CHAPTER TWELVE

Alessio

Something was seriously wrong with me.

Normally, I was a rational, levelheaded man. In both business and personal matters, I prided myself on making sensible decisions that yielded the best possible results.

I was known for being logical.

So why was it that ever since a tiny slip of a nineteen-year-old blonde girl entered into my life, I’d been anything but?

I hadn’t been really conscious of my decision when I pulled Valentina upstairs to one of the guest rooms… or was it Veronica?

I didn’t fuck the escorts I hired the next morning. They were usually gone by then. That was one of my non-negotiable rules.

But I realized whenever Coraline was around, I tended to do everything the opposite way of what I normally did.

I wanted to prove to myself that she wasn’t getting to me.

That the whole time I was buried in another woman’s body, I wasn’t picturing her puckered nipples underneath her wet top in my car yesterday. Or fantasizing about sucking the turgid tips into my hot mouth and nipping the soft skin around them till she screamed my name in sheer ecstasy.

The pathetic thing was she didn’t even seem to be aware of the effect she had on me, while I was over here losing my damn mind.

I had hated seeing her laughing with Elias, making him a fucking bowl of oatmeal for his hangover. It pissed me off so bad that I banned Elias from coming over to my place on the days she’d be around.

The fucker had laughed in my face, saying I was down bad and didn’t even realize it.

I wasn’t. I just liked the things that were for me to remain for me. I didn’t like to share.

Not that Coraline was mine or anything. She wasn’t, and I didn’t want her to be.

So it was fucking annoying that I kept acting this way around her.

I ended up getting Veronica (or Valentina) off with my fingers up in one of the guest rooms, then we came down and got served the breakfast casserole she wanted.

Coraline didn’t glance my way once. She moved around the kitchen doing her thing while steadfastly avoiding my gaze.

I didn’t blame her. I had mauled another woman in her presence so she was more than likely traumatized by it.

I contemplated apologizing but shut it down immediately the thought crossed my mind. The girl already had me condoning shit I normally would have fired anyone else over. I would not take it any step further by begging.

She came by the next day at 8am sharp. I was already sat by the island pretending to work on my laptop.

I cleared my throat when she didn’t acknowledge my presence. “A greeting would be nice.”

“Good morning sir,” she said sharply, not sparing me a glance.

“You’re not going to ask me what I would like to have for breakfast?” I tried again.

She turned to face me with a stiff posture and a rigid expression. “What would you like to have for breakfast, sir?”

“Don’t be a brat, Coraline. I told you to call me Alessio.”

She took a deep breath. “What would you like to have for breakfast, Alessio?” she said my name with such bite to her tone it made me a little wary.

I shifted a bit on the island stool. “Surprise me.”

“As you wish, Alessio.” There was that bite again. It unsettled me a little.

I watched her as she moved around the kitchen. She was wearing another one of those cotton blouses. Powder blue today. The material looked thin and flimsy like it wasn’t of good quality.

It was baffling the way she never dressed to impress me. Most of the women that worked for me always tried to get my attention with what they wore.

Low, plunging necklines. Tight, revealing materials. They always thought they could seduce me by using their bodies.

That was why I mostly hired men and older women. The handful of young females I had in my employ were strictly professional, knowing they would be fired in an instant if they ever tried to move onto me.

But not Coraline. She had never tried to make any moves on me. I wasn’t sure if it was because I had told her she wasn’t my type and was following my orders or she just wasn’t interested in me that way.

Both prospects bothered me and I had no idea why.

Before long, she was placing a grilled ham and cheese sandwich in front of me.

“Have you had breakfast?” I asked before she could make her escape.

“No.”

I grabbed a knife from the butcher’s block and split the sandwich in half. “Sit and eat with me.”

“I’m good, thanks.”

I raised a brow at the quick response. Then I leaned back and nodded towards the plate, arms crossed. “You must have poisoned it then seeing as you won’t eat out of it.”

“You were literally here the whole time while I cooked,” she sputtered, eyes wide in disbelief as she fell for the bait I set.

“I wasn’t paying attention though.” Lie. “You could have slipped in something without me noticing. And you’ve been giving me an attitude too so you have a reason.”

She stared at me in defiance for a few seconds before stretching forward to grab one half of the sandwich.

I shifted the plate away from her reaching hand while tutting, “Sit first. Then you can prove your innocence.”

Her glare was deadly. But she did as she was told, albeit a little violently.

“Good girl.” I praised huskily. Then shifted the plate in her direction. “Here’s your reward.”

She grabbed her half and tore off a thick, loaded chunk, chewing rapidly and swallowing the bite down in a few seconds. “There. No poison. Happy?”

“Finish the whole thing, dolcezza.”

She did, poured herself a glass of water for good measure and gulped it down. Then she resumed her glaring.

“Happy now?”

I nodded. “Much.” I started on my own food then. The taste was warm and savory, the rich cheese and salty ham melting into my mouth when I bit through the crunchy exterior of the crispy buttered bread.

I could suddenly feel her gaze roaming over my body. It sent a thrill of pleasure straight through me that I chose not to dwell on. Instead, I decided to tease her about it but was cut off when she said,

“You’re wearing normal clothes.”

I looked down at myself before nodding. “Yes.”

“Does that mean…”

“I’m not going into work today, yes.” I finished for her. “I work from home once every week.”

Disappointment crossed her features and it just showed how much this girl hated my guts.

She didn’t even want to see me if she didn’t have to. Which was such a foreign concept to me that I was left reeling.

She slid off her stool. “I’m going to go wait in the living room till you’re done so I can come do the dishes.”

I didn’t say anything or look in her direction to acknowledge her words. Not like she was waiting for my response either.

She was gone before I lifted my head from my plate.