Chapter 23: News and a Family Gathering
After that unexpected meal—or rather, that prepared one—Dante gave Susie a brief tour of the city while she did some shopping. Since they were close to home, he offered to take her to his house, where she would personally see the legendary largest ranch in the United States.
On the way, this time driving himself, Dante glanced at Susie, who was wearing jeans paired with a T-shirt featuring Native American patterns, topped off with a brown coat.
"Do you have something to say?" Susie could read Dante quite well when he was brooding.
Dante sighed and asked, "What story are we going with in the end?"
"We'll say we're a couple. Do you have a problem with that?"
"Not at all; I just wanted to clarify to avoid misunderstandings."
Under normal circumstances, Dante wouldn't hesitate, but when it came to deceiving his father, he needed to ensure Susie was on the same page.
It was unusual for him to bring a woman home unless she was his girlfriend because, frankly, he had never brought anyone home before.
If Susie showed up now and introduced herself as just a friend, things could get awkward quickly—especially with someone like his sister Beth around.
"Let's say we met at a nightclub..."
"That would make me look like a woman desperate for a man, painting me as easy to get and tarnishing my reputation with your family," Susie said, disagreeing with Dante's suggestion.
Out of ideas, Dante looked at Susie, hoping she'd come up with something clever.
"We met at a library, where you helped me find a book. It's a classic story from romance novels and would work perfectly for your family."
"Then that's what we'll say."
...Yellowstone Ranch
Main House
Susie, who had now seen the ranch where Dante planned to expand his business, couldn't help but feel astonished.
This place was several times larger than the estates of dukes in the United Kingdom, and what was even more remarkable—it all belonged to a single family: the Duttons.
Now she understood why so many companies wanted this land to extend their empires. Every part of it was ideal for developing innovative ideas to promote tourism.
She still couldn't believe such a place was so little known to the world.
"Surprised?"
Susie looked at Dante and nodded. "A little. I was mentally preparing myself for something much worse, but fortunately, I was wrong."
When Dante heard this, he smiled slightly and then said, "You need to brace yourself to meet a family that hardly ever finishes a meal together."
It was no secret that most of his family couldn't get through a single peaceful meal, especially with his sister Beth, the most dramatic of them all, present.
"I've dealt with lunatics worse than a family. I can handle it."
When Dante entered the house, he found his father reading the newspaper. He greeted him, "Dad, I'd like to introduce you to someone."
John, hearing his son's voice, looked up. With a surprised expression in his eyes, he glanced at Dante, waiting for an explanation. "Who is she?"
"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Susie Glass, your son's girlfriend." Susie greeted John politely, though he still looked at Dante in surprise.
"He never mentioned having a girlfriend."
Dante, with a slightly awkward look, glanced at his father, signaling him to stop making discouraging remarks, and said, "You never asked."
"Ha! Well, please have a seat and tell me more about how you two met." John began his interrogation, wanting to ensure this beautiful woman wasn't taking advantage of his son.
Meanwhile, just as Dante was about to sit down, he received a rather concerning phone call. "Excuse me for a moment; I need to take this call."
...
"We've got a problem with the liquor license!"
Dante's expression instantly darkened. Then, with a completely altered tone, he asked, "What's the damn issue?"
"A man named Malcolm Beck is blocking our license until he can speak directly with you, the owner."
"Have you looked into him?"
"We're on it, but it seems to be related to your family's ranch."
Dante had a vague idea of where this was headed, so he said, "Set up the meeting. Make it first thing tomorrow morning."
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