Page 92 of Contempt

“Not a sit down kind of dinner, though.”

“Look pretty; keep quiet.” Renzo shrugged when she glared at him. “Isn’t that what men like him want from a woman?”

“Well, probably.”

“Then do that, babe. You can be loud and mouthy and messy to me later. I like you that way, anyhow.”

Lucia smacked his shoulder with the back of her hand, then grabbed his jacket, and yanked him in for another burning kiss. She didn’t say goodbye to him as he stepped out of her car—it was just better not to.

Goodbye felt final.

This wasn’t the end.

Lucia pulled the car back onto the busy street as Renzo slipped into a shadowed alleyway. She wasn’t sure how she would explain to John where Renzo was without giving his position away to Christian, but that was something she would handle when, or if, it came up.

Soon, she was pulling into the parking lot of the restaurant her brother liked to use to do business. One that his wife, Siena, also worked out of a lot of the time. She wondered if that had been another demand of Christian’s for this dinner, or if it was something John had chosen to do.

After all, there was the upper hand in a person’s own territory, right?

Wasn’t that how it worked?

A familiar Marcello enforcer was already waiting to open Lucia’s door and take her keys before she’d even cut the engine on the rental. The man gave her a nod and smile as she stepped out of the vehicle.

“They’re already inside waiting for you,” the enforcer said. “They’re the only ones in there, so you can’t miss them.”

Yeah, like she was going to miss her brother.

Or … Christian.

Lucia knew there was a reason she hadn’t felt anything for that guy from the start. Maybe she hadn’t gotten the bad vibe from him, but she still hadn’t wanted to get close to him, either. That spoke volumes.

Fixing the belt on her tweed jacket, Lucia headed for the entrance of the restaurant. From the front, it looked closed for the day. Even the sign hanging on the door said they were closed—despite the daily hours stating the place should have been opened.

The door was unlocked, but she didn’t need to open it. A man she didn’t recognize was waiting behind the door, and as soon as she stepped up to it, he opened it for her, and welcomed her in with a smile.

He didn’t speak to her, so she didn’t speak to him. Not that she needed him to say anything—he pointed toward the back of the restaurant where she knew a private section had been setup for John to do business or whatever else throughout the day. He’d always been like their father in that way, doing business somewhere he could eat all at the same time.

Maybe it was an Italian thing.

Sure enough, Lucia found her brother and Christian Savino waiting in the private area. Both men were already standing when she came to the entryway, like they had been expecting her or knew she was right around the corner.

“Lucia,” her brother said stiffly.

His gaze drifted to Christian, but the man wasn’t paying any attention to John. His gaze was locked on her. “Lucia, good to see you again, mia cara.”

She didn’t like his sweet nothings, but she figured now was not the time to let the man know. How good would that be for this dinner?

“Now that you’re here,” Christian said, “we can finally get these negotiations started. Here, a chair.” He pointed at the one next to him. “Sit, why don’t you.”

John cleared his throat. “She’ll sit by me.”

Her brother’s tone offered no room for argument, and Christian didn’t even bother to try. He shrugged, as if to silently say, suit yourself. Lucia came further into the private dining area, and took the available seat next to her brother.

She shrugged off her coat, and hung it on the back of the chair as her gaze drifted over the private dining area. There were men sitting at the other tables—some she recognized, and others, she didn’t. For the most part, they were watching the meeting happening between John and Christian, but a couple of them kept their eyes on the table in front of them.

Strange.

“As far as these … negotiations,” John said, his tone twisting around the final word, “I already told you, I am doing this to entertain you, Savino. But that is it—we will not be doing any business together.”