"Now I'm not," Mara took his hand.
His handshake was firm without being performative… the kind that didn't need to prove anything.
"Marco Vitale," he said again, settling it between them like something that didn't require a reaction.
"I know," Mara said. "Second son of Don Vitale."
Something shifted in his expression, and Mara struggled to tell if it was amusement or recognition. "You"ve done your research," he noted.
"I do a lot of reading these days."
"And what does your reading say about me?"
She looked at him directly. "That you were educated abroad. Rome first, then London. That you handle your family's legitimate business interests while your older brother handles the other kind. That you've attended four Council events in the last two years and spoken at none of them." She paused. "And that you're considered charming enough to be useful and unthreatening enough to be underestimated."
Marco was quiet for a moment. Then: "Which of those do you think is intentional?"
