Chapter11.
1491 Words
Alessio's POV.
I wonder what she's doing right now? I wonder if she's thinking about me too? I know that she felt it too, the spark between us, the undeniable chemistry. I saw it in her eyes. I regret taking her back to her place. I worry about her. I miss her. I wish that I could have said something, done something that would have convinced her to stay. But Isabella was right. Forcing Lily to remain here against her will would have been a mistake. She would not have been happy here, and she would have grown to resent me for it. All I can do now is to keep an eye on her from a distance and hope that no harm comes to her because of me.
I don't know why I feel about her the way that I do. I can't explain it. I've had many women in my life. Some of them were just for fun, others I cared for in a way, but I have never felt the way I do when I'm around Lily. She has a sort of pure innocence about her. A kind of vulnerability that New York City tends to steal from you. Yet, she doesn't seem weak, or naive. She intrigues me. She fascinates me. I find myself wanting to know everything about her. I want to be close to her. I want to protect her from all the things that could rob her of that innocence.
I check my watch and see that it's a little past five. I suppose I could go to bed. Try and get some sleep, but I know that it's pointless. I'll just end up tossing and turning, thinking about Lily and wishing that she were still here. So, instead, I lean back in my chair and watch as the moon begin to make way for the sun. After a few minutes, my eyes begin to feel heavy, and my thoughts become jumbled. I find myself in that blissful space between being awake and falling asleep. It's quiet, peaceful. Lily is there as well. I see her face. Her hair frames it perfectly as it falls softly around the curve of her cheeks. Her eyes are soft and full of joy. She's smiling at me. The image of her fills my soul with a comforting warm sensation. I want to stay in this moment forever. Even though I know that it isn't real. I feel happy here. Content. Care free. Like nothing and no one can touch me.
All of a sudden, I'm pulled from my moment of bliss by the sound of my office door opening. My eyes fly open just in time to see Dante's outline as he closes the door behind him. He moves across the room easily. Like he believes that he's alone. He heads over to the liquor cabinet.
Why is he here? What does he want? What is he looking for? He knows that no one is supposed to be in here if I'm not with them.
I turn on the reading lamp on my desk and the entire room is flooded with a soft yellow light. Dante starts and spins around so fast that he almost looses his balance. He's drunk again. He stares at me with wide eyes. He's as pale as a ghost. He clutches his chest with one hand, and rubs his face with the other.
"Jesus, Alessio. You scared me half to death!" He gathers himself. He's breathing a little more rapidly than he should be. He looks like someone that's been caught red-handed. "What the hell are you doing sitting alone in the dark anyway? It's a little creepy."
I might just be imagining it, but he sounds nervous.
"This is my office, Dante. Do I need a reason?"
His face falls. The color begins to return to his cheeks again, slowly.
"No. I guess not."
"What are you doing in here?"
He hesitates for a second. He looks around the room like he's looking for the answer to jump out at him from somewhere.
"You always have the best whiskey in here. That's all."
I raise an eyebrow at him, skeptically. I know him well enough to know when he's lying to me, but he's drunk, probably high as well. Getting into it with him now won't do me any good.
"Valerie called. She said that you haven't been to the club. She said that it's not the first time that you haven't shown up at all either."
A shadow flashes across his face. He narrows his eyes. His tone is sharp when he speaks. "And what business is it of her?"
"It's not, but it is mine, Dante." I can already begin to feel the familiar tinge of anger rising up inside me. "You're supposed to be running the place. How can you do that when you don't even show up?"
"I was with a friend."
I shake my head and sigh. I can't help but feel disappointed. "I expect more from you."
Dante throws his hands up in the hair. He looks angry. He looks exasperated. "Oh, come one, Alessio. I really don't see what the bloody problem is. The club is doing fine. Why the hell should I be there every night?"
"Because it's your responsibility! It's your job!" I stand up out of my chair and cross the room to where he's standing. "I don't understand why the concept is so difficult for you to grasp."
His eyes flash bright with rage. He clenches his fists. "Maybe because I'm not the great Alessio Valentini. Maybe because I'm just his i***t cousin. The misfit of the family. The one that can't do anything right!"
"Oh, grow up, Dante! I'm so tired of these childish manipulations. You're not a child anymore! You need to stop acting like one!"
"You know what? You sound just like my father!" He says it in a resentful way. His tone is derisive. Disrespectful even.
"Good. Don't make the same mistake twice, Dante. Listen to me. Even if you never listened to him."
In one swift movement, Dante swipes his arm across the liquor cabinet and knocks everything off. The expensive crystal shatters into a thousand pieces as it hits the floor. He stares at me with a wild look in his eyes. His chest heaves with heavy breaths. He has an unspoken challenge on his face.
"When will you get it through your thick skull, Alessio?! I don't have to listen to you! You're no better than me! We're equal! I can do whatever I want to in this family!"
I take a few seconds before I answer him. I try to calm myself down. I know that I have to defuse the situation, be the better man, no matter how badly I want to take a swing at him. He deserves it. He probably needs it as well.
"We'll talk about this when you're sober, Dante."
"Let's just talk about it now! You know you want to! Go on, Alessio. Take a swing at me! We can finally hash this out! Once and for all!" He takes a step towards me.
"And that, right there, is the greatest difference between you and me, Dante. And that's why you will never be in charge. Unlike you, I know how to pick my battles. I also know how and when to control my emotions. You're just a fool, Dante. An immature, emotional fool. No one will ever take you seriously. Not as long as you keep acting like this." I keep my voice as calm and as even as possible. I don't want to show him just how much his actions and his attitude affect me.
He opens his mouth to say something, but then thinks better of it. He clenches his jaw instead. He just stares at me with those angry eyes.
I sigh heavily and wave my hand across the mess that he made on the floor. "Clean this up before you go. I won't have Isabella doing it for you." I start heading towards the door to leave.
"Why don't I just get your new b***h to do it for me?! At least that way she can earn her keep around here!"
I turn and slap him across his face before he can do anything to stop me. I don't use my fist like a man should when he's hitting another man. I use my bare hand like a father does when he's trying to teach a disrespectful boy his place.
"That's the last time you say something disrespectful in front of me."
I wait for him to do something. I wait for him to lash out at me. But he doesn't. Dante just stares at me. Shameful tears brimming in his eyes. I walk out the door without looking at him again. I struggle to calm the storm raging inside me.
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