Unknown Territory [Mafioso Book#3] (SAMPLE)

Chapter X: Mommy and Daddy dearest

After having talked about trying to make their marriage work, they both had put some effort into the endeavor. Both of them met for lunch and had breakfast and dinner together, Salvatore turned off his phones once he entered the room, and they both take Sundays just for themselves, going out to various places or attending one seminar or the other, watching movies, building pillow forts, and what not. 

Salvatore found that Nicole smiled a lot more now, so one day, on his way from work, he had bought her a bouquet of red roses and held it behind his back when he entered the room with his wife standing before him. At the same time, both of them had brought forth the thing behind their back, the couple quiet for a moment to see the red roses and blue hydrangea bouquet in the other's hand before bursting into a fit of laughter. 

Since they both began making a conscious effort, people noticed them be more open, and they all could see Salvatore especially loved spending time with his wife. 

Even now, as he was attending a phone call, he checked his watch to see how long until he could go home to his wife. 

"I asked for that crate to be delivered two days ago," Salvatore spoke into the phone with a sigh, signing the document placed on his desk, "No, I don't want to hear any excuse-"

His words stopped mid-sentence when he caught sight of the screen of his personal phone, seeing the name Rhea Lombardi flashing across the screen: Nicole's mother.

"Just get it done," He sighed before ending the call and picked up the call. "Hello, Mrs. Lombardi,"

"Where is my daughter?" She asked on the other line as Salvatore flipped through the document in his hand.

"She is nearby," He signed the page as he knew he couldn't tell her that Nicole was at work since she later told him that it was her mother who had her stay home and had her old workplace shut down because she thought her daughter needed to get married and serve her husband. Ironic, given that her marriage wasn't the epitome of healthy...

"I would like to talk to her."

"Have you tried calling her phone?" Salvatore walked out of his office, making his way down the elevator and heading towards Nicole's office

"Why else do you think I'm calling you?"

"Other than the fact that I'm your daughter's husband? Well, probably since you want something." He crossed the road, entering the building and heading up to her office. "Speaking of wanting something, I heard you make a lovely ginger tea for sore throats, would you share the recipe? My sister has a bad throat and needs some remedy."

"Ginger tea?" Rhea asked in confusion, never having made ginger tea in her life as Salvatore walked across all the cubicles on Nicole's floor, people turning to watch the stranger walk across the floor before entering the corner office.

"Oh! Here is Nicole." Salvatore exclaimed, placing the phone against her ear before she could say anything.

"Hello?" She held the phone in her hand, typing away on the laptop as he took a seat on the couch in her office, watching her tense up at realizing it to be her mother. "Mama! Pós eísai?"

Salvatore worked on the file he had brought with him, scribbling in the margins as Nicole typed away on her laptop, speaking in Greek to her mother, hesitating a moment and glancing up at him before resuming her conversation.

Eventually after a couple of minutes, she hung up with a sigh before handing the phone back to Salvatore who held it in hand since he had left his suit jacket at the office and sat before his wife in slacks with his button up, whose sleeves he had rolled back to the elbow, the tie having been discarded and the first two buttons popped open.