Page 69 of Fractured Empire

And I’d get to see them.

I could hug them and hold them, hear about their day and ask how they’re doing.

I didn’t get to say good night to them last night, or say good morning to them before leaving the house today. Looking in on them while they’re already snoozing away is cute, but it’s not the same thing as getting to see them awake and active.

Fuck it.

“Gino, cancel my last meeting. I need to go.”

As one of my right-hand men, Gino is almost always by my side when it comes to business meetings. He’s been by my side since my Empire Academy days, and he’s still with me now that we’re fathers in our thirties.

Hearing me call out to him through the office door, he opens it and sticks his head inside. “Something wrong?”

“Not technically,” I reply, shoving my computer into my suitcase.

He makes a grunting sound and waits for me to continue.

We’re an odd combination of friends and coworkers, so personal conversations occur often, but I can admit that I’m not very good at them. Years of feeling isolated by Cleo and being too embarrassed to confide in anyone other than my brothers about it has led to less than detailed information on my end. Meanwhile, Gino has no problem telling me all about his wife and his daughters. His girls are two and six years old now, and his wife is a menace to society.

I’ve never heard stories about a more foul-mouthed, shopaholic, chaotic mafia princess in my life than when he speaks about Maria. The two of them met at Empire in our first semester and absolutely despised each other, only to end up fucking like rabbits three weeks into the semester while still claiming to hate one another. Now, they’re one of the happiest couples I know.

“You going to clarify that, Boss?”

“Bastian and Leo.” I huff, grabbing my jacket and swinging it around my shoulders. “They didn’t get to see me last night or this morning and they’re asking about me.”

“Your wife call you to tell you that?” Gino asks, eyebrows rising up.

He was at our wedding, as was his wife. Katya was only able to meet them briefly before she was pulled away by Gaia at one point, but I’m sure she’ll see the two of them more as she settles in. There will be events, restaurant openings and other occasions where she’ll come into contact with more of my men eventually.

“No,” I admit with a groan. “I heard them.”

“So, she called you and you overheard them in the background asking about you…or?”

“I heard them while watching my security cameras,” I grumble, tipping my head back and sighing as I hear how bad that sounds. “I was just checking on things.”

Gino chuckles and I look back to find him smirking. “You’ve been ‘just checking on things’ for hours. I just wanted to hear you admit to stalking your pretty new wife.”

My eyes narrow and he laughs harder. “I can’t wait to tell Maria that you think my wife is pretty.”

Instead of wiping the grin off his face, he smiles wider. “She noticed before I did, Boss. Pretty sure my woman’s got a bit of a girl crush on your Katya. Apparently you have a bigger one, since you can’t stop watching her.”

“Why don’t you go home early and spend time with your kids too?” I suggest, forcing a smile.

Gino clicks his tongue. “Bribing me to leave you alone, it’s like we’re kids again.”

“Life is short,” I tell him, changing the tone of our conversation with three little words. “I just listened to my five-year-old son ask Katya if she would miss her daddy while he worked too.”

“Shit, man.” Gino sighs, scratching the back of his neck. “You good?”

“I’m fine.” My head shakes as if to refute my own claim. “They’re having fun with her. They baked fucking cookies and they’re watching a movie together like perfect little angels. I just⁠—”

“You need to be there,” he fills in. Gino doesn’t judge, but he understands.

“Yeah. I do.”

“I’ll take the meeting,” he replies, keeping his shoulders straight and his gaze sure. “It’s an easy one. I’ll send you an email when it’s done, and then I’ll go home to my kids. You don’t need to do every little thing yourself when it’s stuff like this, you know? I’ve watched you do it a million times.”

Relief and confidence in him hit me all at once.