The Mafia King's Unknown Doctor Wife novel Chapter 373

It took about an hour for Luca to arrive at the airport and reconvene with Massimo. The mafia don had gone back to the general entrance area—mostly so that Luca wouldn't need to purchase a ticket to meet up with him. Massimo didn't normally mind airport security protocols, but considering the trouble they caused him today, he was beginning to get annoyed with them.

Luca's eyes lit up when he spotted Massimo—and then dimmed when he saw his expression. Massimo knew he looked miserable, but Luca's reaction made him more self-conscious about his disheveled appearance.

It wasn't his fault the plane took off early since all passengers were accounted for. It wasn't his fault the airport had their security guard drop him off so far away from Elena's gate. It wasn't his fault New York traffic made a simple car ride to the airport take double the time it should've.

Massimo stewed in his rage. It was better than confronting his failure.

"Sir," Luca said, voice perfectly neutral. "Shall we head out?"

Massimo's frown deepened. "No," he said slowly. "Let's get the private jet cleared for flight and head to California."

"Now?" Luca asked.

Massimo nodded.

Luca's composure started to crack. "Don Massimo, that is not a good idea," he said. "Especially not with the FBI investigation."

"They can't have anything on me to prevent my travel," Massimo replied. "If they had that kind of evidence—real or fabricated—this place would already be swarming with cops by now."

"True, but consider it from a different perspective." Luca's tone sounded more like that of a school teacher's than a mafia advisor, and Massimo found the change irritating. "If there's a record of you flying your jet, the FBI is going to assume you're on mafia business and they'll follow you—and it's much easier to frame you for something when you're not in your home territory."

"Then I'll buy a ticket for a commercial flight—"

"You know that'll look equally bad—"

"Fine," Massimo bit back. "We have cars. I can drive there."

Luca barely raised his voice at all. "It's literally my job," he replied icily.

"You're doing a shit job of it, Luca! You're just being as heartless and snobbish as Fabio, trying to make my decisions for me," Massimo continued. "And you can only act that way because you've never lost someone you love!"

Luca only glared at Massimo, as if daring him to take back his words. When Massimo didn't, Luca only stood straighter. Despite knowing the man for years, Massimo couldn't tell whether Luca was preparing for a fight or not.

"Do you think I like this job?" Luca asked.

The question was so unexpected, Massimo lost some of his righteous anger. Had he misheard his advisor? There was no way Luca could be asking something like this.

The answer was obvious though. "Yes," Massimo replied snappishly. If Luca didn't like the job, he could've left by now.

"Well, I don't," Luca confessed simply. "The pay's great, but the hours are terrible and demanding, so it's not like I can spend the money on anything useful. It's incredibly isolating work so yes, I've never fallen in love with someone and I likely never will because I spend all my time making sure your empire stays up and running."