Chapter 4: A Day In The Life Of Stephan Biscotti

 When Stephan woke the next morning, the first thing he did was pick up his phone and dialed his father's number. “Father, I am up, is there anything you wish of me this morning?” 

“Get to work and go to lunch as usual.”

 “Yes father, goodbye” 

“See you later, my son.”

 Stephan hung up the phone and went to the closet where he put a beautiful sunflower dress and placed it on the bed before he walked up to Lisa. “Lisa dearest time to get up come on night is gone.  The shower and the day await you.”

 Lisa slowly woke up to see her best friend looking at her, touching her face, and for a second she frowned. She turned her head sideways and fidgeted with the collar on the bed.

“We have been going to the club together, and I think it's time to offer you this. Be my slave and my pupil, I will teach you everything. If you agree with this, you must submit to only me.” 

Lisa picked up the collar with a smile. “Yes, Stephan visiting the club with you was fun, so let's keep having fun.”     

Stephan put it on her neck.

Stephan got dressed into his ultimate bespoke and waited for Lisa. “We will eat at bountiful again and enjoy ourselves, The client will meet us there, so I need a favor.” 

“I will do as you say as always Stephan”

 “Good get in the car we will have breakfast at the office, something light like splitting a bagel or muffin or…” 

“It's yogurt day Stephan key lime pie you promised” “so I did well then you shall have it.

Stephan spoke very little on the drive. He got out the car then and seemed to take a little longer than usual to open her door. 

Stephan watched as Lisa ran her fingers across the new fountain he ordered. I'm glad she loves it. I wonder if she knows I only ordered it   because she circled it in the catalog I found on her desk. It was beautiful.  It had rocks surrounded by the water, and the fountain itself was made in marble.  He walked to his office, took a deep breath and started to work. He loved being a lawyer, time always just seemed to fly by as he worked. Stephan was going over his latest case when Carly, the new intern, came in, smiling at him.

Look at the way she's smiling at me. I can definitely hit that if I wanted to. 

 “Stephan there is a man outside he’s waiting for you.”

 “Oh, he is now?  Just you tell me why should I come see him?”

 Oh, no reason I suppose, but Lisa Said you would want to see him” 

“Oh, Lisa said, uh, tell me does the man got a name?”

“Yes, Lisa called him Mr Damanios.” 

Stephan hands came off his laptop in mid-keystroke. He stood up, knocking his chair over. “Is my hair alright?”

 “It's fine” 

“Are you sure” 

“Yes” 

Stephan walked a little closer to his father and then paused. “Is my suit okay? Are you sure my hair is brushed enough?”

Carly laughed but grabbed her mouth, “He’s really important?”

 “Yes, very.”

Carly pat his hair down. “Okay, hold on,”  

 When Carly had finished patting his hair, Stephan froze as he stared at the reason Lisa had spent hours brushing his hair. Stephan's father was wearing a white fedora, which Stephen had never seen before but knew without a doubt that it had to be expensive. The Fedora complemented his long black hair that went towards his back and stopped short of his behind. He looks too young to be my uncle, let alone my father. God, the old man's gorgeous, and he knows it. Did he have to wear a suit most men would kill for?  The suit was a black-striped suit. It's like a blast from the past, I wonder if he got it from a museum or Penty?   “Good afternoon Sir.”

Stephan's father held his arms out for a hug.   “Stephan, glad for you to finally join us, care to get ready to take us out to lunch. Have you asked her to marry you yet?” 

“Not yet father Simon, but soon, I swear it”

 “Come let's sit. We can talk about the case before we go to lunch, Lisa join us.” 

Lisa stood with her arms folded. “Just a moment, sir.”

 Lisa waited a few minutes for them to walk away before saying, “Carly, a word, please.” Carly stood holding folders.“What do you want?”

 “You touched Stephan and you over stepped your boundaries, get your things and get out your fired.” 

Carly slammed, down the folders on the desk.“We will see about this, you fat snob.” Carly stormed over to Stephan. “Lisa just told me I'm fired, for touching your hair, can she do that?”

 “Lisa, what is going on, you can’t just fire Carly for no reason.”

“She is fired, Stephan.”

 “We will talk about this later Lisa, until then, Carly get back to work.” 

Stephan’s father smiled at them all and begin to talk in Galec, “Stephan, I do not like Lisa’s behavior or yours for that matter.”

 “I am sorry, father, please forgive me” 

“Come, I do not have the time to punish you, we must meet the client at King's landing”

 “Father, I am allowed to eat else where today” 

“Yes you are, but I will be ordering for you today”

 “ Yes Sir” 

 The drive there was quiet until Lisa said, “Can I have the headphones please?”

“You let her listen to music?” his father said 

“She's allowed.” 

“Not anymore, she's not she's a Damanios tell her it's forbidden.”

 Stephan looked at Lisa.  Poor Lisa, she looks confused.  Stephan spoke in Italian. “Not while father is here. While he is here, it's forbidden to us, girl.” (Non finché il padre è qui. Mentre è qui, a noi, è proibito ragazza.)

Simon shook his head at Stephan. “I swear Penty taught that language to you, and you taught it to her for the same reason, to vex me.”

“Father all due respect I cannot speak in German, and you can, so is it not allowed for me to have a language of my own?”

“ We have no secrets, Stephan.”

 “Of course, we don’t father. I simply did as you instructed. I told her music is forbidden to her.”

“ When will she visit the baby Stephan, or has she forgotten him?”

“Well, sir, he is no longer a baby, but I will ask her. Lisa?”

Lisa put her hand on Stephan's seat. “Yes Stephan?”

“ Father wants to know…”

Simon adjusted the rearview mirror. “ I want to know when will, it suit you to visit Derek.”

“ Mr. Damanios, we spoke about this. I do not have any children legally.”

“ He is family. Legality should have nothing to do with it.”

“ Sir, I understand, but Derek was born out of wedlock. I tried to protect both of our families by doing the right thing and filling out section fourteen, but Your family refused that.”

 “My family doesn’t get abortions, Lisa.”

Lisa turned back to the window. “That is why he must be hidden. I don’t know how you managed to keep him from Illegal family affairs, but I don’t want to know. As far as I am concern, I am a single woman and never gave birth.”

“How can she be so cold, Stephan?”

Stephan spoke back in Aramaic.    “Worry not, father, if she knew I had filled out the family rule nine eleven, she wouldn't be so scared.”

“Tell her.”

“ Penty said  letting her choose when to admit she was mine is the best option for her, so I am following Penty.”

“ And letting her play games with all kinds of men all over town while you are doing it. Parading her lovers all over the place really Stephan, we have had to make several payoffs just for her. She really aught to be more discreet.”

“ She doesn’t think she has to be, sir.”

 “Seal this deal soon. If you don’t, you will file for divorce and marry another, clear?”

“I will sir, Lisa is mine, no need for divorce.”

“ Soon, I mean it, Stephan.”

“ I swear it will be done.”