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Short filmTranscript
00:00I'm screaming at a Mercedes-AMG GT in the middle of Brickle Avenue at 2 in the afternoon,
00:04and honestly, I've had worse Tuesdays.
00:08Learn to fucking drive!
00:09I lean out my window, one hand death-gripping my steering wheel,
00:13the other gesturing wildly at the sleek black car that just cut me off.
00:18This is Miami, not a goddamn Fast and Furious audition.
00:22The Mercedes doesn't move, just sits there, purring like a $200,000 predator,
00:27while my 2009 Honda Civic coughs asthmatically behind it.
00:31I'm already late.
00:3320 minutes late to my second job interview this week
00:35because the first one told me I was overqualified but underexperienced,
00:39which is corporate speak for, we're not paying you what you're worth.
00:43My landlord texted me this morning with a smiley face
00:46and a reminder that rent was due three days ago.
00:49My phone's at 12%.
00:50I'm wearing a blazer I borrowed from my roommate that smells vaguely like her boyfriend's cologne,
00:55and now this asshole in his Batmobile wants to play chicken in lunch hour traffic.
01:00The driver's door opens.
01:02Oh, perfect.
01:03He's getting out.
01:04Stay in your car!
01:06I yell because apparently I've chosen violence today.
01:09We're in the middle of an intersection!
01:12But he doesn't stay in his car.
01:14Of course he doesn't.
01:15He unfolds himself from the driver's seat like he's got all the time in the world,
01:19tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a charcoal suit
01:21that probably costs more than my student loans.
01:25Dark hair swept back, sharp jawline, and sunglasses that scream,
01:29I own things you can't pronounce.
01:31He walks toward me.
01:33Toward.
01:34Me.
01:35Cars are honking.
01:37Someone yells in Spanish.
01:38The light's been green for ten seconds.
01:40Are you insane?
01:42I shout as he approaches my window.
01:44Move your car!
01:44He stops right beside my door, bends down slightly, and pulls off his sunglasses.
01:51Jesus Christ.
01:52He's got these eyes.
01:54Dark, intense, the kind that make you forget you were mid-sentence.
01:58There's this barely-there smirk playing at the corner of his mouth,
02:02like he's watching the most entertaining thing he's seen all year.
02:06You called me a what?
02:08His voice is low, smooth, with just enough edge to remind you he could probably make you disappear.
02:14A fast and furious audition?
02:17I-
02:18My brain stalls.
02:21Yeah, because you drive like Vin Diesel had a stroke.
02:24The smirk deepens.
02:27Vin Diesel?
02:29Move.
02:30Your.
02:30Car.
02:32I bite out each word, even though my heart's doing this weird hammering thing that has nothing to do with road rage.
02:38He studies me for a long moment, head tilted like I'm a puzzle he's just decided to solve.
02:43Behind him, someone lays on their horn.
02:46He doesn't even flinch.
02:48What's your name?
02:50Excuse me?
02:51Your name.
02:52He repeats, like we're at a cocktail party and not blocking traffic in downtown Miami.
02:57I'd like to know who just compared my driving to a stroke victim.
03:01That's not-
03:02I sputter.
03:03I'm not telling you my name, you psychopath.
03:06I'm late for a job interview.
03:08What kind of job?
03:09None of your business.
03:11My voice cracks slightly.
03:13Oh my god, are you seriously doing this right now?
03:15There are like 40 cars behind us.
03:18They can wait.
03:19He says it so casually, so absolutely, that I almost believe the entire city of Miami will just-
03:25Pause for him.
03:26Who the hell do you think you are?
03:28His smile goes sharp.
03:30Someone who appreciates a woman with a temper.
03:32My mouth opens, closes, opens again.
03:35I- what?
03:36You heard me.
03:38He straightens up, sliding his sunglasses back on.
03:41I'll move my car.
03:42On one condition.
03:44Conditions?
03:45I'm going to have an aneurysm.
03:47You can't negotiate in traffic.
03:49You have dinner with me.
03:50Tonight.
03:51I actually laugh.
03:53It's this strangled, slightly hysterical sound that probably makes me look unhinged.
