2. Stefano
Another boring night sitting here watching a bunch of idiots get drunk in my club. I have way better things to be spending my time on, but my father insists it is important for me to be present in all aspects of my business so at least three times a week I find myself at the club.
It's not really my scene at all, but my half brother, Matteo is only twenty-four and he thrives in this environment.
I come along to have a drink with him and keep an eye on him. He has a bad habit of being way too forward with the girls, and even though most of them don't mind, I prefer to keep tabs on him to make sure he is behaving.
He's nine years younger than me so it's my responsibility to keep him out of trouble. It's always been that way, ever since we were kids. He was always the annoying little brother following me around. Then he came into his own and started to find his way and now I have to follow him around to make sure he stays out of trouble at least most of the time.
I sip on my vodka lime soda and gaze across the club from the bar.
Matteo is talking to some bimbo near the dance floor.
I have so much paperwork to catch up on for the shipments going out this week, and the casino doesn't exactly run itself. I shouldn't be here.
I keep glancing down at my watch, wanting to leave, but having to stay.
I order another drink and continue to watch Matteo.
I pull my phone out of my pocket and start going through the emails, trying to get ahead of tomorrow morning's workload.
"Stef, dude you need to stop working." Matteo slurs with a stupid grin on his face. "Put your phone away and come dance."
I eye my younger brother up and down and chuckle at him. "I'm quite alright over here. Besides, it looks like you have your hands full." I gesture towards the blonde he was groping.
"Hot hey?" He grins.
"Not really my type, but I get the attraction." I sip my drink.
"Ugh. Have a tequila with me. Come dance. Stop being an old man." Matteo complains.
"I'll have a tequila. But you're on your own on the dance floor."
Matteo waves down the bartender and orders two doubles of tequila which we drink in one shot. Then he throws his hands in the air and shouts "I'm the king of the world."
I lean away from him slightly to avoid getting smacked in the face.
He's always been loud, confrontational, overly emotional at the best of times - but he's my brother. And I have to love him.
Our father remarried after I lost my mom when I was seven. I was angry about it at first, but his second wife turned out to be a lovely person and she was always sweet to me. They had Matteo a year later and I've been in charge of his well-being since the day he was born.
I grab his arm as he sways drunk and happy, almost losing his balance.
"Alright old man. I'm headed back to the party. See you around."
I nod and smile at him. "Behave yourself, Matty."
"Whatever. Don't be like Dad." He waves his hand to dismiss my comment.
Our father is strict, but a good dad. He taught me the value of hard work and how dedication pays off. He taught me focus and commitment over quick fixes and easy money.
He is ruthless in business and an incredible man to learn from.
I sigh, letting my eyes roam over the club again.
At the entrance I see a group of young girls, all looking about Matteo's age, walk through the doors.
They are all beautiful, rich, posh-looking girls - the usual scene for my club - but one of them stands out above everyone.
She's walking ahead of her friends, full of confidence and grace. Her emerald green dress is catching the lights of the club and playing over her gorgeous body.
Her long dark hair falls in waves over her shoulders and her brightly glossed lips are full and tempting.
I can't take my eyes off her and almost instantly I forget about watching Matty.
This girl has my full attention.
The entire group of girls moves to the dance floor. They are laughing and enjoying themselves. She moves like a goddess and again I notice her confidence. She's not arrogant, but she seems to know her worth. It's incredibly attractive.
When guys move towards them, she turns her back on the attempted pick-up and ignores him with a smoothness that doesn't go unnoticed.
I forget that I don't want to be here and begin to enjoy just sitting here watching this gorgeous girl. A few people come up to greet me and attempt some small talk, but I can't focus on anything but her.
She is honestly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
At one point I could swear I saw her friend gesturing toward me with mischief on her face, and then the gorgeous girl also turned to look directly at me, so I turned my eyes away from her.
Shortly after that she and her friends are headed off the dance floor - straight towards where I am sitting at the bar.
But then Clarissa arrives. Clarissa has had a crush on me for years and I've managed to politely keep her at a distance because our families know each other well and there is a certain level of politics I need to uphold. Apart from the fact that I am not interested in Clarissa, I don't think it would be a good combination for me to be with her with regard to my business.
Nothing interferes with my business. Especially not some random fling with a girl I'm not really into.
Clarissa steps right up to the dark-haired beauty and there is no doubt in my mind that the two girls know each other by the way they glare at each other.
Clarissa says something snarky and then throws her drink over the beautiful emerald dress the beauty is wearing.
