──────────── 

grazie = thank you 

sorellina = little sister 

dannazione = dammit 

ti amo = I love you 

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Bart drives Scorpia and Manon to a tiny boutique on a backstreet. A little shop that Scorpia would have never found herself. She looks at the outside with an intrigued look in her eyes and Manon opens the door for her. A young woman runs over to Manon and hugs her tight. Scorpia's assistant grumbles that it's unprofessional and the young woman stands up straight and mumbles a sorry.

Scorpia looks at the two women with amusement in her eyes and introduces herself: "Good morning. I'm Scorpia. And you two look like sisters."

Manon blushes and the other young woman looks at her with a kind, friendly expression on her face. "I'm Manon's older sister, Margot. This is my little shop. I always try to sell what no one else has. Vintage and new. I add things sometimes, to turn it into a one of a kind piece. I have gathered a bunch of pieces for you yesterday and I hope you like them."

Scorpia is impressed by Margot and says: "I can't wait Margot. This is exactly what I was looking for. And Manon? Stand up straight and be proud of your sister and yourself. There's no shame in bringing me to your sister's store. And even less so when she can deliver exactly what I'm looking for. Helping friends and family is always the right choice."

Manon smiles a bit relieved and Margot rolls a rack full of clothing over. "I picked items that are easy to mix and match. That seemed more fun to me than a suit." She shows Scorpia a black leather skirt and a fitted, black jacket with a red heart stitched onto it.

There are a few white blouses too, all with something unique. An uneven collar, colorful buttons, or an open back. She holds up trousers with a high waist, buttons, and suspenders.

Scorpia's eyes sparkle fro excitement and she says: "Put an outfit together that I can leave the store in. And do you have clothes for Manon too?"

Margot nods and points at the dressing room. "Go in there. I'll bring the outfit over to you." Scorpia takes her dress off and accepts the leather skirt, the jacket with the heart, and a blouse with red buttons. She puts the clothes on and loves the feeling of the leather on her skin. She checks herself out in the mirror and steps out to show it to Margot and Manon.

Margot stares at her with her mouth open and Scorpia spins around once to show it off. Manon comes out of the other dressing room, wearing a white blouse and a half-long wide skirt. Scorpia says: "That looks amazing on you Manon! Businesslike but still like a young woman. "

Manon looks at her boss and says: "You look tough like this. Different from all those other business women. I like it."

Margot asks: "Are you happy with it?"

"Yes, I am. This is my favorite skirt from now on. You didn't know, but I love leather. Do you sell shoes too?"

Margot beams and says: "I'm so glad. And no, I don't sell shoes. But I could."

"Okay. I'm a size 7 and I have the same taste in shoes as I have in clothes. Find me some and have them delivered to my office. And all the clothes on that rack too. I want it all. And I will reward you for it properly of course."

Margot bites her lip and Scorpia looks at her with a soft smile. "R-really? A-all of it? A-and shoes too?"

"Yes dear, I love it all. You've gathered exactly what I like. I am not going anywhere else for my outfits." She can tell that it's a bit too much to handle for the sisters and says: "I'll leave you alone for a bit. Take your time. I'll discuss some things with Bart and make some phone calls."

She steps out into the street and sees Bart lean against the Charger while watching his surroundings like a hawk. He notices her as she comes walking up and stares at her in shock. "And? What do you think Bart?"

He blushes a little and says: "Wow. Beautiful. Tough. Different. Yeah pretty."

Scorpia laughs and says: "Thank you. Manon will be out in a minute. I'm going to call the owner of the hair salon now." She pulls her mobile phone from her briefcase and calls Lexy.

She picks up and yells: "Gooooooodmorning sista!"

Scorpia shakes her head and laughs. "Good morning sunshine. How are you today?"

"I'm very well. Enjoying my salon. What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to drop by to introduce you to my assistant and to make an appointment. I need your help."

"Oh, wonderful. Rush over here! We can have coffee together. I have money for staff now, so I have more free time to do what I want."

"I'm so proud of you Lex! See you in a bit!"

Manon comes out and Bart's eyes roam over her body. Scorpia whispers: "Say it out loud. We love to hear it."

She reads through the messages on her phone and opens a picture of Logan. He took a selfie and looks into the camera with naughty eyes. She swallows and quickly closes the picture. She walks over to the Charger and Bart opens the door for her. Manon sits down in the backseat and Bart gets behind the wheel.

He drives to the hair salon and parks in front of the door. Scorpia turns around to look at Manon and says: This is my sister-in-law's hair salon. Her name is Lexy. She's the only hairdresser allowed to touch my hair. And remember, helping family and friends is always the right thing to do." Bart gets out, opens the door for Scorpia, and helps Manon out of the car next.