03:58You almost cause an accident, block an intersection, and now you're asking me on a date?
04:03Yes.
04:05That's the most entitled-
04:06Seven o'clock.
04:08I'll pick you up.
04:09You don't even know where I live.
04:12He pulls out his phone, taps something, and my phone buzzes in the cup holder.
04:16I stare at it.
04:17Then at him.
04:18How did you-
04:20Your license plate, he says simply, like he didn't just commit a felony.
04:25Ran it.
04:26You're Ivy Morales.
04:27You live at 2247 Southwest 13th Street, apartment 4C, and you're late for an interview at Bentley
04:33and Ross Marketing.
04:34My blood goes cold.
04:37That's-
04:37You can't just-
04:39I can.
04:40He leans down again, close enough that I can smell his cologne, something expensive and
04:45cedar dark.
04:46And I will be at your apartment at seven.
04:49Wear something nice.
04:50Not that blazer.
04:51This is insane.
04:52You're insane.
04:54Probably.
04:54He taps the roof of my car twice, like we're old friends.
04:59Drive safe, Ivy.
05:01Then he's walking back to his Mercedes, all lethal grace and casual authority, and I'm
05:06sitting here with my mouth hanging open like a base.
05:09He slides into his car, and just like that, pulls away smoothly into traffic.
05:15Leaving me.
05:16In the middle of Brickle Avenue, with every car behind me honking.
05:21I drive to my interview in a daze.
05:24I don't remember parking.
05:25Don't remember walking into the building or shaking hands with the hiring manager or
05:29answering questions about my marketing experience.
05:31I'm on autopilot, nodding and smiling while my brain plays the last 15 minutes on loop.
05:38Someone who appreciates a woman with a temper.
05:41What the actual hell?
05:42My phone buzzes halfway through the interview.
05:46I ignore it.
05:47It buzzes again during my, tell me about a time you overcame a challenge answer.
05:52And again, when I'm in the elevator heading back down.
05:54Three texts from an unknown number.
05:58Unknown.
05:59You did well.
06:01They'll call you back.
06:02Unknown.
06:03Also, you have something in your teeth.
06:06Left side.
06:07Unknown.
06:08See you at 7, Ivy.
06:10I check my teeth in the elevator mirror.
06:12He's right.
06:13Spinach from my breakfast wrap.
06:14Great.
06:15Fantastic.
06:16I just interviewed with Kale in my incisors while being stalked by a man in a quarter-million-dollar
06:21car.
06:22My roommate, Daniela, is on the couch when I get home.
06:24Eating Cheetos and watching reality TV.
06:27How'd it go?
06:28She asks.
06:29I got asked out by a stalker.
06:32She pauses mid-chew.
06:34What?
06:35He ran my license plate.
06:36Found my address.
06:37He's picking me up at 7.
06:39Ivy.
06:40I know, I know.
06:41I should call the cops.
06:43I drop onto the couch beside her, stealing a Cheeto.
06:46But Danny, he was so hot I forgot how to speak English.
06:50Girl.
06:51She looks at me seriously.
06:53Hot doesn't excuse stalker behavior.
06:54That's literally how every true crime documentary starts.
06:58I know that.
06:59I groan, covering my face with my hands.
07:02But also, there was something about him.
07:05Like he could buy the police station.
07:07Or the whole city.
07:08He had this...
07:10presence.
07:11Yeah, it's called future murderer charisma.
07:14He didn't feel dangerous.
07:16Well, he did.
07:18But not like danger dangerous.
07:19More like...
07:21I struggle for words.
07:23Like standing too close to a bonfire.
07:25You know it could burn you.
07:27But you don't step back.
07:29Daniela throws a Cheeto at my head.
07:31You're not going.
07:33I didn't say I was going.
07:35Your face says you're going.
07:38My phone buzzes again.
07:40Unknown.
07:41By the way, I'm Luca.
07:43Luca Dante.
07:44Since you never asked.
07:46I stare at the screen.
07:48Dante.
07:49Even I've heard that name.
07:51Everyone in Miami has.
07:53The Dante family owns half the waterfront.
07:55Three casinos.
