Chapter 2: Meeting the Little Doll

Luca’s POV

I hadn’t planned to come to the gallery that night. I only wanted to make an appearance, remind a few people that I was still very much in control. My presence always carried weight, and sometimes, that was enough. But a part of me wanted more than business. I wanted to see a little beauty, in art, or maybe, if I was lucky, in women.

The room was what I expected. Gold, glittery and greed. People who smiled too wide and laughed too loud. They didn’t come for the art. They came to be seen, to show off themselves. The kind who knew the price of a painting but never knew its worth.

And then I saw her. A beauty.

She stood alone in front of a piece I’d walked past without a second thought. A woman painted in light and shadow, fragile yet untamed. But it wasn’t the painting that caught my attention, it was her. She stared at it like it spoke to her, like she could hear something the rest of us were deaf to.

She didn’t fit here. That dress wasn’t from this world of wealth and noise. Her shoes were simple, her hair pinned up like she did it herself, but her eyes… her eyes carried more life than the entire room. They were curious, bold, and just a little nervous.

Then she turned, and for a moment, my heart stopped.

Alexa?

The resemblance was so close. Her face, her chin, the shape of her mouth. I hadn’t said that name in a while, but it slipped out before I could stop it.

“Alexa.”

She didn’t react at first, and I almost convinced myself I was imagining things. Then I said it again, softer this time, and she turned. The illusion faded. It's not Alexa. Someone else entirely.

“Excuse me?” she asked, her voice careful.

I looked at her properly this time. Her brows were fuller, her lips softer, and there was a spark in her eyes Alexa never had. I’d been wrong. This one wasn’t fragile. She was fire pretending to be calm.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “Thought you were someone else.”

“Alexa?” she asked, her head tilting slightly. There was a hint of amusement there.

I smiled. “Yeah, Alexa.”

She told me her name, Maria. Her voice carried a quiet strength, the kind you didn’t notice until it lingered. When I took her hand, I held it longer than I should have. She didn’t pull away.

“Luca De Rossi,” I said, watching her closely.

She repeated it slowly, “Mr De Rossi.” The way she said it did something to me. A little too much, maybe.

We talked. She wasn’t like the others. She didn’t say what she thought I wanted to hear. She had her own opinions, smart ones, and she wasn’t afraid to challenge mine. Her hands moved when she spoke and her eyes were alive with thought. I found myself listening to her, something I hadn’t done to a lot of people in a long time.

When a waiter passed, I took her glass and placed it on the tray. “You know,” I said, “for someone with such an eye for detail, you’re very good at pretending you belong here.”

She blinked, caught off guard for only a second before she laughed. “Excuse me?”

I leaned in a little. “Something tells me you are not supposed to be here.”

She raised her chin. “And what do you intend to do about it, Mr De Rossi?"

"Nothing," I replied, "but I'd like us to meet again."

"Why?" She asked.

"Because I want to... Little doll."

I left her, knowing fully well that she's probably watching me leave.

I meant that, I want to see her again but for now, I have another business to attend to.

**********

“See that little doll I just spoke to?” I asked Alex, my bodyguard. “Find out everything you can about her. And find it fast.”

“Yes sir.” Alex said as he left. I didn't turn to look at Maria. I knew her eyes were still on me. I could feel it, but for now, I needed to get back to business.

“Boss.” Emilio called, “I've been waiting for you.”

“I had to take care of something, Emilio.”

“I think you mean someone.” He whispered, smiling at me like we're supposed to be friends.

“What's the update on my shipment, Emilio?” I asked him, keeping a straight face. I saw his smirk turn sour. I liked the sight of that.

“Boss, I…”

“Emilio…” I interrupted him before he said what I thought he was about to say. I gently grabbed him at the back of his neck and led him to a private room. Sat him down on a sofa as my other security closed the door behind us.

“You better think carefully about what you're about to tell me, dear Emilio.”

“Boss, I know you already know something is wrong but I assure you, I'll fix it with my every being.” Emilio said, I could feel the fear in his eyes.

I said nothing for a while, just watching him. Then I said, “Emilio, I do not need to remind you that this shipment is more than my last 3 shipments combined. I've collected payments from my distributors in New York, London, Germany, Tokyo and South Africa.”

“I completely understand you sir but this attack on our shipment is from a group even I or Patricio have never heard of.”

I pressed his neck harder. “I don't care if you've heard of them before or they are a new group just coming from heaven.”

“Boss please…” Emilio squirmed like a little girl.

“You better fix it, Emilio, before the end of the Thursday. Otherwise, your every being won't even exist when I'm done with you.”

“I'll do everything I can, boss.”

I left him and stepped out of the room. I looked around to see if Maria was still here but I couldn't find any trace of her. I signaled to my other men to let's move.

In the car, Alex was already waiting like he had something for me already. “Sir, I have some information.”

“Get in and tell me and our way home.” I said as I got in the car.

“Her name is Maria Santino. She works at a coffee shop around 18th street. The Red Coffee. I believe you've had a meeting with someone there before. And she lives just 2 streets away from where she works.”

I commended Alex, within just a few minutes, he already knew where she works and lives. He surely understood me when I said fast.

“Impressive, Alex. But I want more. Her family, where she's from, her favourite shopping centre, favourite colour, favourite food, ex-boyfriend, history, everything.”

“Yes sir.”

***********

I made some calls in order to make arrangements for if whatever Emilio was planning should fail. He has never failed me but I couldn't risk it now. Especially since I'm expecting a very huge shipment. One bigger than my last 3 shipments.

I stepped into my bathtub, letting the cool water penetrate my skin. As I absorb the feeling, the thought of Alexa kicks in.

I remembered our last night together, we had had sex in this very bathtub before we finished up in the bedroom.

The thought of that night sent a sensual feeling through me.

A feeling I haven't felt in a while since she left.

She made me have sex with her like a weak man, said it was called making love.

I felt used, like a weakling.

Letting a woman I had picked up from the street define how I pleasure myself. In fact, she used me to pleasure herself. And when she had had her fill, she left me and never came back to me again.

Alexa was my little doll for years. I loved her and I had thought she loved me too but why she left me when I needed the most still baffles me.

I had given her everything and she had given me her own soul and body. I never thought of any other woman except her and everyday I wait, hoping she'll come back to me again.

So when I saw Maria today, I thought she was there for me.

Alexa knew I loved art and so she wanted to wait for me there but it wasn't her. It was someone else. And now that I think of it, Maria does look like a younger version of Alexa.

I closed my eyes and went deeper into the bathtub, stopping my nose from going in.

Even the smell of the water reminded me of that last night. I felt myself get hard. “Alexa, you bitch.” I cursed as I tried to think of her face.

But instead of Alexa's face, I remembered Maria. I pushed the thought away. Trying to remember Alexa. I did but somehow Maria found her way back.

“Stop, you pervert.” I said to myself as I adjusted in the water. “How old is she? 21, 22. She's too young for you.”

I tried again to get Alexa back. Maybe if I stroked to the thought of Alexa, it'll make her stay. Better that bitch than young Maria.

As I stroked, our last night replayed in my head but that's not the night I wanted to recall. I wanted to remember a night I dominated Alexa but I couldn't.

“Why can't I? I used to dominate her almost every night, why can't I remember it?”

I forced my thoughts to create a scene, and I did. There I was, spreading Alexa's leg like a doll I had just bought. I touched her and she moaned.

“No sounds.” I ordered.

“Yes, Mr De Rossi.” She replied. But it didn't sound like Alexa but sounded like Maria.

And so It was, Maria, the little doll.