Chapter Three
Tessa finished changing Caesar’s diaper. She wrapped up the old one, placing it in the trash bin in the corner and washing her hands. Once that was done, she started to dress Caesar. She knew she had to get ready for her day out with Alonzo, but no one had responded to Caesar’s cries. She could only take so much, so she didn’t have much choice but to come and take care of him.
“There, there, all better now. You really know how to poop through the night, don’t you?” She kissed Caesar’s head and sighed. He was such a good boy.
He started to play with her necklace, and she smiled at him, letting him do that. With him in her arms, she sat down with him in the rocking chair. If no one came to relieve her of him in the next ten minutes, she’d take him down to feed him.
She loved her job and taking care of Caesar, but now her thoughts kept going to Alonzo and why he demanded she spend some time with him. It made no sense to her, none at all.
In fact, she found the entire thing stressful.
When Caesar started to make a fuss, she knew she had to feed him.
“Come on, little guy. Let’s take you downstairs and get some food.” She placed him on her hip. He was so happy when she did that, as her hips were quite large, and he settled in so nicely.
Humming to herself, she walked downstairs to the kitchen.
Louise, the cook, wasn’t even there when she entered the kitchen. Pulling the high chair to the counter, she grabbed Caesar’s food, which Louise always made in advance for him. It was something mashed together.
He didn’t like a lot of the mushed-up foods. If he didn’t eat this porridge-looking stuff, she’d mash him up a banana to eat.
She took a seat next to him and started to do the helicopter noises. The moment the food hit his taste buds, he gave her that horrible baby look and proceeded to spit it out.
“Oh, no, is that really nasty? It looks really bad, and I shouldn’t be saying that. I’m an awful person.”
She took a small taste and scrunched up her own nose. “Don’t you worry. One day you’ll be able to have fried chicken, meatballs, ice cream, and I love cookies so, so much. I also love putting ice cream between cookies, and that is even better. This though, is nasty.”
“You shouldn’t be encouraging him to not eat that,” Alonzo said.
She jerked up in her seat, taken aback by his sudden appearance.
“Alonzo,” she said.
“I was waiting for you in the library.”
“I’m really sorry. I … I had to take care of Caesar.”
“I told you today was your day off.”
“No one attended to him. I did wait. You know, I did wait. I remembered.” She pointed at the clothes she wore. “I got changed.” Realizing one of her stained shirts covered the evidence that she had changed to go out, she quickly tugged it off. Her cheeks heated when the shirt rode up, and she had this horrible feeling she’d just shown her boss her bra. “See, I had changed.”
“And no one responded to Caesar’s cries.”
“I did wait a few minutes.”
“I understand.” He already turned his back on her and was pressing buttons on his cell phone.
“I hope I didn’t get anyone in trouble,” she said, talking to her charge.
Caesar slapped his hands, and she grabbed a banana, a small bowl, and another spoon. She mashed it up so there were also a few chunks.
“Wait until you can have peanut butter. That stuff is deadly. Honestly, it will go straight to your hips, but it will be so worth it.” She winked at Caesar as she fed him.
She didn’t know what Alonzo said, but Jessica was the first to enter the room. She looked awful.
Her hair was all matted as if she’d just passed out with hair gel in it.
“I can’t believe you woke me up to take care of my kid. Tessa is doing a perfectly good job of it.”
“He’s your son, Jessica,” Alonzo said.
Tessa watched as he stepped back into the room. She hated all kinds of conflict, and seeing these two argue always unnerved her.
Jessica, for the most part, was nice.
“So! I don’t see you getting Benedict here to deal with him. Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I have to feed him. I’ve got a life as well.” Jessica let out a cry as she was pulled out of the room.
They hadn’t gone far, and Tessa heard everything that was said between the two.
“Right now, you are a fucking embarrassment to me and to this family.”
“Why employ nannies if we’re not going to use them? Tessa is damn good at what she does and you know it.”
“Because I’m taking her out, and I told you this last night.”
Silence met his answer.
“Oh,” Jessica said.
“Yes, oh. Now take over feeding your son. Start looking for a new nanny in order to replace Tessa when the need is there. I don’t want him going without because of me.”
They both entered, and Tessa quickly scooped up some banana and fed it to a waiting Caesar.
“Tessa, my office now. We’re having breakfast before we go.”
“I don’t mind—”
“Now!”
She quickly passed the bowl to Jessica and followed behind Alonzo.
He didn’t take no for an answer and she hated being yelled at, so she followed him. It was hard not to burst into tears, but by the time she got to his office, she had her emotions under control.
His office always reminded her of something out of the fifties. The shelves were laden with books that didn’t look used. The desk, wooden and large, filled most of the space in front of the window with a large leather chair behind it.
