Mrs. Greene had breakfast set up in the sunroom on the small table in the corner. She clearly hadn’t expected me to join Rosalia and my presence sent her scurrying back to the kitchen for a second plate. I took my place at the head of the oval table and Rosalia sat next to me, reaching for coffee immediately. She still had her book in her hand and she flipped it open and began reading.
“That’s a bit rude,” I said.
She glanced at me. “You’re a bit rude.”
I took the book and put it out of her reach. She glared at me, her dark eyes narrowed.
“I said I wanted a pleasant breakfast,” I said.
“So earn a pleasant breakfast.”
“You are mouthy this morning.”
“I’m mouthy other times of the day too.”
“Lia, I’m going to spank your ass.”
She blushed, crossing her legs and resting her chin on her palm. “Okay, let me know what I’m allowed to do and say when dining with you, Mr. Calo. Apparently I can’t talk about last night and I can’t read books.”
I bit my tongue. Mrs. Greene appeared and filled our plates. “Mr. Esposito and Mr. Barone took Mr. Llwyd out for a tour of the city and to set him up in a hotel. Mr. Llwyd said he’d see you tomorrow and that he’s grateful that you opened your home to him.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll give him a call later.”
Mrs. Greene disappeared, taking her apron off. She would be leaving soon for the day and we’d be alone in the house together. Perhaps I should take my wife upstairs and make her pay for mouthing off multiple times already. Or, I thought as I studied her, that was exactly what she wanted.
It was already clear to me that Rosalia craved attention. She basked in it. And nothing annoyed her more than when I withheld it or she wouldn’t be testing her boundaries like this.
“I really don’t care what you do,” I said.
She scowled. “I want money.”
“Why?”
“So I can get some things for the house.”
I sat back, taking my wallet out and passed it to her. She stared down at it as if she hadn’t expected me to give her anything. Her lips parted and her jaw worked.
“There’s cash,” I said. “Take what you want.”
She opened it, her eyes wide. “How much can I have?”
I took the wallet back and counted out two thousand dollars and passed the bills to her. She gazed down at them and her throat bobbed. I put my wallet away and picked up the newspaper Mrs. Greene had laid beside my plate of steak and eggs.
“Why are you so astounded when I give you money?” I asked. “Your family has plenty of it and surely you got an allowance.”
She squirmed, setting the cash aside and taking up her mug of coffee again.
“I did, but it wasn’t enough to do more than buy my lunch and maybe a few things at the shops,” she said slowly. “If I wanted something extra I had to write out why I needed the money and give it to my stepfather.”
“That’s not totally unreasonable,” I said. “Did your brothers have to do that too?”
She shook her head. “They had their own credit cards.”
“I see.”
We were both quiet for a moment as I skimmed over the paper, not really reading it. It bothered me when she talked about how she’d been treated by her family. In fact, it made me want to go over to her stepfather’s house and make him and her brothers explain at gunpoint why they were such assholes.
Obviously that would have been a diplomatic catastrophe.