My Mafia Madness

Chapter 31 - A Question of Ownership

While the others cheerfully dined on their breakfast in the kitchen, joking and filling their bellies with an assortment of fresh foods, Dante was busily working alone in his office.

The exhausted Reaper sat staring at the glass he held in his hands, half-filled with one of his favourite brands of scotch and several pieces of now somewhat-melted ice.

The pieces of glass tinkled against the edges of the glass as he moved it from side to side with his fingers.

He had barely even had an hours sleep last night. Instead, he spent the entire time plotting and planning his next move against his rivals the Grecos.

He needed to remain several steps ahead of them, as per the usual.

Dante let out a sigh before taking yet another sip and leaning back into his chair.

He was angry.

When Don Raphael originally made the phone call last night, it was obvious he intended on spooking the Reaper and his men.

On implanting possible thoughts of betrayal and infiltration amongst their believed to be loyal ranks.

As Dante had suspected all along, the Don was bluffing when he threatened having eyes and ears inside of one of their most secure safety houses.

It was all nothing but a load of bullshit!

And after receiving the expected phone call from Nicola, it was discovered that the entire house was found to be clean and secure.

There were no bugs found, no hidden cameras, nothing whatsoever.

So how in the hell did Raphael know about his newest assistant?

Dante’s eyes narrowed as he thought about it.

His rival wasn’t yet aware of it, but Raphael had made things personal for Dante the exact moment he chose to mention Alexa.

The moment he chose to drag an innocent woman like her into this chaotic mess.

This mess was between the two of them, it had been that way for decades going back.

But he would not stand for anyone threatening Alex.

He wasn’t sure of what had brought on this protective side of him when it came to his newest assistant. Anytime she seemed sad or upset he felt as if he himself were responsible for it.

But it made no sense. He hardly even knew her!

So why was he feeling this way?

‘Knock, knock, knock…’

“Accedere!” (Enter!)

Dante called out, placing the glass down and glancing at the doorway.

Alexa stepped through, causing his facial features to instantly soften as she closed the door behind her and came over to be seated on one of the chairs in front of him.

He watched as her long blonde hair bounced with each of her steps.

She had it loosely pulled back and clipped behind her head, with some of her longer strands cascading down onto her back.

She carried her new work phone in her hand, smiling and meeting his gaze across the large dark oak desk now separating them, before she got comfortable in her seat.

At last, Dante managed to find his voice, pulling himself out of his apparent daze.

“Miss Myers, you look lovely.” he complimented her with a smile.

“I see the dress you chose fits you rather nicely.”

Of course, he was referring to the flowy mid-length crimson dress she currently wore.

The dress was sleeveless, had a ‘v’ neckline and was tight at the bust, then flowing softly down towards her knees.

The light material of her skirt allowed it to dance about with each of her movements.

It was strange, Dante had seen that dress hanging in the wardrobe once before, but he never thought it could look this good on anyone!

Alexa looked down at herself for a moment before returning to meet his gaze with another smile.

“Yes, thank you for it by the way.” she replied kindly.

“I suppose I should probably make the time to go out shopping for a new work wardrobe.”

Dante went to open the top draw of his desk as he spoke.

“About that… as my new assistant, you are entitled to acquire yourself a new wardrobe, fully paid for by the company of course.” he announced.

He pulled out a brand new black American Express credit card, placing it on the desk before sliding it across for her to take.

Her chocolate coloured eyes remained fixated on it for a moment before she slowly reached out and picked it up.

It even had her name embroided on it!

“This is…” she started to say, but he cut in and finished her sentence.

“Your company credit card, yes. It’s under your name, but the company pays for everything charged on it.”

She still appeared stunned by it as she looked up to meet his emerald eyes.

“This is crazy. Surely, I should buy my own clothing. I’ll have more than enough money now.” she admitted.

He shook his head and replied.

“No. As my personal assistant I’m afraid that I must insist you look the part at all times, Miss Myers.” he spoke with sudden authority.

“You will only wear the best of brands, regardless of price. I’ll organise for Cecilio and some of the boys to take you out shopping the day after tomorrow. Until then, just continue wearing whatever you would like from the available wardrobes.”

