24. Chapter 24

24

T he text notification beeped on Ilaria's phone just as her six A.M. alarm went off.

But she was already awake. Woke up with a sinking feeling in her gut. The feeling that said she was alone, that no matter how much other people supported her, no one really understood the position she was in or what she was feeling. The only one who might have understood was Soren, and she couldn't trust him. She was utterly alone.

A crushing wave of grief pressed on her, threatening to pull her under. Maybe she could sleep in today. Start the new phase of her life tomorrow.

Ilaria heard the front door of her condo open.

"Ilaria."

Dammit, why is he here so early?

She stayed quiet, pretending to still be asleep, hoping he would leave.

A knock sounded on her bedroom door. "Ilaria, get up. I know you're awake." He was using his arrogant, brook-no-argument tone of voice, the one that never failed to strike up her temper.

She growled as she pushed off her bed covers and yanked open the bedroom door. "What—" she growled, "—are you doing here?"

The first sight of Soren made her catch her breath. How could anyone look so sexy so damn early in the morning? He wore chinos and a casual button-down shirt as if they were made for him.

His eyes were hidden by sunglasses, but his head moved as he scanned her up and down. She had forgotten that she had wanted to feel sensual last night, so she put on a black lacy number that left little to the imagination.

At the moment, though, she wasn't feeling remotely sexy or embarrassed, so she heaved a sigh and tugged a sweatshirt over herself. Her legs were bare, but he'd just have to deal with it.

Ilaria pushed past him to go to the kitchen. She needed coffee. She grabbed the coffee pot and went to the sink to fill it with water when she noticed a large cup with The Java Spot logo on it.

Soren was leaning against the doorway, sunglasses off. "A large latte with an extra shot and a decent splash of heavy cream, no sugar," he said. "That's your drink, isn't it? I had to guess how much ‘decent' was, though."

She nodded slowly and reached for the cup. "How did you know?"

"I have my ways." His face was impassive.

Ilaria took a sip. "It's…perfect," she admitted grudgingly. She took another sip. "Mmm, better than usual. They must have brewed the coffee extra strong today."

"Of course it is." Matter-of-fact. "I had them add one extra shot of espresso. Figured you might need it."

She tilted her head in surprise. "I must be very predictable or you're very observant."

"Both." He allowed himself a small smile.

She leaned over the counter. "So why are you here again?"

Soren shrugged. "Just thought you might need a little help to get going this morning."

Ilaria narrowed her eyes. Was the man a mind reader?

He pushed off the wall and walked over to her. "Go take a shower and get dressed." He took the cup from her hand. "This will wait for you."

She must have looked mulish because he ran a thumb along her jaw. "When things feel out of control, sometimes all you can do is take one small step forward," he said quietly.

She searched his face. He knew something about that, didn't he? She nodded and slowly padded her way back to her room. She looked back once, and he was still watching her.

In the shower, Ilaria let the water run over her. If anyone could give her a kick in the pants with no pity, it was Soren. For the first time, she felt grateful that he was in Chicago. But only a teeny tiny bit.

After the quick shower, she got dressed in navy slacks and a white blouse and even applied some light makeup. Might as well look the part, she thought.

She loaded her laptop into her tote. When she came back out, Soren gave her an approving nod and handed back her coffee cup.

"Remember our plan," he said.

She nodded.

"Go ahead and leave first. I can sneak out unnoticed."

Ilaria opened the front door and paused. "Thanks, Soren," she said.

"You're welcome."

***

One step forward.

It became a chant in Ilaria's head as she drove into her parents' driveway. One of these days, she should think about selling the property. She couldn't see herself moving here. It would always be her parents' house, and with them gone, it was just an empty, depressing one.

She took a sip of her coffee. The coffee that Soren had gone out of his way to not only learn what her usual drink was but to order it at her usual coffee shop and arrive at her condo, coffee in hand, when her alarm went off.

Ilaria couldn't even begin to decipher all the mixed messages this man was sending her. His middle name was Contradiction.

But she had a job to do. She pushed Soren Contradiction MacGregor out of her mind.

