GIO
"Uncle Tony!"
"Gio." He claps my back with a wide smile.
I look at the table and realize there are only two wine glasses set out. Odd. Our 'family dinners' have included Julia, at a minimum. Of course, I know that her mom can't come around now. She's been gone for nearly four years now. Almost five. It'll be five in a month.
"Is Julie joining us?"
"Juliana? No." Uncle Tony shakes his head. "She's pooped out from the party."
"Shame. I didn't see her there." I admit, taking my seat. Uncle Tony waves that away. He insists on us catching up.
He still treats me like I'm a teenager. I guess that should be expected from my father's best friend. And my father made it clear that when Anthony Giovani treats you like family, you don't second guess it. You don't question it.
Considering Uncle Tony has welcomed me into the family and the business since my father died, I'm more than willing to accept it. I want a legacy to protect. I want a family, I want all the things I haven't had.
But I glance to the side again after telling a story about how well things are going at work. I clear my throat. "I'm kind of surprised that I haven't seen Juliana there. She talked about joining in on the company and working her way up all through college."
"I know the world is changing, but the old ways have value. Juliana is lucky enough to be born into privilege. She doesn't see it. She was given a gift. She can go anywhere she wants, she can never spend too much. She can enjoy every luxury and she doesn't appreciate that."
He takes another bite. "This desire to work will pass. It always does with women. She'll move up in the ranks, figure out how much it really takes, everything that goes into it and she'll be dying to let me take over again."
Does he know his daughter at all? Or does he only see what he wants to see? I remember Juliana from school, determined and ambitious. She was ready to make the world her bitch and it was so damn inspiring, so amazing. I believed then that she would prove herself to her dad, that she'd be sitting as vice president by now.
Not that I'm truly complaining if I can finally beat her at something.
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Uncle Tony and I finish our meal and he leads me outside. "You're going to take over the business one day, Gio. You need to understand that as much as some people want certain things, it may not make the best business sense. I'll teach you what that means."
"I look forward to it."
"Needs and sense always outweigh desire. If you want to be successful, sometimes you have to bite your teeth against the things you don't want to do for the better overall."
I nod once.
"I can trust you in that matter. And I can trust you to join Juliana and me tomorrow night."
"What's tomorrow night?"
"We are going to a banquet for the heir of the Volkov empire. It would look bad if we weren't there. But you know Juliana. I can't trust her around those men. She likes to play with people."
Well, she does, but not in the way her father thinks. She doesn't hop from man to man. She uses people for information, leaves them when she gets all she can, and moves on. Ruthless, just like her parents raised her to be.
But the next night, I'm running late. Which is next to unforgivable in Uncle Tony's eyes, especially at an event like this. Traffic was a bitch. That's my excuse. But when I get out, I see someone approaching a blonde woman and her two dogs.
The man chuckles. "I think that jewelry would be enough to pay my rent for a month ... or three."
Another man is behind her. Her dog barks and attacks. It's a little thing. It gets kicked quickly. I look at the mansion, the security that is unaware, then at the girl. Fuck it. I have to do something.
I get over there and tap the other guy on the shoulder before he can go after the other dog or the girl. "That's not gentlemanly behavior."
"I'm not a gentleman." He throws a punch.
I catch it and grin. All my pent-up frustration. The weight I feel on my shoulders that my dad left there, I can finally get it out. I turn his wrist at an awful angle and kick him in the balls. Then I take on the second guy.
Or I try to. There's already a knife at his throat. The woman isn't panting. She's not begging for her life. The light above them flickers on and I see Juliana. Because of course, it's her.
She actually laughs. "Oh, sweetie, you picked the wrong woman."
"All I see is a pretty princess."
"Fuck." I breathe.
I've seen her take down frat guys for calling her that. She kicks the man's knee out. He drops his knife which leaves hers at his throat. She looks at the knife and then at her dress. "You're lucky. You're lucky that I have on a dress that costs more than whatever pathetic place you live and if I get blood on it my Daddy will beveryupset."
"Julia," I call.
He chuckles, then slices her calf. She trembles, her face paling, but she kicks him in the face. I grab him from behind and toss him into an ally. Juliana tries to go after him as her dogs' bark. The other guy is getting up, I twist Juliana behind me and punch the guy right in the face. He goes down. I stand there for a second, panting.
Juliana rips herself away from me. "I had it handled."
"Some thank you."
"You don't always have to swoop in to earn my father's approval." She gives me that haughty look while pushing her hair back into her pony. I help her and then look at her ankle. "That's not good."
"I've had worse." She dusts herself off and picks up her dog. She gently touches his side and kisses his nose. "You did a good job, Charlie."
