Page 71 of Easy Steal

“Thank you,” she smiled, closing the door behind her as she stepped out into the hall. There were a few beats of awkward silence as we both lingered in the hall.

“Should we go?” she asked, gesturing with her head towards the elevator.

I nodded once, and followed her down the carpeted hallway.

There was more silence as we walked to my car together, and I opened the passenger side door for her and she ducked inside.

I jogged around to the drivers side and hopped in.

“So,” she said, pulling on her seatbelt, “you brought Jolene.”

“Yeah,” I chuckled. “Why?”

She shrugged, a small smile on her face, “I prefer Agnes.”

Agnes was yet another one of my many cars, and to be honest, I was surprised that she even remembered the silly names I had given my cars.

Jolene, even though I tried my best not to play favourites, was my favourite.

Agnes, was my Bentley.

“Sorry,” I said, starting Jolene.

“It’s okay,” she shrugged again. “So where are we going?”

“Lamada,” I smiled.

“Oh,” she perked up, her eyes shining. “I love that place.”

“I thought you might.” I would have to thank Livie for the suggestion.

I pulled up in front of the restaurant which was located on a busy street in the middle of the city. I handed my keys to the valet, and took Larissa’s hand as she stepped up onto the sidewalk.

We walked into the dimly lit restaurant together, and the host perked up as he saw us enter.

“Mr. Santino!” he clapped his hands in front of him. “How nice it is to have you here. And your beautiful girlfriend.”

I was used to the way people treated me when they learned of my last name.

Though, I was sure it was nowhere as bad as the ass-kissings my brother received from the public. Whether we liked it or not, we were well known in this city, even if the reputation wasn’t a good one.

My father had worked hard to get people to fear the Santino name, and he had done a good job of it too.

Though Antoni was no where near as evil as my father, people still knew of his role in the world. Businesses especially, were wary of us - desperate to stay on our good side. So more often than not, we always received the best customer service wherever we went, which was one perk to the name.

The host ushered us to our table, which was in a quiet corner of the busy restaurant.

I felt myself growing conscious of all of the eyes on us, but Larissa didn’t miss a beat. She smiled and politely nodded to onlookers, tossing her hair over her shoulders as she looked back at me. The host pulled out a seat for Larissa and she sat down, crossing her ankles and slender calves together.

I thanked him and tipped him.

“Your waiter will be with you shortly,” he nodded in thanks before walking away. I sat across from Larissa and let out a deep breath.

I wasn’t the most comfortable in crowded spaces.

And this place was very crowded.

It didn’t help that I could still feel the eyes of others on us.

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