"I did. I informed her I would have no choice but to force feed her if she doesn't eat from now on."
He gives a nod of approval. "Good. Has she been delivered lunch?"
"When I left her, it had been delivered. I expect she'll eat it."
"She better," he mutters, rubbing at the spot between his eyes. "What else is there that I should know?"
I know that the question means he wants a play by play of everything that happened while I was with her, which isn't much. But still I tell him, "She took a long shower and she put on the red dress you picked without any problem." This time, I do leave out the way she covered her body up. There were no other witnesses to the mistake, no other way for Gio to find out about it.
He nods.
"She was instructed to get a good night's rest so she should be ready for tomorrow."
"Mhmm," he mutters before taking his feet off of the desk and scooting his chair closer. He props his arms up on his desk. "And how exactly did the gown look on her?" He watches me closely.
After knowing him for years, I know this is a test, but fuck if I know the answers.
Shit.
Gio sees Winter his property. So do I compliment his property or act as if I barely paid it any attention? It feels like going either way is a fucking death sentence, so I finally settle for the truth. "It fit her nicely and it made her curves stick out."
"They already stick out."
"They stuck out even more."
His head tilts to the side slightly before he nods and leans back in his seat.
Test passed, apparently.
Gio is unpredictable, as I learned very shortly after meeting him. Consistently cold, but the degrees of that coldness, well they vary. And it's never clear what's going to change the temperature and in which way it changes it. Where possible, I remain silent, but since he wants me to keep an eye on Winter and keep him informed, I know it's going to be harder.
Behind me, the door clicks and I'm on my feet, my gun out and aimed before the door even fully opens.
A familiar face appears in front of me. "Going to shoot me, soldier boy?" Vito asks, his ever present frown on his face, but there's a dry humor to his words that makes me relax.
"No." I holster my gun.
Another form appears behind him and when I find myself looking into honey brown eyes that I like to stare at too much for my well being, my body tenses up all over again. Maximo smiles, his eyes sweeping over me from head to toe, the close inspection making me shift uncomfortably. When his eyes meet mine, he gives me a wink before pushing the door closed behind him.
If there's anyone that's even more unpredictable than Giovanni Costa, it's his brother.
There's a more chaotic, less controlled energy to Maximo that has to be watched closely, unless you want to find yourself stabbed in the eye. Or caught in the middle of an ally's club that he just set on fire. I have to refrain from wincing at the thought, Maximo's latest stunt still fresh in my mind, along with the verbal lashing Gio had given me for not stopping Max.
As if anyone can stop the man. When he wants to do something, he does it.
I know that better than anyone.
"Brother." Gio's voice is hard but everyone knows he has a soft spot for Max, one that allows him to get away with more things than anyone in the family ever should, second in command or not.
Max gives him a wide smile. "Big brother, did you call me in here to talk about our newest acquirement?" he asks.
My chest tightens slightly at the interest in Max’s voice. I know about what Vito had apparently put to a stop yesterday; Maximo acquainting himself with Winter. I can't quite determine what the emotion is that I feel at the thought, but I decide it isn't important as I wait for Gio to respond.
"It is," he says, which shocks me and apparently Max as well as the man narrows his eyes slightly before recovering.
"Well then." Max plops down in the seat I was occupying only a moment ago, folding his leg over his knee and looking at his brother expectantly. Vito takes the open seat next to him.
I remain where I am, knowing it'll only be a few seconds before Gio directs me to stand guard outside the door. Unlike Vito and Max, I'm not high enough on the food chain to hear all the business workings of the family. I'm lucky enough to have made it as far as I have considering I'm not blood or a legacy.
"Enzo," Gio says, turning his attention to me.
"Yes sir." I nod, making my way to the door.
"Stay." The word stops me and I turn around, surprised. He continues to watch me, an unreadable look in his eyes. "The matter of Winter Chastine now pertains to you as well, since you'll be keeping a close eye on her." He points to a chair in the corner of the room that's kept for extra company. "Pull up a chair," he directs me.
I feel the gaze of Vito and Max on me as I pull the seat up to the desk, but I ignore it, taking a seat and keeping my posture straight as if I belong here, as if I don't feel like an outsider.
Gio sits up straighter in his chair. "Now, in regards to Winter..."