Chapter 2: A Rude Awakening

Luca groaned in pain as the room filled with light, jolting him out of his sleep and into a monstrous hangover.

"Get your a*ss up!" his mother barked from the general direction of his feet.

"What are you doing in my room, Mom?" he croaked weakly, his eyes squeezed tightly shut.

She snorted and pushed his feet aside, knocking them off his spacious couch. "If only you'd made it that far."

He cautiously cracked his eyes open, squinting against the bright light. Though his vision was still quite blurry, he could make out the unimpressed form of his mother standing in the middle of his living room.

"You better not make me repeat myself boy!" his mother snapped in slightly lilting English.

Luca groaned in response before heaving his body upright with great effort. He knew his mother well enough to know her accent only got stronger with her emotions.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked hoarsely as he unsteadily got to his feet and shuffled in the direction of the kitchen.

Lucia watched her son stumble into the kitchen with thinly veiled disapproval. She wasn't sure why she was disappointed to find him hungover. He seemed to spend most of his time drunk - but it was only Tuesday morning.

She watched him retrieve a bottle of water from the fridge and empty it thirstily. He caught her eye and smiled at her weakly as he made his way back to the couch. His shoulder-length chocolate hair was sleep tousled and he had bags under his green eyes. While his olive-toned skin still had a healthy glow, he was clearly tired.

And more than likely drunk.

"You don't have better things to do on a Monday than get drunk?" she asked him tiredly as he collapsed onto the couch.

He chuckled wearily, "It's a little early for a lecture. Can we reschedule this for later? I'll take you to that place you like and we'll have a nice lunch."

Lucia smiled at her son sadly. "Your father has had enough Luca."

Luca snorted drily, "He had enough a decade ago. That's nothing new."

Lucia stood and crossed the room to sit next to him. "No Luca. He wants to cut you off."

He sat up, suddenly alert, and searched his mother's gaze with his own. "What do you mean cut me off?"

She sighed and reached for his hand, holding it between both of her own. "All the drinking, the partying, the girls…he's had enough. He wants you to clean up your act or he's cutting you off."

Luca's expression hardened and he lurched off the couch in agitation. Pacing in front of his mother.

"He can keep his money," he spat. "I've made my own success. I've made a name for myself."

Lucia cringed and frowned. "It's not just the money. He wants to take everything."

Luca froze, the muscles in his body visibly taut. "Define 'everything'."

Lucia sighed sadly, "Basically anything that isn't in your name. The penthouse, any family cars, access to the family funds, positions you hold in family-owned businesses."

"He's going to fire me? Pull out as my main investor?" Luca growled angrily.

Lucia stood and approached her son slowly, cupping his face between her hands as she reached him. "Honestly, I don't know what he's willing to do my love," she confessed softly. "I do know that he's fed up. He wants you to stop being a liability and I can't convince him otherwise."

Luca stared down into his mother's eyes, his eyes alight with anger. He pulled his head out of her hands and stalked toward the couch, where he collapsed tiredly.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked, defeat clear in the way he was carrying himself.

"You're 34. Stop acting like you've just turned 21!" Lucia suggested with a gentle laugh. "No more negative press, drunken nights, or womanizing. Settle down and focus on love and work."

Luca swallowed heavily as he felt himself suddenly fighting back nausea. He could hardly think over the sickening pounding in his head. He also had a sinking feeling that he was cornered. His parents had expressed displeasure with his way of living, repeatedly, since he'd turned 30. However, he hadn't imagined that it would escalate this far.

"Darling, this is a bit harsh. I know that," Lucia spoke as she sat near him, her hand on his knee comfortingly, "but we just don't want to see you waste your life."

"Yo!" A voice floated down from the direction of the front door.

Lucia smiled at her son and dropped a kiss on his head. "Perfect timing! Hopefully, he'll stop you from doing something stupid in response to the news."

Luca scowled up at his mother as she stood and brushed imaginary lint from her dress.

"I love you dear. Make me proud," she directed at Luca before heading toward the door. She nearly collided with James as he emerged from the hallway. He stumbled slightly, clearly caught off guard by her presence.

"Mrs. B! I didn't know you'd actually be in the penthouse too," he greeted her with a charming smile.

She smiled back at him and squeezed his arm fondly. "Not for much longer. Point him in the right direction!"

With her final remark, she walked around James and disappeared down the hallway. James raised his eyebrow at Luca questioningly as he fully walked into the room.

"What's going on?" he voiced as he sat next to the still-hungover Luca.

"What are you doing here?" Luca rebutted as he shut his eyes tiredly.

"Your mom's assistant gave me a call and asked me to be here around midday," James explained with a shrug before throwing himself on the couch.

