Mafia Love

Chapter 3

Valeria Flores^
Valeria POV

"How was the dinner? Did they talk to you? Did they try to pull anything on you? Por el amor de Dios, dime el chisme?!?" Pedro begged me desperately. It was kind of funny if I'm being honest. Besides abuelita he sometimes acts like a motherly figure to me.

"Cálmese. Pedro the dinner was good, they didn't really talk to me that much, and no they didn't pull anything on me. Does that answer all of your questions."

"Of course not mija. I have more. What did you talk about," Pedro asked curiously.

"Just business. However, papá did tell them they had me when Mamá and him were 14. I'm gonna be honest Pedro it kind of made me mad, but I didn't show it." When I turned to look at him he gave me his sincere and understanding eyes. Pedro knows I don't like it for he was there when the kids at school bullied me. They would call me a mistake and that I shouldn't be here, because of that I got homeschooled at a very young age. Kids are cruel.

"You know mija, that Angelo fellow was staring at you. He looked very... hmmm how do you say it..... intrigued," Pedro said all of this with a smirk on his face.

"Pedro!! Don't even start with that. Look I know you want me to find someone, but I need to focus on the business for now. Plus, I think you're wrong about Señor Angelo" I explained to Pedro.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night mija. Now, I need to go and do some chores. Calm me if you need me, okay?"

"Okay, thank you Pedro. I will see you later." As Pedro walked out my mind drifted towards a particular Italian. Angelo Romano....

When I first saw him I immediately saw how handsome he was. He was tall and muscular. You could tell he goes to the gym daily. He had jet black hair and a jawline for days. Although his eyes are what were caught my attention the most. They were a nice chocolate brown that complimented his tan skin. They say eyes can tell a story and are doorways to the soul. When he looked at me his eyes showed me mystery. I'm not gonna lie and say I wasn't curious because I was. I wanted to unravel every secret he holds. I guess you could say I was curious. However, when it got down to business his eyes would turn serious and cold, and when my father told him about me his eyes were covered in curiosity and shock. It was kind of funny. My father always told me to pay attention to people's eyes for they are at most times what tell the person's true intentions. Overall, though I thought Angelo was very sexy...

   Wait! What! I shook my head quickly at that thought. I can't think of him like that. He is now my dad's allied. Besides once the cartel is paced down to me we will eventually work together. I have to be professional. I'm not gonna throw all my training away for some man no matter how good looking he is. I've was born to be a leader and nothing is gonna stop me. While I was having a mental conversation with my self a knock on my door interrupted me.

   "Come in," I yelled wondering who was at the door. Soon after papá walked in. I knew he wanted to talk to me about the meeting.

   "Hola Valeria. So how did you like the meeting? Do you have any questions?"

   "Not really papá. Actually I think I only have one. Why did you tell Señor Romano about having me at 14? You know I don't like when you talk about it," I told him with my words coming out harsher than I intended them to.

   "Well he asked a question and I answered it. Simple as that. Now get dressed to go to the basement. You need to workout and then Anthony will help you with fighting. Get along now," I rolled my eyes at papá. Sometimes I wished we would just come and talk to me like a normal dad like he tried  to be when I was younger. I guess beggars can't be choosers. "Oh, and mija don't roll your eyes. I did not raise you to be disrespectful." Then my door was shut and I was alone again.

  "You didn't even raise me," I mumbled to myself. I start to get in my work clothes and head down to the gym. Today is gonna be a long day.

************

   "Alright good job today. Just make sure to work on your defense, okay V," Anthony asked me after hours of being in the gym.

   I've known Anthony ever since I was 12 years old. My dad at the time needed somebody to teach me how to defend myself. At first I hated it. I didn't like the long workouts and doing drills. I hated waking up early in the morning and being on a diet. It was awful. Then as the year past I started to get angry at everything. I started to get angry at all the bullies I encountered, at realizing my parents were not ready to have me mostly my dad, at my parents priding themselves saying that they raised me when in reality it was my abuelita and Pedro. Most importantly....

   I was mad at myself. So, working out and learning how to fight helped a lot with that. After I bid Anthony a farewell I decided to take a nice long hot shower. The water felt great against my skin and sure did help with my sore muscles. It was greatly appreciated. After the shower I got dressed in some nice short shorts with a thin oversized white t-shirt. I was now laying on my bed letting my mind wander.

   Till this day I still question if I'm a mistake. I overthink my worth. I ask myself many questions.
For example, "does my dad see me as his daughter or as his heir", "why were people so mean to me growing up", "would my abuelita be proud of me if she saw me". I had a lot of questions. I'm not afraid to ask them. I'm afraid of the answers I'll get if I ask them. That's why I stay in the shadows, but when my times comes to take over I'm gonna make sure to be a better leader than my father. If I ever start a family I'll make sure to be a better parent than my father was as well. At least, my mother showed some affection towards me. She wasn't always like that however. When she was in her twenties she would go clubbing with her friends at the time and leave me  with my abuelita while my dad was working on the cartel. I always asked my dad why she wouldn't stay with me and he always replied back saying that she deserved to have some fun after spending her time taking care of me. Now that I look back she wasn't the one who deserved to have some fun or take a break. It was my abuelita that did. She passed away when I was 18. It was hard on everyone but I took it the hardest. She was basically my mother. Luckily, she raised me to be strong and how to get through anything. I just wished it wasn't her death.

   After Angelo revealed his father's death I knew exactly how he felt. He didn't show it, but like I said the eyes tell a story. His eyes were filled with sorrow. I don't know why but I wanted to get up and hug him. I wanted him to know that he wasn't alone. I couldn't though. In this business you couldn't show  any signs of weakness, not unless you want to get fucked over. I wasn't gonna let that happen, especially over someone I just met. Plus, I wasn't trying to befriend him. That wasn't the deal. The deal was to create an alliance which my father successfully did. Although, my mind still couldn't get over those sad eyes. It didn't matter I'll probably get over it in the morning.