07:56And allegedly, allegedly, runs the most powerful crime syndicate from here to New York.
08:02Oh my God.
08:04My voice comes out flat.
08:06I yelled at a mob boss in traffic.
08:08Daniela grabs my phone, reads the message, and goes completely pale.
08:13Ivy.
08:14No.
08:14Absolutely not.
08:15I didn't do anything.
08:17You called Luca Dante a stroke victim.
08:20I didn't know who he was.
08:22I'm standing now, pacing.
08:24How was I supposed to know?
08:26He was just some asshole in a Mercedes.
08:28Some asshole who could make you disappear for insulting him.
08:31He didn't seem insulted.
08:33He seemed...
08:34I trail off, remembering his smile.
08:37That dangerous, interested smile.
08:40Amused.
08:41My phone buzzes a third time.
08:44Luca.
08:45Wear the blue dress.
08:47The one in your closet.
08:49Second from the left.
08:50I drop my phone like it's venomous.
08:53He's in my closet?
08:54My voice hits a pitch only dogs can hear.
08:57How is he in my closet?
09:00Daniela's already heading for the door.
09:02I'm staying at Marcus's tonight.
09:04Maybe the whole week.
09:05Maybe forever.
09:07You can't leave me.
09:08Watch me.
09:10She grabs her purse, her toothbrush from the bathroom.
09:12If you're still alive tomorrow, text me.
09:14If not, I'll tell the cops you went down fighting.
09:17Danny.
09:18The door slams.
09:20I'm alone in the apartment, staring at my phone.
09:22My heart racing.
09:24I should be terrified.
09:25Should be calling 911 or my mother or a priest.
09:28Instead, I walk to my closet.
09:30Pull open the door.
09:31And there it is.
09:32Second from the left.
09:34Just like he said.
09:36The blue dress I bought on sale six months ago and never wore because it felt too nice for my life.
09:41There's a note pinned to the hanger in bold, slanted handwriting.
09:46You'll look beautiful in this.
09:49See you soon.
09:51Elle, I should run.
09:52I should pack a bag and flee to my parents' place in Orlando.
09:57But instead, I pick up the dress, hold it against myself in the mirror, and think about eyes that saw straight through me in the middle of traffic.
10:05Seven o'clock is three hours away.
10:07And God help me, I'm already choosing which heels to wear.
10:09He's 15 minutes late.
10:14I've changed three times.
10:16Settled on the blue dress with nude heels.
10:18Redone my makeup twice.
10:20And convinced myself approximately 17 times that I'm making the worst decision of my life.
10:26Daniela's sent 12 texts ranging from,
10:28Are you alive?
10:29To, I'm writing your obituary and it says,
10:32She was stupid but her hair looked good.
10:35At 7.16, there's a knock.
10:37Not a doorbell.
10:39A knock.
10:40Confident.
10:41Unhurried.
10:41Like he knows I'm standing on the other side, spiraling.
10:45I count to five, don't want to seem desperate.
10:47Then open the door.
10:49Luca Dante leans against my doorframe in dark slacks and a white button down with the sleeves rolled to his forearms.
10:54No tie.
10:55Top button undone.
10:57He looks like a cologne ad directed by someone who understands female fantasy.
11:02His eyes travel from my heels to my face, slow and deliberate.
11:07You wore the dress.
11:08I wore my dress, I correct, stepping out and locking the door behind me.
11:12Which you somehow knew about.
11:15Which we're going to discuss.
11:17Are we?
11:18He sounds amused.
11:20Yes.
11:21Right after you explain how you got my address, my phone number, and apparently a full inventory of my closet in under four hours.
11:28He holds out his arm like we're at a charity gala.
11:31I have resources.
11:33Resources.
11:34I don't take his arm.
11:36That's a fun way to say committed several crimes.
11:39Alleged crimes.
11:40You literally told me you ran my plates?
11:44Technically, my guy ran your plates.
11:47He starts walking toward the stairs, completely unbothered by my refusal to touch him.
11:51I just ask nicely.
11:52I follow because the alternative is standing in my hallway looking stupid.
11:58What guy?
11:59Your hacker?
11:59Your...
