CHAPTER FOUR

Alessio

I sat in the quiet of my office, working on my laptop long after Coraline left.

I had obviously been bluffing when I had told her she was easily replaceable. She wasn’t. My heart had been pounding like crazy when she said she still wanted to think about it.

I would have increased her pay, agreed to whatever conditions she decided to set as long as she continued cooking for me.

Fuck, she had no idea how much I needed her and I could never let her be aware of it.

It took a lot to make a man like me truly happy. I had a lot of responsibilities, the weight of so many people’s expectations so heavy on my shoulders that I couldn’t remember the last time I had stopped to take a breather, the last time I had taken a break and done something that brought about the slightest modicum of joy to my empty soul.

My life revolved around work now, but it hadn’t always been that way and I knew if I allowed myself to think too much, my mind would go back to that night that changed everything.

The night that the accident happened. The night that my mother was taken away from me.

I slammed my laptop shut and jerked my reading glasses from my face, rubbing at my tired eyes.

I hadn’t been distracted by thoughts of the past in a while and I knew Coraline was the girl to blame. She brought on memories of my ma with her cooking and I wasn’t sure how she did it, but tasting her food took me back to those times when my ma was still alive.

She was the kindest, purest soul, always full of love for her husband and only child. I was always in the kitchen with her, watching in admiration as she whipped up plates of the most delicious delicacies, singing sweetly as she twirled around the airy space and peppered kisses across my cheeks while my ten-year-old self giggled in absolute pure delight.

She had been fully American while my dad was fully Italian and they met during an opera show in Rome when my mum decided to take an exploratory trip round the world. Theirs was an instant connection, their love the stuff of fairytales. Two years later, they were married and had me. And twelve years after that, my ma died in a tragic car accident, my dad’s soul going along with her.

I had had to grow up fast and take over the family business earlier than expected since my dad was running it into debt. And I had managed to turn a crumbling corporation into a formidable empire in the last ten years. That was how it had been since—me married to my work, going through the motions and having little time for nothing else. Nothing worth looking forward to.

Until now. Until I tasted Coraline’s chicken curry soup. And then her toast, bacon and eggs just to be sure.

It wasn’t like I didn’t enjoy the food made by professional chefs. They just didn’t have that home-cooked quality to it. My mother’s home-cooked quality to be exact. Mrs. Gretchen did her best even though I consistently told her not to bother since I had only hired her as my housekeeper, but she never quite got it right.

So when I found someone that did it the exact way my ma did, I had to make sure I secured her to my side and never let her go but not let on how much I really needed her.

I had slipped a little bit when I mentioned her cooking reminded me of my mother, but moving forward, I would make sure I didn’t make that same mistake again.

My phone buzzed with an incoming call and I picked it up, sighing in irritation when I saw the caller ID.

Georgina Mendez was a woman who didn’t take no for an answer, and it was really starting to grate on my nerves.

I was tempted to just ignore the call then block her number when it stopped ringing, but I decided against it at the last second and swiped the button to answer.

“Hello, darling,” she purred through the line.

“Georgina, what do you want? I thought I was explicit the last time about it being our final form of contact.”

“Oh, you,” she giggled like I had said something funny, voice high-pitched and annoying.

“I’m hanging up. Don’t call me back.” I took the phone off my ear to do just that but her voice screeched through in protest, squealing out a panicked ‘wait’.

I sighed again and put the phone back to my ear.

“Look, can’t we just be friends? I like you as a person and just want to have access to you whenever I want.”

“I don’t have women as friends. I only have women I fuck.” I told her point blank.

“Fine, then. Let’s be fuck buddies. Even better,” she said, causing my exasperation to mount at her sheer stupidity. “Remember how it was the last time. I know I’m not exaggerating when I say it was a mind-blowing experience. The best three orgasms of my entire life.”

“That was a one-time thing and wouldn’t repeat itself. I probably got your hopes up by taking you out on a date beforehand and for that, I apologize.” I would put that blame solely on Elias’ and Grayson’s shoulders, my two dickhead friends who had encouraged me to have just one normal night off to myself.

Suffice to say it would be the last time I ever took personal advice from any one of them again. I would stick to my ever available escort service. At least those women were professionals and didn’t get clingy after one night together.

“I could be the best thing that happened to you, Alessio. Just give me a chance, please darling. I know we’ll be good together,” she begged and I was done entertaining her pathetic whines any further.

“Have a nice day, Miss Mendez. Do not try to call this number again or you’ll find yourself blocked.” I threatened then hung up, blocking her number in the next second as I wasn’t going to be taking any more chances.