CARLO SALVATORE

Bianca sat on the sofa. She wore a skimpy short and one of Luca's shirts she had taken from his closet, her bare legs were tucked under her as she tapped away on the screens of her mobile phone. Luca sat directly across from her, his face showed how exhausted he must have been from the activities of the day, yet he sat there and admired her with what seemed like pride. He held a glass of whiskey in his hand as he turned from side to side on the rotating chair he sat on. His tie was loose and his sleeves were slightly rolled up, a rare display of ease from Luca. A half-finished chess game sat on the beautiful wooden furniture between them, Bianca's king trapped in a cunning gambit Luca had used. 'You're cheating," Bianca said as she untucked her right foot and slightly nudged his left knee with it. 'Yes I am, and that is because you taught me how to" Luca countered, grinning as he took her rook. The tension between them has gotten easy in recent days. She was always happy to have him in the penthouse now, and as for Luca, he always anticipated going back home to her. She never hesitated to ask him about his day and he would often vividly tell her the details of his daily activities. 'How was the meeting with the LA distributors?" Bianca asked as she packed up the chess game to put away. 'I don't trust him that much," Luca answered rather quickly, his countenance turning sour. 'Why?" Bianca put all the chess pieces back on the table and rested on the sofa as she seemed genuinely interested to know why he had said he didn't trust the new distributor. 'Did he lie to you during the negotiations, or say something he shouldn't have said?" Luca stood up from the rotating chair where he had sat, put his whiskey glass down on the wooden furniture, and moved to sit on the same sofa as Bianca. She shifted slightly to give him enough room and maybe to avoid bodily contact with him. 'He is not pure," Luca resumed, explaining his predicaments. 'He has this aura that he is giving off that I can't trust. It's like… a scent, the scent of a possum. I don't know if you understand what I'm saying," He paused and looked at Bianca's face to ascertain if she understood what he was trying to explain to her. 'I get you, I do. But I would at this, sometimes our perception of people is not who they are. And we can't judge people based solely on what we think of them." Luca said in a bid to calm him and settle his mind about the new distributor. 'I know that but… I just can't brush off that feeling." Luca said in defense. 'Today made me realize how much I need Dushanbe. I really can not do a proper business in LA without the man." His voice was unable to conceal his sadness and worry. Bianca turned sharply, as though she had just remembered something. 'So what happens when Dushanbe is out of prison?" She asked, genuinely curious. 'If the business is better with Skullzy, we will have no choice but to continue with him. If not, we will go back to dealing with Dushanbe." Luca answered as he sat up from the sofa. 'And you do think that Dushanbe will settle for that," Bianca asked. 'I'm convinced Dushanbe understands how the business and streets work." Luca stood up from the sofa and picked his glass and the bottle of whiskey up from the furniture." This is not personal, it's just business." Luca filled his glass with the remaining whiskey inside the bottle, poured the whole content into his mouth, and swallowed it. The scorching burns of the liquor as it went down his throat forced him to shut his eyes. Luca began walking towards the penthouse bedroom, his steps uneven but steady. 'My dad asked me to bring you over for dinner" he stopped, turned around, and faced the direction in which Bianca sat. Bianca was already turned to him. Her eyes were bright with curiosity. 'Why?" she asked as she held on to the backrest of the sofa. 'He said he wants to see you. My uncle Matteo, Adriana's father, is against my engagement to you, but that changes nothing." He paused, turned around, and said, 'But I told him we can't be coming for any dinner at this point. We have a lot to handle. I told him when we are done with everything we have to sort at this point, we will come for the dinner." He exited the living room and into the bedroom as he concluded talking. Once inside the bedroom, Luca took his shoes and tie off and walked into the shower. He turned it on even while his clothes were still on his body and let the water run down his body. He stood under the shower thinking about anything that came to his mind at that point. Business, Isabella, Marco, Bianca, his uncle, and Adriana. He realized how troubled he was at that moment of his life. ****** When he came out of the bathroom, totally washed up. Bianca sat on the bed. Her gaze fixed on him as he moved about the bedroom, trying to put his pajamas on. He noticed Bianca had kept looking at him ever since he stepped out of the bathroom, and he thought something must be bothering her. So he asked, 'Is anything the problem?" Bianca sat erect on the bed, her gaze still sturdily fixed on Luca, 'Luca… what do you know about Carlo Salvatore?" The name hung in the air. The whole room went silent like everything and everybody was getting ready for this moment. Luca was quiet, his eyes still fixed on Bianca, his lips slightly apart like he had something to say, but no words came out. He stood there frozen.