Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 738 : Making Plans

*Caterina*

My head was spinning as I rushed back to class. I had to remind myself to pay attention to my driving after almost rear-ending a car at a red light that I hadn’t noticed.

It was difficult to focus when all I could think about was how elated I was that Elio was finally letting me be fully involved, and it was clear that he wasn’t just doing this to make me happy anymore, he was doing it because he knew I could actually help. I had finally proven to him that my ideas were worth listening to.

And now that I had proven myself, I wanted to ensure that I continued to be an asset to the family. My mind was working overtime as I considered everything we needed to do in the next few weeks.

Taking down the Ghost would be huge for us, and it would put us on the map as a family not to be messed with. I didn’t want to get too cocky, but I really believed that Elio and I would be able to come up with a solid plan that could actually work, especially with the help of Leo and the rest of Elio’s men.

We had enough young blood that we were bringing a completely new set of ideas to the game. It wasn’t about old-school mafia power anymore. Nowadays, you had to be smart and sneaky, two things that we could excel at when we needed to.

Thanks to the fact that neither Elio nor I had really grown up in the life, we were able to use our outside experience to drive our decisions and come up with unique solutions that Alessandro would never think of himself.

I arrived back on campus with only a few minutes before my class, but I couldn’t be bothered to care. I had much more important things on my mind than an economics lecture.

The thought of just skipping the class altogether crossed my mind, but I knew I would regret it if I did that. It would just encourage Elio to continue to beg me to quit school, and I had no desire to go over that conversation with him again.

As much as I loved the life that we were building together, I still wanted something that was just for myself. And besides, I really believed that the knowledge I gained from my classes could come in handy. I already had a few different ideas for our upcoming restaurant thanks to a business class that I had taken the year before.

If I wanted to continue to be an asset, I had to keep growing and evolving, and the best way I knew how to do that right now was to keep working toward my degree.

Despite my belief that my classes would ultimately help me, I wasn’t in the mood to try and force myself to pay attention. Instead, I rushed to get there only so I could find a good seat in the back and continue to think about what Elio had told me about the Ghost.

I spent the entire class running different scenarios and ideas in my head, pausing only long enough to consider more options for the restaurant. I hoped I would be able to get notes from someone because I sure as hell didn’t know what the professor had lectured about. It was always easier when I shared a class with Anna because I knew I could count on her to take meticulous notes, but the further we got into our degree programs, the fewer classes we ever had overlap.

Finally, the professor released us, and I was free to rush back to the warehouse. I forced myself to take a few calming breaths in an attempt to relax and focus, but it was no use. My adrenaline was high and I was ready for shit to go down.

I arrived at the warehouse to find that Franky was the only one there. After an awkward moment, he waved me over. “Elio said you have some info for me,” he said gruffly.

“Yes!” I answered, probably a little too enthusiastically. I was still in disbelief that everyone was going to actually let me be a part of all of this.

“They have a name for the Ghost. Artem Katz. He’s managed to get over a hundred people to disappear in the past twenty years. We believe this is the first time that anyone has managed to connect his real name to his persona.”

Franky nodded in approval. “Good work on everyone’s part. He’s going to be tough to bring down, but if we play this right, I think we can do it.”

I fought to keep my jaw from dropping, this was the most outward praise that I’d ever seen Franky give anyone, and to have him direct it at me made it all the more shocking. Was it possible that he was now in support of me being a part of things too?

“Elio also wanted me to tell you that Junior has been located in Italy. He’s still laying low, it looks like Alessandro’s men will easily be able to keep an eye on him. I think at this point his threat level has been reduced quite a bit.”

“Yeah, this Artem asshole is a far bigger concern, I would say,” Franky agreed.

I nodded. “Elio and I thought the same thing.”

Although Franky would never be the kind of guy who would gush about how much he approved of me, it was clear by the way he was listening closely to what I had to say and then taking his time to think everything over that he really did respect my opinions.

Knowing I had his support meant more to me than I could have ever thought it would. It made my involvement feel far more legitimate. I had always known that a guy like Leo would be fine with me being a part of this life if Elio was fine with it, but to have Franky on my side meant so much more.

It meant that I had really managed to prove myself.

“We’ve also scouted out a solid location for the restaurant, and Leo will be doing interviews soon to find some good employees. I found a few that I think would be a perfect fit for both sides of the business. I think this is going to be a great thing for the future of the family,” I continued.

Franky nodded. “I’m glad things are going well on that front. I’ve been staying out of it so that Elio can really work toward fully taking over. I think it’s only a matter of time before Alessandro calls me back to Italy and I let you two figure it out for yourselves.”

The thought of Elio and me truly taking over was just as exciting as it was nerve-wracking, but I knew we were ready for the jump. We made a great team.

My phone buzzed and I pulled it out to see that Elio was calling.

“Hold on, it’s Elio,” I told Franky before picking up.

“Hey, I’m at the warehouse,” I said, not wanting to waste any time.

“Okay, great, I’m on my way. Can you meet me outside? I want to ask you something.”

“Um, sure.” I didn’t understand why he wouldn’t just come in and talk to me, but I wasn’t about to start questioning him in front of Frankie. I had just managed to gain his respect; the last thing I wanted to do was lose it by making it seem like Elio and I weren’t on the same page.

“I’ll be there in five minutes,” he said before hanging up.

“Elio is on his way, he wants me to meet him outside,” I explained to Frankie. “It was really good talking to you.” 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

“I’m glad we had the chance to go over everything,” he said.

His sentiment warmed my heart. I couldn’t believe how far our relationship had managed to progress since we had first met.

I walked out of the warehouse and was surprised to find that the sun was already starting to set. Talking with Frankie had taken more time than I had realized.

Elio was pulling in just as I shut the warehouse door behind me. As he parked his car and got out, I couldn’t help but stop and admire him as he walked toward me. I had just seen him earlier in the day, but something about the way he looked after a long day of work made him even sexier to me.

His suit was slightly disheveled and his tie had been loosened, and I could tell that he had been running his hand through his hair like he often did when he was thinking hard about something. Every bit of how he looked made me want to devour him.

The corner of his mouth quirked up when he met my eye and warmth pooled in my belly. Fuck, I was head over heels for the man. It was hard to believe there had ever been a time when I hadn’t felt like this about him.

He wrapped his arms around me as soon as he was close enough. His cologne had faded just enough so that I could smell him underneath it; a delicious earthy scent that always reminded me of a forest. I snuggled in against his chest, taking my time to soak in everything about him.

“Hey, sweetheart, I missed you,” he murmured as he leaned down to press a kiss to my forehead.

“I missed you too,” I gladly admitted. “Too much.”

“Do you want to get away for the night?” he asked.

I leaned back so I could look him in the eye. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“I want to take you somewhere. We’ve had so much going on lately, I feel like I haven’t been able to stop and really enjoy you in so long,” he said as his hands rubbed circles on my back.

“Where do you want to go?” I asked. There was no way in hell I was going to turn him down, but I wanted to know what I should pack.

“It’s a surprise! Come on, let’s go. I’ll text Frankie and tell him we were needed elsewhere,” he said, his eyes dancing with excitement.

“Okay, just take me home so I can pack first. I’ll be quick.”

“No need, we’ve got everything we need in the car already. I didn’t want you to have to do any planning whatsoever. Come on!”

“Okay, okay,” I laughed and let him tug me along to the car.

“Let’s go, we deserve a little getaway,” he said, as much to himself as to me.