A Hart To Call Home

Chapter Eighteen

Luca pulled up to his dad's office, and that anxious feeling hadn't let up at all. The red brick building was quite a bit smaller than the one he had when they all lived in the city.

As Luca stepped inside, he noted it was also simple in its setup. He walked into a small lobby with leather chairs and a big desk with a young blonde receptionist sitting there. Behind her was an open area with several doors to offices among the walls. In the center of the wide open space sat an employee lounge area.

"Hi! How can I help you?" She asked with a big cheerful smile.

"Just here for a meeting." He walked up to the desk.

"Can I see some ID? I have to scan it in," she asked, and he handed it to her.

"You're Luciano Donato?" She asked as she glanced down at it.

"I go by Luca," he said flatly; his usual charm was lost in his heavy mood.

"Oh, sorry!" His tone didn't phase her as she handed the ID back. "Your name is on our list as one of the shareholders, but no one has ever met you!" She chirped.

"Are you going to start coming in?" She asked when he didn't say anything.

"No," he said. "Just here for today."

"Oh," she pouted. "that's too bad. I wouldn't mind seeing you every day."

Her blatant flirting was annoying him today. He just wasn't in the mood. He didn't bother to say anything and started to walk past the desk.

"Hey... what are you doing after the meeting?" She stopped him. "I take lunch at one if-"

"Not you," he said as he continued walking. He heard her make a noise but ignored it as he walked into the office.

It was small and simple; one large oak desk sat near a window, and in the center of the room was a long table that faced a projection screen.

Andre was sitting at the table, and Leonardo was next to him in his wheelchair. A tall, dark-haired man with a hard jawline was seated at the other end. They all looked up at Luca as he walked in and sat down.

"Luca, we are so glad you made it," Leonardo said, a smile folding the crinkles around his eyes even deeper. Luca's gut twisted again at the sight of his dad. His cheeks were sunken in, and his skin was ghastly pale. It looked like his dad had aged twenty years since he last saw him.

"Thank you for coming," Andre added.

"It's good to meet you," the tall man stood and extended his hand, "I'm Richard Mendez, your father's partner."

Luca took his hand and shook it as he gave him a nod.

"I understand you didn't want Andre to give me the documents I asked for, but I assure you it was to expedite this," Richard told him as the two of them sat down.

"I don't see why you'd need to know every detail about every asset," Luca replied.

"I did have a reason for that," Richard explained, "we can get to that, but first, I think we should talk about Luca's shares."

"His shares?" Leonardo questioned. "Why?"

Richard cleared his throat, "I've wanted to broach this subject for some time. Why wouldn't we transfer Luca's shares to Andre? Why would he keep shares here if he has no intentions to become a partner or even practice law?"

"Absolutely not," Leonardo said instantly, and Richard looked at him with surprise.

"Leo, I don't understand it, though. It doesn't make sense."