Framed by the Mafia

Chapter 6 : Finding Bravery

*Alessandro*

I might've been a fool. I couldn't shake the way I felt last night with Rebecca so close to kissing me. I'd gone home and run the scenario through my head about a thousand times. I really could have strangled Nico for interrupting us, but the call was important after all.

He was letting me know about the confrontation with the Bianchis about the supposedly missing delivery. Things had gone off without a hitch, and it seemed as though they'd gotten the message. At least that was one less thing to worry about now.

Which left more room in my mind for wondering about what Rebecca was up to, and what she thought about our little incident in her office last night. I couldn't get it out of my head. I was truly enamored by her. I should have kissed her and called Nico back later. Then, maybe I wouldn't be so lost in my own thoughts.

"Hey, bud, you alright?" Nico asked with a chuckle, stepping inside my office uninvited.

"You just love to interrupt things, don't you?" I asked bitterly.

"I wasn't aware I was interrupting anything. I just saw you staring into space and wanted to make sure you were still here." Nico shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess that is what I was doing," I confessed. "Get in here and shut the door."

Nico did as I told him, half smiling as he plopped down in the chair in front of my desk. It was that easy going nature that made it so easy to get along with him. He was brilliant at what he did for sure, but he was even better at knowing how to help me mellow out.

"What's up, boss?" he asked, eyeing me carefully.

"It's just..." I blew out a breath and ran a hand through my hair. "Last night, when you called me, I was kind of in the middle of something."

"Oh, that sounds spicy. Don't tell me, I want to guess. You were doing an interrogation? No, that's not really your style. Hmm… maybe you were with someone. Were you making a new business deal? Talking with the law? No, talking to them is definitely out of the question. My best guess is that you were with a lady," Nico finally decided, leaning back on the chair and smiling widely at me.

"Would you like to have this conversation by yourself, or would you like me to tell you?" I asked with a frown.

"I mean, I definitely want to hear what happened, but I'm having a good time guessing. I'm begging you to tell me that it was Rebecca Johnson in accounting because I just know you've been pining after her. Honestly, if it's not her, I don't even want to hear the story." Nico shrugged.

"I guess I don't have anything to tell you then," I teased.

"No, wait. I changed my mind, please tell me about this mystery woman," Nico corrected.

"I'm just giving you a hard time, it was Rebecca," I admitted.

"Oh, thank goodness. I was getting worried you were gonna tell me it was like one of the other women in the accounting department, and some of them are a little outside your normal taste range." Nico sighed.

"Alright, I think we have plenty of lovely women that work here," I chided.

"Alessandro, there are five women in accounting, and only two of them are not married and don't have children in high school," Nico reminded me.

"I already told you it was Rebecca," I added, wanting him to simply shut up so I could move ahead with my story.

"And I already told you I wanted to hear about it," Nico repeated.

"We almost kissed before my phone rang. If you hadn't called me, I have no idea where it would've gone and it's killing me," I finally confessed.

"Oh, this is good," Nico mused.

"How is this good?" I asked, annoyed.

"Good for me. I love office drama," Nico clarified.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm glad I can entertain someone."

"Here's the thing, if you want to seal the deal, you're going to have to ask her out. You're going to run out of reasons to keep sitting in her office all the time. People are going to get suspicious. Just ask her out, man," Nico suggested.

"I'm her boss," I reminded him.

"Her boss that almost kissed her last night," Nico reminded me in return.

He had a point. She seemed like she was into it. I never would've pushed that far if I didn't think she was feeling it, but I was positive she wanted me as much as I wanted her. I could feel it. I knew a thing or two about women, and even though Rebecca seemed to be someone completely different from the ones I was usually around, I could still feel it in my guts that she was reciprocating my feelings.

She closed her eyes for me to kiss her, for God's sake.

"Fine, so what do you suggest?" I asked. "To simply drop the question and wait?"

"Just ask her out at the end of the day. It's Tuesday, plan it for Friday night. Go all out, ladies love to see when a man is willing to make a grand romantic gesture." Nico looked sure about this idea, and I was beginning to think he might have a point.

