"What are you gonna do when you see him?" Giovanni asked Gael as soon as they sat down on the leather seats of their private booth.

The couch's premium feel was so comfortable that Gael slumped on it and stretched his long legs outward. Today had been a really long day, and he actually looked forward to going back home with Angela. It hadn't even been a minute since he left the booth, and he already missed having his hands on her. He had Trigger to look after her while he was away, but he'd only feel at ease if he was the one near her. He looked in her direction, and she was talking to Val, her head slowly nodding at whatever they're talking about.

"I don't know," he answered without looking Giovanni's way, still watching Angela from the other booth. "When is he going back to Australia?"

"We'll have to ask him that when he arrives. He'll probably want to leave after the new year. When is Gabby coming?"

"She wanted to be here today, but…" Gael cleared his throat, not wanting to elaborate on the complicated situation in Italy at the moment. He glanced sideways, accepting a drink that his uncle handed to him. It was only a seltzer in a glass with ice and a slice of lemon. He wasn't much a fan of seltzers, really, but it was the idea of having a drink to hold instead of having to drink hard liquor. He took a sip, and the bubbles fizzled on his tongue. It was absolutely no way near the real taste of whiskey—but he drank it anyway. "She'll probably come any time this week or after Christmas."

"How do you drink that shit? That should be gross. I don't even remember what that tastes like." Giovanni scowled at the glass in the other's hand before taking a sip from his amber-colored liquid.

"It tastes healthy." Gael rolled his neck from side to side before leaning his head back. He pulled a foot up on a low stool and rested his wrist on his knee while still holding the glass of seltzer, looking totally relaxed and carefree. Closing his eyes, he probed the other, "What about you? What are you gonna do when he comes? You're the boss."

"Hey," Giovanni called, and when Gael turned to look at his uncle, he was pointing a finger at him. "He disobeyed, but he's still under you. If I wasn't in this position…" He clenched his teeth. It was evident that he was trying not to get mad. Then he released a sigh. "I wouldn't be here if you didn't refuse."

Gael ran his tongue inside his cheek. This Thing between him and Giovanni had been quite a sore subject since the shift in leadership in their family. For a while, Gael became an acting underboss—the rank next to the De Luca mafia family's head boss. Before that, he and Giovanni were both Caporegimes—the rank below the underboss, and then below that were the soldiers. So the order was: Boss—Underboss—The Capos/Caporegimes—Soldiers.

When the time came that they needed to make Gael the "official" underboss instead of just an interim, he told his family that he didn't want it. He had been expressing that he wanted to lay low and start making the businesses legit, and his father had his back, giving him support—just like what he promised on the day Gael became part of the dark world. But the transition was never easy. There's always something holding them back, and the family needed an underboss. That's how Giovanni came to replace the role he had been filling out for a while.

And Giovanni...Well, he didn't exactly like the big responsibility. But that was what the family needed, so he accepted and assumed the role of the underboss. What Gael did—stepping down and "trying" to lay low—caused a conflict in the family because many of his subordinates wanted him to rise up and continue to get promoted until he became the big boss. They were too loyal that the shift in leadership wasn't welcomed right away. At the same time, Giovanni's soldiers also wanted their boss to go up the ladder. The conflict in the family didn't only stay in the family. Somehow, the Morellis knew about what was happening, and they took advantage of it.

Now, whenever Giovanni brought it up, there was really nothing Gael could say. His uncle had his own problems...his own demons. Both of them did. And the way he said the words he just said gutted him. His uncle may not have wanted the responsibility of being the underboss, but he did tell Gael many years ago that if he needed help, Giovanni would drop everything and do it for him. But Giovanni didn't expect Gael to ask him to take up the role.

So this...relationship between them was quite a special one that only the two of them could understand. And while Gael was slowly trying to make their businesses legit, he was still one of their family's respected leaders. And though Giovanni was technically his boss, Giovanni treated him as equals—as if there were two underbosses in the family.

Taking a deep breath, Gael thought that it was best to take things one at a time and see where it goes when J arrives. "I'll wait until we talk and decide what to do with him then."

His uncle nodded and began talking about their operation in the U.K., telling him that they needed to fly there sometime next month. He listened and responded accordingly, all while casting glances at Angela from time to time.

At one point, he caught sight of her, and she was looking at him like she wanted to pounce on him. And damn if he didn't like that image in his head. That dress on her was killing him. Her smooth skin under his fingers was all he could think about. She shifted ever so slightly, and from that angle, he could clearly see the swell of her inner right tit and the outer left tit. And as if she knew what he was thinking about, she arched her chest forward a little, giving him more view—such a fûcking tease.

Gael took a huge gulp of his drink and imagined he was drinking her instead. He had to look away and bring his attention to Giovanni—or he'd be tempted to cross the distance and continue where he left off with her in his bedroom.