Chapter 13 ~ Alexander #2
The grounds are extensive in the back with more to see than the front.
The front of the house is mostly taken up with the driveway and the fountain in the middle.
Carlos stops halfway, bends down, and looks at me through the window like, ‘What the hell?’ I just shake my head inside the car as I open the door and step out, heading straight for the front door.
Oh, she’s mad.
Too bad this is how it’s going to be between us.
She is very good at silence. She learned the art of hiding her feelings and thoughts behind a stoic wall of stillness, but I can see the tiny crease of her mouth, the way her eyes take in everything around her.
The way she evaluates every word and person she encounters.
I drove and fed her fears till I broke that little wall and made her cry.
She couldn’t hide that from me, and I refuse to allow it in the future.
I toss back over my shoulder.
“Follow me.”
She immediately steps forward, slowly taking the stairs behind me.
Carlos runs up, passing me on the stairs, and rushing to get ahead of us to open the door.
As I pass by him, making my way inside, he steps aside, holding the door for Isabella.
He has an actual smile beaming at her. Bending down slightly, he says, “Welcome home.” Isabella looks up at him and stops.
Her face shows no expression. The light from earlier has left her eyes, and she quietly says: “Thank you, Carlos. But this is not my home. I have no home anymore.”
I don’t think she meant for me to hear that comment, but I did, and I can’t help but feel the sting of her words. My home will be her home from now on. And no, I didn’t buy this place with a wife in mind, but it’s not a hovel?
I stand by the base of the stairs and watch as the two of them have this verbal exchange. Carlos’s expression is grim and slightly apprehensive, whereas Isabella's is apathetic and despondent.
I should be more concerned about comforting her, but if anything, I'm more irritated, and I don't feel like playing the gallant host. I know she’s just been booted out of the only home she’s ever known, and I’m acting like a dick.
But I’m not going to act the sweet hubby-to-be when it would be a lie.
I turn and start heading up the stairs.
“Follow me and I’ll show you to your room,” I grumble at them.
Carlos puts a hand on her shoulder to guide her forward, smiling gently down at her as I turn and head up toward the second set of stairs leading to the bedrooms. Why does everyone feel like they need to rescue her from me?
It’s not like I beat her or something. I don’t play the sweetheart game; I’m not Sebastian.
Besides, I’m not the one kicking her out; I’m offering a mansion and a life of prestige she wouldn’t otherwise get.
She should be grateful for fuck sakes, not moping by the door like a toddler.
I head down the hall and I can hear their footsteps on the stairs behind me.
Carlos’s heavy thump on each step and I can barely hear Isabella as they make their way up.
Carlos stops at the landing and tells her to go on and that he’ll see her downstairs.
I’m already in her room with the door open, waiting for her to arrive.
Isabella slowly makes her way down the hall, eyes downcast, her hands clenched tight by her sides. Stopping by the doorframe, she leans slightly to peer around the door.
“Christ, woman, it’s a bedroom, not a dungeon. It’s not like I set up chains against the wall to keep you in there. It’s a simple bedroom, but it’s yours until we get married." I point across the hall. “Then you’ll be moving into that room. That one’s mine.”
I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face as her cheeks bloom from ash white to bright pink. Then the gravity of what that room means makes her go pale all over again. Her eyes are enormous and she’s looking at my door like something is going to come out and kill her.
“So go on in; all your things have been delivered.” I walk in ahead of her.
Her hands clapped in front of her, her eyes darting around the room. I head over to the side, past the small living room. There’s a door that leads to a small office. I push the door open, stepping aside to show her what’s behind the door.
“I put all your painting shit in here. I didn’t know what else to do with it.
There is no art room in this house. When I bought it, I didn't plan on it. I’ll have a guy come in and remove the Persian rug.
” I looked back at her and narrow my eyes.
“Don’t put paint all over it. It’s fucking expensive.
So if you could wait and do all your artsy shit once the rug is removed and I get more shelves for you, I’d appreciate it. ”
Her eyes bug out of her head and her lips pursed into a thin white line. I’ve really pissed her off now.