12:00What do you people even call them?
12:02Your conciliere?
12:04People?
12:05He glances back, one eyebrow raised.
12:08You know what I mean.
12:09Say it, Ivy.
12:11We're on the stairs now.
12:13His car, a different one, a midnight blue Bentley, is parked directly in front of my building in a clearly marked no parking zone.
12:21Say what?
12:22What you think I am.
12:24He opens the passenger door, waits.
12:27You've been dancing around it since you got in your car.
12:30I stop on the sidewalk.
12:32Fine.
12:33You're mafia.
12:34Close.
12:35He gestures to the car.
12:37I prefer businessman with unconventional methods.
12:41That's literally what every mob boss says.
12:43Then I'm in good company.
12:46His smile is sharp.
12:47Getting in, or would you like to keep interrogating me on the street?
12:50I get in because a woman in scrubs is staring at us from across the street, and because the leather seats smell incredible, and because, God help me, I want to know what happens next.
13:02He slides into the driver's seat with that same liquid grace, starts the engine.
13:08Where are we going?
13:09Dinner.
13:10Wow.
13:11Specific.
13:12You'll see.
13:14He pulls into traffic.
13:16Smoothly this time, I notice.
13:18How was the rest of your interview?
13:19How do you know I had the rest of an interview?
13:23Because you're competent, and you needed the job.
13:26He switches lanes.
13:27They offered it to you yet?
13:30You—I stop.
13:32Wait.
13:32Did you do something?
13:34Define something.
13:36Luca.
13:37I may have suggested to their CEO that hiring you would be in everyone's best interest.
13:42He says it casually, like he's discussing the weather.
13:45You got me the job?
13:47I made a recommendation.
13:48You got yourself the job by being qualified.
13:51That's—you can't just interfere with my life.
13:54I just did.
13:56He glances at me, and there's something darker in his expression now.
14:00You were late because of me.
14:02I fixed it.
14:03By intimidating someone into hiring me?
14:06By making a phone call.
14:09His jaw tightens slightly.
14:11Marcus Bentley owes me a favor.
14:13Now he owes me one less.
14:15You get a job you earned.
14:17Everyone wins.
14:19I should be furious.
14:21Should demand he take me home right now.
14:24Instead, I'm staring at his hands on the steering wheel.
14:27Strong.
14:28Elegant.
14:28With a thin white scar across his left knuckles.
14:31And trying not to think about what owing him a favor means in his world.
14:36You're insane.
14:38I say finally.
14:39You mentioned that earlier.
14:40I'm mentioning it again.
14:42We're heading south on I-95, the city skyline glittering behind us in the early evening sun.
14:48The ocean appears on our right, impossibly blue.
14:51I looked you up, I admit.
14:54After you texted.
14:55And?
14:56And you're Luca Dante.
14:58Your family owns half of Miami.
15:00You're on Forbes under 30.
15:02You've never been arrested despite multiple investigations.
15:06I tick them off on my fingers.
15:08You donate to children's hospitals and allegedly run protection rackets.
15:12You're either a philanthropist or a criminal, and I can't figure out which.
15:16Why not both?
15:18That's not how morality works.
15:20Says who?
15:22He exits the highway, turning onto a coastal road I don't recognize.
15:26I protect people who can't protect themselves.
15:29I solve problems the legal system ignores.
15:32And yes, I profit.
15:33But everyone under my protection sleeps safely.
15:37Unless they cross you.
15:39His expression doesn't change.
15:41Unless they cross me.
15:44The honesty is almost worse than a lie.
15:47We pull up to a restaurant that doesn't have a sign.
15:50Just a sleek glass building perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
15:54A valet appears instantly.
15:57Mr. Dante?
15:58The kid can't be older than 20, and he looks at Luca like he's meeting royalty.
16:03Welcome back, sir.
16:05Thanks, Marco.
16:06Luca hands him the keys, then comes around to open my door.
16:10Your sister doing better?
16:13Marco's face lights up.
16:15Yes, sir.
16:16The surgery went perfect.
16:18She's coming home tomorrow.
16:20Good.
16:21Luca slips him what looks like several hundred-dollar bills.
