His Prize

Dominic looked over the file in front of him while the girl in his lap tried to distract him. 

Her whiny voice finally broke through his concentration. Frowning, he looked up at her. “Nic, when are we going to get married? You know Daddy wants you to settle down, and I am the perfect female for you to marry. I know this world and what’s expected of an Underboss’s wife. I can host parties and plan down to the last detail. In short, I’m perfect for you.”

Dominic frowned. Was that what the Capo had been hinting at? For him to marry his daughter? He always treated her like she was a niece or little sister. The thought of bedding her turned him cold. Pushing her out of his lap, he reached for his cell phone and called her dad, his Capo, boss, and best friend.

When Don Mignetti answered his phone, Dominic placed the phone on speaker. “Sir, I have a question that I would like to ask.”

“Go ahead, Dom. We’ve been friends for a long time, and you know that you can ask me anything,” came the reply.

“Carlos, your daughter seems to think you want us to marry. Is that right, sir?” Dominic held his breath while he waited for the answer.

“Good god no! You are a terrible match. While I would like to see both of you married and settled with a family of your own, I am also wise enough to understand that you don’t see Victoria in that light. Part of me is thankful for that. Part of me is a bit sorry. No, I have plans for her. Victoria is going to marry someone else. I am already in talks with another family.”

Dominic breathed a deep sigh of relief when he heard this. However, his companion was beginning to whine. “Daddy! I want to marry Dom. I won’t marry anyone else!” Victoria cried, wailing.

“That is enough! I have indulged this little fantasy of yours for long enough. Dominic is not the man for you. You are my daughter, and you will marry who I pick for you. Dominic is too old for you!” His friend took a deep breath to steady himself and continued, “Dominic, my apologies, my friend. I want a young man to marry my daughter. While I know that you will be firm-handed with her, you will indulge her like I have. She does not need a Daddy. She needs a husband. I have sent my driver to go and pick her up and bring her home. Please make sure that she gets in the car.”

Dominic understood what his friend was saying and agreed wholeheartedly. Looking over at Victoria, he replied to his friend, “Carlos, I thank you for the consideration. Frankly, I was unsure if I could marry her. After all, she is like a niece or little sister and honestly don’t think that I could, that I ....”

Hearing Carlos chuckle, Dominic knew his friend understood. “My driver should be there soon. After you finish reading the file that I sent you, let me know what you think.”

“Yes, sir.” Dominic ended the call and walked Victoria to the front door. Her father’s car was just pulling up. She was struggling to get loose from him, but he had a firm grip on her arm, not letting her get away. About the time the front door was opened by his housekeeper, Mrs. Henderson, Victoria started to wail and cry and throw a tantrum fit for any toddler or tween that did not get her way. Gritting his teeth, Dominic jerked her around to face him. Thinking that she had won and was going to be kissed, she looked up at him and smirked.

“I hope whoever the poor man is that your father picks for you to marry is strong. He will need to put up with a brat like you. I hope he turns you over his knee and spanks you when you need it. I am ashamed of you, Victoria. Until today, I had thought you were above such behavior. You showed me today that you were no better, if not worse, than some of the other women out there. When you have grown up and gained some maturity, you might understand that adults, real adults, do not throw tantrums to get their way. If you were my daughter, I would have turned you over my knee and made sure that by the time I was finished, your bottom would have been too sore for you to sit on.”

Dominic was angry and most likely shouldn’t have said those things to her, but he had no tolerance for that type of behavior. In his world, women understood the way things worked, and Victoria was no exception. Still holding her arm in a firm grip, he walked her out to the car and made sure she got in and was properly strapped in, before patting the top of the car in a signal for the driver to pull off. All the while, Victoria had sat in sullen silence.

As he watched the car pull away from his home, he turned to go back inside and return to his office. Mrs. Henderson stopped him in the foyer. “Sir, Ms. Silvercrest called and asked if you would like her to join you for the evening. Also, your dinner is ready. Would you like me to bring it to you in your office?”