I move past her as I head towards the door. I’ll leave her to stew in her room. Maybe by dinner, and some alone time, she will feel less like scratching my eyes out.
“Dinner is in an hour. Rose went out of her way to make you feel welcome. So I would expect you to be at the table promptly.” I turn and grab the door handle.
“I’ll send Carlos up to guide you to the dining room.
Just in case you feel like hopping away again, little bunny.
We don’t want a repeat of the other night, now do we? ”
Her face pales, and her body stiffens. “Sebastian can’t save you now.” I laugh inwardly at her expression. She wants to say something. I can feel it. She’s holding back. She hasn’t said a thing to me since we left the bar, and that’s fine by me. I smile and close the door on her.
I head down the stairs, going straight to my office, where Carlos is waiting by my office door.
His expression is stern. “Jesus Christ, Alex? Can you be a little more accommodating to the poor girl? She’s just got booted out of her house and now she has to live with a dick like you. Poor thing. She’s scared shitless.”
I stop and look at him, raising one eyebrow. Really? Does he not know me at all?
My tone is dry as I lift a finger to his face.
“She better get fucking used to it, because this is her home now. Daddy threw her out, and she’s got nowhere else to go.
In two weeks, she’s going to be my wife, so she’s going to have to learn how to handle shit around here.
I’m not playing this sweetheart game with her.
She knows this way of life. This is how it is with us, and you know that. ”
Pushing past him, I walk into the office, where I distract myself at the desk. I open the drawer and take out a few folders and sit down. Carlos comes in and sits in the leather chair across from me.
Let’s change the subject, shall we?
“So what’s the angle on the security cameras? Are they getting installed in the next 24 hours before I leave or what?”
Carlos shifts slightly in his chair, leaning more on his one elbow, kicking out his foot.
“Yeah, the guy came today. He put the one in by the pool. We still have to put the one in the spare room.” Leaning in a little closer, he states, “Or should I say Isabella‘s room?” He waggled his eyebrows up and down and then he turns serious, his brow coming together in a pinched expression. “What’s the point of all of this, Alex? I don’t understand why you want her monitored so badly. You don’t trust her?”
I run my hand through my hair, frustrated.
I look him straight in the eyes. “It isn’t that I distrust her so much as her father.
Something is going on with that guy, and I’m not sure what it is.
They want her out and in my home today! Why the rush?
I’m not about to leave her out on the street or stay another day with Robert.
If he’s calling my father to get her moved out, he has a reason and not a good one. ”
I fold my hands on the desk. “There have been some shady business deals he’s had on the side. He thinks we don’t know about them, but we do. So far, they’ve been profitable to the family, but that doesn’t mean that he can do side business without our approval.”
Carlos blows out of breath. “Everything I’ve gathered in the last 12 hours, I put in that folder.” He points to the one under my hand. I open it up and read through what he’s compiled so far.
Carlos continues to talk while I read. “He’s got a few connections not associated with the family.
Gunrunning ring in Russia, nasty fuckers.
” Carlos shakes like he has a chill. “He also is the sole investor in a Diamond Mine in Africa.” I reach that page, and Carlos reaches across the desk to point out Robert’s name.
Robert Gallo inherited the mine from his father when he died 11 years ago.
The Organization already knew that and he gained a position on the council because of his contributions and growing the business gained for the Family.
But in the records I’m reading, the mine is only his in trust. And he’s quickly running out of time before the trustee inherits.
So he doesn’t outright own the mine. He’s just fucking babysitting it?
What the hell? Carlos chuckles at my shocked expression as I look up at him.
“So he’s been lying to us?” I flip the folder closed, placing it on the desk.
The leather creaks as Carlos leans back in his seat.
“Not exactly. He is the sole owner as of now. It’s just he won’t be for long.
The problem I’m having is I can’t get the info on the Will.
It was my first stop in trying to find out who the trustee is.
” He runs his hands through his dark brown hair.
"I hate not having the answers for you. But I’m still looking into it. ”
Carlos leans forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “I’m still waiting to hear from a few guys, but so far there’s nothing I don’t know that you don’t know now. But we’ll see.”