Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Ireally have no idea why my father wanted me to be here with my mom. She’s got everything under control. I’ve basically been sitting back, watching her tell everyone what she wants and where she wants it.
“Is there anything I can do?” I ask my mother, catching her before she runs off to speak to someone else.
“I’m not really sure why your father made you come here. Unless…” My mom lets her words trail off as she looks around the ballroom.
“Unless what?” I follow her gaze, trying to see what she’s looking at. When her head turns back, she leans in closer. “Is something happening I don’t know about, Alfie? Is there a threat?”
I shake my head. “What?”
“Like an enemy lurking in the shadows somewhere?” she asks.
“No,” I tell her, but then my eyes flick to our right. “The enemy just walked right through the door,” I add under my breath.
“Huh?” My mom turns around and spots Molly Olive strutting towards us with purpose. “Oh, she’s pretty, don’t you think, Alfie?” Mom says.
“Sure, if you’re attracted to snakes,” I grumble.
My mother gives me a look. You know, the one that tells me I’m an ass without her having to utter a word.
“Sorry,” I say under my breath.
“Mrs. Giuliani, hi, I’m Molly Olive.”
“Hello.”
I watch as my mother shakes the hand of the woman I’m wanting out of my fucking town. The same woman who hasn’t bothered to even look at me.
“What can I do for you, Molly?” my mother asks.
“Oh, I’m in town for a little while and, well, I heard about your event on Saturday and wanted to make a donation. I was also hoping to get a seat,” Molly says.
“Oh, that’s awfully kind of you. The tables are sold out, unfortunately,” Mom replies, and I sigh in relief. Thank fuck!
“Oh, that’s a shame. Well, here, let me give you this donation anyway.” Molly takes out a checkbook and writes on it before tearing a page out and handing it to my mother.
“Five hundred thousand. Are you sure? That’s awfully generous of you.”
“It’s a cause dear to my heart, Mrs. Giuliani.” Molly smiles at my mother.
“Wait… Maybe there is a way for you to have a seat. I’ve got two plus-ones available.
You see, a mother dreams her sons will find a woman and start bringing a plus-one, so I always have a seat saved on the off chance I get lucky.
You could come as Alfie’s plus-one.” My mother grins wide.
“Oh, this is my son—Alfie. He’d be delighted to bring you to the event on Saturday, wouldn’t you, honey?
” Mom turns her southern hospitality smile on me.
It’s also the smile that says I better agree with her or else.
“Uh…”
“You said you had more than one son, right? I’ll take the other one,” Molly insists.
I frown. What the fuck is wrong with me? Why the hell wouldn’t she want to go to the gala as my plus-one?
“You’re not going with my brother,” I grunt out. “The event starts at seven. I’ll pick you up at 6:30,” I add before I can think better of it.
“Right, that’s settled then. Excuse me. I really need to go and make sure the florist has everything she needs. It was a pleasure meeting you, Molly,” my mother says before fluttering off, leaving me with the fucking enemy. And now my date for Saturday, I guess?
Molly glares at me. I glare right back at her. “I’m not afraid of you,” she blurts out.
Placing my hands in the pockets of my pants—because as much as I don’t like the woman standing in front of me, I don’t actually want to intimidate her either—I take a step forward, closing the gap between us.
“You have no reason to be afraid of me, sweetheart. I don’t hurt women,” I tell her and lean in a little closer. “Unless they ask me to.”
The intake of her breath has my eyes landing on hers. Her pupils dilate. Her cheeks darken with a tinge of pink, and her chest rises and falls a little quicker than it was a few seconds ago.
“You’d let me, wouldn’t you?” I ask her.
“Let you?” she gasps.
“You’d enjoy it. I’d even bet that you’d let me take you to that table right there, bend you over, lift this dress up to your hips, and bring my palm down onto your bare ass.
Can you feel it? The promise of the sting on your flesh?
The thrill of the pain that turns into pleasure?
But you’d beg me for more. More pain, more pleasure,” I whisper so that only she can hear me.