I could ask her out as she left. If she said no, I wouldn't have to walk back to my office in shame. She would already be on her way out. Then, I could just find excuses to avoid her until the whole thing blew over. I'd hardly ever had to interact with the previous accounts manager, so I would just let her do her job and never bother her again.

"Alright, I think I will," I conceded. I would suck it up and ask her out. I just had to know what holding her in my arms would feel like. I couldn't stop thinking about it.

"Hop to it then," Nico said, standing to leave.

"Thank you," I told him sarcastically. I waved my hand to dismiss him.

Nico left, leaving me alone in my office. As soon as the door shut behind him, I started thinking about a plan. I wanted to impress her and to treat her like a queen.

The day drug on painfully. I was anxious to get this over with. Normally, I felt confident when it came to women, but today felt different. This was too important to me. I needed her to say yes.

I kept thinking about the way those full lips had parted just a little bit, the way her green eyes had met mine in a sort of promise. Surely she would say yes. She just had to.

I did everything I could think of to distract myself. I kept trying to think of the perfect thing to say to her. That was only making me more nervous, so I turned back to reading reports. It seemed that business was going surprisingly well. I didn't really have much to look into. It was frustrating in a way. I needed something to pass the time with.

But, the hours finally ticked by, and the end of the day started to draw to a close.

I propped the door to my office open so I could see everyone leaving. I didn't want to risk her slipping out without me noticing.

I watched as the employees filed out of the office. One after the other, they packed up their things and left. Where was Rebecca? I was running out of things to do to pretend I was busy in my office.

Finally, I saw her leaving her office.

I waited until she got closer. I didn't want to look desperate. As she made her way toward my office, she paused to smile at me. I went out to join her.

"You didn't come by today," she noted.

"It's been busy," I told her, trying to pass off the lie.

"Well, I sort of missed you distracting me from my work," she told me, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

I wanted to touch her, I wanted to feel the silky strands of her hair between my fingers, and I desperately wanted to pin her to the wall and finally have that kiss. However, there were still at least two other accountants left on the floor and I didn't want to push any boundaries.

"I wish I'd known. I would've stopped by more," I teased as I leaned against the doorframe of my office. "Listen, I've been wanting to ask you something."

"Is that right?" she asked with raised brows.

I looked around, making sure no one was close enough to hear it, then I simply let it out. "Would you like to get dinner on Friday night?"

I could practically see her mind putting the pieces together, making sense of what I just said. Maybe she thought I was inviting her for a business dinner? Maybe I should've been more direct with my intentions?

Shit. My heart was pounding in my chest while I waited for her to consider it. I felt like a stupid teenage boy talking to a woman for the first time. Pathetic.

After what felt like hours, she finally answered. "Yeah, that sounds nice."

I stepped toward her just a little. I was so close now. If she would just step toward me a little more, we'd be close enough to finish that kiss from yesterday. Her sweet scent was doing things to me and I knew standing this close to her wasn't a good idea. Not here at least.

"It's a date," I breathed.

"It's not a date," she corrected. "You're my boss." She took a step back from me, eyes flashing up to mine and then to the floor.

I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering if she really meant it or if she was just teasing me.

"Sure, okay…" I said uncertainly.

Her eyes darted around the mostly abandoned floor, to where the last two accountants sat finishing up work at their desks. They didn't seem to be paying any attention to us.

"There are people here," she whispered back to me. There was a glint in her eyes that indicated she had the same thoughts I had.

"Fair enough," I added quietly, flashing her a smile.

"I'll see you on Friday," she assured me, slipping past me to head to the elevator.

I watched her hips swing as she walked, grateful for the view as much as I hated to let her slip away again.

Oh, it was definitely a date. She might be worried about the fact that I was her boss, but I had been operating outside the regular rules of society my entire life. The simple fact she'd agreed to go on the date had helped my confidence return. We both knew it was a date, and I was going to finish that kiss.

I headed back to my office. I was going to take Nico's advice and take her somewhere that matched the caliber of woman she was. She deserved the world and I'd make sure to give it to her.