Page 184 of The Umarova Crime Family

“No, I had an interior designer come in and add everything. You know, I don’t know how to do any of that shit. If I did it myself, all the renovations would be done for nothing. I would’ve made a mockery of all the work they did.”

“I’m sure it would have looked fine, but your designer did a very good job.” Linus motions toward the outdoor furniture. The lounge chairs we’re on are white wicker with deep blue and white pillows that lay against the back. There’s about a ten-foot coffee table between the lounge chairs and the custom-made couch I had designed for this porch area. The couch has a cream base, but the cushions on the top and bottom are a lighter blue. The couch has small accent pillows on every seat, which tie in the deep blue on the lounge chairs, with white running through the pillows as well. Meanwhile, the coffee table pulls everything together with various blues and whites, as well as a sand color.

“This is nothing. The interior blows my mind. I don’t think I’ve ever spent my money in a better way.”

“I can think of one way to spend your money better.” Linus flashes me a mischievous grin.

“Not everyone has to pay for that, brother. Maybe if you up your game a little bit, you might be able to get it for free.” I paid for a high-class escort one time just to try it out. It wasn’t anything it was cracked up to be.

“You’re feeling a bit confrontational today. For once, you and our father have something in common.” There’s not one ounce of playfulness in his voice.

“What’s going on?”

“I should be asking you that. He isn’t happy with you for some reason.” Linus stares at me dead in the eyes. He’s inherited the same eyes I have, the same ones our father gave us.

“Ambros, I have your lunch ready. Would you like it to be served here or in the other outdoor seating area?” Marsala says as she approaches my brother and me.

“Here is fine. Thank you, Marsala.”

“Of course.” Marsala walks back into my house, and within a few moments, she brings out a tray with a few perfectly presented plates. Everything looks great, but I know it’s going to smell even better. When I was looking for a chef, I had different people making me food for months, and I mean months. It had to have been around six or seven, and then I found Marsala. She blew every dish out of the water, and that’s when I knew she’d have to work for me.

Marsala places the dishes down in front of us, and she even has plates and silverware ready for us. “What would the two of you like to drink?”

“Water is fine for me.”

“I’ll take a beer,” Linus comments.

“I’ll be back shortly with those drinks.” Marsala walks away, leaving my brother and me by ourselves.

“So, what’s going on with Dad?”

“He’s got some issues with you, apparently. What did you do to piss him off?”

“I stood up to him. I’m not going to be Dad’s pet that he can push around whenever he wants to. You and I aren’t kids anymore. We haven’t been for a long time, so I don’t think he understands that we just won’t bend to his will.”

“You know he thinks we’ll do whatever he says because he’s the patriarch of our family.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck if he is or not. It’s bullshit. It doesn’t give him the right to think he can speak to me the way he is, and I’ve told him that.”

Linus smirks. “Oh, now it makes sense. That’s why he’s so bitter and upset at you.”

“Good for him. Maybe it’ll teach him that when you give respect, you get it in return.”

“He’s not going to want to do that.”

“I know he won’t, but he’ll have to. There’s no other option where I’m going to give in to him. He’s gotten really cocky and disrespectful these last couple of months, and I’m over it. With as much as I do with the family, I am completely done with his attitude problem.”

“He’s only getting worse with age, brother.” Linus isn’t wrong. A lot of the men in our family who were around my father’s age got crankier and more demanding before they passed. It could simply be a part of aging, but I’m not about to take this bullshit like my cousins did from their fathers.

“Are you going to come to dinner tomorrow night?”

“No, I’m leaving first thing in the morning for Russia. I have a job out there.”

“More like you’re trying to avoid our father, and it’s your perfect excuse. Ambros, you know you can’t avoid him forever, right?”

“I’m not avoiding anyone. I have a very well-paying job. I’ll see Dad eventually.” I look right into my brother’s eyes, needing to know he won’t be causing waves in the water for no reason. Am I avoiding our father? No. Do I really want to see him right now? Also no.

“Sure, whatever you say.” Linus isn’t buying what I’m saying to him at all.

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