Twenty

                                    

                                          
Vincent Moretti
One look at her in that dress and I felt fucking stuck for air. The second I saw her heat rushed straight to my groin and I battled with each time I looked at her that night. Went to that fucking event with a goddamn hard-on. Something is off with my head. Since that night with her in the kitchen, it's almost as if I can't keep her off my mind. I can see her red lips everytime I shut my eyes. The first time in my life a woman has given me a hard-on and I can't do a damn thing about it. I can feel it when she's near me, wherever she's standing there's a pull towards her. I don't know what it is but it's becoming annoying. I don't have time for an infatuation.
Development is already underway for Elvar Street, and Patel has outlined all the specifics for our new project. This hotel is going to be one of my greatest, and it's like a spark of luck has hit Moretti group. Since Elena and I married, three of my largest shareholders want to be part of the new hotel. More land has been offered to me in Spain, Paris and a few other places. I've never believed in luck when it came to business, but certain things can't really be explained, especially when it comes to hotel chains. You never know what could happen. 
After seeing Patel and discussing the new plans, he offered for us to go to a bar and celebrate. We broke ground today, and from now it's only going to get better. 
"I can't believe this is all happening," he says, and the bartender brings over two glasses of whiskey. "I want Marriott, Patel. I want to put out an offer with Katerina. Together, both of us could buy him out." I say, and he looks like he's thinking. "running the numbers, Vin, and you know you could buy him out on your own. Twice if you wanted to. Why not just do that and become majority shareholder?" he asks. I shake my head. "Katerina and I have a deal. She wants Marriott out, but she wants to do it in a way where she can get the shares but not be majority. This way, we split it. She's smart. She doesn't want to run that chain, she just wants to have it." I tell him. I don't know why, but I've always had the feeling that Patel has just been looking to expand his business. I admire his resilience, but it's a little suspicious on how agreeable he is to everything, and how he's always looking for a way to make the most profit. Perhaps I'm reading into it. "she is very smart, that Mrs Kingston. I think you should take it slowly with Marriott. We just broke ground today, I have a good feeling." he says, and I smile. "yeah, I've been having some good feelings about business too." I admit, and my hand tightens around my glass. 
"you know, Vin, Elena was always my lucky charm. Her mother is superstitious about it, but when Elena was young I'd sneak her into casinos and ask her to give me numbers. I never lost once when she was around." he says, with a bright smile. "a lot has changed since we got married." I say, and throw the whiskey into my mouth. I couldn't really stand her, and to be honest the jury's still out but I'd say I've grown somewhat comfortable around her, which is not something I enjoy. "hm, how is she doing?" he asks, and I try my best not to snarl like I did with my father. I guess I don't really feel that way about her anymore. "she's fine. She got a job, too. We went to the Pollum event last night, recruited by a big brand." I say, and his smile gets wider. I'm never around smiling people, this is unusual. 
"that's incredible. I hope you're okay with it, Vin, it might be a bit different for you." he says, and I look away for a second. "she's excited and happy about it. That's all I really care about. I've already arranged a personal security detail for her and spoken to the man who hired her to lay out some rules." I say, and he nods. 
One look at him and I can see the tension on his face, almost like he's wondering why I'm going to such lengths to protect her. She was assigned a guard in India too, she told me that, so it shouldn't be a surprise that I'm looking out for her safety. I spoke to Caine this morning, telling him that he's her driver and her guard, and his job is to do whatever she says. I also had Karl whatever removed from his meeting to discuss her contract and protect her legally unless they want to go against Wayne Riveros, the man who argued a case at Supreme Court. No one wins against Wayne, and Elena is fully protected by him as well. No one can really afford him, either. He owns three Aston Martin's. After dealing with all these things for Elena I felt far more comfortable, like an anvil was lifted off my chest.