Page 109 of Love Among the Ruins
“Two invitations.” The old man slapped his thigh and laughed. “You are in big demand, eh?”
Dominic nodded. He didn’t care to elaborate on how he knew Demi, and he prayed that Galatis wouldn’t ask.
“Excellent. We will talk there. You are lucky, Dominic.”
“Why is that?” he asked, feeling uneasy. He’d been about to say that he wasn’t going.
“At a family celebration, you will get me at my best. If your luck is good, and I am very drunk and very happy, we might even seal the deal. What do you say, eh?”
Hell, no. He had no intention of traipsing after Galatis at a wedding. He stared at the man blankly. “I ...” He was about to tell him he had no plans to attend. But if Galatis was saying they could finalize the deal, hehadto go.
“We will meet there, my friend,” said Galatis. “I look forward to introducing you to my family. They don’t know you as well as they know your father and your brother.”
Dominic opened his mouth again.
“Are you single, Dominic?”
Such a direct question required a direct answer. “Single and proud of it.”
“No wife, no girlfriend, eh?” The old man steepled his fingers together. “If my half a century in business has taught me anything, it is that behind every successful man is a strong woman. I will make sure you find someone perfect.” Galatis tapped his fat index fingers together, a contemplative expression on his face. “I have somebeautifulnieces. My own daughters are happily married but my nieces ...” He did a chef’s kiss with his fingers. “It would be a good union. The Steele name and my sister’s family. They are half Galatis … it would still be a very powerful union.”
Dominic laughed uneasily. “Oh, I have someone.”
Galatis surveyed him. “You told me you were single and proud of it. Did you lie?”
Jesus. “No,” he replied quickly. “Not at all. I have someone in mind. Someone who ... who is special. It is new.”
Galatis nodded, his smile one of satisfaction. “A good woman grounds you. She will stop you from making mistakes.”
“Mistakes?” Dominic didn’t understand.
“A good woman will stop men from thinking with their balls instead of their head.”
What was this crazy old fool talking about?
“I don’t understand.”
“You know how I built my empire, Dominic? How I came from poverty such as that you could never survive, and I went from that to this …” Galatis waved his arm around the wood paneled walls of his office. “Because I had a reason to make something of myself. I had a family who needed security, food and a roof over their heads. My hunger to win at all costs is what I am known for, and it was all because of them, my family. I had to do what I did, because of them. Family is everything.”
The old man started another coughing fit, while Dominic looked on helplessly, wondering what he had talked himself into.
As Galatis’ assistants fretted over him, he could only wonder how in the world he’d gone from not going to a wedding, to now attending with someone ‘special.’
As the car drove back to the office, he contemplated Galatis’ words. He would ask Helen to come with him, if only to appease the old man. Galatis had met Helen and knew she was the company lawyer. He would buy it, that they were together.
Being this close to getting the deal done, he would rather die than let anything get in the way.