Luca sighed bitterly, "Of course she did. I suppose you're here to make sure I don't do anything my father wouldn't approve of."

James snorted and nudged Luca's foot with his own, "Since when do you care about that?"

Luca finally sat up and gave James a tired look. "Apparently, the old man's finally cutting me off. For real."

"What!" James asked, his mouth slack with shock. "I'm sure you can talk him out of it man. Or your mom can work her usual magic."

Luca shook his head mournfully before cradling it with both hands. "I'm sh*t out of luck. I have one final chance to get it together or I'm out."

James let loose a long whistle and settled into the couch heavily. "Well d*mn. What does that mean?"

Luca groaned, "It means doing none of the sh*t I'm doing now. They want me to settle down and stop being a problem basically."

James shrugged but gave Luca's knee a sympathetic pat. "You've gotta stand on your own at some point."

Luca shot James a glare. "I know that! I'm nearly there, I just need my dad's money and connections for a little longer."

James nodded understandingly while running a hand through his blonde hair. "Yeah man, he can't cut you off before we land this Schuster deal. What we really need to do is find a way to buy time."

"What do you mean?" Luca questioned with a curious gleam in his eye.

"No offense man, but I don't think you can change," James stated bluntly. "We just need your dad to think you've changed while we get our house in order."

Luca snorted in amusement. "So what's the plan, smart guy?"

James smirked in response and pointed toward the kitchen. "Why don't you make me a coffee sweetheart? I've got a few calls to make."

He didn't wait for a response before jumping off the couch and heading in the direction of the balcony. Luca watched after him for a minute before rolling his eyes and closing them in thought.

His mind was racing with all the different thoughts and feelings he was having. James had always been the ideas guy and voice of reason in their friendship. There was no doubt that he'd come up with a solution.

If he was being frank, Luca could admit that the money and connections were a large reason why he didn't want to be cut off. What he was surprised to discover was that familial love was an equally big motivator.

"Hey!" James called as he walked back inside with a cheeky smile. "What happened to my coffee?"

"F*ck off," Luca answered back with a smile of his own. "Who did you call?"

James' smile dropped as he became serious. "I was calling in a favor from one of Emily's friends."

Luca scowled. "Oh great! Now everyone on the East Coast will know my business before the end of the day."

James rolled his eyes but smiled. "I don't appreciate you talking about my wife that way. That aside, this friend will keep this strictly confidential."

Luca gave him a skeptical look. "Okay, I'll suspend reality for a minute and believe you. Who is this friend and how are they going to help me?"

James gave him a sheepish look. "Okay, just keep an open mind here! If we play our cards right, which we will, we'll have this contract signed in the next month."

Luca gave him an unamused look. "At least tell me the product before launching into your sales pitch."

James chuckled, "Alright, no more partying or public benders. You need to make a total change. Show you're taking it seriously. So no revolving door of flings and one-night stands…you need to get a girlfriend. Seemingly settle down."

Luca frowned. "So you want me to sober up and you want to set me up? I'm not dating one of Emily's socialite friends. You're right but that last part isn't an option."

James cleared his throat nervously, "I'm not offering one of Emily's friends. The friend is a matchmaker, a good one!"

Luca gave him a skeptical look. "A matchmaker? What century am I in? I don't need a matchmaker. My problem is actually that I can't stop finding women."

"Your problem is that you're commitment-phobic," James corrected him. "It'll be a fake relationship, someone your parents will have to approve of. It's also a great chance for us to get a little positive press before we land this deal."

Luca sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know James. This just seems a little weird to me. Who would even agree to something like this?"

James shrugged. "You'd be surprised how common this is. The other person will also benefit from the fake relationship."

Luca laughed, "Surely, I'm more of a liability?"

James grinned. "Can't disagree with you there buddy. Fortunately for you, you're handsome, charming, and philanthropic. People can't help but respond to that, it's the only reason I do business with you."

"Ouch!" Luca cried playfully in response. "That hurt Jay. Look, I'm willing to consider whoever this 'matchmaker' suggests but no promises."

"What other choices do you have?" James asked, causing Luca to fall silent.

The sound of James' phone trilling cut through the silence. He picked it up and smiled broadly. "The matchmaker just sent me three options for you to consider!"

His fingers swiped over his phone for a few minutes before he let out a booming laugh. "I have a feeling you're going to stop being wary really quickly after seeing this particular file."

Luca shot James a suspicious look and caught the phone as it was tossed toward him. He lowered his eyes to the phone and found himself stuck on the photo staring back at him.

He scowled and shot James a dark look. "Did you set this up?"

James chortled gleefully and shook his head, "This is simply fate."