A PARTY FOR THE RICH

"You!" Emily pointed her index finger directly in Angelo's face, and almost immediately she wanted nothing other than to give him a piece of her mind; after all, he was the man who had fired her from his casino and made sure that she was denied a job at the employment agency.

Angelo simply paused, staring at her as she displayed nothing but anger towards him. He did not care to move from where he was standing about her sensual lips moving held him captive.

"Sir, I think it's best that you get in the car; it is not safe to be out here," Tito advised. Being someone as wealthy as Angelo came with respect, but it also came with its own dangers. Most days, Angelo would have listened to Tito, but today he had not even bothered to look at or listen to his most trusted bodyguard.

Suddenly the anger he felt on his way to his intended location was no longer there; all that was there was the woman that he had fired no longer than last night. She wasn't alone; rather, she held onto a little child that had its head pressed against its mother's chest.

"Are you deaf?" she exclaimed, loud enough to redirect Angelo's attention back to her.

"I see you still lack manners," he responded to her bluntly, and instantly her facial expression had gone from annoyance to anger. But no amount of anger could eras her beauty as she stood in front of him, unafraid of his status.

"You almost ran me and my son over, and you have the audacity—"

"Don't you ever speak to Mr. Sorrentino like that!" Tito chimed in, and before he could say more, Angelo pulled him back.

"Let it go, Tito; she's not worth it. Beside, we have to be somewhere," Angelo responded. Without waiting for Emily to say another, he turned on his heel and retreated to his car. Walking away from Emily felt like he had gone against his nature, like there was some invincible pull, pulling him back to her but he pressed on.

The entire time he sat in the back seat of his car, he was silent. Something about Emily and his inability to put her in her place on two separate occasions had him feeling as though he was losing his touch.

"You should have allowed me to put her in her place," Tito suggested. Angelo broke into a light smile as he looked at his security guard, knowing quite well that Tito was more than willing to pull out a gun in front of a defenceless woman and her child.

"She had a child with her, and the last thing I want to do is scare the little boy by having you point a gun at his mother," Angelo explained, looking ahead. The clock was ticking, and he had to get to the auction before it was too late; his family name depended on it.

"Sometimes I just do not understand you," Tito commented, and his words truly had Angelo racking his brain, because in truth, ever since he had met Emily Rosette, according to the file he had read on her, he had not been the same since then.

Moments went by, and Angelo's driver navigated through traffic with the utmost difficulty. Angelo's driver jumped, but there was nothing that could prepare him for the news he was about to receive.

Beside him, Tito's phone rang, and he answered it, followed by some murmuring of "oks" and he quietly placed the phone in his pocket.

"Sir—"

"Don't bother, the deal has gone through, right?" Angelo responded.

"Yes," Tito responded coldly. Without needing to look at Tito, Angelo already knew that once again he had lost another auction to this unknown man or woman. Losing yet another building had not only left him feeling guilty but also made him fear that if this continued, many people would lose the respect that his family had worked so hard to gain.

"Take me back home," Angelo ordered his driver. As much as he hated that he had lost yet again, he needed to make some urgent calls in the hopes of stopping this unknown competitor no matter what.

**

The next day

"So when is the wedding?" Angelo paused as he heard his soon-to-be father-in-law's voice coming from behind him. There were very few things that irritated Angelo, but somehow, Sebastian Winfield was one of them.

Turning on his heel, Angelo came face to face with the man who was to be his soon-to-be father-in-law. He stared at Sabastian up and down and settled on his face, and Angelo made sure to make it known that he was displeased with the older man.

He did not care that they were at the centre of the room with more than two hundred people walking around, celebrating another one of Sabastian's lavish parties for an occasion that Angelo had forgotten about.

"We need to talk," Angelo told him. The smile on the older man's face was suddenly wiped off, and he nervously looked around to make sure that no one was listening until his eyes trailed on Tito, who was standing next to Angelo.

"I'm sure we can talk, but not here; there are people, not to mention your employee," Sabastian pointed out. Just like his daughter Fiona, Sabastian believed that employees were less than human beings, a notion that Angelo was strongly against.

"I understand your need for privacy, but Tito here is my trusted bodyguard, and where I go, he goes," Angelo delivered the shattering news to him.

"Okay then, come this way to my office." Sabastian conceded, because once Angelo's mind was made, there was very little that could be done to change it.

**

The walk to his office was a rather short one, but even as he walked, Angelo remembered every step he took like it was the back of his hand. Because it was in that very same office that he had declared to Sabastian his intention to marry his daughter.

Once the doors to his office were shut, Sabastian turned his attention to Angelo, and he looked less than friendly.

"Is there a reason for your anger?" Angelo inquired, although he was not really interested, and by the look on his face, he wanted the old man to know just that.

"Yes, how about we start with the fact that you have not kept your promise?" He raised his voice at Angelo. Just then, Tito stepped forward, but Angelo pulled him back.

"I am your daughter's fiancé, am I not?"

"Yes, but it has been two years, and with every day she becomes a laughing stock. People taunt her and tell her that you will not marry her. Oh, and let's not forget that you treat her badly!" Sabastian raised his voice one last time, but this time, Angelo was not about to allow his disrespect to go unchecked any longer. Whether Sabastian was his soon to be father in-law or not, Angelo needed to remind him that he was still the Don that ran New York City.