The estate certainly looked on the outside as extravagant as if not more so than the one the Red Scorpions had. The only difference was it didn't look like they had as much land as Lena's family had. Most likely because they worked within a different sector.
Jovani couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes when he saw that Alonso was already standing outside and pacing. Was he really still worrying that much even though they were on their way back? It wasn't like either of his cousins were any threat to him. Perhaps he would really need to force the other to take a vacation some time sooner rather than later once this latter had been settled.
"I thought that I told you to wait inside for me and that I would call you once we got here?" Jovani told the other as he rolled down his window to talk to the man as he pulled up to the front.
"You were taking longer than you said you would to be back. It is only normal for me to be concerned." Alonso retorted as he leaned down to talk with the other. It took a moment before he noticed the two guests sitting the backseat, one of which was giving a rather hard to read look.
"If I didn't know any better, I would say that the princess is already rubbing off on that one." Jovani laughed as he noticed the look on Samuel's face that was directed at his right-hand man. He couldn't blame the other though, it wasn't like Alonso had been that gentle with him on their first meeting.
"Sam, you can relax around him, he won't do anything since you're part of the family now. What happened wasn't even intentional. The hope was for a more smooth transition, but you were far more of a fighter than I had been informed that you would be." Jovani told his cousin. Samuel nodded his head in response to what the other said, but it didn't quite seem like he had been convinced based upon the look that was on his face.
Jovani helped himself out of the car while Alonso opened the backseat passenger door for the other two.
"I hope that there will be no hard feelings moving forward?" Alonso asked as he offered his hand for a shake an attempt at a truce.
"Maybe." was the reply that Samuel offered in response to this question even though he shook the other's hand. The more awkward situation for Alonso was when he realized that the other person who had accompanied them was Evalyn. He hadn't really paid much attention to her until she stepped out of the car.
He had only spent a few years around here before she suddenly disappeared and left but it was enough to remember what she looked like and who she was. His level of respect towards her was even higher than it had been with Samuel.
"You know that you don't need to do that. I've been out of this family for so many years that I don't hold the same type of position that I did before. I expect you to not act so formally towards because of that." Evalyn told the other as she patted his shoulder and indicated for him to relax.
"You can try and tell him that, but I doubt he'll listen to you, I can't even get him to do it around me. I don't think he's capable of learning how to relax and not be so stiff all the time." Jovani commented as he handed his keys off to a valet who helped get Samuel's luggage out of the car before taking it way to park in the garage.
"That only has to do with the fact that I have had to spend so many years working with you that I no longer am able to relax due to your reckless behavior." Alonso shot back as he glared at the other who only smirked at him in response.
"Reckless behavior is all part of the job. You can't get to the places you want to go if you don't take the necessary risks and experiment along the way." He remarked as he headed for the entrance of the estate.
"It's rather hot out here so let us head inside before we end up getting fried by the sun." Samuel was going to pick his suitcase and follow after his cousin and mother but Alonso beat him to it.
"This is my job while you're here, plus I already know where your room is. As a guest and member of the family, you don't have to worry about such things while you're here." He explained as took the suitcase and started walking ahead to where Jovani was waiting with the door open before Samuel had a chance to protest this.
The way the estate was setup gave off a rather confusing feeling due to the color scheme. The lower half was a of a black color and the higher part was white though in some places it looked as though it had been being remodeled to completely take on the darker color. The floor was a covered with a blue hard marble floor that looked both beautiful and expensive. The furniture was a mixture of black and dark red and there was far more of it in the welcoming room than there had been at Lena's estate.
The living area had a similar color pattern but rather than lamps, there was silver chandeliers that hung down from the ceiling and helped to caste a high level of light all over the floor. There were also six windows evenly distributed on both sides of the room that allowed light to enter the house through filtered white curtains that were used to cover them but not block out the natural light.
Unlike the estate where Lena lived however, the kitchen and dining area where in the exact opposite direction from where the second floor, study and other living spaces were. That would take a little bit of getting used to.
"It's a bit much to take in I'm sure even though you already had been staying in a place as large as this already, but you'll get used to it quickly." Jovani said as he noticed the two were talking everything in. Even though Evalyn had lived there for years, much had been changed since she had left.
"I can give you a tour of everything later, but right now there's some rather important business that we should be attending to instead." He informed then as he looked at his watch. He wanted to get some of it out of the way before dinner time rolled around.
He indicated for them to follow him down a hall to where the study they would be meeting in was located. Down this hall, Samuel took note of the line of portraits that hung on the wall and seemed to follow the length of it in the direction of the office. Based upon the way they were framed and the names under them, it made him think that they were most likely the portraits of the previous heads of the Vedova Nera family or at least of those who were important within the family.
"Shouldn't there be others coming?" Samuel asked as Jovani pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked the office door so he could open it for them. The color scheme inside the office was different from what they had seen of the rest of the house. It was done in black and red which remind him of Lena's room. The furniture was a dark royal blue shade that at least Samuel didn't seem like it fit well with everything else in the room.
"Eventually, yes they will be joining us. For now though it's just who have stuff to talk about. Normally Evalyn wouldn't even be let in on this type of conversations, but since it pertains to her as well, she should be here. Alonso will also be coming along shortly since he's the right hand man and the one trusted with confirming everything that is discussed during this meeting." Jovani explained as he shut the door behind him after the other two had entered and taken seats on the sofa across from the desk that was in the office. Jovani took a seat in one of the arm chairs and crossed his legs.
"This meeting will take a little while I must warn and to you, Sam. What we talk about here is something that the princess is not not be informed of until the three days here have passed and it's time for you to head back. Is that clear?" The look that Jovani gave him when he asked this was probably one of the most serious ones that he had seen on the other's face.. Was it really that important to inform her? He supposed he would find out once they started talking, but for now he would agree to that since it seemed like the other wasn't going to start talking until after he had consented to following this rule.