16:24Give her my best.
16:26Marco practically bows before getting in the car.
16:29You paid for his sister's surgery, I say.
16:32As Luca guides me inside with a hand on my lower back.
16:36She needed a new kidney.
16:37Insurance wasn't covering it.
16:39So you just...
16:41Paid for it.
16:43Marco works for me.
16:44I take care of my people.
16:46The restaurant is gorgeous.
16:48Floor-to-ceiling windows, white tablecloths, soft jazz.
16:51Every table is full except one by the window with a reserved sign.
16:56Ours, apparently.
16:58The maitre d' greets Luca by name, leads us over.
17:02The sunset is painting the ocean gold and pink.
17:05This is too much, I say once we're seated.
17:08It's dinner.
17:10This is a marriage proposal restaurant.
17:12This is where billionaires bring their mistresses.
17:14Are you volunteering for the position?
17:17His eyes gleam with amusement.
17:20I'm unemployed.
17:21Well, was unemployed.
17:23Until you interfered.
17:24You're welcome.
17:26I didn't say thank you.
17:27You were thinking it.
17:29I was.
17:31Damn it.
17:31A waiter appears with champagne I didn't order.
17:35Luca waves away the menu.
17:36We'll have the tasting menu.
17:38She's allergic to shellfish.
17:39The waiter nods and disappears.
17:42I stare at Luca.
17:43How did you...
17:45Medical records.
17:46That's HIPAA violation.
17:48Allegedly.
17:49He pours champagne into both our glasses.
17:52I wanted to make sure you didn't die at dinner.
17:54Would have been bad form.
17:56You're unbelievable.
17:57You keep saying that.
17:59He leans back, studying me.
18:02Yet here you are.
18:03Because you stalked me.
18:06I prefer expressed aggressive interest.
18:09That's literally the definition of stalking.
18:12Ivy.
18:13He says my name softly,
18:15and something in his voice makes me stop.
18:18If you genuinely want to leave,
18:20I'll take you home right now.
18:22No consequences.
18:23No hard feelings.
18:25I wait for the but.
18:27It doesn't come.
18:29He just watches me with those dark,
18:31impossible eyes, waiting.
18:34I don't understand you.
18:36I say finally.
18:37You're a criminal.
18:39Alleged criminal.
18:40Who breaks into databases and threatens people,
18:43but you pay for surgeries and ask permission before ordering my dinner.
18:47I'm complicated.
18:49That's an understatement.
18:51So are you.
18:53He takes a sip of champagne.
18:56You're broke.
18:57Behind on rent.
18:58Working two interviews in one day.
19:00But you stop to yell at a stranger in traffic because he cut you off.
19:04That's not survival instinct.
19:06That's pride.
19:07Or stupidity.
19:09I don't think so.
19:11His gaze intensifies.
19:13I think you're someone who doesn't back down,
19:15even when you should.
19:17You...
19:17The first course arrives.
19:19Something delicate and artistic that probably has a French name.
19:22Is that why you followed me?
19:25I ask.
19:26Because I yelled at you?
19:28Partially.
19:29He cuts into his food with surgical precision.
19:32Also because you looked at me like I was just a man.
19:35Not a name.
19:36Not a reputation.
19:37Just an asshole in a Mercedes.
19:40You were an asshole in a Mercedes.
19:43Exactly.
19:44His smile is genuine this time,
19:46reaching his eyes.
19:48Do you know how rare that is?
19:50Everyone I meet wants something or fears something.
19:53You just wanted me to move my car.
19:56Still do, honestly.
19:57You're a terrible driver.
20:00He laughs.
20:01Actually laughs.
20:02This low, warm sound that does dangerous things to my nervous system.
20:06I'm an excellent driver.
20:08You were in my blind spot.
20:10Your blind spot is the size of a compact car?
20:13I was distracted.
20:15Bye?
20:17Closing a deal.
20:18Guy owed me money.
20:19Had to make sure he understood payment terms.
20:22Payment terms.
20:24I set down my fork.
20:25Is that code for breaking his kneecaps?
20:28No one's kneecaps were harmed.
20:31He pauses.
