Lauretta followed Gael's gaze and saw his phone on the table. It was ringing with the name "Angel" on the screen. Her eyes widened, and she quickly grabbed his arm, tugged at it, and said, "Grandfather said you should show me around tomorrow!"

His phone stopped ringing, and the screen turned off. Angela didn't wait long enough for him to answer and had given up so fast. Gael swiped his phone off the table and gripped it. He was still pissed, and to add to that, Lauretta's being fûcking clingy next to him. Retracting his arm from her, he questioned, "What are you even doing here?"

"What?" Her brows were furrowed and she looked annoyed. "Are Morellis not allowed in your clubs? You surely overlooked it when Lia came years ago. Right, Gio?" She smirked at Giovanni.

"Lauretta!" Lia warned, pulling Lauretta's arm to stop her cousin.

"Sure," Giovanni answered in a disinterested tone while keeping his eyes hooked at the woman next to him. He looked as though he was unperturbed by his ex's presence in the booth. But was he really?

"Come on," Lia tugged at Lauretta's arm again. "We're leaving. Let's go, Lor."

This time, Giovanni turned to look at Lia from across the booth. His eyes were laced with rage, but his voice was calm and collected when he casually spoke. "No. Please. Stay. There's plenty of room for everyone. Right, Jen?" he asked as he rested an arm around the shoulders of the woman next to him.

"It's Jane," reminded the woman with a smile before looking at Lia. "But yeah, you should stay and have fun. Drinks?"

Jane looked harmless. She had brown hair and bold red lips. And she wasn't shy stroking her hand up and down Giovanni's thigh while pressing herself much closer into his side.

Lia glance at it, blinked, and averted her gaze. "No, thanks."

"She's right. I insist. You should order. Sex on the beach, right?" Giovanni probed, a sly smirk forming on his lips as he cocked a brow at his ex.

Gael couldn't tell if there was a meaning behind the cocktail name that Giovanni suggested to Lia and if he was playing with her. This was a conversation that Gael didn't think he'd find slightly interesting tonight. He took a swig of his drink, his phone still tightly clutched in his hand as he watched the two.

Lauretta grinned and ordered her own drink from the bartender. "We're already here, Lia. Let's stay and enjoy the night."

Lia shifted in her seat, looking uncomfortable under Giovanni's watch. She swallowed as she looked away and told the bartender her order. "Actually… Just club soda and lime. Thank you."

Giovanni's jaw clenched. He and Lia exchanged gazes for a few beats too long. Gael, who was only watching on the sidelines, could feel the sexual tension in the atmosphere between the two. Giovanni and Lia were clearly still hot for each other. He couldn't deny that he wondered what would happen if one of them gave up their pride and surrendered. That would probably be impossible, seeing how they loathed each other at the moment.

Gael's thoughts were interrupted when the phone in his hand buzzed. He checked the notification and read the message from Rick.

[ R: She left the hotel and rode in Stone's car. Looks like they're headed to her apartment. ]

The thought of her being in a car with that Rock burned his stomach. That bastard was bringing her home, and then what? Was she going to invite him inside? He finished his drink and slammed the glass on the table; it nearly shattered. The people in the booth looked at him, but he kept his stare at his phone.

It was one of those times when he hated that he was in New York. Why did they have to be so fûcking far from each other? This was one of the reasons why back on the island, he'd told her they weren't going to work. It was the cherry on top of all the reasons that involved his life of being in the mafia—if that alone wasn't already enough of a reason.

The urge to call her was so strong; the vein in his temple throbbed. He had to leave the club so that he could call her.

When he got to his feet, his vision swayed a little. Lauretta was immediately on his side, hooking their arms together. "We should dance."

"I don't dance."

"So you said, but you danced with me at the party. Remember?"

"I'm tired. I'm leaving."

Gael took a step forward, but Lauretta refused to let go of his arm. This pissed him off even more. He recoiled away from her and snapped, "Didn't we already talk about this? Ms. Morelli, this arrangement is nothing but business. A contract. There's no need to force yourself to me. You don't own me and I'm not obliged to do anything for you. Now you can either stay and enjoy the club or leave. It's up to you. But I'm fûcking leaving. Good night."

Stepping out of the booth, he maneuvered his way through the sea of people as he headed towards the door. He unlocked his phone as he walked and dialed Angela's number.

On the third ring, she answered, "Hi…"

"Where are you?" he questioned, his voice sounding cold.

"I'm on my way home. Are you at the club? It's loud."

"Yes. Are you with someone?"

Angela hesitated for a moment before she answered, "Vincent's driving me home. We're nearly there."

Gael reached the exit, and the loud music faded in the background. He walked towards his SUV and patted his clothes for the keys, but he couldn't find it. "Why is he with you?"

"Dad and Oliver are still at the party, and I got tired, so I told them I'm going home first. My place is nearer."

"Cazzo!" he cursed under gritted teeth and leaned against the side of his car in a huff. His keys weren't with him. He just remembered that Giovanni drove them to the club earlier. Gael didn't want to go back inside the club anymore, so this frustrated him even more. "You're not answering my question, Angela. Why are you with him?"

He was being an asshole at the moment, but with the liquor getting to his head, he couldn't care less. Was his question hard to answer? He'd been trying not to let Lauretta get in between them and Angela being with Vincent tonight didn't seem fair to him. What's putting him off more was the fact that there was nothing he could do because he was too far.

"Gael… I'm almost home. Can we talk when I get there? Please? The elevator's going to cut the call. I'll call you as soon as I step out of it. Is that okay?"

Gael took a deep breath. Her voice was so gentle and calm. It was as though she was trying to appease him, and it was working. He had to calm down. Squeezing his eyes shut, he massaged his temple to ease the growing headache and exhaled a sigh. Then he softened his tone when he told her, "I'll wait for your call."