“You’re disgusting,” Molly hisses, but I don’t miss the way her thighs press together while a slight shiver runs through her. She takes a step backwards. “Let’s get one thing straight, Mr. Giuliani. I am Molly Olive. I will never beg you for a goddamn thing.”
“Challenge accepted.” I smirk, my hands still in my pockets. I haven’t even touched her and she’s this affected by me.
“I’ll meet you in the lobby at 6:30, Saturday night.” Molly turns on her heels and stomps out of the ballroom.
“Alfie, what the hell did you say to her?” Mom walks back over to me.
“Nothing.” Nothing I’m ever going to repeat to my mother, that’s for damn sure.
“I don’t care what your issue with her is. She’s now a major donor, and you will treat her with respect. Not to mention I didn’t bring you up to be disrespectful to women.”
There’s nothing that makes you feel more like a kid again than being scolded by your mother. “I love women, Ma. I’m never disrespectful to them.” I smile wide. I’m not lying. I do fucking love women.
“You look exhausted, Alfie. Go home.”
“I’ll hang around and take you home when you’re finished here,” I tell her.
“Alfie, I do not need you babysitting me. Go home,” Mom says in a firmer tone.
“Fine. I’ll see you later.” Leaning down, I press my lips to her cheek.
I wait until I step outside the ballroom before I shoot a text to my father.
Me:
Mom sent me home.
Dad:
She still in the ballroom?
I roll my eyes, as if he doesn’t know exactly where she is.
Me:
Yep.
Dad:
Okay. Don’t forget to find your brother.
Great! The idea of going home and falling into bed is more appealing than having to hunt down my little brother right now. Pressing the green button next to Hudson’s name, I bring the phone to my ear and wait for him to answer.
“Looking for me?” he asks.
“Yeah, where are you?”
“Just about to walk out of the Royal.”
“Meet me at my car,” I tell him.
“Sure thing, boss.” Hudson laughs and cuts the call.
When I finally catch up with my brother, I get a good look at his face. “Who the fuck did that?” I ask, fucking pissed that someone thought they could touch him.
“Relax, big bro. I already handled it.” Hudson shrugs.
“Get in the car.” I take the keys from the valet and hand the guy a fifty. “What happened?” I say to my brother once I’m pulling away from the Royal.
“I went to LA with Aiden. We stopped in some bar where some fucking asshole was roughing up some woman. I stepped in. Then all of his buddies stepped in, and Aiden and I put them all on their asses.” Hudson laughs.
“That’s it? A bar fight?” I ask.
“Yep. What’d you think it was?”
“Something more exciting than that. What’d you go to LA for?”
“Aiden has it in his head he’s destined to find himself a star. I was humoring him.”
“Aiden’s a fucking idiot,” I grunt. Aiden’s also our cousin, our Uncle Carlo’s youngest child.
“He is, but he’s family,” Hudson says. “You see the hot chick who was looking for Mom?”
“Hot chick?” I turn to glare at my brother.
“Yeah, some chick named Molly was looking for Mom. I showed her to the ballroom.”
I blink and count to ten in my head, because hearing my brother refer to Molly as some hot chick has my fingers turning white on the steering wheel. “She’s the fucking enemy, you moron. Do not talk to her. Do not look at her. Do not even think about her. Hear me?”
“I hear you, but why is she the enemy?”
“Because she’s the fucking CEO of the Olive Group, dumbass. She’s trying to buy up buildings on the Strip.”
“Okay, so why is she so under your skin?”
“Mom’s making me take her to the gala as my plus-one,” I groan.
“Could be worse women to have on your arm. I’ll take her if you don’t want her.”
“She’s off-fucking-limits, Hudson. I mean it.”
“Jesus, chill the fuck out before you burst a vessel, bro. I won’t touch her, but I give it less than twenty-four hours before you do.”
“I’m not fucking touching her.” Despite how hard my dick got at the thought.
“You know what they say: keep your family close and your enemies closer.”
My brother’s words repeat in my head. Perhaps there’s merit to keeping Molly Olive closer.