Page 83 of Mafia Star

“Are you set on the canary yellow accent wall behind the TV?”

Supposedly, it’ll make them think of the sun when they wake up to the freakishly bright paint every morning in winter. I didn’t even know they made the shade until they brought a sample with them today.

Mr. Decker pats his wife’s ass as he grins.

“Definitely.”

I think he’s still thinking about what he’s going to watch on the TV mounted to that wall. Believe it or not, but Craig isn’t an older man with a younger wife. Oh, no. He likes his sugar mamas. He likes them old enough to practically be his granny. He outlived the first two wives, and he’ll probably outlive Alicia. He’s in his early forties, and she’s gotta be in her mid-seventies, maybe even early eighties. I can’t tell from all the work she’s had done.

I mosey them out of the bedroom and back downstairs. They have to look at practically every doorknob and outlet on the way. Come on. Fucking-a. They’re not bad people, but I know what they like and don’t like. I did a house for them on the Cape and in the Hamptons. I don’t need to waste this time. Billable hours, Beth.

I think of myself as that now. Only one person calls me that when the rest of the world calls me Liz or Elizabeth. But in my head, I’m Beth now.

“Well, I think that’s all for today. Thank you, Liz. We appreciate you coming all the way out here on such short notice.”

I try not to grimace.

“It’s not a problem, Mrs. Decker.”

They made sure I knew I’m not welcome to use their first names the first time we met. I watch them head to their car and drive off. Carmine steps out of the town car parked in the driveway and heads toward me.

“They look like douches.”

I laugh.

“Pretty much. Thanks for waiting for me. I know this has to be super boring.”

“It’s okay, Liz. Marco trusts me with you, and that matters. Sitting in the car is no big deal if it lets him get on with his day.”

I nod. I’m not sure what to say since I don’t know what Marco’s day involves. He kissed me goodbye when he dropped me off at my office. Carmine and the other men were in two town cars that pulled up behind ours. There were four men in them, but Carmine and a guy named Giuseppe escorted me into the building. Forty-five minutes later, and I was in the house with the Deckers.

“Can you at least get some of your work done?”

“Yeah. I got plenty taken care of.”

I know he heads the construction company their family owns. Matteo is their architect, so my guess is they work together a lot. Marco’s told me a little of their family history and how Carmine and Gabe were personas non grata for a long time, but I guess they’ve all resolved their differences. Now Carmine and Matteo don’t mind the time spent with each other. Since Matteo and Marco are best friends and used to spend almost all their time together before Matteo married Maria, Carmine and Marco now hang out more than they used to. I don’t get any hints of hostility between them, so I guess they’re letting bygones be bygones.

I slide into the car after Carmine opens the door for me. It threw me a bit when he rode in the front seat on the way out here, but he explained that he’s my bodyguard today. Not my boyfriend’s cousin. If he sits in the back, he can’t see the vehicle cameras they have installed, and he can’t look out the windshield. It would mean he’s less prepared to protect me. It was a rather grim reminder of why I have guards, but it also reassured me enough to face coming all the way out here to Larchmont, one of the most expensive towns in Westchester County.

I sit back as we make our way into the city with the guards in the second town car following us. I close my eyes, and I’m asleep before I know it. I wanted to doze on the way to the site, but I had shit to review before meeting with the clients. Now I let myself go until I hear someone rap on the window. I look up and see Carmine waiting outside the car. I pull the door handle, and he opens it for me.

“Good nap?”

“Yeah. It was a long night.”

“You handled it well. You and Chelle did. Uncle Sal and Uncle Massi said your whole family dealt with it better than anyone could have expected.”

“Thanks.”

What else is there to say to it? My brother Steve still doesn’t know what’s going on, but he will soon. My parents are in hedge fund management and venture capitalism. As a stockbroker, my brother’s world overlaps with my parents. They’ve sent each other clients. It wouldn’t surprise me if he hasn’t talked to them already after hearing about it through some grapevine. At some point, my parents are going to have to come clean with him about our past. Chelle and I also need to give him at least some clue about our husbands. Yes. I’m ready to think of Marco as mine. It’d be better if our brother hears it from us than rumors or accusations at work.

“Beth!”

I turn to my right and watch Marco hurry toward me. I glance at Carmine, who appears just as surprised as I am to see him.

“Hi. What’re you doing here?”

He leans forward and kisses my cheek. He nods to Carmine.

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