Dante didn’t skip his workout this morning. He came back to shower, then was out of the bedroom before I got up.
He’s obviously still pissed at me for some reason. Or for several reasons.
I’ve barely touched him, and certainly haven’t given him any relief in the weeks I’ve been here. That part I can understand. But why he suddenly steered our conversation about Madison last night to me I haven’t figured out.
One thing I know I need to do today is obvious. I have to apologize to Madison for making her feel uncomfortable in her own house.
I’m not sure how much she saw of me and Dante last night. Whatever it was had to have been too much.
That’s why, after lunch, I sought out Franny, the woman I refer to as the house manager. She buys all the groceries for the family and keeps the fridge and pantry stocked up for their cooking staff. Once that’s taken care of, I make the trek up to the third floor, where I was told not to go unless invited. Oh well.
There are several doors open, revealing two empty, expansive bedroom suites. I assume those are Sophie’s and Cass’s rooms. I knock gently on the closed door and wait.
“Coming!” she calls out.
When Madison cracks the door about two inches, it’s enough for me to see her scowl. “What do you want?”
Oh, jeez. I had forgotten how intimidating teenage girls can be. Well, Madison is just out of the teenage years, which makes her even more vicious. I thank the stars above for giving me a son as my fingers fidget, and I try not to let her see how nervous I am talking to her.
“Hey, hi. I just wanted to tell you that I’m so sorry about last night. I also asked Franny to stock up your freezer with ice cream.”
She huffs out a laugh. “Don’t worry, I won’t be wandering downstairs at night again or any other time unless he commands my presence.”
“That’s not…we won’t do that again, so you can wander wherever you want. It’s your house.”
“I seriously don’t care about where you screw him.”
“You don’t? And we’re not…we haven’t…done that together…” Okay, that’s probably too much information but I think it’s important to be honest with her. Otherwise, she’ll never trust me. I’m not sure why it matters if she trusts me or not since I’ll be gone soon.
“Whatever. My problem is that he is such a fucking hypocrite!”
Oh. So, she’s pissed at Dante for something else, apparently.
“I agree. Your father is very hypocritical. But what in particular is he hypocritical about this time?”
Resting her forehead against the doorframe, her tall frame deflates when she says, “I just want to make my own decisions. I want it to be my choice. I want…I want someone to look at me the way he looks at you.”
Okay, she lost me.
“Ah, I’m not sure I know what you mean…” I admit.
“My dad is in love with you, but he’s going to force me to marry some asshole I’ve never even met and don’t want to meet!”
“Wait, what?” I ask since I’m confused about every part of what she just said. “For the record, your dad doesn’t love me. He’s just…a little obsessed at the moment for a ridiculous reason. I can assure you that this is a temporary arrangement for us. There’s no love involved.”
“Whatever you say, Vanessa.” She mutters those words, staring at me with a look of disgust, like she thinks I’m the dumbest woman in the world. While Cole doesn’t usually do what I tell him to, he at least acts as if he respects me to my face.
Then again, I know she’s just taking her anger toward her father out on me.
“Second of all, I can’t believe your father would force you to marry someone you don’t want to. That’s just…wrong.”
“Well, it’s either marry the man he chose or live here in this prison forever.”
“Those are not great choices,” I agree.
“All I want is my own life. I want to go to college, to live on campus without guards, to hang out with friends, and date guys. I’m a twenty-year-old virgin!”
Her admission has me giving her a half smile. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, Madison. In fact, it’s a good thing to wait until you’re absolutely certain you’re ready and with the right person.”
“It’ll never happen if I’m not allowed to be near any men!”
“Did you talk to your father? Ask him about letting you go to college?”
“Yes.”
“And he flat out said no?” I guess.
“Yep.”
“Because he thinks someone, his enemies, might hurt you?”
“Of course.”
“Well, he’s right to be concerned,” I agree, and she makes a groaning sound before banging her forehead into the doorframe. “You would be much safer if people didn’t know who you are or that you’re his daughter.”
“Yeah, well, that’s impossible.”
“No, it’s not. If you were to use an alias, then you would be as anonymous as anyone else on a college campus.”
That has her lifting her head, perking up. “An alias? How would I do that?”
