Page 81 of Finding Fate
Needless to say, I took the first job I was offered to be where she was, and while it was salaried much higher than the average college graduate saw, my father was disgruntled I didn’t hold out for something better. We were together every waking moment we could be, and I did my research. It took me six months and careful planning to put her on my dad’s radar. Three years after we met, I was waiting at the end of an aisle for her in a cathedral in Greece. The ceremony was everything my parents wanted. We moved here to build a life together per my father’s request. Twelve months later Gabrielle was born.
Everything was real for me, even if I didn’t often show it. I was raised to keep my emotions hidden, though I’m not always as good at it as my father. I never stepped out on her, even when I had plenty of opportunities. She made a fool of me. Bitch.
I return the frame to its residing place just as my office door opens without a knock, meaning it could only be one person. The staff knows better. Gabrielle is more considerate; plus, she’s not in the state. I take another drink of whiskey as a body parks itself in the seat opposite my desk, already loosening my tie a notch from the stress he brings; although, he’s a walk in the park compared to my grandfather—may his soul Rest in Peace.
Just after finishing off my glass I pour another, keeping my focus on the task at hand. I’m going to need it. “I don’t recall you telling me you were coming for a visit.”
“Do I ever?” The cigar box sitting on the edge of my desk is opened and closed, then seconds of silence follow, forcing my almost black eyes to lock on his—a trait that seems to carry from generation to generation. He runs the length of the cigar under his nose, inspecting it, and then he smiles, all of his dark features similar to mine. The men in my family age well. He barely has any gray, even at his age. “I see you still have good taste and a blind eye for American law. Cuban.”
He places the end between his lips and lights the end, puffing on the end until it’s burning, smoke immediately billowing. “Like father like son?”
His chest quakes as his laughter rolls, but he makes no quick reach to remove the cigar from his mouth. “When you aren’t soft like your mother.” He stares at my face, and I know he’s looking at the remnants of the bruises from my fight with Maddox several days ago. He knows I’m not going to elaborate. “Where’s my granddaughter?”
“In Miami with the boy.”
“Theboy?” I nod. He arches a brow, still smoking on his cigar with a stern look on his face. He’s displeased, as I knew he would be, which is exactly why he’s just now finding out about it. I was handling it. “Haven’t gotten her in line yet, I see. I thought you took care of that.”
“I thought I had too. We underestimated them both.”
“Is that why your face looks like it’s been used as a punching bag, because you’re still letting her run around with lower class trash? It’s a disgrace to our heritage. She can come back to Greece with me. I’ve been telling you this for some time. If you can’t man up and break her, I will. I have male prospects that would make respectable alliances for us should they marry—none of them American,” he adds, making me feel two inches tall.” Yeah, I know, I’m the one that couldn’t get it done and control my whore of a wife. He still hasn’t let me live it down. It’s a mistake I won’t make twice. He continues. “A change in scenery may do her some good. She needs to learn her place. It’s time for her to fall in line. Might even be surprised what she’ll find when she’s there.”
I run my hand over my tired eyes. The fight is exhausting, and I’m getting older. I want my daughter back, and that girl in Miami with him is the first time I’ve seen her in a long damn time. The girl she was here was someone else. When I first saw her and took in her blonde hair, I saw so much of her mother in her. She’s beautiful, and it comes out more when she’s happy. I don’t have it in me anymore to take. “No eligible bachelor is going to want her.”
“Of course they will,” he booms, like I’ve lost my mind. “She’s a Thanos. She’s beautiful. Any man would be lucky to have her.”
“She’s also pregnant . . . again.”
“Jesus Christ, Adonis. Is it such a hard task to keep that boy’s cock out of your daughter?”
I stand to my full height of six-four and bang my fist on the desk. “You’re in my house, Nicholai. Watch your tone.”
He matches me, both of us toe to toe and eye to eye, the desk the only thing separating us. “Don’t forget who you’re talking to, boy.”
“Last time I checked I was a grown man and not a boy,” I grit.
He blows smoke in my face. “You’ll always be my boy. Don’t forget it. I own your ass just like you own hers. We operate under a circle of life, and I’m higher on it than you.”
I hold my arms out, giving up. “What do you want me to do? She’s an adult. You push her and she pushes back twice as hard. She rebels. I’ve forced her hand, I’ve held her captive, and I’ve beat her. She has no fear. She takes it and still runs to him. It’s been years. Maybe it’s time to let it go. They love each other. He’s asked her to marry him. I’m not losing my daughter over my pride. I already lost one woman I loved. If that makes me soft, then so be it.”
“Yeah, and how did marrying for love work out for you?”
I snap my jaw shut, my teeth gritting and my blood boiling. “We all have to live our own lives; make our own mistakes. She’s just like me and you. She’s not going to be controlled.” My shoulders drop. “She wants to get married in the same cathedral we did. She’s not numb to family values. She just wants to choose who she lives them out with. Is that really all that wrong? She’s herself with him. I’ve spent so much time trying not to lose her that I’m pushing her away. Can you honestly stand there and tell me you don’t love Mom after all these years?”
“I didn’t for the first several years of our marriage. I tolerated her for so long I started to love her. It’s not the same, but it can be done. She’s kept her legs shut, though, unless I tell her to spread them.”
“And you think Gabrielle would hesitate on castrating a man that stepped out on her? I may have lost my wife, but I gave her an ultimatum. She sure as fuck didn’t take our daughter or she wouldn’t be living to tell about it. I wasn’t spineless. No one in our direct bloodline is.”
He smirks with the cigar in his mouth, then removes it and stubs it out in the ash tray to save the rest for later. “Mygranddaughter wouldn’t even need a blade. She’d use her teeth. It appears she passes the right genes down too.”
My heart slams against my chest; something that doesn’t happen often. “We both knew this was a possibility, and we both believe in family, which is why I did what I did. He was male bloodline. She’s ready. They’re—” I smile at him, knowing he’ll appreciate it. “He wants to know where his son is or I get to wear a bullet . . . and he meant it. They’re ready.”
“So the boy isn’t a pussy, after all . . .” He walks across the room to the large window and braces his right hand against the frame, his left hand in the pocket of his slacks like he’s thinking. “You think he can be in this family? Adapt to who we are? We aren’t candy asses.”
“He fights like he can be. Took me by surprise, and you made sure I boxed all my life. Loves her like I expect him to. Apparently can’t keep his dick out of her, which means he’s not likely sticking it somewhere else. If he does, I’m not afraid to get rid of a body if she doesn’t get to him first. As for the rest—only one way to find out. But I have a gut feeling he wants to provide for her in ways that will please us, which means he’ll likely be open to more, like I used to be.”
I stare at the back of his head. “I remember a time when I invested in you. Now look at you. This subdivision was only the beginning. I don’t tell you often, but I’m proud of the man you’ve become. We all have to pass the torch at some point. It’s your turn. I’m not going to pretend I think he’s good enough for my granddaughter. I was raised to move up, not down, but you’re my son, and if you think it’s right, I’ll go along with it.”
“I think it’s our only choice to keep her. I’ve been trying to break her for years. She just adapts. I may not have had it easy, just like you didn’t with grandfather, but I still had someone to call dad that looked like me. There’s someone else that deserves the same shot.”