“What’s the plan?” Toby asks while I stare at her. “When she looked at you just then, she looked like she hated you.”
“It’ll be easy to make her fall for me. All I have to do is force her to spend time close to me.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“Told her I need her to look after Alicia.”
“You’re bringing Alicia into this?”
“Only to get Bex into the house.”
“I get it. While there, you woo her with roses and chocolates, flash the cash, and make her believe it’s true love. Right?”
“Pretty much.”
“True love wouldn’t get married in two months.”
“I’ll make up a reason.” I turn around to face him. “What matters here is stopping Ernesto from taking over. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“You could shoot him.”
“The Commission would have my head.”
“Hire an outside. Make it look like a random hit.”
“Just before Father’s about to make his decision? Come on, be serious. They’ll know it was me, and I’ll be fucked, and then what happens to the famiglia? No heirs left to inherit. It’ll be a bloodbath as everyone bickers over it all. No, I’ll do it this way. Marry her, take over, get rid of her.”
“You need anything from me?” He pulls out a notepad and gets his pen ready.
“Be ready with the paperwork and make sure Ernesto doesn’t hear anything about my plans. The last thing I need is him bringing his wedding forward.”
“I’ll keep it on a need-to-know.”
“Good.”
“Anything else?”
“I need a way to get her to agree to look after Alicia. I already asked her, and she turned me down.”
“What was her reason?”
“Doesn’t want to work for a criminal.”
“What did you offer her?”
“She wants to set up her own fashion boutique. I said I’d pay for it, and I’d not fire anyone else for the duration of our deal.”
“How long?”
“I said two months. Father is making the decision on New Year’s Day. Ernesto’s getting married on Christmas Eve. Two months should be enough time to trick her into marrying me.”
He smiles, clicking his finger a moment later. “I’ve got it.”
“Well?”
“Lie to her.”
“I need a little bit more than that.”