Page 94 of Problems

"A lot." He touched my cheek. "And you're okay, son?"

"Better than ever," I confirmed. I waved a hand to the available seats in my father's office. "Mr. Vitale, feel free to have a seat. Ronan, we'll move over here."

I felt my father's eyes on me the entire time. He looked at me as if I'd grown a second head. A tight knot formed in my chest at the impressed expression on his face.Finnian taught me well. So did Ronan.They both made me better than I was before. I appreciated them for that.

Once they sat down I moved beside my father's desk. He glanced at me once more before he straightened up and focused on the Vitale brothers.

"We were sorry to hear about the unfortunate incident that took place out in Arizona," Benito started. "Although we're glad that you're okay. We sent some efforts out to help the Laureati family with cleanup."

"Appreciated," my father said. "Jack handled himself just fine."

"No problem," I said calmly. I tried not to jump in the air and punch my fist at the sky. Did he see me as a real contender? Someone who could do this job? I swallowed my emotions. "So, what's the next step now that we're on your side?"

"We're working things out," Enzo said evenly. "The triads are moving, but we have some idea what they're doing."

"Which is?" I asked.

Benito's gaze flickered from me to my father and back again. "It's a lot to go over. Sufficed to say we're keeping an eye on things for now. All I need your family to do is keep their eyes open, watch out for the triads, and keep your head down if they come gunning for it. We'll have your back, but we can't be everywhere at once."

My father grunted. "Qiang wouldn't even have gone that far. He doesn't give a damn who lives or dies during this war and he's certainly not trying to protect anyone. All he sees is blood."

"Well, he's going to get it," Benito said.

The look on his face spoke volumes. A shiver worked up my spine as he gazed off into the distance, as if he could already imagine ripping Qiang's head off and handing it to him. Cian cleared his throat. I glanced up at him as he glared at me.

He mouthed the words. "Watch it."

I gave him a sheepish look before I cleared my throat and focused again.He's going to kill me for that later. It's not my fault this man is a living legend!I wanted our family name to be as strong as the Vitale's. I wanted to go toe to toe with them and come out better. My hand tightened into a fist. I was that much more determined now to prove myself.

"Well thank you for coming to update me on all of this," my father said as he stood up again. "I know this could have been handled with a phone call, but I appreciate you coming to meet face to face."

Benito shook his hand and held it tightly. "No, I want you to know that I appreciate this alliance that we've formed. I know peace between us has always been tentative, but perhaps going forward we can establish a much closer business relationship."

"I don't see why not," my father said. "We'll talk soon."

Benito shook my hand once more. "Good to meet you, Jack. I assume you'll be in on future meetings?"

I glanced at my father. The unsure look on his face was all too familiar, but at least he hadn't outright said no. I turned back to Benito.

"I hope so."

Benito nodded before he released my hand. Enzo did the same. They filed out as quickly as they had come in. I heaved a sigh.

"Jack."

I turned to my father. "Yes, dad?"

He looked me up and down. "You did well," he said. "I'm proud of you."

Seriously, had I died back in Arizona and gone to heaven? There was no way in hell my father had just said that he was proud of me when it came to the family business. He'd said it to me before of course; when I got good grades, when I graduated college, when he took a look at my architectural sketches. In this capacity though? Never. I felt like my heart would leap right out of my chest at any moment.

"Thank you," I said, forcing myself to stand up taller and act mature in this situation. "Will I be in on the next meeting?"

"Perhaps," my father said. "You really want to be, don't you?"

I nodded. "I always have."

Sighing, he pushed his fingers through his salt and pepper hair. "You know I don't want you in this life."

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