Everything was starting to add up for Jovani, in what he hoped would be a positive way. Samuel was taking over which meant that he was going to get the chance to step back and take care of the things that he needed to focus on while helping his younger cousin learn to take over.
He could now finish the deal with Julian and work with more open terms than he had originally been. The trading route would be very useful for the expansion he wanted to do with the Vedova Nera. It would also be useful in helping to block Marcus out from expanding in that direction as easily.
All that would be left after that was dealing with Genson and helping to get the rest of the family settled in their correct roles. If he could manage to do all of that, he would be able to enjoy his position as Samuel's right-hand man rather than being the one who had to be in charge all of the time. He was good at it, but that didn't mean it was what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.
He had his own fiancé after all and did intend to get married at some point in time. Perhaps sooner now that things were moving in the right direction. He wasn't getting any younger as the days passed by and having kids in the future sounded like it would be nice. Given that his fiancé would want them as well.. It would be one of those big discussions to have consider the type of lifestyle that they lived in.
"What you're telling me then is that even now Sam outranks me in position?" Leo asked half joking but also having a hard time processing that the other was going to be head of a mafia family despite his gentle demeanor.
"That's one way of looking at it." Jovani agreed as he sat with his legs crossed and his right hand propping his head up while his elbow rested atop his left leg.
"Are you sure that there hasn't been some kind of mistake with this? I mean, if it has been twenty years, couldn't you be mistaken? He doesn't seem like the type of person who would fit into this lifestyle." Leo reasoned as he tried to think this through. It wasn't a bad thing per say. He knew that it would make things easier for his sister, but having someone like Samuel with such a gentle spirit actually being part of this world in a much larger capacity than was original expected felt wrong in a sense.
"No place for errors in this this." Jovani replied lazily as he closed his eyes, he was only having pay attention to the other who he had been discussing this with for the past twenty minutes. He didn't mind the conversation since the other seemed less cold to him compared to before, but there was still a number of other things that needed his attention.
"The only possibility of that would've been at the feet of Evalyn if there was some type of mistake in who she was." Jovani explained with a soft sigh.
"But considering she confirmed who she was and knew all the pieces of the family along with claiming the exact time when she left as the same type the Evalyn from Vedova Nera family did, there's no mistake."
He wasn't there to make anyone feel better about the situation, just to simply explain everything as it was and answer any questions or bring up any facts that were important to the situation. How other people reacted or processed it really wasn't any of his business.
"Isn't it something though that you don't really need to worry yourself about though? I mean it will be for your father and Lena to deal with along with me and that side of the family since you'll be heading back to England if my guess is correct?" He asked this question and looked at the younger man through half closed lids. He was mildly interested in knowing why it seemed like the younger brother cared about the fiancé much more than family usually did.
"Even if that was true, it doesn't mean that I can't worry about what the outcome will be." Leo retorted, seeming to become slightly annoyed at something Jovani had said.
"My sister has already been through a lot and now her fiancé who was believed to be someone on the outside of this world is suddenly being tossed in at the deep end which puts him at a greater risk. It's only natural to worry about what the outcome could be in this type of situation." Jovani hummed in response to what the other said as he continued to survey Leo's expression before he spoke again.
"Or perhaps it also has something to do with the fact that you have a bigger soft spot for said fiancé than you want to admit? Something that isn't perhaps unknown but could make things uncomfortable if it went any further?" He mused watching the flash of emotion that went through the other's eyes when he said this.
"Is that the reason behind why you're running away back to England? Because you don't want to be around someone you can't quite have but enjoy being around a little much?" Leo rolled his eyes when the other said this though his body language told Jovani that he might've hit a nerve with what he said.
"I'm hardly running back to England. Me going back there was always part of the plan. I am just sticking around until after the engagement party because that was what I had promised." He explained.
"I only originally came back to take a break between high school and university. My goal though has always been to go back and look into law and business. Since my sister is going to be taking over the family, I'm mostly free to do as I please since I'm not going to be the person that everyone will be looking towards to rely on."
"You didn't deny though that there are some feelings for Sam in there somewhere. Is it his personality that attracts you to him or the fact that he belongs to your sister and is something that you can't have? Humor me with an answer?" Jovani asked with a small smirk.
"It has nothing to do with the fact that Sam isn't something I can't have. I don't have that type of relationship with my sister." Leo scoffed as he looked at the other.
"What about you, do you usually try to annoy people or work to get under their skin?" Jovani couldn't help but let out a soft but harsh laugh in response to what the other asked. He was an interesting person indeed.
"I wouldn't deny that it is enjoyable at times to do such things. Mostly though I ask because I'm curious to know about how other people work and what is going through their minds. All the same things that make up people are usually in painting a full picture." The older man replied.
"Why don't you just be honest about what you're looking for then rather than asking in such indirect ways." Leo asked as he tried to understand how the other's logic worked.
"Tell me if I asked you straight up if you had a crush on Sam would you be so quick to give me a honest answer if I asked it so directly out of the blue?" Jovani asked in response to the other's question. He raised his eyebrow at the silence that followed this question as the other averted his gaze slightly.
"And now you know exactly why I take a more indirect route to asking my questions. Plus, if you poke slowly and carefully until someone gets annoyed, they're more likely to give honest responses when their emotions get the better of them." He explained.
It had taken Jovani years to master the art of that, but it had been well worth it for the number of doors it had been able to open for him in the form of hidden answers and unexpected conversations.
It didn't come without it's fair share of injuries either. It had taken him quite some time to learn the right balance between annoying people enough so that they would give him the answer he was looking for but not to the point that they would end up laying into him.
"You might find it to be a useful skill that you want to learn as you grow up as well. Beneficial if you ever think about expanding territory into some place like England." Jovani told the younger man as he uncrossed his legs so that he could stand up.
"But if there are no other questions from you, I think that it would be about time for me to take my leave so that I can take care of other things." He couldn't stop himself from ruffling the other's hair before left the room, he quite enjoyed annoying the other for some reason.
