Page 200 of La Dolce Vita

"So, it was a success?" he asked and poured her glass.

She reached for the wine and drank the glass clean. She licked her berry tinted lips and smiled. "Yes. It wasn't as original as Jean Paul's, or as trailblazing as Prada’s. But it had the flare to bringeveryonein the event to their feet. We got a standing ovation."

"I saw you. Mirabella has put you in charge now?" Armando asked.

Catalina nodded. "I had creative input in everything. It might as well have been my line."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I--" Catalina paused. She looked up at him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You don't care about my company," she said.

"Your company? Have my sisters retired?"

"You know what I mean." She picked up her fork and moved her pasta on her plate.

"Why do I make you uncomfortable? Angry?" he asked. He reached for the bottle and poured her more wine. She ignored the glass this time.

"I know you hate my brother. That you want him dead."

"The feeling is mutual, Catalina. Giovanni always challenged me. Always. Since we were kids."

"He defended himself against you and your bullies. I may have been young, but I wasn't blind."

"My point is, Catalina, what's between him and me is between us. You and I are different."

"You're some piece of work. Ever heard of loyalty? Huh? What is it? That oath you take in the Mafia?Omertà. Doesn't that mean loyalty?"

"You win," he said with a smile. "I've taken an oath. But Giovanni isn't part of the Mafia. He pretends at Mafia with his clan bosses. They are the dogs of the underworld. We are the rulers."

"Che palle!"Catalina rolled her eyes. She glanced around at the candles and dimmed lighting. Her eyes eventually moved to the bedroom.

"Okay." She threw her fork on her plate. "I've had enough. How do you plan to do it?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"Seduce me? How? Dinner conversation sucks. This pasta is cold. And the wine is bland. So far you're batting zero for zero. And time is running out."

"So, you want to know how?" he asked.

"Yes, because your conversation bores me." She picked up her refilled wine glass. She took another sip. "Tell me how Don Mancini seduces a woman. I need a good laugh."

"Cute," he said.

She winked.

"Depends on the woman. There are rules."

"Rules, huh?"

"Yes. It has to be her decision."

"Boring. You said that already." Catalina fake yawned.

"I said it because it's true. It happens here," he pointed to his head. "You have to think it. Think the words: I want him. I want to let him do it. I want it, for him to do it over and over again."

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