Arranged Marriage To The Princess Of The Red Scorpions

Jovani listened as the other continued to speak. Taking a seat at the desk, he picked up one of his favorite knives and examined it closely.

"Richard, this isn't your space to be messing around in. I'm not quite sure what you want to accomplish but what you're doing won't work." A low, unamused chuckle met Jovani's word.

Richard shouldn't have found it so surprising that the Vedova Nera boss still refused to take him serious. Why should he? Jovani didn't know how much changed since the last time they talked.

Bitter determination could bring out the best in people at times. At least those that it didn't consume.

"Jovi." Richard reverted to calling the other a pet nickname the Vedova Nera hadn't heard in years.

"You're free to believe what you want. You should know though that playing with fire can be very dangerous at times. A lot has changed since the last time the two of us met. What you think you still know likely isn't what it used to be anymore." Richard paused so that the other could take in his words. He leaned back in the chair and observed everyone who came and left the cafeteria. He couldn't see anyone interesting enough to catch his attention.

"If your answer is going to remain the same, I won't bother you again. Keep in mind however that whatever takes place, the end result will be based on your decision and you won't have anyone to blame but yourself." Richard waited until it sounded as though Jovani was going to reply before he ended the call.

The other mafioso would have to work for it now if he wanted Richard to pause his plans. He'd been more than generous with Jovani despite not owing the other. The kindness gas run out now and all that remained was Richard's burning desire to get to the bottom of the whole situation.

"Excuse me dear nurse, could you tell me if Ms. Lena Scarlet is still with her family?" Richard grabbed the first nurse he spotted after picking up his lunch tray.

"I'm a family friend and would very much like to have a word with her and know what's going on with her family." Richard could tell right away the warm smile he offered the nurse flustered her. Her cheeks turned beet red and she fumbled for a second to give him a proper reply.

"I'm sorry, you would have to ask at the main counter to get a response to that question. That floor is assigned to someone else." Right, hospitals worked that.

"Thank you for time dear, I'll go seek out the front desk then." He offered her another warm smile before departing with his food tray in what he believed to be the right direction.

How long would it take before he'd hear from Jovani again? Out of generosity, Richard would give it three days before his phone would start ringing again.

Jovani would've hurled the phone across the room in his current piss poor mood if the device wasn't so important. What was taking Emily so damn long to come back? Jovani's body felt like he was about to burst into flames at any moment. His head hit the desk with a resounding thud. The vibrations unsettled the messy stacks of papers atop the desk shifting them to fill the remaining few uncovered spaces.

Jovani sorely hoped the cool surface would help him to think better as he waited for Emily. In no world would he be so quick to give into whatever Richard wanted from him. The Vedova Nera would sooner risk all his dirty secrets than give into the other. Jovi. Jovani's face twisted into a scowl as the nickname went through his head. How dare Richard think he held any right to use that name.

"I didn't think I'd been gone for that long but it seems like you deteriorated more than I expected you would." Emily hesitated in the door way of the office upon noticing the other's expression. It didn't feel like the right time to be coming back and engaging the other.

"You took far too long to come back and you know it. I don't care how much you brought, hand it over already before my head decides to split open." Jovani didn't even attempt to raise his head as he patted the space on the desk he expected her to put the bounty down on. Five more minutes and he would've given in to indulging in the liquor cabinet even if Eve followed through on her threat to kick him out of the bedroom.

"Do you want to tell me why you look as though someone murdered your favorite cat." Emily cautiously approached the desk and placed the bag containing the white powder in the messy surface Jovani indicated for her to. Ugh how could the man deal with working in so much clutter."

"You're not the only headache that I'm having to deal with today. Someone else has decided this would be a fabulous time to make my life harder than necessary. I'm sure you remember Richard." A deep down etched its way across Emily's face as her features dropped at the mention of the other's name.

"Richard? Weren't we supposed to be done dealing with him a long time ago? Why in the world is he suddenly deciding to reach out to now?" Jovani made no motion to reply, too fixed on the life giving white powder in front of his face. A few minutes would be all it would take before he'd begin to feel like a million bucks again.

Jovani coughed and cleared his throat as he lifted his head. He shook his head back and forth a few times to get rid of the excess powder in his nose as he sealed the bag back up.

"He's come back to fish around for information due to unexpected rumors floating around that I didn't expect would be getting out so quickly." Far too quickly than they should've given which begged the question- who was the one responsible for letting the information get out?