Page 60 of Glitter & Guns

I laughed at that, knowing he was being completely serious, making it all the more wonderful. “Come on, I’ve got a mayor to train and a disapproving father to manage before this meeting is over.”

When I re-entered Daddy’s office, I noticed that Melony was gone, and Grant seemed a little worried as the mayor spoke excitedly.

“It’s brilliant, isn’t it? Just think with the money you help invest, you’ll be assisting in the future of others as well,” Wilson explained, clearly telling Father all about the plan I came up with for him. “Allow me a week to get you new numbers and an action plan to put in place for this.”

“You thought of all of this in just the matter of minutes you were out of the room?” Father questioned, an amused smile on his face until his gaze landed on me. Then his brow slammed together as he took in my appearance, and just as quickly, he cleared his expression so no one else noticed. “Did you hear, dearest daughter, the mayor seems to have been inspired to make the most out of his time in office?”

Walking over to him, I perched on the armrest of his chair and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Goodness, I step out for a moment, and so much has happened. Maybe I’m not needed at these meetings. It seems you handled them without me.”

“No,” Mayor Wilson snapped, then cleared his throat, placing a smile back on his face. “I believe we’ll need a woman’s view on this project. You understand issues I never could, and it would be invaluable to me if I could have your assistance in this endeavor.”

“If you truly feel like I’ll be an asset, then I’d be happy to help. Just let us know how the Caprioni Family can support you,” I answered, giving him a professional smile.

The bastard better not pull some shit in front of my father, or I would have to take him down far sooner than I’d like.

“Thank you, Astin. I value all you and your father have done for me. Speaking of it would be wrong of me to waste time when I have much to do. We’ll meet again next Tuesday, and I’ll have everything you could possibly need to feel confident in what I’ll be doing with the money you’re willing to invest in this city,” Mayor Wilson said, shoving to his feet and walking up to my father offering his hand. “I won’t disappoint you, sir.”

“See that you don’t, or you’ll find out how it’s far better to have me as a friend than an enemy,” Father commented, shaking his hand.

Wilson grasped my hand in both of his, looking deeply into my eyes as he kissed the back of it. “Until we meet again, Astin. I pray it won’t be too long.”

“A week will be over in the blink of an eye,” I offered, looking up at him through my lashes. “Until then, I wish you the best on this new plan. It could make you a hero to the people, including me.”

Part of me wanted to gag on the words I was saying, but this was how you got them hooked on the line to the point they didn’t want to be free of it. Knowing I had the mayor wrapped around my finger would come in handy in more ways than I needed right now, but that was how you stay on top. Always plan for the future and the unforeseen problems you might run into.

The two men left, and I rose from my seat to give Father some room, knowing he was going to have some choice words to say to me.

“Daughter,” he growled out the word. “What in the world has happened to the shirt you were wearing earlier.”

Running a hand through my hair, I let out a frustrated breath. “Daddy, please don’t make a big deal out of this. Something needed to be done, so I went to make a call to Ryker when he cornered me.”

“That tells menothing,Astin,” Father snapped. “You could have had that man crying on the ground in a second. Youlethim make advances he never should have felt free to make.”

I whipped around to face my father. “You’re goddamn right. I let him cop a feel. Is that what you want to know? That I used my womanly wiles to get what I wanted? That’s what we do in this business. If I want something, I’ll do whatever it takes to get it. We needed him to change his mind and get the fuck away from our ports. The person behind that idea was the bitch, and she’d have been trouble for us, so I got what I wanted and cut off the dead weight.”

Father shot to his feet, his face turning red with his rage as he glared at me. “I didn’t raise you to be a whore.”

“No, you raised me to be a queen, to stand above all others,” I shot back.

“Do you think I just bent over and let him take what he wanted from me? That I’m just a woman in the mafia, so what does it matter? Why the fuck does everyone assume that I’d just fuck anyone I needed to control? Yes, I use my body as a tool, just like I was taught by the men you sent, daddy dearest. You know what I won’t do?” I pressed, stepping up to be toe to toe with my father. “I won’t give away my self-respect. Why? Because at the end of the day, I have to look myself in the mirror. If I can’t justify everything I do to myself, then this will be over before it starts. If I can’t stand behind my choices, no one else will.”

Father seemed to deflate at my words and sank back into his chair, looking pale. Instantly, I was at the door, yanking it open. “Mrs. Laningham,” I called.

The woman appeared, her face looking concerned and stepped into the office the second I waved her in. Seeing my father, she hurried to his desk and grabbed a bottle of pills and a water bottle from the refrigerator.

“Here, sir,” she said, handing him two pills. “Drink the water slowly so you don’t choke on it. Astin, would you grab the blood pressure cuff out of my desk? It’s in the bottom drawer on the left hand side.”

Doing as she asked, I cussed myself out knowing better than to upset him like that. I’d done my own research on his condition, knowing he’d never be truly honest with me about how he was feeling or how severe this condition was. Snatching up the cuff, I returned to find him with his suit jacket off and tie loosened. Mrs. Laningham took the cuff and placed it on him, hitting the button to start the machine as she also took his pulse the old-fashioned way.

“Pulse looks good,” she commented as the machine beeped. “Ah… it seems your blood pressure is a tad high. The meds should kick in soon and help to stabilize, but you need to rest a moment. I’m pushing back your next meeting by half an hour.”

“No, Astin can take it. Would you please show her to her office?” Daddy instructed.

Mrs. Laningham looked at him, then me, and let out a sigh. “I suppose that’s better. You never get out of that meeting without getting worked up, and you can’t afford to do that right now. Follow me, young lady. I’ll get you the information you need.”

twenty-five

Mrs. Laningham showed me to an office located right next to my father’s. It had a secretary’s desk at the entrance, but no one was working at the station.

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