One step forward. She reminded herself again.

She parked in front of the garage and walked through the side gate to the office building. It was early enough that even Silas wasn't there yet. She pulled up all the blinds and turned on all the lights, trying to chase away the gloom. Usually she preferred the dark—her favorite time of day was early in the morning before the sun rose—but today, she needed light.

Even though she was already wired from the coffee Soren had gotten her—that was a surprise she didn't expect—especially with the extra shot of espresso, she went into the kitchenette and made a full pot of coffee.

With the comforting smell of coffee brewing, Ilaria made her way to her office. As she passed by her father's office, she stopped. It was exactly the way he had left it; laptop, lid closed on the desktop, a few files stacked to the left, but otherwise neat. A full bookcase lined one wall, packed with business, investing, and leadership books.

A large file cabinet occupied the other wall. Ilaria had tried to convince her father to move into the digital world and access the files that had been saved in the cloud. He couldn't avoid digital files, as that was how everyone else operated. But he didn't easily trust anything that he couldn't hold in his hands, and so he still preferred to print everything and physically file them.

But now it was her decision, wasn't it? She was determined to honor her father's memory and preserve what he had built, but she knew he wouldn't have wanted her to do everything exactly the way he did it. Make it your own, he would have said.

I will make you proud.

And in order to do that, she had to put her own touch on everything. So she opened up a list app on her phone and created a new list of things to change in her family's business. Create digital backups of all files went at the top. It would be a huge effort, with years of paper files to wade through. She'd hire someone to help her, she decided. At least all the files related to the legitimate businesses.

How did Dad do this without an assistant? Silas was probably the closest to an assistant that her father had, but his role was to be an advisor, not to file papers. Hire a trustworthy assistant was second on the list.

Feeling a measure of control, Ilaria went into her own office next door to her father's. She pulled open all the blinds and surveyed the room. It was admittedly sparse, but she preferred it this way. Other than her laptop, a coaster, a leadership book her father had recommended to her, and a notebook and pen, there was nothing else on her desk.

Ilaria opened her laptop, took a deep breath, and opened her inbox. Two hundred and eleven unread. She had avoided her emails while she was in Scotland, knowing she wasn't prepared to respond to any of them at the time. Knowing her inbox would be huge when she came back.

She scanned down the list. Many were regular, day-to-day emails from her GMs. Several were from suppliers that her father had worked with directly. He had been slowly introducing her to that aspect of the business, introducing her to his contacts, adding her to emails.

These were the people she needed to call first. To reassure them that the succession of power would be smooth, and that there would be no problems with the transition of the Carosi organization from father to daughter.

The door to the office building opened. From her seat behind her desk, she couldn't see who walked in, but she guessed it was Silas. "Morning, Silas," she called.

"Ah, Ilaria, you're back." Footsteps made their way toward her, and Silas appeared a moment later in his usual slacks, button shirt, and sweater vest.

Ilaria rose from her chair and walked to the doorway to give him a hug. "Silas, do you wear a sweater vest no matter how hot it is outside?"

He chuckled. "I guess I do. It can be chilly inside with the air conditioning on."

"It's good to see you."

He looked down at her, expression questioning. "Were you at home the past few days?"

She waved her hand. "Yeah, pretty much. Just moping around, eating ice cream." She hated to lie to Silas, but she didn't want him caught in the middle of her and Vincent. Better to keep him out of it, she decided.

Silas patted her shoulder sympathetically. "Well, glad to have you back. The ice cream must have helped. You have more color in your face."

"Ice cream solves almost everything," she quipped. "Hey, when you're free, can we sit down and talk about how I'm going to respond to the contacts that Dad used to talk to? I need to reassure them that nothing's going to change even with Dad gone."

"Good, I was going to mention that to you, too," Silas responded. "Let me just put my bag down."

"I'll get you a cup of coffee and meet you in the conference room."

She refilled her own cup, filled a fresh cup for Silas, and walked over to the conference room, which contained a table and chairs that seated eight.

Silas came in with a notepad and pen. "I sent out a short note to each of them to let them know you would be calling them soon. I didn't want to go silent."