Scorpia walks into the salon and admires the changes. Bright, bold colors, and two extra hairdressers. Lexy runs up to her and hugs her tightly. Scorpia looks Manon in the eye and says mockingly: "So unprofessional." Manon giggles and her eyes sparkle with joy.

Lexy introduces herself happily and asks what she can do for them. "Well, this is Manon. My already amazing assistant. And she gets to decide what she wants. The boss is paying. And I would like to grow my hair out, but I need the best hairdresser in the world to help me with that." 

Manon stares at Scorpia in shock and Scorpia says: "Honey, you better get used to it. I'm unpredictable and I love to take care of the people around me."

Lexy calls one of her hairdressers over and asks her to take care of Manon. Scorpia sits down in a chair too and Lexy plays with her hair. She starts cutting and Scorpia asks: "Lex? Would you be interested in working in the beauty salon of the hotel once a month? And cut my staff's hair there?"

Lexy makes eye contact with her through the mirror and asks: "Did Logan tell you?" Scorpia looks at her sister-in-law with a puzzled expression on her face. "Ah, I guess he didn't. I am a certified nail specialist and I went to beauty school. But I never got my diploma. It has always been my dream to do all three; nails, skin, and hair."

Scorpia asks: "Do you still want that diploma? And would you be interested in guiding and teaching young people?"

Lexy stares at Scorpia and softly says: "I'd love to." Scorpia smiles wide and Lexy finishes Scorpia's haircut. "There. Now you can let it grow, without it hanging in your eyes."

Scorpia looks at herself in the mirror and nods happily. "Nice Lex. Come over to the hotel when you have the time, to look at the salon yourself and find yourself a course you'd like to take." Lexy pinches herself and Scorpia chuckles.

She looks over at Manon, who is getting a perm. "Have Manon message me when she's done. Bart will come and pick her up. Send me the bill. I'm going back to the office. Kiss your men for me and we'll see each other soon." She kisses Lexy and walks out confidently. Lexy watches her walk out in awe.

Her phone rings and she sees it's Dino. "Sorellina, can you come over to the gym? I need your help. I have someone here who knows where a few young girls are located. But he wants something in return for that info and that's where you come in."

Scorpia sighs and says: "You're being vague, but I'm on my way."

"Grazie sorellina."

Bart drops her off in front of the gym and he drives off to fill up the tank and pick up Manon. 

Scorpia walks in quickly and sees Dino in the middle of the ring with a guy. She also sees a woman tied to a chair and stares at her in shock.

She runs over to them, kicks her heels off and climbs into the ring. 

Her eyes move to Dino and she recognizes the guy next to him.

The guy starts to laugh and she runs over to him in a straight line and punches him in the face, hard. He falls on the ground and she yells at Dino: "What the fuck is Leonardo's son doing here!?! Have you forgotten that bastard used to work fo-"

Dino cuts her off and says: "Yes, this is Leonardo's son, Leo. But he's not the real bad guy here. He doesn't hurt women. He saves them. That's why he's here."

Scorpia scoffs, looks at Leo, and hears him say that he's impressed by her. And that he hopes Scorpia will be able to teach Jess how to channel her anger in the ring. 

Her eyes snap to the tied up woman, who softly chuckled at Leo's statement and looks her in the eye. 

"So your name is Jess? I'm Scorpia. How do you know this bastard?"

"My name is Jessica. And I have nothing to do with that asshole or his family! Besides them kidnapping me." 

Scorpia stealthily unties Jessica, in the time it takes the young woman to answer her. 

Jessica jumps up and attacks Leo immediately and aggressively. She's on top of him and growls, grabbing his head and slamming it into the floor repeatedly.

Dino and Scorpia quickly grab her and pull her off Leo. 

Jessica yells: "Don't EVER in your fucking life tie me up again, you little bitch! LET ME FUCKING GO!" They let her go and she turns around slowly, trying to calm herself by breathing deeply.

Dino says: "Dannazione! Leo wasn't kidding. She practically knocked him unconscious."

Scorpia smiles a tiny bit and says: "I like her already. We should train together. We could use another strong woman in here." 

Jessica looks Scorpia over and nods lightly. 

Scorpia looks at Dino and says: "Give her my number, I'm too busy to breathe in the same air as this asshole." 

She kicks Leo and she grins when he moans. 

"Do you need me for anything else?"

