The Devoted Gentleman (EDITING)

Chapter 13

"It's really nice having the whole family together like this. It has been a while since the last time we eat dinner together" Grazia Valenza placed the huge piece of roasted seasoned chicken on the dining table. She wore a turtleneck sleeveless bandage dress while her husband Antonia was dressed in a black shirt and a pair of well-tailored trousers. They had lit up the candles and poured wine for everyone on the table, the dining utensils are arranged beautifully and on each table there was a set of napkin provided. It was not what how they would typically eat dinner, but since everyone in the family was available at the same time, they thought they should have a fine dining experience at home.

Their eldest and only son, Luca Valenza had found some time for the family after he was busy running their family business with his father as his advisor, while Ginerva, their youngest daughter, the tallest among the two women who had her hair dyed in a dirty blonde had finally come home from her modelling tour in Northern Europe, among all the daughters, she was probably the busiest and had the tightest schedule, as she was always travelling around the world for her modelling career. On the other hand, Valeria, who among the children was the daughter who was the closest to the family also agreed to attend their family dinner. Therefore, all three Valenza was together in the same room, it was such a pleasant sight for the parents who had not seen their children together like that since Christmas.

They were serving some of the children's favorite dishes, all cooked by their family's cook who had worked for the family for years. The night was peaceful, and outside the window, the weather was great, so they decided to open the curtain and allowed the view of the night sky to enter the dining room.

"Let us pray for the meal first" Grazia stated as she started the family prayer. She felt grateful for the opportunity to have everyone together, for the blessings God has given to their family. After the short prayer was over, they started the meal. The chicken was shared and everyone was having their share of portion. Dinner time for their family was also the time to share their day or week with each other. One thing about the Valenza was the openness of the family. They don't really keep secrets from each other, even if they did, it was for the greater good. Of course, they would always start with the eldest son, since Luca had been handling the company, they knew the talk would be related to their family business. Grazia, who was not quite actively involved anymore asked him how he had been handling everything and if there was anything interesting happening lately.

When the question was asked, his mind wandered to his new young secretary, Ravenna. That raven haired beauty that captured his attention had been getting on his nerves lately, in a good way. Since she arrived, he felt like he had been more productive and bothered at the same time, productive because she's such an excellent secretary who always ensured he followed the schedule perfectly, and she was quite brilliant, all of his clients and acquaintances loved her, she was well spoken and highly charismatic, but it was also something that bothered him, because she was such a perfect girlfriend material and he always wanted to touch her because she's always looking so damn edible even with her formal wear on.

Of course, he would not be able to say it out loud to them, his whole life he had never truly been open with his family about his love life. Luca was not a womanizer by any means, but he did change girlfriends several time, and he just did not want to introduce anyone to the family whom he is not serious about. Though he felt like it was fair to give Ravenna the recognition she deserved for her work performance.

"My new secretary, a fresh college graduate, is such a brilliant woman, she has helped me a lot, and she's quite interesting, so maybe that counts" Ginerva froze her spoon and a small smile escaped her lips. She knew her brother was not really someone who would mention a woman's name with such high praise, though at this point she was not thinking of much, she was kind of pleased that at least he was surrounded by good women, instead of those leeches he had dated in the past. Though to be honest, it was almost time that he got serious about finding someone to marry.