Julian and Marco were sitting down at his desk looking over their notes on the project. A week had passed since the backyard outing they had at his house. Carlo had been acting weird since that day and Julian didn’t know why. Marco on the other hand knew what was wrong with Carlo but couldn’t tell Julian anything. He couldn’t betray his brother like that, even if he knew what Carlo wanted. He had seen how happy Julian and Eve were and he really truly cared for them as friends.

Carlo had always been like this, even since before they moved to the States. Whenever he set his sites on a certain woman that he wanted, he would do anything to have her. Once when he was twenty and Carlo was seventeen, Carlo had fell hard for this girl name Celia Grimaldi. She was beautiful, long brown hair, blue eyes and a gorgeous smile, but she was in love with a guy named Paolo. Carlo tried getting her to notice him, but she only had eyes for Paolo.

Then one day, Carlo approached Paolo and told him to leave Celia alone, that she was his now. Paolo just laughed at him and told him that Celia didn’t want no little boy like him. A few weeks later, Paolo was found dead in an alley across the street from where Celia lived. Even though it wasn’t proven that Carlo had murdered Paolo, deep down Marco knew he had.

Eve was in her office looking through her filing cabinet when Ivy came in with a big smile on her face. It was now a known fact that she and Marco Luciano were dating and Eve couldn’t be any happier for them both.

“So what do I owe the pleasure of this visit today Ivy?”

“I need some advise Eve.”

“About…?”

Ivy walked further into the office and sat down on couch next to the door. She then looked down at her hands and started moving her fingers back and forth.

“Ivy?” Eve called out. Ivy finally looked up and looked Eve square, in the eyes.

“H-How…ugh…this is so embarrassing.” Ivy mumbled. “How did you know that Julian was the one for you?”

Eve walked over towards Ivy and sat down beside her.

“I guess I’ve always known that Julian was the one for me. When we were growing up, just being around him brought happiness into my life. I’ve never felt this way about anyone else before.” Eve smiled. “Does this have something to do with you dating Marco?”

“I know it’s to soon for me to be falling love with him, but I can’t help it. He makes laugh, and I enjoy his company… everything about him brings happiness to my life too.”

“Awww…I’m glad he’s making you happy and I wish the best for both of you.” Eve said then hugged Ivy.

“Thanks. You know, you, me and Grace should get together one day… you know, girls night out.”

“I would love to and I know she would as well.”

“I better go before Julian blows a gasket. I’ll stop by later on tonight. I want to see my handsome godson before his bedtime.” Ivy said.

Eve smiled then walked Ivy to the door to let her out. Unbeknownst to Eve, Carlo was watching her closely from around the hall. He had to see her again. Since last week, he made it his priority to stop by the hospital and see her beautiful face everyday. The dreams he had about her only got worse because he couldn’t have her to himself, but that was all about to change. By the end of the month, he would have Eve and Julian would be out of the picture.

Carlo took a deep breath, straightened out his business suit, ran a hand through his black curls then walked around the corner towards Eve’s office. Once he was in front of her door, he knocked a few times before hearing Eve telling him to come in. Eve looked up from the book she was reading to find that it was Carlo who entered her office.

“Carlo, it’s good to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you too Eve.”

“You know, Julian and I were worried about you. You just seemed different after the backyard outing last week.”

“I’m sorry I had the two of you worried.” He said then walked over and sat down in the chair that was in front of her desk. “Can I ask you something Eve?”

Eve noticed the serious look he had on his face when he said that, so she placed her book down and gave him her undivided attention.

“I’m listening.”

“You see, there’s this woman who I’m crazy about, and I want to be with her badly.” He said as he placed his hands on top of her desk.

“Why can’t you be with her?”

“Because she’s married.”

“Oh…I see.”

“But I can’t get over these feelings that I have for her. No matter how hard I try not to think about her, I can’t and I don’t know what to do.” He whispered as he dropped his head into his hands.

Eve got up from behind her desk then walked around it and placed a hand on his shoulder. She didn’t know what else to do. Carlo on the other hand, was beaming on the inside with pure happiness. She was touching him, trying to console him. He then decided to take advantage of the situation by turning around and placing his head on her stomach while pulling her close.

The moment he did this, Eve instantly tensed up and moved her hand quickly away from his shoulder. She was completely taken off guard by Carlo’s sudden movement and the way that he was holding onto her made her totally uncomfortable. Carlo immediately realized his mistake and pulled away from her. He hadn’t meant to frighten her the way he did, but when she touched him, he couldn’t help himself.