Dino shakes his head and says: "No, Leo is going to tell me where I can find those girls, and then I'll go get them and bring them to you. I'll see you soon."

Scorpia says goodbye to Jessica and looks her over with admiration. "Nice to meet you, Jessica."

She takes a step towards Leo, who is still on the ground, looking up at her with his bloody, beat-up face. She gives him a condescending look and says: "You look better with blood on your face, pretty boy." 

She does a somersault on the ropes, lands on her feet perfectly, and puts her heels back on. She waves at Dino and walks out, where Bart is already waiting for her.

⇄⇄⇄ Want to know more about Jessica? Go over to oncetheywrite 's profile and read Screw Me Over. If you want to know more about this scene and read about it from a different POV? Read chapter 27 – Jessica in Screw Me Over. ⇄⇄⇄

Scorpia smiles at the receptionist and walks into her office. Ciro is on the phone and she catches the last part of the conversation: "...dannazione Dino. Yeah, do that. We'll figure something out. I'll discuss it with Scorpia. Good luck!"

Ciro looks her over from head to toe and wolf whistles. "Wow, sorellina! Good outfit!"

Scorpia poses and asks him: "What is it you have to discuss with me?"

"Sit down for a bit." 

Scorpia sits down and gets nervous. 

"Dino followed up on a tip and found four teenage girls in some run-down building. But there was a really young girl there too. There were no other people in the ruined building. They just left the girls there to die."

Scorpia swears and rubs her temples. "Dino will bring them all here, including the little girl. But she seems traumatized and Dino is very worried about her. He promised to keep me posted."

"Have you seen Ricardo yet?"

"Yes, he helped his mother pick out uniforms and materials and he should be having lunch in the restaurant right now."

Scorpia gets up and says: "Okay, I'm off to lunch and talk to Ricardo."

She walks into the restaurant and finds Ricardo lunching with his family. "Good afternoon Esperanza, Emilia, and Ricardo. Have a good meal!"

Ricardo gets up and hugs her. "Good afternoon! You look amazing!"

"Thank you! I can't wait to get my nails done." She winks at Emilia, who beams because Scorpia didn't forget about it. Ricardo gallantly pulls a chair back for her and Scorpia sits down at the table with them.

"Esperanza? How is your first day so far?" Esperanza happily starts to tell her all about her morning and how beautiful the suite is. And Scorpia listens to her attentively.

The nervous boy from this morning appears at the table with a plate of chicken Alfredo. He clears his throat and she looks at him. "Miss? I've made you chicken Alfredo."

Scorpia smiles wide and says: "You know what I told you, right? What I would do if it was good?" The boy nods and Scorpia asks him to wait. She fills her fork and takes a bite. She closes her eyes and takes in all the flavors. It's very good and she swallows it, followed by a happy sigh.

She gets up and straightens her skirt. The boy looks up at her with nervous eyes, but she smiles at him and wraps her arms around him. "That is really yummy. Thank you so much!" 

The boy blushes and smiles shyly, before running back to the kitchen.

Scorpia sticks her fork in another piece of chicken and smiles a bit absent-mindedly. Esperanza and Emilia excuse themselves and get up from the table. Ricardo eyes her plate and she offers him a bite. "Wow. This really is good. I thought you were just being nice." 

Scorpia laughs and takes another bite.

"Ricardo? Dino has saved five kids just now. Four teens and one very little girl. Left behind in a dirty, run-down building. They think the little girl is very traumatized." She lets out a long sigh and rubs her temples.

Ricardo rubs her back and says: "I'll stay here and help you evaluate them, okay? And if the little girl needs professional help, I know a few options we can take. I'll be with you the whole time."

"Thank you. I don't know how I will respond to a little girl. And I don't know if she belongs to one of the teen girls. I came up with all of this, but there are so many kids out there that need help."

"Scorpia? Eat your chicken Alfredo. I'll go get you a glass of wine to go with it. And then we'll talk about something else for a bit." Ricardo walks off and comes back with two glasses of wine. She takes a sip and Ricardo sits down across from her.

He raises his glass to her and takes a sip. Scorpia tells him about Manon's sister and about Lexy. She sees a message from Logan appear on her phone screen. She opens it and sees it's a picture of a pouting Logan because she didn't reply to his last picture.

"Ricardo? Could you help me out here? And take a picture of me?" She hands him her phone and gets up to pose for the picture. Looking into the camera with a smoldering look.

Ricardo takes the picture and asks: "For Logan?"

Scorpia nods and sends the picture to Logan. "Thanks! That'll teach him."

Ricardo laughs and says: "I don't even want to know." 