Alonzo didn’t go toward the chair though.
There was a small coffee table in front of two sofas. Taking a seat that Alonzo pointed out, she stared at the food. Lots of different fruits were out on the table, along with toasts, jams, and spreads. There were some mini boxes of cereal as well, which she found so utterly cute.
“Take what you like.”
“There’s a lot here to choose from.”
Alonzo had already taken a slice of toast and spread some jam over it thickly. Picking up a piece of orange, she took a bite, moaning as the sweet fruit filled her mouth. The taste was amazing. She normally had a couple of slices of toast for breakfast.
Neither of them spoke as Alonzo poured them both some coffee. She accepted hers black. Every now and then she found herself drawn to him as he read the newspaper.
“Did everything go okay last night?” She’d been worried about him.
“As well as could be expected. Tell me, Tessa, did you miss me?”
“I was worried about you.”
“You were?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t suppose you happen to enjoy our time together?”
Biting her lip, she couldn’t look away. His gaze held her locked in place with no way of escaping.
“I … do.” He made her afraid at times, but she’d come to enjoy listening to him talk, answering his never-ending questions. She loved seeing him smile. He didn’t do it often enough.
There were times he reminded her of her father. He’d spent a great deal of time sad, alone, miserable.
This kind of work couldn’t have been easy.
She wasn’t under any illusions about the kind of work he did or what the mafia were. It was a kill-or-be-killed world out there. When she learned the truth, she’d found it hard to deal, to think of her father as a killer.
Her mother had told her that there was so much bad stuff going on in this world. She couldn’t help the man she fell in love with, but she wasn’t going to hold his life against him. If given the choice between her husband killing or being killed, she would have him do the killing.
Tessa glanced at Alonzo, who stared back at her.
Would she be able to handle him killing, anyone killing?
Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she offered him a smile.
“You look petrified.”
“Shopping is not something I’ve ever enjoyed.”
“Now this is a new experience for me. I’ve never met a woman who hasn’t enjoyed spending my money.”
“Oh, I don’t want to spend your money.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to spend your own, Tessa. Now, come. I intend to get you out of this house. You’ve been looking way too pale lately.”
****
The mall was the last place Alonzo wanted to be. However, he wished to spoil Tessa and to do it with her. They’d already entered five designer shops, and none of them held any appeal to her. She’d walked through the rows, looking at shirts or jeans. None of the dresses had even been glanced at.
When she saw the price tag, she’d drop it and move on to the next one.
By the time lunch came around, he sat at the table with Cole and Demetri. Tessa had excused herself to use the bathroom. She begged to go alone, and he didn’t see a problem with it. He’d never been this stuck with women, not during his entire adult life.
“You know, you could pick out clothes for her,” Cole said.
“I don’t need your advice.”
“Clearly, you do. We get that to the outside world we’re not your friends. We’re your guards. Come on, we know what Tessa means to you. She’s also being really difficult and stubborn,” Demetri said.
“I don’t think she’s stubborn,” Cole said. He took a long sip of his milkshake. “I don’t think she’s used to having this kind of attention. I remember her dad. He hated going shopping with her because he’d always moan about how she was a pain in the ass. More of a boy than a girl.” Cole laughed. “Honestly, he’d rather face twenty-four hours of torture than take her shopping.”
“Be your Alonzo pain in the ass self,” Demetri said. “Don’t give her time to say no. Just do.”
He couldn’t believe he was taking advice from his friends. Cole and Demetri had awful taste in women, mainly because they only ever fucked whores.
“Fine, fine.”
Tessa left the bathroom, taking a seat.
“Have you called Jessica?” she asked.
“Why would I call her? She’s not my keeper.”
“To see how Caesar’s doing. It’s his lunchtime, and he doesn’t like the sweet potato that Louise does for him.”
“Does he like anything Louise cooks for him?” Alonzo asked.
“Not really, but he’s going through that phase where he likes something and then doesn’t. It’s a thing.”
“He’s not even a teenager, and he has a thing.”
She shrugged.
“Get lost,” he said to his men.
Cole and Demetri grabbed their food and walked three tables down, dropping down into the chairs.
“You can’t just do that.”
“Do what?”
“Order them to leave. That was so rude.”
“First of all, they’re here to keep me safe. Second, I’m here with you, and you keep looking at their guns.”
“Do they really need them in public? It could scare the kids.” She didn’t ask in a judgmental tone.
He noticed that. She never told or asked or gossiped. She just seemed to exist.
Since he’d told her about her parents, something had broken inside her, and he was determined to fix it, to make her find that fire and passion again.
“I could be killed at any second.”