“But Mr. Romano, while I appreciate this, I really-”

“-Like I said, I insist.” he cut in, his stern expression causing her to keep her mouth closed.

There was no point arguing this any further. He wouldn’t listen even if she did.

“Alright… then in that case, perhaps we can discuss your calendar for the next couple of days...”

She unlocked her phone as she went on.

“I’ve organised the meeting with our Chicago branch, as requested. They’ve asked that it be scheduled for tomorrow morning at ten, in at their office. Apparently, the C.O.O, Mr. Brett Kouros has asked for you to appear in person, seeing as you’re already here in Chicago…”

She paused, smiling, and continuing.

“But don’t worry, I had the foresight to inform him that it will depend on tomorrow morning’s events, as to whether or not you can attend the meeting in person or perhaps via. Skype.”

Dante simply sat watching her as she held up her phone, scrolling down the screen with her pointer finger. She was on top of everything, just as he thought she would be.

It intrigued him, just how organised and thorough she was.

“Other than that, you’re pretty much free until we are scheduled to return to New York on Monday.”

She lowered her phone and met his heated gaze.

“Would you like to add anything else to your calendar, Mr. Romano?”

He sat in silence for a moment, fighting back the smirk that threatened to form.

She looked incredible, but then again, she always did.

“Uh, yes. Actually, I was thinking about going out to dinner tonight.” he announced after clearing his throat and sitting up in his chair.

“Of course, any place in particular?” she asked.

Her chocolate brown eyes darted back to look at her screen as she opened a new webpage to search for a restaurant.

“Yes, I hear Oriole is quite popular here in Chicago.” Dante replied, coming to stand and slowly rounding the desk to stand in front of her.

“Sure thing. So a table for yourself, shall we say at-”

He quickly interrupted.

“-Actually, book a table for two would you, bella?” he corrected as he leaned back to sit on the edge of his desk.

“That is, if you’re also free tonight? I could use the company.”

Now she understood what he was insinuating; he wanted her to go to dinner with him.

She felt somewhat awkward, but knew she had no other plans to use as an excuse not to.

How could she?

They were in some isolated house, in the middle of god-knows-where and surrounded by men who worked for Dante.

It would have been nice to get out and explore a bit of Chicago.

And what better company than that of her handsome billionaire boss, Dante Romano!

Biting her bottom lip, she met his eyes and replied after a short silence was shared between them.

“I might have to move a few things around on my own schedule, Mr. Romano, but I’m sure I can organise that…” she teased him with a taunting smirk.

“But yes, dinner sounds lovely.”

He smiled, nodding his head.

“Then that will be all, Miss Myers.” Dante announced, holding out his hand and gesturing toward the door.

Nodding her head, Alexa stood herself up and began to make her way towards the door, as instructed.

But his voice stopped her just as she stood with the door open, the handle clasped within her hand.

“Oh, and one more thing…”

She turned to face him.

“Yes sir?”

“I’ll have something special sent up for you to wear tonight. My treat.” he explained.

Both of his hands were now pouched in his pants pockets as he smiled at her.

She went to give him a frown, but he lifted a hand up to silence her, along with one of his brows as he spoke.

“Don’t...”

Letting out a huff and narrowing her eyes, Alexa shook her head and turned, making her way out of the office and closing the door behind her with a soft ‘click’.

Dante was left staring at the wooden door now separating them.

That woman was doing things to him, things that he had not felt in such a long time.

Emotions that he had purposefully made an effort not to feel anymore, not for any woman.

A man like Dante Romano could not feel…

It would be far too dangerous for everyone involved if he ever did!

-

Once Dante and the others had returned to the large mansion, Alexa was promptly shown up to her new guest room; the one she had unknowingly slept in before the security scare had occurred.

The room was completely different to the one she had spent the night in at the other safety house, which consisted of mostly dull blacks and greys in its apparent colour scheme.

This one instead, looked quite grand, royal even.

The furniture was either white, gold or black in colour, with luxurious, oversized golden curtains draping over the incredibly high windows located on all three walls of the room.

There were several black chairs sitting around a glass coffee table in the centre, and the carpet beneath it seemed Persian, with delicate designs featured on it.