He tells Scorpia about the research and the team he is trying to form for all of it. She listens to him, while she drinks from her wine and empties her plate. She hears Lexy's laughter in the distance and hears her yell her name as soon as she enters the restaurant.

Scorpia laughs: "Here comes my sister-in-law. We can start the party now."

Ricardo chuckles and Lexy says: "The beauty salon is amazing! I gave Emilia a spot there, to do your nails as soon as your ready." Lexy winks at Scorpia and rummages through her handbag. She pulls a set of keys out of it and hands them to Ricardo. Ricardo doesn't get it and Lexy says: "Scorpia knows the address. I'll go back to the salon, to investigate it all and gossip about you with Emilia ."

Scorpia laughs and says: "I love her. She's always herself. And those are the keys to your own apartment."

Ricardo looks into her eyes and asks: "Huh? My apartment?"

"Yes. And another thing. A Dodge 1500 pick-up, right?"

"What? Such an awesome car! What?"

Her phone rings and she picks up immediately when she sees it's Ciro. Ciro says: "The Dodge pick-up has arrived. Send him over."

Scorpia says: "Nice. Lexy just gave him the keys to his apartment. Have the Gentiles been there too?"

Ciro laughs and says: "Of course sorellina. You know we don't do anything halfway in this family."

"Ciro, ti amo. I'm going to get my nails done and I'll send Ricardo to you." 

She gets up and Ricardo does the same. "Hon, Ciro is waiting for you. He has to discuss something with you. And while you do that, I'll get my nails done by your sweet sister." She kisses him on the cheek and walks out of the restaurant.

She hears music play in the beauty salon and sees that Lexy helped Emilia with setting everything up for a manicure. Scorpia sits down across from Emilia and the girl shoots an insecure look at Lexy. 

Lexy says: "Don't be scared. You've got this."

Emilia takes a deep breath and says: "Good afternoon miss. I'm your nail specialist, Emilia. What can I do for you today?"

Scorpia answers in a serious tone: "I would really like to have my nails painted red. If that's possible."

Emilia beams and says: "Of course that's possible miss. I have various shades of red. You can pick one you like." Scorpia picks the darkest shade and Emilia cleans Scorpia nails to get rid of the old nail polish. She applies a basecoat and then shakes the bottle of red polish. Lexy keeps an eye on her from a distance and Emilia does her work meticulously.

Scorpia looks at her nails as soon as they're dry and Lexy comes over to judge Emilia's work. Scorpia smiles wide and says: "Wow. You're definitely better at it than I am. Thank you, Emilia!"

Lexy studies the nails and says: "With a steady hand like that, you could easily do gel polish. And Scorpia only has to come in once every six weeks."

Emilia says a bit timid: "But that's very expensive."

Scorpia looks at Lexy and says: "Order it. But only if Emilia does it."

The girls starts to cry and Scorpia wraps her arms around her. She says in a broken voice: "Thank you. I really want this. And mister Ciro said I have to finish school, but that I am allowed to take courses towards becoming a beautician."

Scorpia wipes Emilia's tears away and says: "Mister Ciro is right. I think Lexy would love to help you with your courses."

Lexy nods and says: "I'd love to. You're talented Emilia."

Scorpia gets up and says: "You will always be allowed to come in here to do someone's nails, Emilia. Practice as much as you want." The young girls looks at all the bottles of nail polish with a happy expression on her face and the two women walk out of the salon.

Lexy says: "Such a sweet girl."

"Yes and well mannered. She deserves a chance."

They arrive in the lobby and walk over to Annette. Scorpia introduces Lexy to her and says: "This is Lexy. My sister-in-law. And my best friend. Awsome hairdresser and more. She is always allowed to walk in, without going through you first or needing an appointment." Lexy smiles wide and talks to Anette and the girls.

Scorpia looks out of the window and sees a black van stop in front of the hotel. Dino gets out and opens the sliding door. Four teenage girls come out and Dino kneels down in front of the van. He looks stressed and Scorpia grabs Lexy by her upper arm. 

"Lex, I think we need a mom for this." 

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That was chapter 44 for you.
A bit of a long one again.

Any thoughts on the little girl?
What do you expect? 

And what did you think of the crossover?
oncetheywrite writes amazing books. Check out her work!
And it's such an honor to have Scorpia and Dino in her book Screw Me Over. 
I think Scorpia and Jessica will get along nicely. 

You will learn more about the little girl in the next chapter.
I plan to have it up next Friday. I hope I can keep that promise.

Have a good Sunday! For what's left of it.
See you when I update again.
XO Hankie