Ilaria nodded. "I'm glad you thought of that." She opened up her laptop to take notes. "So how should we handle this? Should I call them? Write them an email? What if they ask questions I can't answer?" She was feeling overwhelmed. Maybe attacking this topic first wasn't the best idea.

He laid a hand on her sleeve. "We're just going to take this one step at a time."

"Okay." She took an inhale and nodded. "I want to convey strength. That even though I'm taking over the organization, nothing will affect the supply lines." A disruption in the supply lines meant money lost, and people in this business had little patience for losing money.

Silas nodded in agreement. "That will be the most important thing. You want them to eventually have the same confidence in you as they did your father. They'll have questions about you now, but they'll give you a chance. A small chance." He paused. "I would call them. They'll feel more reassured if they hear your voice."

"Let's be glad that Dad at least introduced me to all of them," she added quietly. She knew that just because she was Stefano Carosi's daughter didn't automatically mean they trusted her. She still had to earn it. But being Stefano's daughter meant she at least had a chance to earn it.

"And if they ask questions you can't answer, just tell them you're in the process of going back through their records," Silas advised, "and you'll be scheduling another meeting with them soon to go over any questions."

"I'm sure I'll have questions of my own," she added. "For the longer meeting."

"Yes, you will. And I can sit in those meetings with you if you'd like."

Ilaria smiled at him gratefully. "What would I do without you?"

"Give yourself some credit," Silas chuckled. "You made a good pot of coffee this morning. Progress is progress."

She laughed. "Even if it's miniscule progress." She rose to go back to her office. "No time like the present. Thanks, Silas."

He gave her a thumbs up. "You'll be fine. They'll all love you."

Ilaria started with the easier calls first. As in, she called the people who she felt she had the closer relationships with already. They were genuinely happy to hear from her and upset on her behalf about her father. Nobody expressed too much shock about the manner in which he had died, however. They all knew the stakes.

After getting a few calls under her belt, she had more confidence to tackle the tougher ones.

"Yes" was how the phone was answered.

"Lorenzo, it's Ilaria Carosi." She was sweating but her voice sounded steady, to her relief.

"Ilaria Carosi," he repeated slowly. "I've been waiting to hear from you."

Lorenzo Costa was the Carosis largest supplier. He was also a tough son of a bitch and extremely difficult to read.

"I'm sorry it took me so long. How are you, Lorenzo?"

"I'm wonderful," he replied. "I was sorry to hear about Stefano."

"Thank you," she said. "I won't take up too much of your time, Lorenzo. I just wanted to get in touch and reassure you that nothing will change with the distribution of your products, even with my father gone. I will do everything I can to provide equal, or even better, service to you."

Lorenzo was quiet for several beats. "Actually, Ilaria, I was hoping we could talk about that." He paused. "Now, I've been working with your father for a long time, and we had a great relationship. We understood each other." He stopped to let that sink in.

Ilaria narrowed her eyes.

"You seem like a lovely girl, and I'm sure your father taught you a lot," he continued. "However, this business is…complex. It can be complicated. It's a lot to handle, as I'm sure you're starting to find out."

Her heart beat faster.

"You could say that you'll be giving me the same, or better, service as before. I'm sure you even have the intention of doing so. But I'm not sure I can rely on just your word. Do you know what I'm trying to say, Ilaria?"

Heat was rising in her chest. "No, Lorenzo, I don't know what you're trying to say," she said with clenched teeth. "Why don't you spell it out for me?"

"Okay, then," he continued, his voice pinched. "I'm not sure this change in leadership will be a positive one for me. I've never worked with you, and I don't know if I can trust you. So this makes me a little jumpy, because I have a lot of money riding on trust. You understand?"

Ilaria felt a headache start at the back of her head. "Go on."

"What I'm trying to say is, I'd like to give you the chance to earn my trust, but there's a risk. It would help…reassure me a great deal if we renegotiated the terms of our contract."

"In what way, Lorenzo?" Ilaria knew where he was going but she wanted him to say it.

