LONELY HEARTS (COMPLETE)

Chapter 9: The Room

Matteo woke to the sound of the robins outside his window. He slowly opened his eyes, the sun burning them as they peeked between the curtains. Matteo turned his head and saw Gemma still asleep on his arm. He carefully slid out from under her and threw on his boxer briefs. He made his way to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water in hopes it would wake him up. As he sits the glass down on the counter, Matteo tilts his eyes up at Gemma. She lay naked on his floor as slivers of light danced on her body.

"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen", he mouthed to himself. He closed his eyes, recalling the events of the night before. The talking, the pleasure, the spontaneity of it all mixed together to create the perfect night. Suddenly, Matteo feels a pang of fear starting in his chest and forming into a lump in his throat. His mouth dry, his mind races to a different view of the previous nights events.

"What did I do?", Matteo panics. "She thinks she can handle my life, but can she? Would she really want to deal with the late nights? Could she tolerate the desperate groupies? Would she even stay by my side if I were to go to prison?" Did I already share too much with her?" So many scenarios and what-ifs clouded his mind, his heart beating ferociously.

"Is everything okay?", Gemma asked, her hand on his shoulder.

Matteo was so caught up in his thoughts, he didn't realize she had gotten up.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm fine", he stammered.

"Are you sure? You look pale", she pushed.

"I'm more than fine, everything's perfect", he smiles. He grabs Gemma by the waist and pulls her into a long kiss. As she wraps her hands around his neck, he was grateful for the worries to melt away even if it was only for a minute.

Gemma pulls away from Matteo's arms to check the time. "Shit, I have to go! I can't be late again, Sage will kill me!", Gemma shouts. She hastily throws on last night's dress and grabs the rest of her belongings.

"Come on, I'll take you", Matteo offers, grabbing his keys.

They quickly stop by Gemma's apartment for her to change out of her old clothes and start heading towards the office. Gemma glanced over at Matteo as he drove, noticing this was the first time she's seen him so casual. His white tee was still as crisp as his shirts. Seeing him like this made him look less intimidating, like he was flawed. She noticed his eyes were low like he was worried about something. Seeing that made her remember a question she kept in the back of her mind ever since she first saw Matteo in her office.

"What were you doing at Sage's office that one day?", she asked, breaking the silence.

Matteo kept his eyes straight ahead, trying to figure out his answer. If I lie to her, she'll hate me", he thought. "If I tell her the truth, she'll hate me".

"Sage pisses a lot of people off, he pays for my protection", he explains. Gemma nods in understanding. As she processes this little glimpse of what he does, she's realizes it doesn't bother her.

Matteo continues driving, now deeply concentrating on the road. His hands grasp tight on the steering wheel as his thoughts swirl in his mind. The familiar pang of fear rises again knowing although he told her the truth, it wasn't the whole story.

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Matteo parks the car in front of the office. He leans in to kiss her and Gemma reciprocates.

"I'll come pick you up after work", Matteo says. She smiles as she rushes out of the car and disappears into the building. As he reverses, Matteo sees movement in his peripheral vision. He looks up to witness Emanuele Russo and his associates walking into Sage's office. Matteo's face becomes hot at the sight of them, his glare could burn a hole through Russo's face. He regains his composure and picks up his phone.

"I NEED EVERYBODY IN THE ROOM IN 30 MINUTES", he shouts angrily through his phone.

The Room was not just a regular room. It was the room. All of the Ciccone family's decisions were made in that room. This was the room where his father was named the Don just as his father before him, it was the room where capos became made men. That room had seen fights, laughter, and death. It was that room where Matteo found out his parents were dead. It was the room where Matteo would now plan his oncoming revenge.

Now changed into a black pinstripe suit, Matteo leans into the leather chair placed at the head of the conference table. He lights a cigarette and gives it a deep inhale. The smoke slowly rises from his mouth, billowing above him. Silence fills the room awaiting the Don to begin the meeting.

"Russo paid a visit to Sage again today", Matteo started,"What can you tell me about that, Nicolo "?

An older gentleman in a navy suit leans forward in his chair. Nicole was his consigliere. He advised Matteo in all his decisions like he did with his father.

"Russo's been paying Sage a visit quite often. Our sources tell us Sage is no longer any good to us", Nicolo explains.

"How so?", Matteo inquires.

"He claims to be filling us in on Russo, but all he gives us is fluff- nothing important", Nicolo continues.

"Because Russo's double-crossing us", Filipo chimes in, "He wants you dead. He's paying Sage to make sure it never comes to a case once it's done".

"And you're sure of this?", Matteo pushes.

"On my mother", Filipo answers.

"Why now after all these years?" Matteo ashes out his cigarette into the glass ashtray before him. He leans back in his chair, crossing his feet up at the table.

"He didn't think you'd be this good", Nicolo continued,"He thought if he could whack your father he'd be able to take control of the city again. If you noticed, he hasn't. Russo doesn't have a single cop connection in this area, he's resorting to Sage to fix his problems".

"Okay", Matteo replies. Wiping his jaw with his hands, his eyes fixate on the ashtray as he concentrates. He sits and ponders for a minute, digesting it all. This new information pushes his plans up earlier than expected, but not impossible. "What are your thoughts, Nicolo"?

"It's time Russo got what's coming for him. We still need to play this smart, but quickly. Looks like you need to have a meeting with Sage to figure out Russo's next move, until then we'll up your security", Nicolo finishes.

Matteo nods his head in agreement and scans the room. The entire room nods theirs as well and the decision has been made.

"Bring me Sage", Matteo demands. With that, the group moves on to discuss their business ventures until an associate bursts into the room.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but you have a phone call from Miss Hunter".

Matteo walks out into the hallway, shutting the door behind him. The associate hands him the phone.

"Gemma"?

"Hey, just wanted to let you know that I'll be ready in 20 minutes", she says.

"Ready for what"?

"Aren't you picking me up from work", Gemma asks, confused.

"Oh, right, sorry I'm in a meeting. Yeah, I'll be there, go ahead and get ready".

Matteo hangs up the phone and regroups himself. "Come with me", he says, looking at the associate. He walks back in and dismisses the room.

"EVERYONE OUT", his voice echoes in the vast hollows of the walls. All the men quickly vacate the room, leaving only Matteo, the associate, and two others. The two men grab the associate under the armpits on both sides, rendering him helpless. Matteo gingerly removes his coat and drapes it neatly on the table. He carefully unclasps his cufflinks and rolls up his sleeves. He slowly walks forward until he unleashes a barrage of blows to his face. One after another, his knuckles dripping blood with every contact. After what seemed like ages, he grabs a rag and wipes his hands.

"Learn some manners next time, don't interrupt my meetings again". As soon as those words came out of his mouth, he wondered,"How could any woman accept someone like this?"