Standing up quickly and running a hand over his face, he cleared his throat then looked at Eve. She was standing a good five feet away from him now.

“Eve, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” He said in a somber voice.

“I’m fine Carlo. If you don’t mine, I have some paperwork that needs to be finished.”

Carlo nodded his head, then walked over towards the door. He turned back and watched as Eve walked back over to her desk before opening the door and leaving. Once Carlo was gone, Eve walked away from her desk and into the restroom. She didn’t know what it was about the story Carlo told her about the woman he loved, but whatever it was, she didn’t like it.

After Julian got off work, he went and picked up William from the hospital. Every now and then when Julian would pick William from the hospital, they would go to a fast food restaurant to eat, then return home and watch some movies, just the two of them father and son. And every time Eve came home, she would find them on the couch asleep and the movie they were watching still playing.

It was a little past ten, when Eve came home from work and as usual, her son and husband were passed out on the couch and the movie Monsters Inc. was still playing. She could never get over the fact that the two of them looked so peaceful when they were asleep…it made her happy. She slowly walked over towards them and carefully picked William up then went and put him to bed. Next, she walked into their bedroom, took off her clothes and shoes before heading to the bathroom. Once inside, she took her hair down and wiped off the makeup she was wearing before taking a quick shower, then afterwards putting on her bathrobe. After she was finished, she returned to the living room and huddled up next to Julian, resting her head on his shoulder before falling to sleep as well.

Two days later, the Luciano brothers entered Julian’s office with important news concerning their project.

“Alright Marco, what was so important that you couldn’t tell me over the phone?” Julian asked.

“Well we just got word from back home in Florence and it would seem that something has come up with one of the banks involved. They want for you to come to Florence so that they can discussion more business with you.” Marco said.

“Really? Well, this is different. I mean, I’ve never been to Europe before.” He said.

“You’ll only be gone for a week and Eve and William are welcome to come as well.”

“I have to see if Eve can get a week off first before I give you my answer.”

“This could be a huge opportunity for your family, yourself and as well as Thompson Corp.”

Carlo watched as Marco and Julian discussed the project and the immediate trip to Italy. This was part of his plan to get rid of Julian once and for all, and what better way to get rid of him then to kill him in Florence, just like he did Paolo for keeping Celia anyway from him. Carlo had called ahead of time to one of his people back in Florence. The Luciano family had many spies within the city and he instructed one of those spies to destroy one of the major files intended for the project. With that file destroyed, Julian would have to fly to Florence to get the job done.

“So when do I have to leave?” Julian asked Marco.

“In a day or two.” He answered as Julian ran his hand through his hair. “I know that this is sudden, but if we get this done quickly, then we’re one step closer to getting all of the major work done. Everything else should be easy from now on.”

“Let me run this over with Eve first and I’ll call you as soon as possible.”

“Fair enough. I’ll be looking forward to your call.” Marco said, then he and Carlo left.

Julian had never had this happen to him before. He then looked over to the clock that was by the pictures of Eve and William on his desk and saw that it was lunchtime. He placed a few notes and files into his backpack and exited the building heading straight to the hospital to talk to Eve.

Once he was there, he took of his helmet and walked into the hospital and got on the elevator. When the doors opened on the fifth floor, Julian walked over to Eve’s office door and knocked.

“Come in.” Eve called out. When her door opened, she smiled when she saw that it was Julian, but the smile instantly faded, as she looked at him closely. “Honey…”

Julian walked up to Eve and pulled her close before pulling away, and leading her over towards the couch.

“I have something to tell you Eve.”

“What is it Julian?”

“I have to leave the country in a day or two.”

“Why so suddenly?”

“I have to fly to Florence with Marco and Carlo to get some more work done. Marco just told me not even thirty minutes ago. They said I could bring you and William with me, but I didn’t know if you could get off so soon.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“A week.” He whispered then turned and watched the emotions spread across Eve’s face.

“This has never happened before.”

“I know.” He sighed as he caressed her cheek. “I don’t want to go, but I have to. I promise though, I’ll call you everyday, morning, noon and night.”

Eve smiled. He was too wonderful for his own good.

“William and I would love that. Besides, when you return home, I’ll have a special surprise waiting for you.” Eve said seductively.

Julian gulped.

“Now I really don’t want to go.”