Two golden bedside tables sat either side of the massive King-sized bed, positioned opposite one of the larger windows and up against the wall.

The bed had been decorated with countless types of different pillows, and what looked to be an array of Versace black and gold silken bedding.

Alexa knew bedding quite well, and she was keenly aware of just how expensive this particular set had to be.

She found the whole thing way over the top, but who was she to complain!

The room had a walk-in-robe, same as the other house, but this one was slightly larger and had several extendible shelves and cupboards.

As she opened them one by one, she learned that each had been filled with various pieces of clothing, undergarments, jewellery, shoes and more.

This place would have been suitable for a King or Queen to stay in it!

It was beyond ridiculous!

Deciding she needed to get outside and breathe in some fresh air for a bit, the assistant left her room and headed downstairs to find the outside patio.

It took her almost ten minutes to finally locate it, amongst the countless other rooms and hallways of this incredible mansion.

But eventually, she stepped out onto the large open plan patio, overlooking an incredible back yard and right in the middle of it, an underground pool!

Her eyes dazzled with excitement as an idea formulated.

A nice refreshing dip might just be what she needs right now, to help ease some of her worries and doubts.

Returning to her guest room, she located a pair of black and gold bikinis and returned to the pool.

Making sure to first locate one of the large, fluffy white towels stacked on a shelf by the poolside, she then placed it onto one of the lounging chairs and walked over to the steps, leading down into the crystal-clear blue water.

It looked extremely inviting.

Lifting her foot, she slowly slid her toes into the warm water and let out a soft moan.

The water was incredible!

This pool must have been heated or something.

Biting her bottom lip, she proceeded to slowly make her way down the steps, submerging herself from the waist down into the warm water.

Her hands moved about either side of her as she walked over to the side of the spa section and sat herself down on the submerged seat.

The water had risen to cover her chest now, and she leaned her head back against the edge, closing her eyes and allowing herself to finally relax and enjoy the sensations surrounding her.

The tranquillity…

-

Meanwhile, Dante and many of his henchmen had gathered in his main office to discuss their next move regarding setting up a meeting between them and their associates, as originally planned.

That was, before the security scare had occurred.

Dante sat at his desk, busily chatting away with several of the others while Roberto came to stand beside his younger brother.

He had noticed his brother’s sudden lack of interest in their conversation and wanted to know the cause of it.

Matteo stood at the large window, overlooking the patio and poolside, with his eyes fixated on the beautiful Alexa as she lounged about carelessly in the water.

“You’re not paying attention, little brother…”

Roberto whispered to his brother as he stopped beside him and turned to look out the window.

“What’s got you so distracted…” he paused, mid-sentence at the sight of her.

“Can you blame me?” Matteo mused softly.

“It’s an incredible view out there.”

Roberto let out a sigh as he too stood staring out at Alexa, now gliding through the water.

“That it is…” Roberto chuckled.

“She shouldn’t be his assistant, Roberto.” Matteo suddenly announced.

“She’s too good for that. Far too special.”

Roberto frowned, facing his little brother now.

“And what in your opinion should she be doing, Matteo?” he asked, curiously awaiting his brother’s reply.

“Whatever the woman wants!” Matteo replied, still unable to tear his gaze away from her.

“I tell you brother, if that woman were mine, I’d give her anything she wanted.”

“But she’s not yours…”

Dante’s surprisingly calm voice broke through their secretive conversation as he came to stand beside both of his brothers.

He too stared out through the window at Alexa.

His expression appeared quite harsh as he went on with his warning, aimed mostly at his youngest brother.

“And the sooner you get that into your head, Matteo, the better off you’ll be.”

Matteo gave a deep laugh at his brother’s words, lifting his left brow in challenge as he turned to face Dante.

“Isn’t that up to her?”

With that he smirked and then strolled off casually towards the office doorway.

“Where the hell are you going?” Dante snapped after him.

Dante's emerald eyes narrowed at the apparent lack of respect his brother was giving him. He wasn't used to being spoken to in such a manner, especially in front of the others.

Matteo did not turn himself around to face his older brother. No... Instead, he turned his head to the side, replying over his shoulder before he eventually continued out through the doorway.

“It’s a nice day out… think I might go for a swim.”