unfinished. A man with no real family behind him.

“Interesting timing,” Gerald said.

“Very.”

They spent the next hour going over shipment problems. One of their routes near the docks had been delayed again. Two men had been questioned by local police and released. Nothing major, but enough to annoy Gerald. Mako gave clean updates and clear options. Gerald gave short orders. The usual rhythm between them.

Near the end of the discussion Mako closed the folder and looked at his boss directly.

“You need to tell her,” he said.

Gerald frowned. “Tell who what?”

“Lily. She deserves to know the real reason you brought her in. This was never only about sex. You needed a woman who looked permanent enough to make the other families take you seriously. She is part of the plan. Keeping her in the dark is going to blow up later.”

“No.”

“Gerald—”

“I said no. She does not need to know.”

Mako studied him for a long moment but did not push further. He knew that tone.

Evening came faster than expected. Gerald and Mako arrived at the private restaurant the Lucianos had chosen. It was quiet, expensive, and clearly under their control. Two of their men led them to a private room at the back.

Marco Luciano sat at the head of the table with his younger brother beside him. Both men stood when Gerald entered. Their smiles were wide and warm in the way only mafia smiles could be — friendly on the surface, measuring underneath.

“Gerald,” Marco said, shaking his hand firmly. “Good to finally sit with you. Please, sit.”

Gerald and Mako took their seats. Drinks were poured. Light conversation followed about the city, about recent business, about nothing that mattered. Both Gerald and Mako noticed how comfortable the Lucianos seemed. Too comfortable. Too friendly. It did not match the months of cold rejection.

Finally Marco leaned forward and folded his hands on the table.

“We have been watching you,” he said. “You are expanding faster than most expected. Your routes are clean. Your men are loyal. We are ready to open a new trade line with you. A strong one. We can also help you push further into the eastern docks. Real growth.”

Gerald kept his face neutral. “And the price?”

Marco smiled. “Simple. You hand the girl over to us. Lily. In return you get the new route, our support in expanding your business, and one million dollars on top. Clean transfer. No problems after.”

The room went very quiet.

Mako’s expression did not change, but Gerald felt the shift in the air beside him.

Marco continued, still smiling. “It is the best deal you will get. You receive everything you have been chasing. All of it. For just one girl.”

Gerald stared at him. The anger started low in his stomach and rose fast. He saw Lily’s face from the night before. He felt the way she had kissed him back. He heard her voice when she told him she hated how much she liked what he did to her. The idea of handing her to another man made something violent wake up inside him.

He did not raise his voice. That made it worse.

“No.”

Marco’s smile did not fade. “Think about it. She is a contract. You paid for her. We are offering you more than you paid, plus real power. One girl for an empire move. Most men would take that in a second.”

Gerald stood up slowly. Mako rose with him.

“We are done here,” Gerald said.

Marco leaned back in his chair, still looking calm. “Do not be emotional, Maldovo. This is business. You of all people should understand that.”

Gerald’s hands curled into fists at his sides. The anger was pure now, hot and sharp. He looked at the two Luciano brothers and spoke in a voice that left no room for argument.

“She is not for sale. Not to you. Not to anyone. The next time you mention her name in a deal, we will have a different kind of conversation.”

He turned and walked out. Mako followed close behind. Neither of them spoke until they were back in the car.

Gerald stared straight ahead as the vehicle pulled into traffic. His jaw was locked so tight it hurt. 

The Lucianos had smiled while trying to buy her. Cleo was out spreading poison. And the one woman he had told himself was only a toy was becoming the one thing he refused to give up.

The anger kept burning.