I stare at her for a while. We haven't really seen each other since her mom died. There were a few dinners. I should have recognized the dog right away, but I didn't. I'd always been caught by Juliana's eyes. The way she kept them down at dinner. How she kept herself in check, choking her thoughts and feelings. It was like she was afraid.
"What are you even doing here?" She huffs.
"I thought I was playing hero."
She laughs and shakes her head, but loops my arm without giving me a second glance. "Just like when we were kids? Am I supposed to be the villain?"
I shake my head and she swallows. "Don't tell .."
But we see him at the same time. Her father, standing there watching us. She swallows.
"You saved me, Gio. You're the knight. Congratulations."
I'm about to say something, but her father comes over.
"You saved my princess."
I think Juliana actually flinches at the name, but she pulls herself away from me. "He sure did. Charlie thanks you."
But she doesn't. She's making that plenty clear. A large guy with arms the size of thighs appears next to her father, but he doesn't look at me and he doesn't look at Uncle Tony, he only looks at Juliana. Does he know that looking at her will get him killed?
"Konstantin." She greets.
"Go with him. Inside. Now." Her father orders.
Juliana looks at him and for half a second, I want her to fight. I want her to stand up to him, but I know Juliana. I know her better than she's ever wanted me to know her. Those nights in college, watching her. Growing up together. Seeing more than the put-together woman that stands right here.
"Yes, Daddy."
"And I told you – Itoldyou, Juliana, you can't trust people."
"That's why you do the trusting, Daddy." She agrees.
He kisses her cheek. I see her squirm a little, but she nods her head. She walks inside without looking back, without looking at me. Without looking at Konstantin. She doesn't want anything to do with a man her father has picked. I'm sure of it.
I can still remember her telling me that when I walked her home from the library one night. She'd looked at me, looked at our hands almost touching, and laughed. I'd wondered why. I wondered what could make her laugh. She'd met my eyes.
"You're gorgeous Gio. You're my best friend."
"So why are you laughing?"
"Because people are going to assume that we're going to end up together." She shrugs.
"Would that be the worst thing in the world?" I'd been crushing on her. Addicted to the little bit of danger, addicted to the way she lived her life – like there was no tomorrow.
"Gio, my dad would love us being together. I think he's hoping for it. Even Mom would love it." She'd taken my hands and kissed my cheek. "But this is my life. And I won't be with someone my Dad controls."
It hadn't come up again. A few months later, her mother died and Juliana had finished her degree online. And then it had been months before I'd seen her again. Now we've had one moment together and her dad is right back in the picture.
"I like you, Gio."
"I'd hope so, Uncle Tony."
He pats my shoulder. "So I'm going to give you a very special task. Juliana is not the kind of woman who knows what's good for her. She needs all the protection she can get and I know that there's no risk with you."
I don't really stop to process what that means.
"I know that she needs round-the-clock watching and that if I leave one man alone with her for too long, she'll manipulate it." Uncle Tony says. "But if something was going to happen between you and Juliana, it already would have. Stay close to her."
"Uncle Tony, I don't-"
"Not so close it will raise eyebrows, but close enough to protect her, just like tonight. Can you do that?"
His intense dark eyes scrutinize me. I nod once. I know there's no other option. There's only a yes. So I agree, walk into the party and sit next to Juliana. Her security sits there as well, not looking at her when anyone can see. But I see his eyes flick to hers and hers to him.
Trouble is already brewing and I'm supposed to control this? Juliana's eyes flick between us and she takes a long drink of bourbon. "Remember the rule, Gio."
"Impossible to forget, Julia."
She pauses with her drink and sets it down before looking at me. "Juliana. Not Julia. That goes for you and Konstantin."
He looks over at her.
"So I am memorable."
"Would have been more memorable if you would have told me your name." She finishes her drink and looks around.
Her eyes flick to Hunter Volkov as he stands with a brunette, obviously flirting.
Something wicked is in her eyes. I shake my head. "Don't even try, Juliana."
"Oh, I read plenty of tabloids. Don't you know that he and his brother are spoken for?" She asks. "I might want to talk to her though. She could be interesting."
"Nothing interesting tonight," I say sharply. "Not until your blood dries."
Juliana laughs once, then drowns the sound with alcohol. "If life isn't interesting, what's the point of living." A slow smile teases her lips. "I'll go easy on you two ... for tonight."
Great. Not only do I have to keep Konstantin focused, but I also have to keep Juliana in line, or else it's more than my job on the line. I glance at Uncle Tony and don't see a trace of friendliness.
"You never change." I sigh.