Chapter 21 Cesare
The headache was gone, the dizziness was in the past, and I was finally back to being in one piece. The fact that it took so long was a personal insult, a reminder of my age I didn’t want to look at.
Humiliating.
Being away had given me time, however. My son’s didn’t know why I was down, they simply knew that I was. In that time, they’d become lazy. They probably thought I was backing off.
They were dead wrong.
I looked at the file on my computer. The man staring at me was straight-faced, brown skin, and dark eyes that looked like they had gotten more than one man to spill his guts and not through violence. He was the man that had interfered with my business.
York Washington.
“What are you doing?”
I looked up to find Rafael in my study. His pink shirt rose up, showing off his abs, and his pants hung low off his hips, showing off the deep V.
I watched as he walked around my desk. Usually I would tell anyone to get out and mind their business, but some part of me had gotten used to Rafael being a pain in the ass.
“Working,” I said shortly.
He leaned against the back of my chair, his arms draping over my shoulders. I didn’t shove him off. When his fingers started drawing patterns on my chest, I leaned my head back to look up at him. He was staring down at me.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he answered. “This is boring. Come do something more fun. Like me.”
I grinned. “You might have more issues than I do, and that’s saying something.” I turned back to the computer. “Like I said, I’m working.”
“I can see that,” he muttered.
Something about the way he said it made me look up at him again. His eyes were trained on the screen, staring at York. I stared at him.
“You know him?”
Rafael jolted a bit. “Him? No. He just has one of those faces, you know? Who is he?”
I watched his face. “One of my son’s boyfriends. Or fiancé. I’m not entirely sure which. They keep a tight lip on it.”
“Oh,” Rafael said. “What do you want with him?”
I raised a brow. “You have a lot of questions to ask today. Why the curiosity?”
Rafael scoffed and looked down at me. “What else am I supposed to be doing?” he asked. “Can’t I like a bit of gossip?”
“This isn’t a gossip column. Go find something to do.”
Rafael moved and pushed my seat back. I let him, my shoes dragging over the hardwood floor before he settled himself onto my lap, his legs dangling over the arm rests.
He was not a delicate man, that was for sure.
Part of me was still confused why this was my latest fixation, but if I stared too long at that, it would give me a headache.
Right now? He was useful. And the penthouse wasn’t so damn quiet. That was good enough.
“Wouldn’t you rather be doing stuff with me?” Rafael asked, his eyes staring into mine as he dragged his fingers down my chest. “I’m way more interesting than some boring FBI agent.”
“You’re a lot of things; I don’t know if interesting is one of them,” I said, the corner of my mouth ticking up as I gripped his hip. I squeezed. “Rafael?”
“Hmm?” he whispered, his mouth already at my neck licking, sucking, and biting my flesh.
“How did you know he was an FBI agent?”
Rafael stilled. “What?”
“How do you know what his job is?”
Rafael lifted his head and looked at the picture. “I mean, duh, he has that haircut they all have,” he pointed to the screen. “And it says FBI right there.”
I blinked. “It does.”
Rafael shook his head. “You sure you’re good? Did you bump your head again?”
I smacked the side of his ass hard. “Don’t piss me off,” I said. “Get down so I can focus on my job. Go make me something mildly good for lunch. The chef isn’t in today.”
“Why not?”
I didn’t answer him. Honestly, I preferred sticking him in my kitchen than having a luxurious meal. What that said about me, I didn’t know. But I wanted what I wanted. I squeezed his ass roughly.
“Go before I cut you off from dick for the rest of the day.”
Rafael gasped. “That’s cruel!”
I grunted and immediately corrected it. “Get used to it. Out.”
Rafael slipped from my lap and stood up.
He smoothed his clothes down before he turned his nose up and flounced out of my office.
My head tilted as my eyes tracked the sway of his ass.
For a minute, I thought about pushing him over and fucking him over the desk.
I dragged my attention back to the work in front of me.
Picking up my phone, I focused on the task at hand. I scrolled through until I found the contact and clicked on it.
“Miller, it’s me,” I said.
“Mr. Vitale. It’s been a while.” The man on the other end sounded hesitant. Good. It was always a good thing to have bodies in law enforcement. And Miller had been under my thumb for ages. He wasn’t the only one, but he was high enough up to make things move. “How can I help you?”
“You have an agent. York Washington."
The man quieted. “Yes.”
“He had an investigation into his conduct a while ago,” I said as I scrolled through the file I definitely shouldn’t have had, but did. “Why was it closed?”
“There was no evidence of any wrongdoing,” the man said. “So the investigation was dropped, and he moved to a different department. Other than that incident, he’s had an impeccable record.”
