Page 85 of Mafia Star

I glance at my watch. I wish I could say right now, but I have to work one of these days. That actually gives me an idea. I mouth “lunch” to Marco. He nods.

“Can we meet for lunch?”

Marco steps next to me and whispers.

“I’ll have one of the SUVs come. We can pick him up.”

I nod as I look back at my phone as Steve answers.

“Sure.”

“Okay. I’ll come to you. I’ll text you when I’m outside the building. I’ll be in a black SUV, and Marco will be with me.”

“Liz, this is family stuff.”

“Which means Marco.”

“Both of my sisters are going to marry into the fucking mob.”

I clench my jaw. It amazes me how fast I am to want to correct him. But the whole point of meeting in person is to avoid things like that being blurted out.

“The Mancinellis are not the mob. Believe me.”

“Fine. Can you be here at eleven-thirty?”

“Sure.”

That’s in twenty minutes. I’d hoped for a late lunch, like around one. It’ll take almost that long, if not longer, to get to his office from mine. I watch Marco texting someone, so I’m certain he’s arranging for the bigger vehicle.

“All right. See you in a bit, Liz.”

“Bye.”

I hang up and look at Marco before shifting my gaze to the wall that separates my office from the larger suite outside it. I drum my fingers on my desk for a moment before I look back to Marco.

“Matteo designs your family’s projects. Carmine builds them. Can I decorate them?”

His brow furrows.

“Do you mean do some projects with the company?”

“No. I mean, can I be the company’s interior designer? Can I work with Matteo on interior layout?”

“As in full time? Do you want to quit your job?”

“Not particularly, but I know Chelle’s taking on some nonprofit projects your uncle wants to do. Sinead works alongside Gabe on the more— um —innocuous cases.”

In other words, the cases that don’t directly tie Mafia men to the Mafia. It’s not like she’s handling speeding tickets. She actually has a grand larceny case. The guy is low level Mafia, and the alleged crime is unrelated to the Mancinellis. That’s as much as she could tell me last night.

Olivia was in marketing for some big firm before she married Luca. Now she does the marketing for his car rental franchises and the casinos the family owns. Serafina has her bakeries, and Maria is a radiologist. If I’m going to be one of the wives, then that would make four out of the six of us working for the family.

Laura is Sylvia’s equivalent for the Kutsenkos. She handles all their above-board corporate deals. Christina heads the Kutsenko Partners’ construction division. Anastasia is Laura’s paralegal and a law student. Sumiko is their accountant for their legal businesses. Heather does high school theater curriculum design, and Katerina is a school nurse. Four out of those six wives are connected to the bratva businesses. I learned all that from Chelle last night too.

“Beth, you don’t have to quit your job.”

“I know I don’t have to. If we get married, it would make life easier if I can’t show up to the office.”

“What do you mean ‘if,’ piccolina? I haven’t proposed yet, but I thought we agreed.”

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