The Mafia Bride

63.

Leo arrived home and we were celebrating. Even in this celebratory atmosphere, I couldn't help but sense some tension. All of his caporegimes had come over. Food and wine was flowing freely, there was a celebratory mood all around the Moretti Mansion. However, even then the discussion about the upcoming Council meeting of all the mafia families was a stressful point for everyone. For some crazy reason, Leo's father thought that I was the smartest one of them and I deserved to be the family consiglieri. That decision did not go well with his caporegimes. Hell, that decision didn't even go well with me. I mean anyone who knows me knows how much I suck with taking sane and sensible decisions.

Leo glared at me, his irritation was so visible over his face. I sunk a little deeper in my chair. God, I hated it when he looked at me like this.

"Can someone care to explain why she is in this?" He asked. "I thought we kept our women away from Cosa Nostra."

Holy fuck! I completely forgot the real drama that would happen now. Leo wasn't aware of this new development. He hated it when I pried into his work stuff. He would get really pissed and irritated. I once asked me why, he'd say that it made him feel guilty because he does bad stuff and he wouldn't want me to find out about it.

"She is your consiglieri." Alex said.

Leo stared swearing in Italian. That's the thing about him if he feels things too strongly he switches to Italian. When he likes his food he will exclaim in Italian. When he is in an unexceptionally romantic mood he'd call me amore, Tesoro mio and dolcezza. And, when he's pissed he'd definitely cuss in Italian. This was one of those times when he was unexceptionally pissed. I knew it was wise to stay silent.

Fortunately, Leo's dad arrived and put an end to his cussing tantrum. He explained why he made the decision and all. But, Leo and Alex were still unconvinced.

"... Are you insane? She was the reason why Bianca was dead. DeLuca's will hold a grudge against her and have her killed." Leo said.

"Nonsense." He said. "We cannot cower in fear. Having her there would show our confidence. DeLuca bastards would try and use her as a bargaining pin say they want her in exchange of whatever nonsense they're offering us. By having her as the consiglieri we're strengthening her position, showing them that she isn't negotiable. And, we're declaring a war on them. I hope you feel she isn't negotiable."

"Of course she isn't." He said calming down a little. "But will they accept her? And making her the consiglieri is a bit extreme. She doesn't have that shrewd acumen."

Okay, that annoyed me. I mean he made a valid point but what does he mean? Was he trying to say I wasn't smart enough?

"They call Alex a mongrel for being half-Italian and half-Japanese. You think they're going to take kindly to a woman as a consiglieri? And a woman has never been a consiglieri."

"Seriously, Leo?" It sounded kinda sexist to me.

"Valeria is the best don I know." Don Moretti added calmly. "And half those scared asses don't even have a fraction of Meg's courage."

Leo sighed. "And what is Alex going to do? Has he been removed from his position?"

"No, he's there." He said. "He is my consiglieri. I need him by my side. Meg is your consiglieri. Whatever you do, you do it with her approval."

I gave Leo a haughty smirk. He has to consult me for his decisions. That ought to put some sense into that thick skull of his.

Leo looked unconvinced but he knew better than to disagree with his father. "I can work with that."