Mafia Heir

Chapter 29

Charlotte

I've always been a talker. Conversation came easy for me. I could always find a way to fill an awkward silence or make small talk with anyone, anywhere. But as I stood here today in front of Grant, I couldn't think of a single thing. Thankfully, he broke the growing silence first.

"You look well." He was timid, choosing his words carefully.

"If you have something you want to say, you better do it quickly. They won't be gone long." I replied curtly. I was already regretting that I had agreed to this conversation but like always, I was clinging on to some hope he'd apologize. That he'd take responsibility for his actions and all of the pain he caused me. He never did though. He never would, and I had come to terms with that. It didn't stop me from wanting it, though.

"I don't like seeing you like this." He sighed, setting the takeout down on the front desk. "Being controlled by that... that..."

"Luca." I crossed my arms. "His name is Luca."

"Yes, Luca." His tone was bitter. Was that jealousy I detected? "How's that going, anyways?"

"It's going fine, thanks for asking." Now I knew where he was going with this. He was here to lecture me about Luca.

He smirked as if he knew something I didn't. "You can't be serious, Char. Do you have any idea who that guy is?"

"Grant, really." I sighed exasperatedly. "I agreed to let you stay because you said you were here to apologize, and if that's not going to happen, you need to leave."

"He's a criminal, Charlotte. You know that, right?"

"Forgive me for not putting a lot of stock in your judge of character." I rolled my eyes. "You're the one who left me, Grant. You cheated on me, and broke my heart, and now that I'm moving on and happy with someone else, you can't stand it."

"He's not just anyone, Charlotte. Luca Catalano is a murderer and a trafficker and a drug dealer. You can't tell me you're okay with any of that."

"You need to leave." I said firmly, kicking myself for even giving him this opportunity. It was completely useless, and I had learned my lesson.

"You're kicking me out?"

"No," Luca's voice wafted into the room like a dark, looming cloud. "I'm kicking you out."

Luca

I wasn't planning on going by the gallery today, but when I got Reggie's text, I didn't have much of a choice. I was busy most of the day trying to reschedule the gun exchange with Santos,  but it wasn't going well. Dealing with a pesky FBI agent felt like a nice outlet for all the pent up frustration I was feeling, and I was just down the street when Reggie let me know the Grant showed up at the gallery to try to talk to Charlotte.

I was more irritated than I should have been when he told me that Charlotte not only agreed, but also sent him away so that they could talk in private. Reggie was there for a reason, and that was to keep her safe, which he couldn't do from the bakery down the street. He answered to me, not to her, and apparently they both needed reminded of that.

Jenni and Reggie were standing outside of the gallery when I got there.

"Boss!" Reggie stuttered. "I'm sorry. I didn't think..."

"We'll talk later." I said pointedly.

"What are you doing here?" Jenni's eyes widened in shock.

"Where is Charlotte?" I asked, ignoring her question.