Page 31 of Labria

My driver, Dave, was waiting outside my house for me. As much as I wanted to drive myself to work, I didn’t want to be labeled as difficult by the people who were hired to protect me. Besides, it was too late to say anything to him about me driving myself to work. He was already parked at the front door with the engine running.

He greeted me with a smile like always and with an opened back passenger door. I took my careful step inside. He never touched me and somehow I felt that was an order from Lord.

I preferred to sit on the right side so Dave couldn’t see my facial expressions in the rear-view mirror. He was never going to give me too much eye contact. I didn’t want him to get any glimpses of my mood. I wasn’t sure if he reported back to Lord. Dave was sort of like my babysitter when I thought about it, and that upset me. Realizing I didn’t have any privacy distressed me. This was not the life I thought I would have.

People feared the Bregoli’s in this town and apparently they were feared in Chicago, New York and Philly as well. Being associated with them wasn’t something I was proud of, but Lord had become one of their top hooligans.

The drive to the law firm was fairly quiet, with the barely audible sound of a radio news station I couldn’t really hear. I thanked Dave for the ride. I wanted to jump out of the backseat and onto the pavement, but I couldn’t break protocol, so I waited for Dave to open my door for me.

I forced a smile onto my face and rushed into the office building. I made my way up to my office. I did my job, but my mind was somewhere else. I kept checking my phone and there was nothing from Lord, not even a peep, not even a good morning. Fuck him!

At this point, I was ready to respond. I wanted to hash things out. I yearned to hear his voice, and it hurt like hell that he didn’t need to hear mine. I felt him pulling away from me and either I was right or I was going crazy.

My day was going well enough when Mr. Stern, my boss, told me I had to take a lunch meeting with a new client. I looked good and polished on the outside. I wasn’t feeling good on the inside. I picked the right suit, the right hairstyle, and the right makeup to camouflage my heartache.

I was going to have to smile, be polite and code switch for an entire lunch meeting when my heart had a gapping hole in it. After both my parents died, I knew I could handle any and everything life threw my way.

Springing changes on a client last minute sometimes ticked them off. I hoped this person wasn’t upset a Black female attorney was meeting with them. People loved to be racist and gender bias all in one whoop. I was going to try to get this meeting over with being as gracious as possible as I could be.

He was already sitting at a table alone when I arrived. He was early. That was good. I didn’t know anything about him and had only seen him a few times; a few meaning two and he didn’t leave much of an impression on me.

He was obviously tall and very good-looking, but he was one of them. Almost all of the Bregoli men were handsome in their own way. The men’s height, well-coiffed hair, the nice trimmed breads, expensive clothes and shoes helped them stand out amongst the other men. That was just another reason Lord fit in so aesthetically with the Bregoli men.

I could see him in the distance, but I let the hostess do her job and lead me back to the table where he sat. I prayed he wasn’t an asshole. I wanted to place all my assumptions and observations aside and just do my job.

I approached Lord’s cousin Maurizio and noticed he was gazing right at me with his clear hazel eyes. I had to look away. I didn’t want to bump into the table. He was looking too damn hard. These men were always doing too much.

He stood when I pulled out my chair. I looked across the table at his waiting hand.

“Labria Harris, what a surprise.”

I took his hand to shake it. He held on to mine longer than necessary because these Bregoli men were known for doing the utmost. These men were fine, and they knew it. They were vicious flirts. If I was young and dumb, I might be impressed, but I was not the former or the latter.

When he let me go, I motioned to sit. Maurizio waited for me to be comfortable in my chair before he lowered himself down into his seat. Why and how do these criminals have such good manners? I know they all have bodies. I didn’t mean sexual bodies. I meant dead bodies. But on second thought, this guy probably had a lot of women vying for his undivided attention. He was probably the best looking one of the Bregoli men out here in Vegas.

I knew Lord had two dead bodies because I’d seen him kill the bikers like it was nothing. Now I was thinking Lord probably had more than that. I mean, he lies and doesn’t tell me things. So who really knows? If Lord killed more than two people. I wouldn’t be surprised. Thoughts of that gun on his kitchen table flooded my brain, but I was here to work. I needed to stay focused.

Shit! I’m getting to a point in my life where nothing surprises me. That’s not good.

“Maurizio, there was a change in plans and Mr. Stern can’t make this meeting.”

“Please call me Zio.” He flashed his perfect white teeth at me.

“Zio.” I repeated it, but it didn’t sound natural rolling off my tongue. Zio sounded like a magician at one of the hotels on the old Vegas strip. “I’m sorry Mr. Stern couldn’t be here.”

“I will miss him, but not really.” He chuckled and his eyes sparkled. “You are much better to look at.”

I held in my eye roll and give him a dry ass, “thank you.”Boy bye!

Maurizio caught my shift in mood, or maybe my face slipped. “I’m sure you don’t want to be here with me– alone.”

“No, no, things happen and I know how to do my job.” I said, a bit snippy because he wasn’t about to treat me like I needed help from a man to do my job. I knew the law.

“Honestly, Labria, I’m glad I finally get a chance to talk to you alone.”

“Really?”Why?

“Yeah, yeah. I was infatuated with you the first time I laid eyes on you.”

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