My Mafia Madness

Chapter 12 - Il Luogo (The Place)

The drive lasted about fifteen minutes in total, and at long last the limousine pulled up outside of a large building, one that Alexa immediately recognised as she set her sights on it in wonder.

“He can’t be serious…” she muttered to herself in disbelief as she peered out through the tinted window of the limo.

They were parked outside of a highly exclusive restaurant known as Il Luogo or The Place, as it translated into English, which also happened to have an incredible casino built into the lower two floors below ground.

-

Alexa had never visited the casino part of Il Luogo, though she’d heard many things about it. Rumours mostly.

Some were bad, of course, but who was she to complain.

She was also well aware that Il Luogo was well-known for its exclusivity and incredibly long waitlist for diners to visit.

So booking them a table here at such short notice must have cost him a small fortune.

It appeared that her soon-to-be boss was planning on showing off just how wealthy he really was during their dinner this evening.

The car door suddenly opened, revealing all the glitz and glamour waiting for her just outside.

Cameras were endlessly flashing as members of the paparazzi fought to get shots of wealthy guests, while extremely dressed men and women wearing tuxedos and fancy gowns stood waiting in a line that continued on for blocks down the busy road.

Alexa suddenly felt somewhat out of place as she swallowed a lump in her throat.

“Miss Myers?”

The driver’s voice pulled her back to reality and she noticed his outstretched hand.

He was waiting for her to take his hand and exit the limo.

“Is everything alright?”

Fighting the sudden urge to high tail it and run, Alexa merely nodded her head.

She then reached out and grasped his hand, carefully sliding her heeled shoes down onto the black stone tiles of the floor beneath her.

As the driver assisted her to stand, she released his hand and straightened herself.

“Confident… act confident…” she whispered softly to herself.

“I’m in control.”

A sort of last-minute pep talk.

Her attention turned towards a large, bulky man as he suddenly stood before her.

He was very tall, probably around six feet, six inches in height, and even though he wore a well-tailored black Armani suit, she could tell that he was nothing but muscle beneath it.

Lifting her gaze to meet his eyes, she suddenly froze at the familiar face looking back at her.

Her brown eyes widened with realisation and although everything inside of her told her to run as fast as she could, she couldn’t move her legs.

At that exact moment, the bulky man had also come to the same realisation as Alexa, recognising her too.

“You!” she whispered in shock.

“You?” he repeated in question, as if her arrival had shocked him just as equally.

As if he had not been expecting her this evening.

“What’s going on?” she asked, visibly shaken by merely his appearance.

Glancing around to make sure they weren’t being watched, Nicola suddenly stepped forward and held out his arm for her.

“Come on, I’ll explain on the way.”

“Oh, I’m actually here to have dinner with-”

“-Mr. Romano, si (yes), I know.” Nicola interrupted her quickly, taking another glance around at the growing crowd.

He seemed impatient, worried even.

“I’ll take you directly to his table. He’s waiting for you.”

Alexa seemed puzzled but felt something trustworthy about this clearly Italian monster of a man. That same trust allowed her to reach out her arm and link it with his.

It seemed that this muscular stranger who had saved her only last night somehow knew Dante?

‘What the hell was going on here?’

-

He began to lead her on toward the entrance, his hold on her arm firm yet not overpowering as she would have expected it to be.

In fact it was his support which continued to hold her up as she walked along nervously in such high heels.

As they passed by the massive crowd of guests lined up outside Alexa noticed several glares and frustrated expressions from those still waiting. She felt a sudden wave of guilt wash over her, one she couldn’t seem to push aside.

“How long have those people been waiting in line?” she found herself asking him, merely out of curiosity.

“They look kinda pissed we’re cutting the line.”

Nicola’s head turned to acknowledge her question before he looked towards the waiting guests behind them.

“Them? Who knows… hours, perhaps.”

Alexa frowned as he looked down at her now with an awkward yet reassuring smile.

“Believe me, you don’t need to trouble yourself with their problems, Miss Myers.”

“Wait, you know my name?” she queried.

Nicola nodded his head.

“Though I’ll admit, I hadn’t yet made the connection to our little encounter last night until now.” he admitted honestly.

They were waved through the main entryway by almost a squadron of well-built men in suits and wearing earpieces, some of them fist bumping with her bulky new protector.

“So… you know who I am, I think it’s only fair that you tell me your name. So, we’re on even playing fields, I mean…” Alexa suddenly suggested, her left brow lifted just slightly.

Nicola let out a long sigh as they walked along together.

“You can call me Nicola.”

Alexa couldn’t help but smile at her small win.

“There, that wasn’t so hard now, was it?” she taunted playfully with a smile.

Her attention was drawn directly towards her newest surroundings as they continued in through the main entrance and into the super-sized lobby of the main restaurant.

