Rebecca Downhill (Becca) has known nothing in her life but a strict father who is involved in businesses with the Italian mafia in NY, an absent mother who has taught her to be obedient and fulfill her duties towards the family, and a twelve years o...
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"Enzo, you're home already," I say in a neutral voice with my thoughts still trapped in Mike's proposal. "This is Mike Saphiro. He used to work for my father," I tell him while he walks in, closing the distance between him and Mike.
"Mr. Benito, a pleasure to meet you," Mike says with an honest smile, standing up and reaching his hand to him but instead of a handshake, his hand is left in the air, as Enzo passes by, ignoring him.
Unlike his calm and open nature, Enzo becomes the exact opposite when he feels the slightest threat of any kind, and Mike, being in his house and an old acquaintance of mine, has all the prerequisites of a threat.
Mike and I exchange a few short glances, and he makes sure I can read in his eyes that he's got this. He can handle Enzo.
I have no doubts. Mike has always been one of my father's best guards, both in protecting us for many years and also in the actions and negotiations he has carried out in my father's name.
"What brings you here, Mr. Saphiro?" Enzo hisses through his clenched teeth while fixing himself a glass of whiskey.
"Actually, I'm here with a proposal for Rebecca. I would like her to come back to the States and take over her father's business. It's rightfully hers and the company needs someone to run the business," Mike says in the most peaceful way possible.
I can see he hasn't changed. He has always been this self-controlled nature, rarely showing signs of weakness or irrational acts.
Enzo turns his hard look towards me, with his eyes burning under some frowned eyebrows.
"And who the fuck are you to "would like that"? What makes you think that Rebecca wants to come back?" Enzo replies as if testing both me and Mike, still staring at me while I'm crumbling under his hard look.
Mike pauses for a few long seconds, taking in the tension between Enzo and me, and... well, let's say he likes challenges.
"With all due respect, Mr. Benito, but I believe she fully deserves that company as well as the freedom and strength to self-stand by taking over Downhill Inc. It belongs to her, sir," he replies cordially.
Although his voice was calm and controlled, Mike pressed each word with the right amount of importance to make sure that Enzo understands exactly what he means and, at the same time to make it clear that there is only one solution, and that is me returning to NY.
Enzo listens to his words without taking his eyes off me, searching in the depths of my stare for the true intentions hiding in my mind, and probably my eyes do not say the same thing as my tongue does because I keep saying no with my lips while my brain and heart are saying something else.
Truth be told, I love the idea and Enzo reads this in my eyes because his stare is changing colors in a matter of seconds.
I see Enzo walking fast towards Mike who doesn't wince even for a second, determined to confront Enzo's wrath.