“I don’t know what I would do without you. You are the best, Mrs. Henderson.” Bending down, he kissed the diminutive elderly Irish woman on the cheek, causing her to giggle. “Yes, bring my dinner to my office, and I will call Sophia and tell her that I do not need company tonight. After witnessing a full-blown tantrum, I don’t think I want any female company tonight. Present company excluded, of course.” He said with a grin.

“Of course. Very well, sir. I shall bring you your dinner shortly. I will also send you a bottle of the Irish, as well. A wee drop is good for you now and then.” With that being said, she didn’t wait for a reply and turned to take care of things in the kitchen.

Dominic grinned as it occurred to him that any woman he brought home as a prospective wife would have to pass Mrs. Henderson. If she didn’t like her, then they could not get married. Turning, he returned to his office and shortly after, Mrs. Henderson came in with a tray of food and just as she had said, there was a large glass of Irish whisky on the tray for him, as well as a small pot of strong Italian coffee.

“Thank you, Mrs. Henderson. Please retire for the night. I will place my dishes in the dishwasher and turn it on before going to bed.” This was an ongoing arrangement for them, and while some might find it strange, it worked for them.

“Thank you, sir. I will see you in the morning, then.” Then, catching sight of the photo in the file, she commented, “Lovely girl. I knew her mother. Sweet tempered and polite.” As if realizing that she might have overstepped, she nodded and bid him goodnight again and left the room.

Before picking up the file and studying it, he called the woman that his housekeeper said was looking for company tonight.

“Hello, Sophia. No, I don’t think tonight is going to be okay. I think it’s time for both of us to move on. No, of course not, I just need to begin searching for a girl to marry. I need an heir, and you have plainly stated that you are not interested in marriage or having children. ” Dominic was silent for a minute while he listened to her say something. “No, Sophia. I will not keep you as a mistress and have ‘fun’ with you on the side. When I marry, I plan to be a one-woman man. Yes, monogamous. Goodbye, Sophia.”

Dominic disconnected the call, deleted Sofia’s contact, and began studying the file that Carlos had sent him.

Subject: Michael Evers

Action to be taken: Foreclose on all assets and collect monies on the debt. Auction of aforementioned assets.

Evers had taken a sizeable loan from one of their banks and made several bad business deals, leaving his finances dwindling. The man’s wife had passed away several years ago, leaving him to raise their young daughter by himself. Surprisingly, the young woman turned out to be a good girl. She was in college now, studying for her degree in Business, with a specialty in transportation, logistics, and distribution. Dominic continued to read the file while eating his dinner. When he had finished, he grabbed the glass of whisky as a plan formed in his mind. It was devious, but it would get him a good wife. A strong wife kept in the lifestyle that she was used to. Picking up the phone, he called his best guy and told him to find everything he could about her, right down to her last dental exam.

He had to know everything about her as he contemplated his next move. Staring at the picture of her smiling and looking up at the camera, Dominic felt himself stir. She would be his wife. His only wife. The pull he felt just looking at her photo was strong. He could only imagine what it would feel like to be in her presence. Having done everything he could, he shut down his computer and turned off the lights in his office, and carried his tray to the kitchen. Where, true to his word, he scraped his dishes out and loaded them in the dishwasher and turned it on. Turning to leave the kitchen, he envisioned mornings in here with the girl in the photo, and it was filled with laughter and talk full of love from them and their children.

Shaking his head at his wildly over-imaginative thoughts, he turned out the lights and went upstairs to his room, where he showered and climbed into bed. That night, he dreamed of things that he had not dreamed about in years. The gunshots, the screams, the blood. His father and mother were murdered by the now extinct Gambosie family.

Waking up in a cold sweat, he looked at his phone and realized that his guy had sent him an email about Ever’s daughter. Deciding to read it while he ate breakfast, he put his phone down and showered away the sweat and remaining terror leftover from the dream. Getting dressed in a suit and tie, he grabbed his phone off the charger on his bedside table and went downstairs.

When he entered the dining room, the sideboard had been loaded with food. Walking over to it, he loaded his plate with various foods before sitting at the head of the table and pouring his coffee. As he ate, he opened his phone and read the file that his guy, Pietro, sent him about Michael Evers and his daughter, Seraphina.

