My Mafia Madness

Chapter 14 - The Drinking Game

Dante sat with a confident smirk as he glanced across the table towards the stunning young woman seated opposite him. The same woman who had just agreed to play a little drinking game with him. And he planned on making it fun.

“So how does this work exactly? I mean, who goes first?” Alexa asked.

“Ladies first.” he said with a wink.

Taking a deep breath in, Alexa took a moment to think about what her first question would be. She wanted to know more about the elusive billionaire before she agreed to work with him.

“Alright, will you tell me a bit about the real Dante Romano?” she urged.

“And I want details too. Don’t skip on the details.”

Grinning, Dante lowered his head for a moment, still holding onto his glass of scotch.

“Hmmm, where to start…”

Dante leaned back against the chair and thought about his reply.

“My job is obviously a demanding mistress, so I spend a lot of time working. And of course, I travel a lot, across many different countries all over the world…”

Alexa decided to reiterate and quickly cut in with her hand raised.

“No, I meant what kinds of things do you enjoy, like your hobbies, your interests, your dislikes. You know?” she pointed out, reaching for her wine again.

“All I know about you is that you’re a billionaire who likes white tulips.”

He appeared to take in what she said, pursuing his lips together before taking his glass and having another drink first before answering.

“Well, I like a good scotch on the rocks.” he grinned playfully.

Narrowing her eyes at the lame attempt for an answer, Alexa huffed.

“And?”

“And I enjoy the company of beautiful women, such as yourself.”

He gestured towards her with his glass.

“I’m sure you get a lot of that...” she teased, “Go on...”

“Let’s see... I like to ride, whenever I get the chance...”

“On a motor bike?” she queried with a frown.

“I meant horses.” he corrected. “Though I do also know how to ride a motorcycle.”

He surprised her with these admissions and she acted intrigued as he went on to explain a little more.

“My uncle back home actually owns a large chain of ranches across the country, where purebred horses are trained and bred.”

“Trained for…” she led.

“To race. I myself was taught to ride them at a young age and quickly found I had a knack for it. Actually, I often visit one of my own stables out in the countryside, just to get away from it all. To find some kind of sanity amidst all the chaos in my life.”

“Hmmm... I can picture you sitting in an office, but I’ll admit I’m finding it hard to picture you sitting on top of a horse.” she admitted, with the intention to taunt him.

“Perhaps you should come with me to visit one of the ranches one day. You might find you quite enjoy it.” he suggested.

She merely smiled at the invite.

“Now, my turn to ask you a question.” he spoke right away, as if he already had one in mind.

“Tell me more about yourself. Just who is the real Alexa Myers?”

She seemed a little nervous but decided to go along with it. Maybe it was a mixture of the expensive Merlot and her fight to remain in control of this evening’s occurrences, but she began to give him a brief history of herself.

“Well, I finished college and got a job right away as an administrative assistant in a small company. Since then, I’ve worked my way up to land the position I have now...”

She paused, lowering her head and closing her eyes for merely a second before reopening them and continuing.

“Sorry, the position I had.”

Dante remained silent, simply staring back at her. It was as if he were drinking in all of this new information about her, like a fine wine.

Alexa cleared her throat and went on.

“As for me, well... there’s not much to tell in all honesty. I’m an only child and I haven’t seen my dad since I was little. He uh… he left. Ran out on us. And my mum lives out in the country working as a farmer.”

“Interesting... so there is some country blood in you after all.” he mused.

“Go on.”

“Ok, so hobbies. Um, I enjoy reading whenever I get the chance... oh, and I love the ocean.”

Dante’s frown signalled her to elaborate.

“I would often go and spend the entire morning just sitting by the bay, watching the waves crash in against the rocks and the ocean spray wafting across my skin. The peacefulness I found out there, the serenity… there’s nothing quite like it. It gave me a chance to think about things, you know?”

Dante couldn’t help but smile at just how at peace Alexa appeared as she continued to explain her likes and dislikes to him.

“As for dislikes, rude people would be one of them for sure. That and liars, cheats. People who are untrustworthy, I guess.”

Pursing his lips together with a sudden feeling of immense guilt, he simply nodded his head, taking it all in. The feeling of guilt had obviously come from his secret line of work.

Not Romano Enterprises, of course, but his other line of work.

The one that took place after hours.

If Alexa were to learn of who he truly was, a ruthless Mafia Boss known as The Reaper who killed people without hesitation, would she still be interested in working for him?

Or would it drive her away?

Dante knew that he would have to tell her the truth about who he was eventually, if she did in fact accept the position as his assistant. Truth was, she was a smart woman; she’d probably figure it out on her own.

But would it change anything?

Alexa quickly noticed his inability to meet her gaze and narrowed her eyes with suspicion.

