That night I didn’t even notice that Dante crawled into bed, but his side was crumpled, so he must have slept in there. I spent a few more minutes in bed, feeling somewhat lighter now that I had broken down a barrier between Dante and me, but I wasn’t fooling myself into believing that sex would radically change our relationship. I didn’t think Dante would suddenly act like the loving, caring husband I had longed for when I was younger. It was strange. Although Antonio had never been able to give me what I needed physically, he had been my friend and confidant. We had spent time together when he was not busy, and I had never felt too alone in our marriage. I had a feeling that the same would not be true in my second marriage. Even if Dante fulfilled my sexual needs now, it would take time before we became partners.
After showering and putting on my favorite plum-colored pencil skirt and a white blouse, I headed to one of the rooms that now housed some of my moving boxes that I had not yet unpacked.
It took me a few minutes of rummaging before I found what I was looking for, a wooden crate where I kept some of Antonio’s things. Inside were our wedding rings, which I had never cared much about. The most important thing in the case was a thin photo album that contained mostly photos from the time before Antonio and I were married. Back then we were just friends without the added burden of having to pretend to be more.
Antonio looked nothing like Dante. He had dark hair and dark eyes and was not very tall. He had never wanted me to wear heels, so I was no taller than he was. But appearance was not the biggest difference between my first and second husbands;
that was their aura. Where Antonio had been open and friendly, someone people perceived as a nice though ordinary kind of friend, Dante exuded power and coldness. No one would mistake him for a follower. If Dante had not been born in our world he would probably be governor or senator. He would have done well in that world.
But as with all of us, our birth determined our fate. We were all connected to the Mafia. I looked down at a picture of Antonio and me on horseback. It had been a first for me. We both looked young and happy, hopeful. Antonio then had not been inducted into the mob; he still thought he could find a way out of his duty. I put the wooden case back before I could dive deeper into sad memories. I straightened up, took a deep breath, and left the guest room. There was no turning back, but it wasn’t always easy to move forward, especially if you didn’t know which way to go. But I needed something to give meaning and structure to my life, something I could put my energy into until Dante let me into his life. I missed having a purpose, a daily task. I was not the kind of guy who could stay home all day, or spend time going through the ‘latest piece of juicy gossip. I wanted a job, but even during my time with Antony, people found it strange that he would allow his wife to work. I feared it would be a scandal that Dante was unwilling to risk. My steps slowed as I made my way to the door he was hiding behind most of the time. I wasn’t just nervous because I wanted to ask Dante for a job. What if things between us had become awkward and tense now that we had slept together? Although I wasn’t really sure how our relationship could collapse further. We were already barely civil to each other. Aside from throwing plates at each other’s heads and fighting constantly, there was really no way our interactions could change for the worse. And to be honest, I wasn’t even sure I preferred heated arguments to the cold ignorance I was experiencing now. Steeling my courage, I knocked on his door.
“Come in,” Dante shouted after a moment. I entered his office. My eyes immediately ran to the spot on the desk where his first wife’s picture was, but he had removed it. I didn’t think he had thrown it away. It was probably hidden in one of the desk drawers, and I did not expect him to forget her, to throw away every piece that reminded him of her, to banish her memory from his heart; I just wished he would have left me a little place in his heart . Dante looked up from a stack of papers.
“What do you need?” He did not say it in a hostile way, but it was obvious that he was busy. His behavior toward me had not changed at all, despite what we had done yesterday. As my eyes watched his dark gray vest, my body remembered the way he had rubbed against my nipples yesterday and I almost crossed the room and threw myself at Dante again. But I didn’t want to look too needy. Our next sex would have to be initiated by Dante. Sure, maybe he would go back to not touching me again. I banished that troubling thought as I closed the door behind me and approached the desk.
“I have something I would like to discuss with you.”
Dante scrutinized my face.
“Go ahead.”
“I want to work. When I was married to Antonio, I also helped him run the family restaurants.”
They were always just a way to launder money, but I liked the task. I had welcomed guests and made arrangements when someone had booked a wedding at our restaurants. After his death, his younger brother had taken over. A woman alone would not be able to handle the task. That’s what our men thought anyway. Dante leaned against the back of the desk chair frowning. “Job? What did you have in mind?” I was glad he was open to the idea and did not immediately dismiss it. Encouraged by this, I walked around the desk and settled on the edge. Dante’s eyes ran to my legs but too quickly returned to my face. “I’m good at organizing and planning events. I’m also very good with people.” I was also good at leading people, but I kept that to myself. Made Men did not like women who liked to lead . Somehow most of them could not get it into their heads that a strong woman by their side did not make them less of a man.
Dante nodded.
