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Mark chuckled and said, “Well, danger or not, you aren’t getting rid of Binx anytime soon, now.”
In the trailer, when the others were gone, heading to the workers' cabins that were still free, Dante sat Sel down. “You can crash here on the couch if you want, or you can crash in a cabin with some bikers.”
The bikers and bodyguards were not invited inside the trailer while he was speaking to Sel. He was family, but he was also trying to learn the business. Blaine brought them both a beer, winking at Sel, “One, and no one knows.”
“I was drinking wine in Italy when I was thirteen, Uncle Blaine.”
“I didn’t give you the wine,” he whispered, then kissed Sel’s cheek. “We sure missed you.”
“I miss you guys, too. Like, a lot. Mom and Dad are great, but you are my uncles. Uncle Dante gave me my first pair of Prada loafers when I was ten.”
Blaine laughed as he remembered. “You grew out of them in a month.”
“I still have them.”
Dante was never so proud of anyone as he was of Selestino. The kid, well, now a man, was older than his years, smart, accomplished, and driven. And what he wanted more than anything was to be in the family business.
For most, that would be a dream come true, but Antonio and Selena had hoped he’d become a doctor, an artist. Anything but join the family business. They knew that was a useless wish once Selestino got to be a teenager. From then on, he wanted to be in on meetings, to know what businesses they ran, what was involved in running them.
Blaine went back outside to run the dogs while Dante stared at his beloved nephew. “You…really want to be in this mess?”
“Dante, I know my dad doesn’t want me involved in the bad stuff yet. This is the outermost spectrum of the family, right? You’re supposedly not in the family any longer, so wouldn’t this be a good place for me to be?”
“I never claimed I wasn’t in the family, Sel, and you know that. Your dad was still in the know of almost everything that happened while he was finishing the job of raising you and his other children. We have stakes in everything, so of course, we’re never truly out. But both of us have years and years to go before we are ready to hand over the reins.”
“I’m not pushing to have you both retire right now, Uncle Dante. I just want to learn, to try some of my own deals a few times before I even consider making this my entire life. Sheltered as I’ve been from it, I don’t know a lot yet, but I know you’ll teach me right. Dad, he’ll…you know, he’ll still try to keep me from most things.”
That hit him hard. “I want to protect you too, Sel!”
“You let me come here. Don’t tell me it was Dad’s idea.”
Again, that hit him right in the chest. “Damn it. Sel, I can teach you, sure. It doesn’t mean I don’t wish you’d choose another career path.”
Sel’s smile had always been wide and brilliant. “Uncle…”
“Yeah, I know. You’ve wanted this forever. You used to sit on your dad’s lap in meetings when you were six months old. Instead of being like a normal baby, you’d turn and listen to everything that was said. We probably should have kept you with the fucking nanny.”
“Could be, yeah. So, the two of you have no one else to blame?”
“Fuck, why do you have to be so damn smart?”
As he cracked his knuckles like some mouth-breather, he said, “All this fine Carrillo blood, running through these veins.”
“Dear God, you’re just like us. Well, let’s get to work, then. We’re meeting with some very interesting people. You’ll be there with me. This has to do with the resort, yes, but it’s also us moving into a state we had no hold on before. The rest of the week, we’ve got meetings about stepping on territories not yet friendly to us.”
He watched Sel closely for the reaction to that, and while Sel’s body stiffened ever so slightly, that few would notice, he did. Dante also saw the tiny spark of fear in his pretty, dark eyes.
“Okay, Uncle. I’m ready.”
“Ready? Selestino, you don’t even know who the meeting is with. Until you do, you’re not ready.”
“I meant I was ready to learn.”
Laughing, he said, “Good save! But not good enough. Now, we will not talk about it here. Blaine needs to come out and take care of the dogs, and I refuse to lock him in that little bedroom for hours while I get you up to speed.”
Sel stood, running a hand over his casual sweater. The boy knew how to dress. Even in the cashmere and jeans, he looked ready to take on a boardroom. “Well, let’s go. Let me tell Uncle Blaine goodbye first.”
After knocking, Blaine came out of the bedroom and hugged Sel tightly. “I love you, Sel. Be careful, please.”