Seraphina was attending university in Tennessee at UT Knoxville. She belonged to no sorority and even worked to pay for what her scholarship didn’t cover. She worked in a high-end restaurant several weeknights, and from what Pietro said, she had quite a following of customers who requested her as their server. It seemed that during school holidays, she didn’t go home; she worked as a bartender and was even in high demand there, as well.

Dominic sat back with a smile on his face while he looked over the report and her photo. He had not expected the girl to be so beautiful. Her hair was the color of the finest Italian gold. A rich, dark blonde highlighted with streaks of a lighter blonde. Her face had the delicate features of her Asian heritage. Even her eyes were almond-shaped, and her skin had a golden hue rather than an olive tone.

Dominic again felt the stirring in his lower body while looking at Seraphina’s image. He decided that he had made the right choice. She would be his bride. Having made up his mind, he called his boss.

After the rather eye-opening call, the Capo gave him the leeway to do what he needed to do. He made a few more calls to make the arrangements, then went to his office to clear his desk of work to free himself up to travel from New York to Knoxville.

Knoxville in May was miserably hot. Even sticky. Dominic quickly shed his suit coat and tie upon getting off his private jet. How did someone come to tolerate this awful humidity?

“Sir, I have the car ready. We’ll go to the hotel and check in, then we can go to the bar where she is bartending this evening.” Pietro said as he ushered his boss to the waiting car. The drive to their hotel was relatively fast if you take into account that they were used to New York City traffic.

A few hours later, the two men walked into the bar where Seraphina was bartending. Both men were tall and powerful. One was more heavily muscled than the other. The taller of the two drew the eye of almost every female there. The other man could not be considered handsome. His face was too rugged. As if he had been in too many fights. But their size, as well as their looks, drew attention.

As they entered, they had to shoulder their way to the bar to order drinks. When they walked up, the reason for their visit acknowledged them with a smile and held up a finger. She finished fixing the drinks that she was making and turned back to them.

“Let me guess. A dark beer, possibly Guinness, and a scotch on the rocks?” She said with a grin and a raised brow.

Both men were momentarily stunned and just nodded. She quickly made their order and went to the next customer. The men were somewhat stupefied.

They realized that this girl, this young woman, was in her element, and they understood why she was so popular with the clientele. They watched for several hours, nursing only two drinks apiece while she fielded flirting, complaints, handsy men, and women, and she kept her smile in place the entire time. They watched her tip jar get some heavy hits as the night wore on. They even watched as several couples dropped in fifty and hundred-dollar bills. She kept smiling and just kept serving drinks.

When the last call went out, they paid their bill and left. Sitting outside in a blacked out SUV, Dominic watched the chairs go up on the table, the open sign was turned off, the floor was swept and mopped, trash taken out and finally the cash drawer closed and taken to the office. About thirty minutes later, Seraphina came out and locked up. Dom watched as one of the female servers stayed with her, with her hand constantly on her back pocket. He knew that sign. It was someone palming a piece. Leaning in closer, he heard their conversation.

“What are you doing tomorrow? Got any plans?” The girl asked, her brown curls swaying gently as she looked around and watched. She spotted their SUV and stiffened. Shit! They had been made.

“Nope. I’m exhausted. I have school in two days and finals coming up. I’m going to sleep in, get up, order a couple of pizzas, and study. Then, I’m going to soak and get to bed. I have three tests on Monday and my exit exam on Tuesday.” Dom and Pietro watched as Seraphina leaned her head against her girlfriend’s shoulder for a minute. “I’m so glad it’s over, Izzy. With dad never supporting me or offering to help pay my way through school, it seems as if all I’ve ever done is work and attend school. Taking care of me is exhausting, and I am so ready to be done.”

They watched the tall African-American girl wrap her arms around her friend for a moment, then hold her at arm’s length. “Come on. I’ll buy you breakfast before we head home.”

Pietro waited for them to leave before speaking. “Dom, did you notice that chick palming a piece in her back pocket?”

“I did. Someone is watching out for her. Follow them at a safe distance, and then we’ll follow Seraphina home, before calling it a night.”