Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 97921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
I run the corporate side of this family’s business. We have a chain of restaurants, and we also mass-produce a few of our signature staples. Since I’ve taken over at the helm, we’ve moved from a multimillion dollar company to a billion-dollar empire, all started from one single little restaurant back in Italy.
I hope my mother would be proud of what I’ve done with her father’s business. That is if she even cares. She’s probably forgotten the business like she has everything else. However, my grandfather seems to be pleased from our conference calls and his visits.
“Thank you, Lizzy,” I say as she gets to the end of my schedule, and we reach my office door.
She nods and turns to leave. I take in a deep breath. I’m still pissed about last night.
“Do you mind having lunch with me today? I’d like to make up for my wife’s behavior last night,” I say, halting her retreat.
She turns back toward me. Her lips parted and her eyes rounded behind her glasses. I force a smile.
“Th… that’s not necessary. I have plans to have lunch with Gio today.”
I frown, sometimes I forget Gio and Lizzy are such good friends. I’ve often wondered how they met and why my brother has only kept her as a friend and not one of his dolls in his collection. Lizzy has been around for years.
Gio isn’t getting any younger. He’s forty-two. Dario and I are thirty-five. Neither of my brothers has chosen to settle down. They may be onto something.
I don’t know a lot about Lizzy. Yet as I think about it, my older brother may be too much for her. She’s too quiet, I can’t imagine her in his life. Whenever I see her, if she’s not working, she has a book glued to her palms.
“I want to treat you to lunch. I can join the two of you. I’ll text Gio and check with him.”
“Um, oh, okay, but you really don’t have to.”
Before I can say another word, she turns and hurries off. I head to my desk to start my day. Instead of giving my attention to the contracts on my desk, I pull my phone out and send my brother a text.
While I wait for his reply, I open my pictures and look at the ones Gio took for me last night. I run my finger across my daughter’s smiling face. Bella is my world.
I felt worse about Bethany’s behavior last night after Bella spent the entire time at the breakfast table this morning gushing over the Book Queen. My daughter craves female attention.
Last night, Lizzy gave my little girl more than she knows and I’m grateful to her for it. My phone rings and I answer the call.
“Good morning, Gio.”
“Good morning, brother. How can I help you?” His voice is the deepest of us brothers and rumbles with an authority only Gio can pull off.
“I was wondering if I could join you and Lizzy for lunch?”
“Really?” he says with intrigue in his voice. “What brought this on?”
“I want to say sorry for Bethany’s behavior last night and thank her for making Bella’s night. I don’t know what she likes, so I figured I’d treat her to lunch.”
“She loves books and she’s a gamer. She has a YouTube channel and all that. Oh, and she’s into cosplay. You can’t go wrong with any of that, but I like the sound of lunch on you.”
“A gamer? Really?” I say as my interest is piqued.
“Yeah, she’s won all types of WarZone tournaments. Her Twitch is popular too.”
“Her what?”
“Beyond your understanding. Never mind.”
I clamp my mouth shut and note the information to dig for answers later. I frown and halt my train of thought. I’m still married to an overgrown baby.
I don’t have time to think about or look into Elizabeth’s life. Fuck, the fact that I know her real name makes me question myself. She has only ever gone by Lizzy here in the office. I roll my shoulders and toss my head back.
Bella needs her mother, so I have to try to make things work. At five, Bella is at a critical age. Although I’m not sure her mother is the best influence when I truly think about it—I would hate for my daughter to end up a spoiled brat. I want so much more for her.
I want her to have what we didn’t. I never want Bella to know the pain my brothers and I knew.
“Dante,” my brother calls, grabbing my attention. “Are you hearing a word I’m saying?”
“No, forgive me. My mind is all over the place.”
“You know, you deserve better. So does Bella. People divorce all the time. You could be missing out on a connection with the right one while holding on to the wrong one.”
I release a heavy breath. “I have to go.”