Ezra's POV:
The heavy oak door of the VIP room, reinforced steel beneath its veneer, muffled the bass thrumming from the club below. Inside, the air was a heady mix of expensive brandy, the rich aroma of Cuban cigars Lorenzo favored, and the low, guttural murmur of men engaged in serious, high-stakes negotiation.
The air in the VIP room was thick with the expensive aroma of aged whiskey and the low rumble of men conducting serious business. My father, Lorenzo, sat at the head of the massive mahogany table, his presence commanding even in his advancing years. Our associates from Palermo, the Moretti brothers, flanked his sides, their eyes sharp and assessing, missing nothing. Tonight was crucial; solidifying this alliance would shift the balance of power for the years to come.
I watched the proceedings, interjecting with carefully chosen words, ensuring everything flowed smoothly. But a persistent, unwelcome distraction kept snagging my focus, a discordant note in the symphony of power. Davina.
She moved through the room like a shadow, a silent, almost ethereal presence in that short black dress. The cheap fabric clung to her in a way that… irritated me beyond reason. It was too revealing, too… inviting. And the way their eyes followed her. Every single one of them. Marco Moretti, his gaze lingering a fraction too long on the curve of her spine as she bent to refill his brandy snifter. Silvio, his lips curling into a suggestive smirk.
It wasn’t just their eyes. It was the snippets of their conversations, fragments I couldn’t help but overhear. "Bella ragazza," Marco had murmured to Silvio in rapid Italian, his gaze lascivious as she gracefully navigated around the table. Silvio had been bolder, implying a different kind of "service" for the night, his dark eyes locking on her with a possessive hunger that made a knot of something unfamiliar, something akin to raw, possessive jealousy, tighten in my chest.
"Your establishment employs… striking staff, Ezra," Marco had commented, his gaze lingering on Davina as she retreated to the sideboard. "A welcome... distraction from business."

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