CHAPTER TWO
MELO
"You got blood on your wrist." My second in command, Marco says.
I look down at my wrist and sure enough, there's blood on it. I turn back and kick the dead body on the floor. Of course, even in death he found a way to annoy me.
"Maybe you should change into a new suit before you meet the brides." He says.
I look from the body to him with my eyebrows raised.
"Weren't you just telling me that they've been waiting for 40 minutes?"
"They have but I reckon, being late will be better than showing up covered in blood."
"If they're here, Marco, a bloody shirt is the least of their problems."
If they're here, they're bound to see a lot of blood when we marry. If we marry. Marriage sucked the first time, doing it again is not something I want to do but I understand that it is necessary, so I'm doing it.
"How many women am I supposed to see?"
"Twenty of them came."
I scrunch up my face in disgust. Twenty parents sent their daughters here, knowing my reputation. I'm not surprised, I'm just disgusted.
"Which ones do you like?" I ask.
I start walking to the car and he follows.
"I don't have an opinion on any of them." He says.
I scoff. "Liar. Go on, tell me."
I like Marco. He has a good head on his shoulder and he is a brave and loyal soldier. But like everyone else, he's afraid of me. They all think I'm crazy. I've done some things that fueled the rumors but most of them are just lies told by drunk men.
"I think some of them do not have the stomach to be your wife."
The driver opens the door and we both get in. I pick up my iPad and hand it to him.
"Delete the profiles of everyone you think doesn't have the stomach for it."
He takes it and gets straight to business. I wont waste my time with those ones.
"While you're at it, give me your top three." I say.
He looks up sharply.
"Capo, I couldn't possibly choose your wife for you."
"Relax, I'm not asking you to have sex with them. Based on their looks and what you know about them and their family, pick three you think would make good wives."
"That's it? You don't have any other specifications? Have you even looked at this list?"
"No, I have not."
He wants to say more but he swallows his words. We sit in silence as the driver drives us to my mansion where the ladies are waiting to be picked. Nobody understands that this is torture for me and they never will. If these people smell even the tiniest hint of weakness, they will strike.
"These are my top three." Marco finally says.
I take the tablet from him and look at the profiles of the girls. They're beautiful but like I expected, there's nothing special about them.
"Okay, they're out."
"What? I don't understand boss."
I ignore him. "Let me see your bottom three."
He wants to say something, I know he does but he's too afraid to say anything. This fear people have of me allows me to rule without people getting funny ideas about mutiny but at times like this when I'm trying to have a conversation with the only person I can actually tolerate here, it's annoying.
He takes the iPad and clicks on a few things before handing them back to me. I look at the profiles and I smile. Three women with fire in their eyes. These ones look like they have backbones and won't break into tears with one wrong look.
"Why are they your bottom three and the others are top?" I ask.
"Connie's mouth runs faster than her brain, Angel is trigger happy and Isabella's father is a traitor."
"Is? He's still alive?"
He looks sorry and bends his head. "I couldn't kill him. I owe him a blood oath."
"I don't. Traitors do not have a place in my organization."
"He's been cut off from the business and has been ostracized."
I look at the girls again. This is going to be tricky. I have no use for a woman who talks before she thinks and one who is trigger happy could pose a problem but the worst of them all is the daughter of the traitor. I can't have her that close to me.
As the car pulls into my building, I already know the 6 women I will be avoiding. I just have to figure a way to pick one out of the remaining 14 girls.
The great room quiets down as I enter. Heads turn and whispers cease. The girls stand straight and flash their brightest smiles at me. I scan the room and nod at some of the parents who came with them, notable members of my organization.
The lights dim as I walk into the room inside the great hall. This is where I'll be receiving the girls and deciding if I want them or not in five minutes. I feel intense eyes trained on me and when I turn towards the pull, I find girl number 6, Isabella. Her eyes aren't looking at my face or body, they are trained to my cuffs where that pricks blood stained my shirt. She looks fascinated by the sight and doesn't notice that I have stopped walking and now watching her. A girl next to her nudges her not so gently and she looks up.
The pictures don't do her any justice at all. She is stunning. Her eyes are beautiful amber orbs that draw me in and her lips, they're are stuff dreams are made of. Too bad she's a traitor’s daughter.
She demurely looks down and moves back into the crowd. I enter into the office and pour myself a generous glass of whiskey. It's going to be a long day.