20:32His car, however, is at the bottom of Biscayne Bay.
20:35I should not find that funny.
20:37I laugh anyway.
20:38I...
20:38And Luca Dante smiles at me like I'm the most fascinating thing he's ever seen,
20:42and I realize with absolute certainty that I'm in so much trouble.
20:47The kind you don't walk away from.
20:49The kind that changes everything.
20:51Not because I don't want to.
20:53God, I want to.
20:54But because every time we get close, he pulls back.
20:57Kisses my forehead.
20:59Calls me a car.
21:00Leaves me wanting.
21:02Playing the long game, Daniella calls it.
21:05Driving me insane, I call it.
21:08Ivy.
21:09His voice is tight when I answer.
21:11Where are you?
21:12Work.
21:13Why?
21:14Stay there.
21:15I'm sending someone.
21:16Luca, what's happening?
21:18Silence.
21:19Then, there's a problem.
21:21With the Moretti family.
21:22They know about you.
21:24My blood goes cold.
21:25Know what about me?
21:27That you matter to me.
21:29He says it simply, like it's not the most terrifying and thrilling thing I've ever heard.
21:34Which makes you leverage.
21:35I need you somewhere safe until I handle this.
21:39Handle this how?
21:41Ivy.
21:43No.
21:45I'm standing now, grabbing my purse.
21:48You don't get to make decisions about my safety without explaining what I'm being kept safe from.
21:52They're dangerous.
21:54So are you.
21:55My voice carries across the office.
21:57People stare.
21:58I lower it.
22:00So are you, and I'm still here.
22:02Talk to me.
22:03Another pause.
22:04The Morettis want my territory.
22:07They think taking you will make me weak.
22:10Distracted.
22:11Will it?
22:13Yes.
22:14No hesitation.
22:15Which is why you need to...
22:17Meet me.
22:18I'm already walking toward the elevator.
22:21Wherever you are.
22:22Right now.
22:24That's the opposite of safe.
22:26I don't care.
22:28You don't get to protect me from a distance, like I'm some fragile thing you keep in a box.
22:31The elevator doors open.
22:34Either I'm in this with you or I'm not in it at all.
22:37Choose.
22:39Ivy.
22:40Choose, Luca.
22:41He exhales slowly.
22:44Dante Industries.
22:45Top floor.
22:46Security will expect you.
22:48I hang up and text Daniela.
22:51If I die, you were right about everything.
22:54Her response is immediate.
22:55Obviously.
22:56But don't die.
22:58I already planned your bachelorette party.
23:01The Dante Industries building is downtown.
23:03All glass and steel and money.
23:06Security waves me through like I'm expected, which I guess I am.
23:09The elevator ride to the 42nd floor feels like it takes 17 years.
23:13The doors open to chaos.
23:16Not loud chaos.
23:17Quiet.
23:18Deadly chaos.
23:20Men in expensive suits talking in low voices.
23:23Multiple phones ringing.
23:25And at the center, standing by floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city in broad daylight,
23:31is Luca.
23:32Then don't let them.
23:33I stop in front of him.
23:35You told me you protect your people.
23:37That everyone under your protection sleeps safely.
23:40You're not my people.
23:42You're...
23:43He stops, jaw clenching.
23:45I'm what?
23:47More.
23:48The word comes out rough.
23:51You're so much more.
23:52And that's the problem.
23:54I can think rationally about business.
23:56Territory.
23:57Money.
23:58But you...
23:59His hand comes up.
24:01Cups my face.
24:02I can't lose you.
24:04My heart is trying to escape my chest.
24:07So don't.
24:08Fight for me.
24:09I am fighting for you.
24:11By keeping you away from this.
24:13No.
24:15I step closer.
24:16Close enough to feel his heat.
24:18You're fighting for the idea of me staying safe and untouched in some bubble.
24:22But I'm already in this, Luca.
24:24The second you ran my plates.
24:26The second you showed up at my door.
24:28You made me part of your world.
24:31I can unmake it.
24:33You can't.
24:34My hands find his chest.
24:35And I don't want you to.
24:37He's staring at me like I'm speaking another language.