“Well, you probably couldn’t. At least not without your dad’s help getting all the legal documents to prove to the school administration that you’re someone else. That sort of thing, a bulletproof new identity wouldn’t be cheap.”
“And colleges probably wouldn’t be okay with that, would they? Me pretending to be someone else?”
“That’s another problem. You would need transcripts and recommendations all in the name of the alias for most universities if you don’t want the administration to know who you really are. Even community colleges. My son Cole barely got into Lennox even with a four point oh GPA.”
“You have a son? And he’s in college?”
“I do,” I answer with a proud smile.
“How? You’re not that old.”
“Thanks,” I reply, my smile dimming. “I had Cole when I was very young because I made stupid, irrational decisions just to spite my parents. Those decisions ended up biting me in the ass. Not that I have ever regretted having my son,” I rush to amend. “I would do anything in the world for Cole. It wasn’t easy raising him on my own, having to juggle working with childcare…”
“And his dad?”
Wincing, I admit, “That’s another part of where I was stupid and barely got first names. I definitely didn’t learn their last names. Even if I did, there are multiple possibilities so…”
“Wow, Vanessa,” Madison remarks with a genuine smile. “You’re just full of surprises.”
Shrugging, I tell her the truth. “I made horrible, irrational decisions, and I had to live with the consequences. But I’m glad they were at least my choices, nobody else’s.”
Biting her bottom lip, she says, “Do you think you could talk to my dad? Try to convince him to let me change my name and let me go to college? Any college?”
“I can try I guess, although I doubt it will help.”
“Thank you!” she exclaims excitedly like it’s a done deal.
“He probably won’t listen,” I tell her honestly.
“He might. And if he doesn’t let me leave soon, I’m going to go insane. Cass has her training, and Sophie has tennis to keep busy and out of the penthouse. All I want is to get offline and get out in the world.”
“Are you sure you would be ready to be on your own?”
At that question she rolls her eyes. “I couldn’t get more ready.”
“What would you do without your father’s money? And can you take care of yourself? Do you know how to cook? Buy groceries? Wash your laundry? Do you even have a driver’s license? How do you plan to get around?”
“I-I don’t know. I’ve never had to do any of those things or thought about it before.”
“Exactly. There are basic things teenagers need to know before they head off alone, things sheltered rich girls don’t have to do for themselves. It’s all just another way to keep you from leaving, right?”
“That’s exactly what it is, why Dad never wanted us to learn how to drive or do anything else!” She huffs. “Will you show me how to cook? How to do laundry and some of those other things?”
Dante won’t be happy about me showing his daughter how to be independent, but it’s the least she deserves. He lives a dangerous life and may not always be around to care for his daughters. I don’t like thinking about that, but it’s the reality that comes with his mobster world.
“Sure. I would be happy to help. And maybe consider one other thing, Madison.”
“Yeah?”
“As long as your father is supporting you financially, his money will always come with strings attached.”
She nods but her face looks defeated. Dante won’t let her get a job, ergo, she’ll never be free of him. While it might have been nice to not have to work my ass off to keep a roof over my and Cole’s head and keep us fed, there are zero benefits to allowing someone else to have that kind of control over me.
“When can we start?” Madison asks, swinging her door wide open as if she’s ready to hit the ground running right now.
“I’ve been helping Chef Edward and his crew with dinner most nights if you want to join us?”
“Tonight?” she asks, like the prospect of having to wait to begin is a huge disappointment.
“They get started around four each afternoon. That’s how long it takes to have everything ready by seven or eight when Dante wants to eat. They handle the cooking downstairs in one of the restaurants before bringing it all up, even on the nights you don’t sit down together.”
“Holy shit. It takes that long to cook a meal?”
“Only for mafia kings and princesses,” I assure her with a smile. “If you’re cooking for a normal group of people, you could probably have it all done in an hour or two, plus cleanup.”
“Cleanup?”
“Washing the dishes, pots and pans, and cleaning up messes made in the kitchen.”
“Oh. I think I’d rather just have takeout.”
“When you’re pinching pennies, it can be cheaper, although not as healthy, to go for takeout. Cole and I have had our fair share of value meals.”
“Value meals?” the privileged rich girl asks.
“Oh, you have so much to learn,” I tell her. “Let’s get you caught up on how the world really works for most of us who aren’t filthy rich.”
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