Leandro Rosario (Book 5: A Mob Boss's son)

19. Time Away

His father liked taking his time. He always did. Leandro had arrived within three minutes as asked. He was standing in the corner of his father's study leaning to the wall with his hands in his pockets after he was finished playing with his tie once he was done staring at his watch and playing with it. He watched his father who was writing and looking at files. His father didn't show emotion and there was no way he could read his mind. So all he had to do was wait. His father was a strict man but a family man. He didn't deal with anyone like how he dealt with his family. If anyone else had betrayed his father they would have been getting a completely different treatment. That was why Leandro wanted to take full responsibility for breaking into the security system that his father had put in place. He didn't want anyone's fingerprint except his own. They could help him if he involved them but he didn't. His father was going to be cross and he couldn't predict what he was going to do, but it was nothing compared to what his father would have plotted to do to anyone else. The other kids were mob kids but still. No one crossed his father. His father was going to make sure they paid or their parents paid some price.

Leandro didn't like being bored. His father knew that well. His father did it deliberately. He made him wait. Leandro looked up at the ceiling that was decorated with Roman style architecture. His father's office was built with roman theme. His Mother's office looked like more Irish. There was contrast in his parents lifestyle. It was easy for him to know which room was decorated by orders of his father and which one had his mother's taste involved.

He now had his hands behind his back looking at the crystal chandeliers trying to imagine what his father could be thinking. He knew he didn't have to wait long when he saw his father's office open and his mother enter. She always protested when his father left their bedroom after midnight. She entered with her pale green silk gown decorated with pearl white jasmine looking flowers. She had her hair tied back in braids and held her head high. His father looked up and stopped writing staring at the lady of the house silently.

Leandro's Mother shut the door soundly and just then she noticed her son leaning to the wall. She glanced at her husband "Is it really necessary to discipline him in the middle of the night? What happened is already forgotten by Riordan. You are now going to complicate the security system even more at his house and the kids can't break in. We need to talk about this. Send him to bed. Now."

Leandro looked at his father's reaction who started swinging on his chair as he whispered "Not now." He simply dismissed his mother. When that happened Leandro tried to stay away if he had a choice. His mother didn't go down without a fight.

She shook her head as she looked at her son "You look pale How much have you slept?" She turned to her husband "Riordan said to you not to act when his security cameras saw your own son acting alone. That place is secure. Only your son could crack your codes because you taught him... He can write an apology letter tomorrow.... to you."

Leandro felt the tension rise. He couldn't wait to step outside. His mother knew how to push his father's buttons. Apology was not an option. A Rosario apologising was nothing his father allowed lightly. Rosarios only apologised to one of their own mostly and his father was one Rosario who didn't accept apologies. He watched as the pen that was in his father's hand got thrown down to the surface of the desk soundly. Then his father gave Leandro a look. He didn't need to be told the words. He knew he had to step outside.

Leandro walked out quite, stood outside and closed the door. He breathed out. It wasn't his first time that he had defied his father. It was not going to be the last time. He looked at the Roman style decorated corridor. It had Roman paintings, statues and pillars with carved patterns. He walked to the painting of Julius Caesar. Roman emperors were intriguing. Betrayed by their own trustees at times. But an emperor was an emperor. Nothing changed that. His father was who he was. Nothing could change that.