“Hey, now that I think of it, you never told me any of your dislikes, Mr. Romano.” she reminded him, pulling him out of his sudden funk.

“Come on, spill it!”

He huffed before replying.

“Probably the same kinds of people, although in my line of work I deal with those kinds more often than I would like.”

“Yeah, I often hear of just how cutthroat business can be.” she mused with a smirk.

Dante bit the side of his cheek, his expression suddenly clouding over with something that she could not quite identify as he spoke with a soft whisper.

“You have no idea.”

Alexa lifted the glass up to meet her lips and took another sip.

Suddenly several waiters emerged around them, each carrying a variety of entrees carefully balanced on their arms. The plates were all placed onto the table and Alexa looked from one to the next.

There were different types of freshly cooked pastries and breads, exquisite cheeses, a variety of pates, fresh fruit, freshly shucked natural oysters and what appeared to be a plate of shiny, little round balls.

Was it caviar?

Pointing toward the unknown plate, Alexa frowned as she asked.

“Is that…”

“Beluga’s Almas Caviar, often referred to as Almas.” he explained, reaching forward and using the tiny spoon that came with it to scoop some of it up.

“I’m guessing you don’t know much about caviar?” he queried with one of his pristinely trimmed brows lifted.

Her expression showed just how grossed out she was by the mere sight of it.

“I can’t say I’ve ever had the… pleasure.”

She spoke with disgust, her eyes fixated on the gooey eggs he was balancing on a spoon.

“You know, Almas is actually a golden caviar. It’s made from the eggs of extremely rare female albino sturgeons, which swim in the southern Caspian Sea. It has a uniquely creamy taste to it…”

“Yeah, and it’s gross.”

He chuckled before inserting the spoonful into his mouth, never once breaking eye contact. After swallowing, he smirked.

“Have you ever tried it?” he enquired.

“No.”

“You should.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because… well, look at it.” she gestured towards the plate.

“How will you know you don’t like something, if you don’t try it first?”

He had her there. His question was one that Alexa’s mother had often asked her when she refused to eat her vegetables as a child. The question made sense, but it was beside the point.

Fish eggs that size couldn’t taste nice!

He had to be kidding.

She decided to break the focus away from the tiny fish eggs and onto a more preferred platter.

“I think I’ll stick to the oysters.” she reached out and grasped one.

“Ah, so you’re a fan of oysters then.”

“Yeah.” she shrugged casually. “Who isn’t?”

“Hmmm… You’re one tough cookie to crack, Miss Myers. I think I have you figured out and then, one again you surprise me.”

She leaned her head back, allowing the oyster to slide right off the shell and into her open mouth. Dante watched her the entire time, as if he were enjoying the show.

“And who doesn’t like surprises?” she beamed.

His eyes narrowed, but his smirk remained visible.

“Ok, second question...” he urged. “Shoot.”

Picking up another oyster shell, Alexa spoke with confidence.

“Ok but remember the rules. An honest reply, or you scull your drink.”

He merely nodded his head.

“Were you the one responsible for my most recent job transfer?”

“Yes.”

His response was instantaneous, which startled her a little.

“Why?”

“Is that your third question?” he taunted.

She quickly shook her head.

“No, no.”

He decided to explain, for her own benefit.

“There is something about you, Miss Myers. Your attention to detail is merely a drop in the ocean from what I can see. You are dedicated to perfection, genuinely a hard worker, and I could use that talent in my newest assistant.”

“So, what happened to your old assistant?” she decided to be daring and just ask.

Dante suddenly appeared to choke on the piece of bread he had just bitten into, coughing a little before placing the piece of bread down onto his plate and swallowing.

By the look of his expression, whatever had happened wasn’t good.

“They, uh… they were forced to resign.”

His lie was obvious, but she decided not to ask further into it.

“Alright, what’s your second question?” she changed the subject.

He took another bite of the bread and chewed for a moment, his eyes wandering across the room as he thought a little before replying.

“If you could visit anywhere in the entire world, where would you go and why?”

Alexa took a moment to think, but the answer had immediately come to her as soon as he asked her the question. It was a place that she had only read about and researched on the internet in the past. But one that held her fondest curiosity, nevertheless.

“I guess I’d have to say… Venice, Italy.”

He appeared shocked by her announcement, but also a little curious himself.

“Why?”

“Uh-uh, you already asked your second question, remember?”

“My second question was, and I quote, “If you could visit anywhere in the entire world, where would you go and why?” he reminded her.

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head she huffed defiantly.

“Because I’ve always wanted to visit. Ever since I was a little girl. I’ve read a lot about the Italian culture and, what can I say, it interests me.”

Having been Italian himself, Dante couldn’t prevent the smile that formed on his face, even if he tried.

It was as if she were perfect for him.

Perfect in every way.