“Hmm, well that needs to change. I want the investigation reopened, and I want York Washington benched. And then you’re going to dig. I don’t care if you have to find evidence, you find a way to make sure he retires early."
For a moment, silence hung in the air. “You don’t know him like I do. He’ll never retire.”
I smirked. “It’s your job to make him. Retired, fired, it means nothing to me. One way involves him getting a nice pension, so make sure you reiterate that. Get it done, Miller. Or don’t and we’ll be having a very different conversation somewhere very private. You understand?”
“Yes,” the answer came quietly.
“Great, that’s what I like to hear. I knew you could do it.” I grinned. “Report back to me quickly. I want this handled before the end of the week is up.”
I hung up on him, cutting off anything else he had to say. He could argue with someone else about timelines, what he could and couldn't do. None of that was my problem. I gave the order; his only concern should be getting it done. Otherwise, he could argue with a bullet.
York’s face peered back at me. Pretty soon my sons would know I was back in play, good. I called Pietro and Rocky to update them on the next steps before I focused on the screen again. I poured a drink and leaned back in my chair.
My sons had made a grave mistake. They should have kept striking when I was down and out.
That was the perfect time to hit me where it hurt in a way that I wouldn’t be able to claw my way back.
Instead, they had let me get back up. It was a weakness on their part.
I was going to have to remind them why you never took your foot off the enemy’s neck.
The report came back by Saturday. York Washington suspended until further notice. Retirement pending. My eyes searched over the phone before I plopped it down onto my desk. Handled, just like that.
No sooner than I had stood up did I hear it buzzing. I sighed, pinched the bridge of my nose, and checked my messages.
Blake: You disappear for two weeks and pull this? What are you thinking?
Blake: We need to meet up.
Blake: I can’t believe you did that. WTF?
I looked at the messages. So he’d already heard about York? Good, that meant Benito knew. That he was aware I was back on the board and ready to play the game. Even if Blake didn’t like the way I handled my business, it was handled just the same.
Cesare: I’m busy today.
Cesare: You should stay out of this.
I put my phone into my pocket after changing the settings to silent.
For a little while, I needed some peace and quiet.
Things were moving forward. I would talk to Blake later when he had calmed down.
Answering him now while he was in a fighting mood wouldn’t go well for either of us.
It was better to let him come to his senses.
I stepped into the living room. Rafael was stretched out on the couch, lying on his stomach, his legs in the air, reality TV playing. I watched him for a long moment before I finally moved more into the room. I yanked him off the couch, and he grunted as he rolled onto the floor.
“What the shit!”
I settled on the couch, spread my legs, and picked up the TV remote. When he sat up on his knees, looking pissed off and flustered, the smirk on my lips grew. He was the easiest person I’d ever met both to piss off and to make blush.
Reaching out, I grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked him up. Rafael protested, his feet stumbling before I dragged him back onto the couch, but over my lap this time. Once his head was on my knee, I lifted a hand and brought it down hard before I cupped, squeezed, and shook his ass cheek.
“Cesare!”
“What bullshit are you watching?” I grunted as I dragged him back down when he tried to get up. “All I can hear from my study is screaming and nonsense.”
“It’s one of those dating shows. You meet and get married on the first day.”
I made a face. “Why?”
“To fall in love.”
“That’s fucking re—”
“What did I say about that word?" Rafael cut me off and glared up. “We don’t use that word anymore.”
“But it is!”
Rafael’s glare intensified. “Cesare.”
“Goddamn.” I wiped a hand down my face. “You can’t fuckin’ say anything these days!”
“There’s a lot you can say. Stop being grumpy and scratch my back.”
I pushed his shirt up and scratched my nails along his back. He was as bad as the damn kitten, stretching out as his long hair spilled over my lap. I watched TV with him for a minute before I scoffed.
“This is still stupid. It’s impossible to keep a marriage going the old fashioned way. Why the hell would anyone think this would work?”
“It’s for entertainment purposes,” he said, his words rolling off his tongue. “In other words, don’t think too much about it. It’s nonsense, but it’s good nonsense.” He squirmed. “Ooh, higher. Yeah right there,” he groaned.
“I’m not watching this crap,” I said. “Gimme a cigarette.”
Rafael reached over, and I cupped his ass.
When he laid back down again, I leaned over and he put one between my teeth.
He flicked open my lighter, set the tip ablaze, and then twisted to lie on his back.
He rested the ash tray on his stomach. The whole image made my cock throb in my pants.
He stared at the TV, but I was staring at him.
My pulse faltered. I wrapped a hand around his throat, resting it to feel his heart race against calloused palm as I looked up at the TV and let the mundanity of the moment draw me in.