“I need someone for one of our casinos.” I tried to restrain my excitement. I didn’t even know yet what Dante had in mind for me. “River battle or subway?” Land-based casinos were obviously not official. It was still illegal to run a casino in Chicago that was not located on a riverboat, but the mob and Dante in particular were working to change that. He could be very persuasive, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt that some senators were regulars at Outfit casinos and brothels. Not that legalization would mean that the Outfit would make its secret casinos public. They would lose too much money if they did . “Underground. I don’t want you in the public eye.” It made sense. People knew I was Dante’s wife. It would attract too much attention if I worked in one of the Riverboat casinos. “I know something about gambling and I’m sure I can learn everything I need to know very quickly.” Actually the only knowledge I had about gambling was the rules of Texas Hold’em that Antonio had taught me, but Dante didn’t need to know that. There was a twinkle of understanding in Dante’s eyes. “The only thing you need to know about gambling is that the house always wins.” I raised my eyebrows.
“Really.
What kind of job do you have in mind that requires almost no knowledge of how a casino works?” I assumed Dante would not allow his wife to be one of the girls behind the counter encouraging men to drink more. “I want you to run one of the smaller casinos in the Outfit. The man who has been in charge for the last three years was fired yesterday.” Was this what Dante had done after sleeping with me? For a few moments, Dante and I stared at each other as if we were thinking the same thing, but it was not the time to talk about sex. “Fired?” I echoed his words, which I was pretty sure were a euphemism for something else , since it was hard to get fired from a position in the crowd. If you made a mistake in a mob affair, it was unlikely that you would get a position anywhere else, unless you were someone’s son, nephew, etc. And if you weren’t… Dante looked at me carefully as he uttered his next words. “I found out that he filled his pockets with Outfit money.” “So you killed him,” I finished for him. I knew how things worked in our world. Maybe I had never been allowed to be in the middle of it, but I heard the stories. Dante nodded, “I did. And if you want you can have his job.
“I’ve never run a casino before. Why are you giving me such an important assignment?” “The assistant manager can do the main work in the background. I need someone to make the big gamblers feel welcome. I stiffened. Of course Dante noticed. “I think you misunderstood me.” He stood up and stood in front of me. He rested his hands lightly on my thighs, making my skin tingle even through my pantyhose. “You are mine, Valentina.” I had to hold back a smile at the possessiveness in his voice.
“So what exactly am I supposed to do?” He removed his hands and walked to the window, his hands in his pockets. “I want you to welcome the big gamblers. Show them to their table. Introduce them to our free girls. “Free girls, really?” Dante turned around. “Gambling and prostitution are our main activities and both can be easily combined.” “All right. I can do that.” Although the word “complimentary girls” made me want to tear my hair out. “It doesn’t sound like much, though.”
“You also organize special events. We hold event nights once a month, and I think a feminine touch might make them more attractive. You also make sure everything goes smoothly. I want you to be my eyes. I feel like I haven’t weeded out all the rotten fruit yet. “You want me to spy on your employees.”
“YES. I want you to keep your eyes open.” “Is it because you think they will be less careful with me or because you have no one else you trust for this task?”
“I have enough men I trust. But you are right, I think many men will underestimate you and be less vigilant around you.” He leaned against the window sill.
“I don’t trust anyone unconditionally.”
“Not even me?” He said it in a mocking voice, but Dante’s eyes grew cold.
“You gave me no reason to. You lied to me about your marriage to Antony and refuse to give me the name of an outsider who might be privy to compromising information about the Organization.” The way he expressed it made me sound like a known liar.
“I did not lie to you about marriage. I told you I was never with Antonio.
“Yes, you did, but I suspect it was a truth you gave up only because you were afraid I would find out sooner or later.” Of course he hit the nail on the head. I couldn’t deny it. He would have known I had lied, and that really wouldn’t have helped my situation.
“Does it matter why I decided to tell you the truth?”
“It matters a lot, Valentina. Because I don’t know if you will be so forthcoming with future truths if you don’t feel cornered. If I considered any truth imposed by force redeeming, I would have to spare every traitor who reveals his knowledge under duress.
Under duress, what a mild word for what the Organization has done to traitors.
“I know what you do to traitors, and that is precisely why I will not tell you the name of Antony’s lover.”
“You realize that by helping Antony in his deception you have become his accomplice and thus a traitor to the Organization, and that you continue to betray me and the Organization by withholding information.” I got up from the desk, unable to sit still much longer. “I know. But no matter what you think of me, I am loyal to those I care about. I was loyal to Antony. If he were still alive, I would have taken his secret with me to the grave to protect him . Dante shook his head.
“This is something you cannot say for sure. You have never suffered excruciating pain. Torture is a powerful motivator.”
“I guess we’ll never know unless you intend to test the theory on me and try to extort the name of Antony’s lover, ” I said insolently. Dante fixed me with a hard stare.
“Because you are my wife and because you are a woman, you are safe. You know that very well.” Because I was his wife, not because he liked me or even cared for me.
“I know,” I said, then, because I could not bear the tension between us, I added.
“If I had a secret to hide, I would keep it for you. I would try to face torture, pain and death to hide it from you. Dante said nothing, did not even bridge the distance between us, just looked at me with his unreadable eyes. I decided to leave before I said anything sentimental, or before Dante could send me out. Dante did not stop me, but I could feel his eyes on my back.