The roof was incredibly high up and giant crystal chandeliers hung down from above, casting a dim glow across the entirety of the room.

It almost looked Royal in appearance, with freshly polished gold bannisters and railings, and a matching gold trim for every single piece of white cloth furniture in view.

Alexa thought to herself for a moment.

The furniture looked too good to have anyone sit upon it.

In the centre there was a large desk made of shiny white pearl marble and behind it stood several well-dressed men and women, each with their eyes on their newly arriving guests as they were courteously welcomed one by one.

An elegant classical tune played on softly in the background, a tune that Alexa felt she might actually know.

In all honesty, Il Luogo was nothing short of purity.

“Mr. Russo, a pleasure to see you, as always.” came the sudden voice of a middle-aged man wearing a pressed uniform and an equally matched dazzling smile as he came to stand before the two.

Alexa took note of his last name as she listened in on their conversation.

Russo…. Nicola Russo.

“Luigi.”

Nicola nodded his head in greeting.

“Will you be requiring a table for two tonight?” Luigi queried, his brows both lifted high on his forehead.

Alexa turned her head toward Nicola in question, noticing a faint tinge to both of his stubble-covered cheeks as he cleared his throat at the presumption before explaining.

“No. This is Miss Myers, she’s here to have dinner with Mr. Romano.”

The dazzling expression on Luigi’s face suddenly faltered, only for a second or so before returning to its dazzling self once more.

“Oh, my apologies.”

He held both hands out, as if defensively, before finally focusing his gaze onto Alexa herself.

“Miss Myers, it is certainly a pleasure to have you here this evening.” he greeted her, holding out his hand for her.

Assuming he meant to shake it, Alexa reached out and took his hand in greeting.

But it shocked her when Luigi suddenly lifted it up towards his waiting mouth and kissed it.

It appeared that Luigi’s welcome was a little too presumptuous for Alexa’s liking, though she chose to push the thought from her mind and instead smile as he released her hand.

Luigi then turned to look at Nicola once again, speaking something in what appeared to be an Italian accent.

“Lei è certamente piuttosto sbalorditiva, no?” (She certainly is quite stunning, no?)

“Tienilo nei pantaloni, Luigi. La signorina Myers è un potenziale socio in affari. La tratterai con rispetto, capito?” (Keep it in your pants, Luigi. Miss Myers is a prospective business associate. You will treat her with respect, understood?)

Alexa watched as Luigi merely nodded his head, taking a step back from them.

And was that... fear in his eyes just now?

What had Nicola just said to him?

She knew she’d heard her name in there somewhere, but couldn’t understand anything else that had been said between them.

Maybe she would need to learn to speak Italian if she chose to accept this job.

“Please, this way.”

Luigi held out his hand, gesturing for them to follow along after him as he began to walk at a brisk pace through the lobby and into one side of the restaraunt’s dining area.

As they walked along after him they passed by many tables with posh-looking guests already seated and glancing over the menu.

The place looked pretty packed.

But Luigi didn’t lead them to one of the tables here in the restaraunt as Alexa thought he would.

Instead, they were led up a carpeted staircase, towards a more exclusive dining area.

Nicola leaned in a little closer to speak as the two of them made they way along.

“About what happened, in the alleyway last night, with those men who attacked you...” he began to whisper down at her.

“Oh, yeah that...” she whispered back at him, “What about it?”

“I’d appreciate it if we could just keep that between the two of us, you know.”

“Like... some kind of a secret?”

“Mmm, yeah. I guess. It would be best if there were no mention of it to Mr. Romano. He can get quite... concerned. You understand?”

Alexa seemed confused as she lifted her head up to meet his hesitant eyes.

But she quickly decided that perhaps it would be best to try and forget such a terrifying experience and nodded her head in agreement.

“Consider the whole thing forgotten then.”

Nicola gave her a subtle side smirk, one that didn’t quite manage to reach the corners of his dark brown eyes.

The moment that Alexa rounded the corner arm in arm with the bulky man escorting her, her chocolate brown eyes immediately locked onto Dante’s from where he was sitting on his own waiting.

He quickly put out his cigarette in the black marble ash tray in front of him, upon noticing Alexa’s arrival.

His emerald shaded eyes appeared to glisten with sudden delight through a cloud of smoke he had just exhaled as the corner of his mouth curved upwards.

He wasted little time moving to a standing position from his seat and then moving around the table which Alexa noticed had been set for two.

This part of the dining area seemed vaccant, completely free of diners and Alexa looked around in confusion.

It appeared that they were to dine alone this evening.

Coming to a halt, Alexa watched as a grinning Dante came to stand in front of her.

“Miss Myers,” he greeted her with a smile.

“You made it.”