Page 1 of Surprise Baby for the Mafia Boss

Chapter One

Luca

I watch myself in the mirror as I pull my jacket on, slowly, savoring the feeling of being wrapped in a cloud. I splurged heavily on this vicuña wool suit, but I need the men I'm meeting to take me seriously.

My steel blue gaze stares back at me as I straighten myself up, pulling my shoulders back and taking in a deep breath. Tonight's meeting is about securing a new product source, something big for the family business.

Going home with this deal in hand will finally show the whole family that I’m more than just the pretty face of this business.

I’ve been trying to get my older brother to allow me to take on new meetings like this for three years, but only now does he feel I’m mature enough. Which is rich coming from him. He’s been doing this since he was much younger than me.

But it's always been assumed that he could do it while I needed to be micromanaged. This is the perfect opportunity to prove him wrong.

I try to tame my unruly hair one final time before I turn away from the mirror. I always keep the sides short, but my barber left a little much on top at my last visit. My attempts are futile, these dark locks have a mind of their own.

As I grab my wallet and phone, I feel vibrating in my hand and realize I’m getting a call. It’s my brother. No surprise, he’s probably just trying to control this deal and how I handle it.

I love my family but their lack of trust in my abilities really boils my blood.

I hit the silence button — I’ll call him back after the meeting, let him know just how well it went without his help. I head out the door, feeling confident.

The meeting does go well. These men are no pushovers, but with a little charm, and a lot of liquor, they are reasonable. I have a good list of negotiations to take back to the family so we can set this all in motion.

After they've left I throw back a few extra celebratory drinks before heading back to my room. I think about asking the blonde girl who has been staring at me in the bar all night if she’s interested in coming back to my room with me, but in the end, I can’t be bothered.

As I stumble back into my room, I knock my knee on the table in the hallway and swear loudly. The clock says it’s almost midnight, but I’m riding a wave of pride at how I just handled this meeting and I feel like I could go another twenty-four hours without sleep.

It’s never easy, navigating negotiations while building trust, and keeping my wits about me. But contrary to what my brother believes, I am just as capable as he is.

If he tries to dispute my abilities after this trip, I’ll laugh in his face. My sister also thinks I can't do this work, although she’s usually quicker to give me the benefit of the doubt.

Thinking of my siblings reminds me to call my brother back. I can tell him his comments about my meeting were unneeded, just as I thought they’d be.

Picking my phone up, I see he’s tried to call me five more times since the first. It just shows how hard he finds it to let go of the reins.

He sent me here, why won’t he just let me do my thing and trust me? Because he still sees me as his kid brother. That's why. I know the reason, but it still annoys the shit out of me.

It’s late, but I know he’ll still be awake. I find his contact in my phone, glad that the shots we did in the meeting haven’t left me completely inebriated.

My brother answers almost before the first ring has completed. “Jesus, Luca, where the fuck have you been?” He’s screaming into the phone, so I move it away from my ear and put it on speaker.

“Calm down, man, I was in the meeting I told you about and put my phone on silent. I just saw your missed calls now.” I'm lying, but his anger is not something I want to be dealing with right now.

“Okay, well in the future, wherever the fuck you are, and whatever the fuck you’re doing, you keep your phone on. Got it?”

I sigh, “Got it.” It’s an old rule — keep yourself available at all times in case of issues.

“Ok.” He sighs too, but his tone changes from agitation to something I can’t really place. “You need to come home.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ve only got two more meetings here, and then I’m wrapping it up and coming home. I’ll be there by Wednesday.” I gave him my itinerary before I left, so he knows this.

“No, Luca. You need to come home now.” My brother is good at bossing me around, but this sounds more like a desperate plea than a command.

“What’s happened?” I ask, my breath quickening.

My gut tells me something’s not okay, and I think about the family members at home who might have been at risk before I left for Mexico.

My brother is clearly fine, but then I think about my sister. She’s usually smart and good at keeping herself out of trouble. And if anyone tried to harm her, I’d have their heads before they knew I was even coming for them.

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