Tessa looked around. “We should have stayed home. You didn’t have to put your life in danger for me. Believe me, it’s not worth it.”
That just pissed him off. As far as he was concerned, she was worth it without a doubt.
“My life has been threatened since I was a young boy. That’s not going to change.”
“Doesn’t that bother you?” she asked. “That people want to kill you?”
“No. I can deal with everything they have to throw at me.”
“I don’t think I could handle that. People wanting to kill me. I struggle when they yell at me.” She rolled her eyes.
“You don’t like people yelling at you?”
“I don’t even know why I told you that, but yes, I don’t like it when it happens. Teachers were the worst about it, and it was so embarrassing.”
“You know any teachers that were mean to you I can deal with.”
She burst out laughing. “I don’t want anyone’s blood on my hands.” She winced. “I don’t mean to insult what you do or anything. I’m just, I don’t like violence of any kind, and I’m really not good with all of this. I’m so sorry.”
“You’ve got nothing to apologize for.” He didn’t find her insulting.
It was a simple fact. He was dangerous, and she wasn’t.
They finished up their lunch, and he took her hand.
Cole and Demetri kept their distance, and he was always vigilant. This was a stupid thing for him to do, but he hoped by not planning it there was no risk of his whereabouts getting out.
Besides, he was in a very public place, and any shootout would bring media attention. None of them wanted that as it brought heat to all of them, and anyone who was willing to risk that kind of exposure wouldn’t last very long.
He walked into one of the shops. Tessa went off in her own direction, and instead of following her around, he started to look at the clothes himself.
Seeing a few items he wanted her to try on, he walked up to Tessa. “Don’t mind me.” He tugged on her jeans as she let out a little cry. “You don’t want to draw attention to us. If I was you, I’d stay perfectly quiet.”
“What are you doing?”
He saw her size and moved to her shirt, finding the tag at the bottom. “Excellent, follow me.” He took her hand, taking charge of their shopping experience. Even as she protested, he found some dresses and skirts. He was tired of seeing her in jeans and large shirts.
Once he had several items picked out, he pulled her toward the changing room.
“You can’t do this.”
“Guess again, Tessa. I can do whatever I want. Today was about bringing you out and seeing you try on some new clothes. Now I get to see every single item.”
“You’re kidding?” she asked.
He took a seat in the plush chair. “Not at all. If I don’t see everything I’ve given you, I’m coming in there to take over. If you want to test me, go ahead. I’ll gladly get you naked.”
“I don’t know what this is,” she said. “You’re my boss. I’m confused.”
“Technically, my sister is your boss.”
She frowned. “But you pay my wages.”
“Stop thinking. Enjoy and go and put the damn clothes on. I want to see everything.”
He leaned back in his chair, watching her ass for the few seconds he saw it sway. She didn’t linger and pulled the curtain back into place. He saw a couple of women checking him out, but he had no use for them.
The only one he wanted was the stubborn young woman behind the curtain.
She opened it back up as she modeled a knee-length black skirt and sexy-as-fuck blouse. He could imagine fucking her across the table in the library.
“Good.”
She rolled her eyes. The curtain closed again, and he stared at the floor. Her ankles were visible. She wore a pair of sports socks that fit to her ankles. The skirt dropped to the floor, and he wondered if he could get away with making her change into some new lingerie.
No, it was too early. He didn’t want to push her too far.
She opened the curtain, and he accepted the outfits. Some were just to screw with her, while others were for places he hoped to take her.
After twenty minutes, she finally called his name.
“What is it?”
“Will you come here, please?” she asked.
Getting to his feet, he pocketed his cell phone and opened the curtain. In the mirror he saw the long expanse of her back. “I need you to help me zip it up if that’s okay. I don’t know if it’s the right size.”
The dress she had on was red, and he’d picked it with the intention of taking her out one night on the town.
Stepping behind the curtain, he made sure it was closed.
“Let me,” he said.
She kept nibbling that lip of hers even as she turned, giving him her back.
She wore a plain white bra. He couldn’t resist touching the strap.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Gripping the zipper, he held the dress together and slowly slid it up, making sure he touched as much of her skin as possible without it seeming too obvious.
She let out a gasp as he put a hand to her hip afterward. Staring at her reflection, he breathed against her neck. Her nipples stood out, and as he teased her hip, he watched as they got tighter.
Her eyes dilated, and she looked so good.
He wanted to fuck her there. Instead, he cupped her ass. “This fits you really well.”
“I can’t accept this. It would be a waste of money.”
“Why?”
“I’ve got nowhere to go out in it. It would be silly to have it.”
“I want you to have it.”
“We can’t always have what we want,” she said.
“I can.”