24:40You should want normal.
24:42Safe.
24:43Some guy with a 401k and a golden retriever.
24:46I had normal.
24:47It was boring and broke and going nowhere.
24:50I'm barely breathing.
24:51Then you cut me off in traffic and looked at me like I was the most interesting thing you'd
24:56ever seen.
24:57You learned my allergies and paid for stranger surgeries and taught me to shoot because you
25:01couldn't stand the thought of me being afraid.
25:03You're the least normal thing that's ever happened to me and I don't want to go back.
25:06I.V.
25:08So here's what's going to happen.
25:11My voice steddens.
25:12You're going to tell me the plan.
25:14Not send me away.
25:15Not lock me in some safe house.
25:17We're going to handle the Morettis together.
25:20Together.
25:21Yes.
25:23You want to be involved in a mafia war?
25:25I want to be involved in your life?
25:28I pull back slightly.
25:30All of it.
25:31The pretty parts and the ugly parts and the dangerous parts.
25:34Or I walk right now and you never have to worry about me being leverage again?
25:39It's a bluff.
25:40Mostly.
25:42My hands are shaking.
25:43Luca sees it.
25:44Catches my wrist gently.
25:46Feels my pulse racing under his thumb.
25:48You're terrified.
25:49He says quietly.
25:52Absolutely.
25:53But you're here anyway.
25:56Apparently I make bad decisions when I care about someone.
25:59I meet his eyes.
26:01So?
26:02What's it going to be?
26:04For a long moment, he just looks at me.
26:07Then something shifts in his expression.
26:10The walls coming down, the controls slipping.
26:13The Morettis are meeting their distributors at the Port of Miami.
26:16Today.
26:16Four o'clock.
26:17His thumb is still on my pulse.
26:20I'm going to make them an offer they can't refuse.
26:24That's a Godfather reference.
26:26I'm aware.
26:27Not very original.
26:29His mouth quirks.
26:30You're critiquing my threatening rhetoric right now?
26:33Someone has to.
26:34I smile despite everything.
26:37What's the offer?
26:39They back off my territory and anyone associated with me, especially you, or I release evidence
26:44of their offshore accounts to the IRS and the FBI simultaneously.
26:48He says it calmly.
26:51They'll be in federal prison by dinner.
26:53You've had this the whole time?
26:56Insurance policy.
26:57I prefer not to involve federal agencies bad for business, but for you.
27:01His hand slides into my hair.
27:03I'd burn every bridge I have.
27:06My breath catches.
27:08Luca.
27:09I'm in love with you.
27:11He says it like a confession.
27:13Like it's been killing him.
27:15Since you called me a stroke victim in the middle of traffic.
27:19Maybe before.
27:20Maybe the second I saw you fighting with the universe over a green light.
27:24And it's terrifying because I've never...
27:27He stops.
27:28I don't let people matter.
27:30It's a liability.
27:31But you...
27:32I kiss him.
27:34Not gentle.
27:35Not tentative.
27:37I kiss him like I've wanted to for three weeks.
27:39And he responds immediately.
27:41One hand in my hair.
27:43The other pulling me against him.
27:45Kissing me back like he's been dying for it.
27:46When we break apart, we're both breathing hard.
27:50Come with me.
27:51He says against my mouth.
27:53To the port.
27:54I want them to see you.
27:56See what they tried to threaten.
27:58See that you're mine and untouchable.
28:00That's either really romantic or really crazy.
28:04Both.
28:05His forehead rests against mine.
28:07Probably both.
28:09Okay.
28:10Okay?
28:11Let's go terrify some mobsters.
28:14I grin.
28:14Also, I'm keeping that insurance policy thing in mind.
28:18Very romantic.
28:19Threatening federal prosecution on my behalf.
28:23I contain multitudes.
28:25You contain felonies.
28:27Those, too.
28:28The port of Miami at 4 o'clock is all sunlight and shipping containers.
28:33Luca's people have secured the location.
28:35Men in dark suits positioned strategically,
28:37looking simultaneously professional and deadly.
28:39The Morettis arrive in a convoy of black SUVs.
