Page 71 of Texting the CEO's Obsession
NICK
I’m getting awfully tired of my brother forcing my hand.
The second I kicked him out of my penthouse on Wednesday, he ran to Ma to tell her all about Riley. She called me Friday, and the usual weekly invitation to Sunday dinner wasn’t a request this time.
Bringing Riley along wasn’t optional either.
It’s not like I hate my family—far from it. I even care deeply for Bruno, no matter how much he pisses me off at every opportunity. I do what I do to make sure Bruno, Marcus, and Ma are well taken care of. It’s my job to keep the family name on the up and up. They do what they do to keep our position of power from disappearing so we can all stay out of the line of fire.
Bruno’s less concerned with keeping the peace than the rest of us, but it’s just part of his shitty personality.
I just don’t want my life to be overrun by the shadows that he thrives so well in. I don’t want Riley anywhere near that part of my life either. Hell, I didn’t even want her tomeetBruno in the first place, but there’s not much of a choice if I want her to stickaround. The biggest show of trust I can offer her is bringing her home and letting the truth bare itself.
She needs proof that I’m serious about this, aboutus, and this is as serious as it gets.
Something I’m still not entirely sure of. I’ve never felt like this about someone before but with her… I can’t lose her.
Ma sets her empty wine glass down, leaning back in her chair, as the three of us all jolt to attention immediately. Riley looks between my brothers and me in confusion at the sudden shift in mood, as dinner was amicable and relaxed up until now.
“Nicky,” Ma says, level and cool, as she rakes steely eyes over me and then Riley. “As lovely as it is to have you over again, I don’t think you came by just to introduce us to your wonderful girlfriend.”
Riley swallows nervously out of the corner of my eye. My hand instinctively reaches beneath the table to give her a reassuring squeeze.
My mother can be…intimidating, to put it kindly. She’s brusque and stern in a way that makes most people cower at a single word, never quite soft even when she’s totally relaxed. I get the sharper edges of my personality from her, but I could never hope to measure up to her level of unwavering control.
“Ma, you know very well thatyouwere the one who insisted that she come.” I remind her, watching her smile twist into a knowing smirk as she nods her head. “But… I do want Riley to know about the family and I was hoping you would be okay explaining everything. She’simportantto me.”
Bruno stiffens at my words, as I meet his gaze. My lips twitch slightly before they curl into a full-blown smirk. He wanted to force my hand, so I’m going to show him what happens when he pushes me. I’ll go somewhere, but it’s not going to be in the direction he wants.
If my mother approves of her, there’s nothing he can do to change the situation.
My mother’s ruling is final and he damn well knows that.
Riley shifts uncomfortably beside me as silence falls like lead, heavy over the entire room. Ma arches an elegantly groomed brow, drumming her manicured nails over the tablecloth as she drags her eyes over Riley, obviously sizing her up.
Could I tell Riley myself? Yes. But that isn’t how things are done in our family. Ma’s the head of the household, and things like that have to have her approval.
Ma pushes up from her chair, the pearls around her neck glimmering softly in the light from the chandelier overhead. She’s dressed to the nines, as always, in a silky cream button down tucked into tailored slacks, along with heels that give her a slight boost.
“Very well. You boys can stay here and chat,” she says breezily, her lips curling up in the barest hint of a smile—which is about as welcoming as she gets with strangers. “Riley, join me in the parlor, would you?”
Riley stumbles for words, glancing between me and my mother in nervous confusion. “Right. Yes, ma’am.”
“Ask her anything,” I tell Riley, squeezing her hand one last time before letting go so she can stand. “She’ll tell you the truth.”
Ma flicks her eyes over to me in cool amusement, but we both know it’s true. She’ll do damn near anything I ask of her, and she trusts my judgement.
I’m also her favorite, although neither of us will say so out loud.
“We have a lot to discuss, Riley,” Ma says, rounding the table and gesturing toward the doorway. “Would you care for some more wine?”
Their voices fade away as they leave the dining room and make their way down the hallway toward the parlor room, leaving me alone with my brothers.
Anxiety prickles at the back of my mind in a way I’m not used to as I listen to the click of their heels grow softer. The parlor is both soundproof and halfway across the house, so I won’t be able to hear any of their conversation. I don’t open myself up like this to anyone, and while I’ve already come around to the fact that I care about Riley far more than anyone I’ve ever met before, that doesn’t mean I’m comfortable introducing her to the darkest parts of my life.
I have no control over what she asks or what she wants to know, and I have no control over what Ma will tell her, either.
Lucy D’Amico is in charge in this house, in this family, and she always has been, even when Dad was alive.
