Page 24 of Bobby

“Thanks for joining me for dinner last night.”

The way he holds my eyes, dark and sensual in that one look, has me thinking we were more than just friends sitting at that table last night. But I can’t get any fantasy ideas about him. I’m just getting my head out of the water, and I’m almost able to feel like I’m on top of anything. I can’t let a man, even one as alluring as Bobby, get in my way.

It’s just me and the girls, taking on the world one day at a time. We can’t possibly have room in our lives to bring in someone as large in life as him.

Can we?

I break the spell he has over me and leave, nodding at Alfonso, who only rolls his eyes, and Marco. He ate at the restaurant, choosing to sit at the bar top instead of with us. He was close enough to hear our conversation, but also able to block people from coming to our table once the food arrived, so we could focus on eating and not being entertained by Bobby’s associates.

Just like leaving his office, dinner last night was mostly me smiling and nodding. I only took high school French and don’t remember a thing—not that it would have helped—but I could assume what the Italian men’s gestures meant by the way they looked at me and spoke to Bobby. I had zero worries about what was being said, though. I was perfectly content to sit back and just enjoy the atmosphere.

And as I get into the elevator, I let that calm I felt last night—the same calm I felt in his arms—wash over me. I bask in it until the elevator opens onto my new floor and I walk out.

The area that’s been set up for the new team is behind a secure wall that requires a badge to enter, and then it’s an open floor plan with no cubicles in sight. Right now, there are only ten desks, but there’s room for more if Bobby decides to add to the team. I smile at the people I see, who’ve already made their area their own. Each one has a name on it, which I was grateful for. Office politics can be ruthless when it comes to who sits by whom. I like that I don’t have to play the game.

“Oh, goodie, we’re work buddies again.” Missy squeals when she sees me sitting down at the desk in front of hers. Each desk is paired in a buddy system, facing each other to share in what I presume will be our work.

“Yep. Looks like you’re stuck with me.”

She matches my grin. “What a lucky girl I am.”

I can’t help but feel the same.

Chapter 10—Bobby

“Was he able to give you any more names?” I ask Danny as he sits across from me, with Marco beside him.

“No, just the five in total. Two when you asked, and the other three when I had my turn with him.” Danny doesn’t smile, but I see a hint of glee in his eyes. He’s almost robotic with the stoic expression he typically wears. If I didn’t grow up with him, I’d swear he never smiles. But I’ve seen it. Rare, but it happens.

“And what about you?” I look at Marco for his report.

“I was able to secure each name he gave me. I had my team hand over the last of the five last night.” Marco was to round up the people who were part of this who Danny “convinced” Spencer to rat out.

Surprisingly, this was all Spencer’s idea—his and his father’s, who used to work here. They created the plan together five years ago, and when his dad retired to a very nice island—thanks to the hundreds of thousands he took from me—Spencer started going after higher amounts and bringing in more people. I’d like to think we would have caught him even if he wasn’t going bigger to the point that it was noticed, but who knows.

I make it a point not to focus on the what-ifs in life. It does nothing in the business world but leave you living in regret.

“I’ll make sure their accounts are cleared by tonight,” I confirm. They aren’t the only ones getting their hands dirty here. Each person who stole from me is paying me back. All of it. I’ve already started foreclosing on their homes, taking back their 401(k)s, and even liquidating any assets worth something. And Spencer’s father? Being extradited from his retirement location as we speak.

“Vinny wants a breakdown of how much we’ve lost so far, along with how many accounts were affected. He wants a list of names to see if there are connections to outside parties who could be potential issues for the famiglia down the line,” Danny says while adjusting in his chair.

The chair is built for an average man, which Danny is not. He’s worked hard in the gym to train for what he brings to the family. With that comes certain physical changes, like fitting comfortably in a standard wingback chair. He prefers sitting on couches, when he sits at all. He’s also not a fan of being too relaxed. Sitting can lead to slower reaction time, which costs lives—things Danny doesn’t deal well with.

I nod at his words. “I expected as much. I have a meeting with the team lead to discuss just that. The team has only been working on this for the past few days, but they’ve dived in quickly and are triaging every file. So far, they’ve flagged twenty-five with potential errors. We won’t know if they’re just clerical or embezzlement issues until we dive deeper, but I’ll get Vinny preliminary numbers to placate him for now.”

I might be second in line for the family, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take orders or suggestions from my little brothers. If Vinny tells any of us to work on something, none of us take it as a slight that he chose one over the other. We work as a whole. Not in one area alone, but in multiple. We might have specialized skills for the main area we focus on, but I know Danny and Tommy are just as good at running down numbers as I am. Though I’m the only one who doesn’t mind doing it.

“Speaking of which,” Marco says, standing, “we need to head down if we plan to make that lunch.”

“Right.” I stand and button my suit jacket’s top two buttons. Holding out my hand, I shake my brother’s as he rises. “Tell Vinny I’ll be sending over the numbers he wants this evening.”

“Works for me.”

“Oh, were you able to find out who threatened Vinny? Was it the Marazettis?”

Danny rolls his eyes. “Tommy thinks it was them since they seem to be coming up in discussion more after Dante took that terrible fall.”

I simper with a chuckle and get another eye roll from my brother. So many lies came out of that night between Tommy and Dante, but one that seems to be spiraling more than others is that the man died from falling down the stairs—not the bullet to the head.