28:43I'm standing next to Luca in the blazing daylight,
28:46wearing the blue dress again because I've decided it's my power outfit now,
28:50and watching three very surprised mob bosses realize I'm not cowering in a safe house.
28:56Dante.
28:57The oldest one, silver hair, expensive watch, speaks first.
29:03You brought a girl to a business meeting?
29:06I brought my future wife, Luca corrects calmly, and my heart stops.
29:11The woman you threatened.
29:12The leverage you thought you had.
29:14I wanted you to meet her.
29:16Look her in the eye.
29:17And understand that touching her means ending your family's entire operation.
29:21He slides a tablet toward them.
29:23Financial records, all your offshore accounts,
29:27shell companies, tax evasion dating back 12 years,
29:31one call to my contact at the FBI, and you're done.
29:35Silver hair's face goes red.
29:37You're bluffing.
29:38I never bluff.
29:40Luca's voice drops.
29:42Ask anyone.
29:43I could have sent this yesterday.
29:45Could have ended you without a conversation.
29:47But I'm offering you a choice.
29:49Back off.
29:50Completely.
29:51Leave my territory,
29:52my businesses,
29:53and especially her alone.
29:55Or test me.
29:57The silence stretches.
29:59Finally, silver hair nods stiffly.
30:01We're done here.
30:03Good.
30:04Luca doesn't move.
30:06Because if I even hear her name in your organization,
30:09I won't call the FBI.
30:10I'll handle it personally.
30:11We clear?
30:13Crystal.
30:14They leave.
30:15Just like that.
30:17I wait until their convoy disappears before turning to Luca.
30:21Future wife?
30:22He has the grace to look slightly embarrassed.
30:25I was making a point.
30:27That's a hell of a point.
30:30Unless?
30:31He stops.
30:32Unless you object to the terminology.
30:35I step closer,
30:36right there in the middle of the port with his security pretending not to watch.
30:40You just threatened a mob family with federal prosecution,
30:44called me your future wife,
30:45and won a territory war without firing a shot.
30:48All in daylight.
30:49Your point?
30:51My point is that you're insane.
30:53Dangerous.
30:54Probably going to give me a heart attack.
30:56And I'm completely in love with you, too.
30:58His smile is slow.
31:00Devastating.
31:01Yeah?
31:03Yeah.
31:04I grab his tie.
31:06Also, I'm keeping the blue dress.
31:08Keep all of it.
31:10He kisses me, soft and sure.
31:13Keep everything.
31:15It's all yours.
31:16Even the offshore insurance policies?
31:19Especially those.
31:21And standing there in the Miami sun,
31:24surrounded by shipping containers and armed security,
31:27kissing a man who fell in love with me because I yelled at him in traffic,
31:30I realize this is exactly the kind of crazy,
31:34dangerous, beautiful mess I want my life to be.
31:38Danielle is going to lose her mind.
31:40But she's also going to be my maid of honor.
31:42Because apparently, I'm marrying a mafia don.
31:45And honestly, I can't wait.
31:48If you made it to the end of Ivy and Luca's story, drop a comment below.
31:52Did you yell finally when they kissed at the port?
31:55Or were you Team Safehouse the whole time?
31:58Let me know.
31:59What was your favorite line of dialogue?
32:02Would you yell at a mysterious Mercedes in traffic?
32:05Be honest.
32:06Should I write more stories like this?
32:08Different tropes?
32:10Tell me what you want to see next.
32:12Like this video if you're now convinced that road rage can lead to romance.
32:16But maybe don't test it IRL.
32:18Subscribe for more cinematic romance stories with strong heroines,
32:22morally complicated men,
32:23and zero apologies for the chaos.
32:26New stories drop every day.
32:29Comment your favorite moment.
32:30I read every single one.
32:32And your comments literally fuel my creativity.
32:34Plus, I love seeing which scenes hit different for different people.
32:39And hey, if you know someone who needs a mafia romance in their life,
32:42or just loves a good wrong place, wrong time, right man story,
32:46share this with them.
32:47Let's build a community of people who believe love should be a little dangerous and a lot electric.
33:04Let's build a community of people who think we need a lot of people in its own time.
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