Page 64 of Taken By the Underboss

The times when he had been the most harsh seem to be when I challenged him in front of his men.Could it really come down to petty pride? Or is it something different?I thought back to when Alessandro explained to me about the dynamic of the mafia. He compared it to royalty.

As someone who loved binge watching historical TV series in my spare time, I thought back to the kings and queens in the shows. One queen talked about how they had to keep the nobles happy because they outnumbered the royal family and if they didn’t have their support, the whole monarchy could fall.Could something similar be the cause of Alessandro's actions? Could he need to show power and strength, not because of vanity or pride, but because it's the only way to protect himself and keep everyone in order?I guess, in a way, it made since. How could he expect all of his men to show him respect if he couldn’t even get me to?

I remembered our time in Tuscany. We were so happy and free, laughing and making love. Sleeping in his arms, I'd never felt so safe. It had been a hard decision for me to choose to return home after getting to know Alessandro. But for him to refuse to let me go had me questioning everything I thought I knew about him. What kind of man would hold a woman against her will?

I decided that maybe I would test my theory. While I wouldn't give in to things that I felt strongly about, I would try harder to show him respect and treat him with difference in front of Teo and his men. It wouldn't change a lot about our circumstances, but it would give me a better understanding of his reasons and motivations.

I was helping Arman close for the day when Alessandro came through the side door to pick me up.

"Ciao,Alessandro. Are you okay to wait for a few minutes while I finish up?"

"That's fine." His tone was gruff, and I turned to look at him.

"Is everything okay?"

"It's fine. Just do what you need to do so we can go home."

"Okay, sure." I nodded and went back to work.

"I'm good if you two want to go on ahead," Arman said from behind the nurses’ station.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You were so much help today. I'm good. Go."

"Thanks." I grabbed my bag and headed for Alessandro who quietly made his way to the door.

As soon as we were outside I stopped and turned to him. "What's wrong?"

"Just been a rough day, dealing with difficult clients."

“You know, I’ve never even asked what you do besides working for Teo and his family.”

“Teo’s family owns a lot of upscale hotels and I help him with running the day-to-day business.”

“Wow. Well, I'm sorry that you had a rough day. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Nah. Let's just go."

"Why don't we stop by the store and pick up a few things and I'll cook dinner tonight? Sometimes a good home cooked meal is all you need."

Alessandro looked pleasantly surprised but shook his head. "You've been working all day. How about we make something together?"

"Deal."

After a quick stop at the grocery store, where Alessandro and I debated on what meal we were going to make, we headed home to start cooking.

Alessandro prepared the chicken for roasting while I chopped the vegetables that would accompany it. Cooking with him was fun.

He put the chicken in the oven before coming up behind me while I chopped the squash.

"How's it coming along?"

His body brushed against mine as he moved past me. He paused behind me, looking over my shoulder to check on my progress. The heat from his body was distracting and I suspected that he was doing it on purpose. But I liked the playful, flirty side of him.

"Good. I just have the two peppers to do once this is done."

"Want me to help?"

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