The dining room filled gradually, which was a generous way of describing what actually happened.

In truth, Leo went floor by floor and knocked on doors until the people behind them had no reasonable excuse left.

Some of them came down looking like they had made peace with being awake.

Others looked like they were still negotiating for more sleep.

Jake, like always, was one of the last to arrive, looking like he had fought a war in his sleep.

The facewash had helped, but the food helped him much more.

Within twenty minutes, the dining room finally settled as the players wolfed down the food, as it owed them money.

When most of the plates were close to clear, Dawson stood to his feet and clapped to draw the attention of his men.

"I know how most of you are feeling. And since we are ahead of schedule, today’s for you and what you choose to do with it. Tomorrow we start preparations," he said as he looked around the room.

"If you want to go out and see the city, go but in groups only, and tell the liaison before you leave the hotel. That’s all."

He sat back down and reached for his coffee while the room resumed around him.

At the far end of one of the tables, Leo leaned slightly toward Carlo.

"You trying to see Gianna?"

Carlo nodded, eyes already on his phone.

"Yeah, I already had something planned with her before we left."

"Figured," Leo said.

Carlo looked up with a curious gaze.

"You?"

Hearing the question, Leo couldn’t help but point at his own chest.

"Me?"

Carlo just looked at him, before a slow smirk formed on his face.

Then he shook his head slowly and returned his attention to his phone with the expression of a man who had received the answer he expected.

"You really can’t lie sometimes," he said simply.

Leo said nothing and picked his phone up off the table.

He opened Vittoria’s chat and typed.

I know you’re busy, but is there any way we can meet today?

The reply came back quickly, which surprised him a bit, considering she had told him she’d be swamped for the day.

I’m at a shoot, but you can come if you want. We’ll just need an excuse.

Leo looked at the message, immediately feeling the excitement with which she typed it and then sent a question mark, mainly wondering about what she meant by excuse.

I’ll think of something. Just get ready.

He sent a thumbs-up and set the phone down.

"What did she say?" Carlo said, not looking up from his own screen.

Leo looked at him. "How did you—"

"Bro, you are not hiding shit," Carlo interrupted while smiling. "Now what did she say?"

With a sigh, Leo relented and told him.

Carlo nodded slowly and then turned his phone and slid it across the table toward Leo without a word.

Leo picked it up and read.

It was a message from Gianna, sent about half a minute ago, asking Carlo what his plans were for the day and because she was at a shoot nearby with Vittoria, and it would be nice to all meet up if the timing worked.

Leo set the phone down as the two of them sat with that for a moment, seemingly contemplating.

Then they both stood up at the same time and walked out of the dining room without saying anything to each other, all while some eyes stared at them weirdly.

"What was that?" Jake muttered with his head slightly up as he tried to fit a large roll of bread into his mouth.

.....

A quarter of an hour later, Leo came through the hotel doors, looking effortlessly clean. and made his way towards Carlo, who was already outside, leaning against the wall beside the entrance with his phone out.

He looked up when Leo came through.

"What did she say?" he inquired about the liaison’s words.

"Be safe and be smart," Leo said, earning a single nod from Carlo, who pushed off the wall and then they started walking.

The duo walked, navigating through the streets until they couldn’t do so anymore.

After hailing a cab and sitting in it for about 7 minutes, they got dropped off within walking distance of where they wanted to go.

As they got down, Carlo had his phone out, navigating, and after a few minutes, he glanced over at Leo.

"Can I see the address she gave you?"

"Bro," Leo said with a chuckle as he pulled his phone out.

"You’re supposed to be an Italian," he stated, but Carlo didn’t feed him anything, other than he, too, was Italian, which made Leo nod in a "fair manner.

After unlocking his phone, Carlo looked at it, then at his own screen, and said, "Yep."

He handed Leo’s phone back before looking at the building a few metres away.

"Same place."

They kept walking and found the building a few moments later, a wide-fronted structure on Via della Spiga that, with a single glance from the outside, one could tell that something expensive was going on in there.

There were a couple of production vehicles parked along the kerb and a cable running from somewhere inside out to a generator on the pavement, which confirmed it.

"I’ll call Gianna so she can come out," Carlo said, already finding her name.

"Yeah," Leo said, and then he felt a tap on his shoulder, same as Carlo.

Gianna was standing behind them with a smile on her face that suggested she had been standing there and watching them fumble with themselves.

"Hi," she said.

Carlo looked at his phone and then at her before putting it away, while a smile formed on his face.

Gianna stepped forward and hugged him, pulling him in properly.

Then she leaned up and kissed him once before pulling back.

Leo had taken a small step to the side during all of this since somehow, the road had suddenly started looking more interesting.

After that, Gianna turned to him.

"Leo," she said, extending her hand.

Leo took it with both of his hands, which made her laugh as she pulled away.

"It’s good to see you," she said.

"You too," Leo said more out of courtesy as she glanced between the two of them and then tilted her head toward the entrance.

"Come on," she said. "Let’s go in."