Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
Fucking hell.
Now I was truly beginning to understand why Leo was hesitant to be the one to call me. Not one piece of information he was telling me was decent.
“I know you’re pissed off, Elio, but think about it,” Leo reasoned. “Alexi has no one at this point. He’s as much of a traitor to Junior as he is to us. We let him go so that Junior can deal with him however the hell he wants.”
My brows raised in surprise. Maybe it was for the best that Alexi was out of our hands now. As long as he stayed away from Cat and me, I didn’t care what happened to him.
“Alright,” I said. “As annoyed as I am about all this, I’ll call you again in the morning. I’ve got some other news to tell you and I don’t have the brain function to explain any of it now.”
I ended the call and refrained from throwing my phone across the room. Sliding back under the covers, I rested my head against the pillow and searched for any chance of falling back asleep.
“What’s going on?” Cat whispered softly.
Every muscle in my stomach clenched, and I turned to see her eyes blinking up at me. Oh shit, how much had she heard? Was she awake the entire time? Damnit, I knew I should have left the room to take the call in the hallway.
I lifted my hand to brush her hair back from her face. “It’s nothing I can’t deal with,” I hushed. “Go back to sleep.”
Cat’s eyes fluttered closed, whereas mine remained wide open. My mind slipped into a long, endless train of thought. So, my team decided to let Alexi go….
Just knowing that the guy was walking around freely set my nerves on edge.
‘I shouldn’t have let Alexi walk away the first time,’ I thought aimlessly. ‘I won’t be making that mistake again.’
Before I allowed my eyes to close again, I decided that tomorrow Leo and I would talk to Francesco. The man needed to be brought up to speed on our situation as soon as possible. Plus, it was vital that I talk to Leo about being my potential second.
He had remained by my side through nearly this entire ordeal. This had become his fight just as well as mine.
*Caterina*
I heard rustling long before I opened my eyes. The light from the morning sun gently streamed through the blinds of the windows, casting an ethereal glow throughout the room. Slowly, I blinked away the blurriness in my eyes.
My hand felt around for Elio, only to find that his side of the bed was completely empty.
What little bit of sleep that was still lingering around my eyes instantly fell away. I turned my head to find Elio rummaging through the closet and dresser and throwing on whatever clothes he found.
My brows drew together in confusion. Was I forgetting something? Where on earth was he going in such a hurry? Did we have some kind of errand or engagement this morning that I’d completely forgot about?
In all honesty, there wasn’t much to remember from the evening before. After the whole unexpected run-in with Alexi, Elio’s mood had remained rigid and distant. I had hoped to spend the rest of our night relaxing and winding down from our trip, but that didn’t happen.
I hadn’t even tried to revive the passion I’d originally stirred back in the car, allowing Elio to simply work through his own feelings in peace. Normally, I would have poked at him for an explanation.
I still didn’t know or understand why Alexi was there in the first place. Whatever was said between them was enough to send Elio into a spiraling fit of rage, and I knew that pestering him on the matter was not going to make things any better.
I figured that once the two of us finally got some real rest, that everything would be fine.
But by the furious look on Elio’s face, that was clearly not the case.
“W-what’s going on?” I yawned.
I brushed my hair back from my face and blinked up at Elio, who glanced over his shoulder to look at me. His eyes were filled with stern exhaustion.
‘Well, so much for getting any real rest,’ I thought to myself.
“I have to meet with Leo and Francesco,” he said under his breath.
Elio turned back to continue getting himself ready. Meanwhile, I threw back the covers and struggled to find my balance when my feet touched the floor. I carried myself over to my side of the closet and began rolling through my hangers.
“I didn’t realize that we have a meeting,” I said. “If I’d known before, I would have set an alarm to wake up a bit earlier.”
I settled on a cream-colored blouse that I liked along with a pair of faded jeans. My hair was slightly a mess, but I figured I’d just pull it back into a clip or a ponytail of some kind.
I had just turned to head into the bathroom when Elio’s voice broke through the silence.
“You don’t need to come,” he stated firmly.
There was no possible indication in his tone that he meant those words as a suggestion. My entire body froze on the spot. I turned around to face him with a look of utter confusion.
“What do you mean, I don’t need to go?” I asked him tightly.
For him to be meeting with Leo ‘and’ Francesco meant that this wasn’t just regular work they’d be discussing. This very likely involved talking about Junior and Antonio—which meant that I had every reason to be there. I had told Elio that I needed to be included in everything that pertained to those two.
And yet for some unknown, aggravating, reason, he was making the decision to exclude me.
Again.
I tried to keep my tone as calm as possible and gave him the chance to explain.
“Elio, tell me why I don’t need—”
“Because it’s not something you need to concern yourself with right now,” he said pointedly. He let out a long breath. “I’ll fill you in later.”
My chest tightened in devastated anger. How the hell could he say that?
Part of me wanted to be spiteful and tell him that it was too bad, that I had every intention of coming with him. But Elio was already finished getting ready and was on his way out of the bedroom. So, it wouldn’t have mattered how quickly I’d have tried to get myself together.
Elio was dead set on leaving me behind.
I was beyond pissed. My hands clenched into tight fists at my sides, causing my knuckles to turn white with rage. He was shutting me out—disregarding my stance in the entire situation. What had happened to the Elio who was defending my place back in Florence? When every other man was so quick to discount my importance, he had been the one standing up to them and insisting that I be a part of it all.
And yet here he was, pushing me aside, leaving me behind… shutting me out.
“Well, have a great time,” I hissed bitterly.
Elio suddenly stopped and turned back to face me. For a brief moment, I genuinely thought that he’d changed his mind. Maybe in those few split seconds, he had come to his senses and realized the mistake he was making.
I was wrong.
Elio didn’t say a word, nor did he even appear to be remotely sorry for his shitty attitude. He took a few steps toward me, closing the space between us. He looked as though he was going to lean down and kiss me. But I didn’t have a single ounce of interest in affection right now.
I narrowed my eyes and slammed the door right in his face.
“Just go,” I said quietly.
Tears threatened to fall in disappointment, but I fought them back. Grabbing clothes off the bed, I headed into the bathroom to get ready on my own time.