"I'd like to keep a bigger percentage, Ilaria. Of each shipment. Commensurate with the risk I'm taking to trust the new leadership of the Carosi organization. Otherwise, I may have to look for another partner." He ended with a slithery finish. If she could see his face, she would have bet that he had a slimy grin on his face.

She forced herself to keep calm. Soren was right; everyone would see a female head of the organization as a weak point, of which they can take advantage. Not only the rival families but also the existing partners who she thought were already loyal to, if not her, then at least to the Carosi organization. But she had been na?ve. She should have expected that everyone around her would look for a way to get the upper hand. Just like Soren had predicted.

"Lorenzo, I appreciate you bringing up your concerns to me," she responded, her voice surprisingly calm even to her own ears. "I will be sure to give your request the utmost consideration. Please give me a few days to get back to you."

Ilaria didn't know how to respond yet, but she knew enough not to be pressured on the spot.

"Sure, Ilaria, sure," he said. "But please, don't take too long. I'm already worried as it is, okay?"

Worried, my ass.

"Of course, understood," she replied. "We'll talk again soon."

She hung up and tossed her phone onto her desk, pinching the bridge of her nose. She didn't need this headache.

As if on cue, the front door opened and Vincent called out, "Good morning, Silas."

Ilaria could hear Soren's voice in her head. Stick to the plan .

She rose from behind her desk. "Uncle Vincent," she greeted.

Vincent turned with surprise. "Ilaria! Glad to see you're back. How are you feeling?" He reached an awkward arm around her and patted her shoulders briefly, then reached up to smooth his thinning hair. He shifted his feet, tottering slightly on his legs, his right leg slightly shorter than his left.

"I'm okay," she replied, patting him quickly on the back and then stepping away. She tamped down the disgust rising in her gut. "By the way, I'm calling a family meeting for tomorrow morning." It felt odd to now be her uncle's boss. Just another thing she had to get used to.

Vincent looked at her, surprise evident on his face. "Okay. I'm meeting my casino GM tomorrow, but I can go after. What are we discussing?"

That's not your place to ask.

"I'm just going to reassure everyone that I'm ready to take over the role of head of the family." She could see Silas in his office watching the exchange.

Vincent blinked. "Okay," he said slowly. "Are you sure you're ready for that? I'm here to help, you know."

Your "help" will get me killed, so no thanks.

"I'm ready," she replied simply. She changed the subject. "Also, I had time to do some thinking. And I think you're right about Galen."

Silas stepped out of his office to join the conversation.

A self-satisfied smile flashed over Vincent's face. "Of course I am. Did you talk to him?"

Ilaria wanted to punch that look off his face.

"Only briefly," she replied. "He said all the usual things, that he was really upset and sorry about what happened." She paused.

"What makes you think Galen is guilty now?" Silas asked.

Vincent was watching her closely.

"He asked about the partnership." She let her voice tremble. "That he would give me a little more time but we should continue discussing it. I'd think he would drop the whole thing with Dad gone now, but he's still pushing it." She shook her head and swiped at her eye. "As if that's what's important."

"I told you," Vincent said triumphantly. "Didn't I? He wants to use us—to use you —to worm his way into Chicago."

Ilaria hardened her face. "Well, he's not going to. I won't let it happen."

" We won't let it happen," Vincent corrected. "And I think I have a way to avenge your parents' deaths."

"Good." She tightened her hands into fists. "Tell me how and we'll make him pay."

He held up his hands. "Well…leave that up to me for now. I don't want to involve you unless absolutely necessary."

I knew it. He's got something planned.

Silas nodded. "Yes, Ilaria, it would be better if you stayed out of it."

She gave them both a look of outrage. "They're my parents. Shouldn't I be the one to get vengeance?"

Vincent shook his head. "It's too dangerous." She opened her mouth to object. "Look, I'll fill you in when I can. But I'll handle it."

Annoyed, Ilaria backed off so as not to raise suspicions. "Fine, but please keep me updated." She took in a shaky breath. "I need him to pay."

Silas put his arms around her shoulders.

"Don't worry," Vincent said, voice grim. "He will."

I'll make you pay.