Page 44 of Reclaimed Dreams

Chapter14

1 year ago

Dom sat behind his massive desk, feeling like someone had set a steel I-beam on his shoulders and told him to carry it a mile. He raked his hands through his hair and pondered the last time he’d showered. He was just so damn tired. Christmas had renewed his hope, but the New Year had rung in more struggles.

Keeping up with his commitments to the show, getting the vineyard ready, and picking up the slack for his crew who were all ready to pop out babies, he hadn’t had a chance to show Jo that he was serious about retiring. He’d hoped to be able to prove to her that he’d heard her needs and was working on them. It was all just taking longer than he expected, and overruns always pissed him off.

The other thing that was sitting heavy on his soul was the therapy appointments he’d begun in January. He hadn’t been making good decisions, and had started seeing a guy Seth had recommended. He was easy to shoot the shit with, but when they dug deep about Gabe’s death and Jo’s abandonment, it was real work. The emotional hangover was brutal.

He just wanted to be done already. Done with fighting Jo, done with the vineyard, done with work, just done. But he couldn’t walk away from any project half finished, especially not one as important as his marriage. That wasn’t how Valenti Brothers operated. So here he sat, waiting for Jake to show up.

Jake strolled in from the hallway with a chipper “Good morning, Dom! Ready to sign some papers?”

“Is this going to work?” Dom knew he should sound more excited, but this morning he was full of doubt. He needed a bit of the younger man’s enthusiasm to carry him through.

“Of course it is. The network is very excited.” Jake leaned back in the chair and crossed his leg, ankle to knee, the very picture of a confident male.

“I don’t give a shit about the network. Is this going to fix things with Jo?”

Jake grimaced. “How do you see this fixing things with Jo?”

Dom cradled his head in his hands, elbows propped on his desk, and sighed with frustration. Overwhelmed, he let the truth flow. “I want my wife back. I want her to talk to me, like we used to. I want her to want me again. I wish I fucking knew what to do.”

“What does this have to do with the vineyard, Dom?”

“Jo kept talking about wanting to go to Italy and eating the food and drinking the wine. Well, what do we need to fly to Italy for? We’ve got all that right here. Giving her a little slice of Italy here at home seemed like a good compromise." Dom ran his fingers through his hair again and pointed his finger at Jake. "And the property was a steal. It’s a solid investment. Jo is going to be great at running a winery. Hell, look how she kept this business going for years.” Dom outlined it all with his hands, painting a picture with his gestures to make it clear to Jake that his plan was a good one.

Dom could hear the skepticism in Jake’s voice as he asked his next question. “What has Jo said about the project?”

“She doesn’t know,” Dom said simply.

He needed it to be a surprise. He wanted to give her a grand gesture that would both solve all their problems and soften her heart toward him again. He knew he’d botched the delivery on the whole television show adventure, so he had to do something equally as grand to make up for it.

Except in the back of his mind he was worried this was an impulsive mistake too. The last time he’d surprised Jo with something big, he’d broken her trust. Would this heal it or tear it even further? His doubts plagued him, and he desperately needed some reassurance, even if it came from the reality show director who only cared about his shows.

“Don’t you think you should tell her about it before you invest all this time and money?”

“It’s a surprise, to celebrate our retirement.”

Jake sighed and looked at the contracts in his hand, but before Dom could press him, Frankie popped her head in the doorway.

Her smile narrowed to a frown when she spotted Jake. “Hey, what’s going on in here? You okay, Dad?”

“I’m fine, baby girl.” Dom waved his youngest in for a hug. “Just talking through some business with Jake here.”

Frankie pulled back slightly from her father’s hug to skewer Jake with a glare. “What kind of business?” She perched on the arm of his desk chair and crossed her arms, settling in for a fight. Sometimes he wished she wasn’t quite so exactly like him.

“We’re signing contracts for the Valenti Vineyards project,” Dom said.

“Dad, we talked about this—”

Dom slapped a flat hand against his desk, cutting her off. “You and Sofia are treating me like a child. I am still head of this company, and I don’t need anyone holding my hand through a simple contract signing!” He slumped back into his chair, exhausted by the extra effort arguing cost him. He was literally running on empty.

“So you’ve read through the contracts? Sent them off to our lawyer Cousin Giulia for a read-through?”

Dom just stared blankly at his desk.

“Dad, do you know what you’re signing?” Frankie’s sharp tone snapped Dom’s head back into the game.

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