Page 126 of 7+Us Makes Nine

Announcing my presence with three knocks on the door, I then pushed it open and entered his office. My father looked up at me, his neutral expression turning into a glare and making me feel like his gaze was practically stabbing me. I froze in my tracks, startled by the continued grimace he directed at me.

He cleared his throat and then redirected his attention to the phone call. “Yes, I’m certain. Just let me know when and how soon. Should I call you or you want to call me? Yes, all right. That’ll work.” He paused again, taking another opportunity to glare at me.

I slowly crossed the room, wracking my brains to recall if there had been anything I’d forgotten to do for him. But my mind drew a blank, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why he kept looking at me that way.

“Listen, I’ll call you back later. Some other business just came up that needs to be taken care of,” he said. “Yes, you too. Goodbye.”

Dad hung up the phone, and then he stared silently at his desk for so long that the moment quickly grew uncomfortable.

“Uhm…bad timing? Should I come back later?” I asked. He didn’t respond, but he did glance up at me. For a second, I almost thought his amber eyes looked red with fury. “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know, Giovanni. You tell me.”

I folded my arms and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. I was already trying not to worry myself sick over Arianna, so the last thing I wanted to do was play word games with my father. Sometimes the man could be truly infuriating. Whatever was bothering him, I wished he would just spit it out already.

I sighed. “I’ve got nothing to tell you, Dad. And honestly, I’m just not in the mood. I came by to see if there was anything you needed me to help you out with today, but maybe not.”

“Giovanni,” my father said, managing to make my name sound like a swear.

I threw my hands into the air, exasperated, and then let them drop to my sides. “Yes, father?”

“How dare you come in here with that attitude. After you’ve threatened to ruin everything.”

“What in God’s name are you talking about, old man? I haven’t made any threats lately.”

He closed his eyes for a second as if praying for patience. “I’ve tried so hard,” he said, “to bring you into the family business and to get you to understand the importance of what I do. I have taught you to be a man of your word—or at least I thought I did. But all you do is disappoint me, Giovanni. I just don’t understand you sometimes.”

My heart sank, hearing the utter disappointment in his voice, yet not having the faintest idea why it was there and what I had done to deserve it.

“Dad, you of all people should know how dedicated I am to this family. So please, can you tell me what the hell you’re

talking about? You’re scaring me.”

“Oh, you should be scared,” he snarled. “Do you honestly mean to tell me you don’t know what transpired this morning?”

“No, I honestly don’t. So just tell me. What is it?”

“Where were you last night, Giovanni?”

“After I left you, I went out for a drink and hung out with Maria for a little while. Then I went home.”

Dad clenched his fists at his sides. “Then tell me why I received a phone call from Mr. Marino, calling off your engagement to Arianna.”

“What?!” I staggered backward, feeling unsteady all of a sudden. The room felt several degrees too cold, and my heart sank to my stomach. I shook my head. “No…Something’s not right. That can’t be right. I haven’t even heard from Arianna today. How…Where…Why would Mr. Marino do something like that?”

“You haven’t spoken with Arianna? You’re telling me you didn’t know this was coming?”

“No!” I said, agitated. “Everything is fine between me Arianna.”

“Don’t you dare lie right to my face, Giovanni!” Dad yelled. “Mr. Marino himself told me that it was Arianna who wanted the wedding called off! So, what the hell did you do to ruin things for her?”

“I didn’t do anything! Clearly, Mr. Marino is crazy! Everything is fine between Arianna and me! I was planning to spend time with her today!”

“Then why are you here with me?”

“Because…” my voice trailed off. “Because Arianna hasn’t been answering my calls. Her mother said she was just sleeping though. She…She hasn’t turned her phone on, that’s all.”

“Oh, give me a break,” Dad said. “You damned kids are always glued to your phones. There’s no way in hell it’s so late in the day, and she just hasn’t turned her phone on. If she isn’t answering, it’s because she isn’t accepting your calls, Giovanni! I’m only going to ask you once again—what did you do?”

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