Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“We?” Rocco asked.
“Obviously your dad,” I said.
“And Giuseppe. And Angelo. And we’re also meeting with the heads of the Russian, Turkish, and Mexican cartels.”
“Oh, so all of Epcot,” I said.
Rocco snickered beside me. “Why are we meeting with them?”
“Mostly to make sure that we’re keeping the peace, but we’re also setting an agreement in place that prohibits anyone from going after our wives and kids.”
“Huh.” I rocked back in my chair again. “When is this worldly meeting happening?”
“Tonight.”
“Tonight?” I sat up straight. “Is Tommaso going to be at this meeting?”
“Do you want him to be?” Gio raised an eyebrow.
“I have other plans for him.”
“Care to elaborate?” Loren said.
“I’m going to burn down Tempt,” I announced. “With him inside.”
“Of course you are.” Dean shook his head, pointing between myself, Rocco, and Gio. “You three have a fire kink.”
“You have a fucking wolf kink,” I said.
Everyone laughed. Dean didn’t.
“Is he going or not? Who’s handing out invitations for this?”
“Angelo.”
I looked at Loren. “Would he tell Tommy?”
“He wants Tommy gone, so no, but Tommy does business with the rest of Epcot, like you say, so they might tell him.”
“Fuck.” My knee started bouncing. “I won’t be able to sit across from him and not slash his throat.”
“Then it’s a good thing we’re in the 2020s and we have virtual meetings,” Gio said.
“We’re meeting through a computer?” Dean asked, his face scrunching. “Why? What happened to traditions?”
“Stop acting like a senior citizen,” Rocco said, then looked back at Gio. “At what time is this meeting?”
“Tonight at midnight.”
Midnight. As long as the doofus that was WilAnthony Hamilton texted me by nine, I should be able to get rid of him by then. I’d get rid of him, go to the meeting, celebrate that he was gone, we’d move in on his territory, and then I could go get Rosie.
47
ROSIE
“If I ever get married, this is where I want my reception to be,” I said, taking a sip of the wine Jimmy handed me.
Apparently, I was a wine drinker now. We were in The Bay Room, standing by the window that faced the Empire State Building. The venue had a 360° view of the city, and we’d already stood in front of the others, in awe.
“It is a beautiful view,” he agreed.
“I’ve lived here for ten years and I’m still in awe of it,” I said. “Then again, I’ve only seen it from up here twice and never at night.”
“Really?” Jimmy smiled but seemed distracted, looking over his shoulder every five seconds. “I’m glad I brought you.”
“Can you stop acting so nervous?” I whispered.
“Can I stop?” His eyes widened. “These guys hate me.”
“They don’t hate you, Jimmy,” I said, hoping I sounded more convinced than I felt, because I was pretty sure they hated him. I guessed it made sense, being that Jimmy was here to steal the current QB’s job.
“It doesn’t help that Jessa’s dating him.” His mood soured when he said her name. He glanced over his shoulder again. She hadn’t arrived yet, and that had him on edge.
“I still think it’s wild that she’s dating the guy you took the job from.” I hid a smile behind my glass. “It’s kind of badass on your part, really.”
“Well, it’s not like I purposely took his job.” He shot me a look. “And I thought I was going to marry her. I would’ve given up the damn job.”
I felt my heart clawing up my throat, so I drank another sip of wine. Dominic hadn’t even contacted me since he left my apartment the other night, and this guy was willing to give up millions of dollars for a girl who turned out to be the world’s biggest asshole.
“You’re a good guy, Jimmy Ryan.”
“Thanks.” He smiled.
“Hanging out with you is so much fun that I don’t even want to take your money.” I raised a finger from the stem of my wine glass and added. “I don’t want to, but I’m going to anyway.”
He laughed. “This is exactly how women get sugar daddies.”
“I mean, if you’re suggesting you’d like to be my sugar daddy, I may be open to it.” I smiled as I looked away from him and back to the city.
He stiffened next to me. “Jessa’s here.”
I looked around as nonchalantly as I could. I knew it was her the moment I saw her. She was blonde and beautiful and looked like someone who would be married to Jimmy, for sure, with her award-winning smile and the way her blue eyes lit up with it. I looked at the man behind her, tall like Jimmy, older but with the same type of athletic body, and a perfect smile. Okay, so Jessa had a type. I faced the city again.
“She’s okay.” I shrugged. Jimmy laughed. I glanced up at him. “You know you can put your hand on my shoulder, or we can hold hands or whatever, right? I mean, if we’re going to do this, we should really do this, right?” I paused. “I’m not sure that kissing is a good idea since I’ll probably have to see you at some point in the future because of the Veronica and Patty connection.”