I sneer in anger.
What the fuck is she playing at in my club? I don't tolerate this shit.
The dark-haired girl hardly reacts at all. Her friends seem to build with aggression behind her, looking like they are very eager to protect her and exact revenge on her behalf, but she stops them.
I tilt my head in admiration.
She is in complete control of herself, and it impresses me beyond words.
She gracefully steps around Clarissa, ready to let the entire thing go when Clarissa, who clearly can't drop this issue, sticks her foot out and sends the other girl falling to the ground.
I stand up, ready to send my bouncer over there to possibly break up a fight and drag Clarissa out of the club. She's always been a bit of a bitch, but this is fucking pissing me off.
The dark-haired girl's friends are quick to pull her to her feet again and then they are again ready to fight Clarissa. I can see the heated exchange growing more intense by the second.
When Clarissa sees how many girls are with her dark-haired enemy she seems to regret her choices. She freezes, unsure how to handle being so incredibly outnumbered.
For a moment I think her friends are going to tear Clarissa apart, but again, she stops them.
If someone did that to me, I'd want to rip them to shreds. But not this girl. This girl tilts her head towards Clarissa and says something with a dark smile. Clarissa winces, and takes a step back, then obviously realizing just how big a mistake she has made - she bolts away into the crowd.
I don't watch to see where she went. My eyes are on the dark-haired beauty.
She walks over to the bar and she and her friends are standing just within earshot of me.
"It's fine, you can hardly see it because of the sequins." She says. Dabbing at her gorgeous and obviously very expensive designer dress which has been ruined.
"I don't know why you let her get away like that." One of her friends complains.
"Because she's not worth it." She is calm and collected that if you hadn't seen it all go down, you'd never know that someone just practically assaulted her.
"Besides, one shot of tequila and the entire mood will be back where it was, and we can forget about her."
I chuckle. She's incredible.
Within minutes of arriving at the bar, she has all of her friends' moods back on track and the entire group of girls is back to enjoying their night.
I push away from the bar and pick up my phone to call my head of security.
After a brief conversation, I organize a spot for them at my personal VIP table overlooking the dance floor and a few bottles on ice for them to enjoy.
I want to make sure she enjoys the rest of her night after Clarissa's bad attempt at getting in her head.
Then I tell my guy to have her sent to my office once her friends are settled in and I leave the club.
On the way to my office, I call my personal assistant who is still working tonight, and have her arrange a dress for me from the designer retail section in the casino downstairs. Guessing the girl's size, which I think I'll manage just fine after staring at her all night, I have the dress brought up to my office.
Then I wait, feeling impatient and unusually excited to meet her.
I live a very controlled life, so excitement is a rare thing for me to experience and I take a moment to savor the feeling.
There is a knock on my open door and my security officer steps inside.
"Sir, your guest."
I stand up, walking around my desk and leaning on the front of it, folding my arms across my chest.
"Come in," I say as the girl steps into the doorway.
This close, and in brighter lighting, she is even more beautiful than I could have imagined.
Her skin is porcelain smooth, and her lips are plump and pink. Her dark eyes are so brown they might even be black which makes looking into them feel like I am being swallowed by a dark vortex of the unknown.
"Thank you, Jax," I say to the bouncer without taking my eyes off the girl.
"Sir." He nods and then leaves.
Now I am alone with her.
She doesn't seem as nervous as she should be, standing in a stranger's office away from the security of her friends.
She walks confidently in and tips her head to the side.
"Thank you for the VIP table for my friends. That was nice of you."
"It was the least I could do," I say, pushing off my desk and stepping towards her.
I reach out and touch her waist, running my thumb over the front of her dress, feeling her toned stomach beneath the sequins.
She smirks at me and shoots me a sharp look that suggests she thinks I am bold enough to be so forward.
"It's soaked," I say, smiling back at her, not pulling my hand away for a while.
"It's alright. I'll survive."
"You shouldn't be running around all night in a wet dress."
"Well, I think I would cause quite a stir in the club if I took it off and ran around in nothing at all."
I chuckle. A good sense of humor. I like her even more now.
"My name is Stefano Amalfi."
"I know who you are."
"Usually, you respond with your own name."
She giggles and her eyes light up, the dark pools turning into a galaxy of stars.
"Amelia." She smiles.
"Well, Amelia, I took the liberty of guessing your size," I say, stepping around her and unhooking the dress from the back of my office door.
It is also emerald green because the color looks so fucking incredible on her. This one is a soft velvet, very figure hugging and while it is slightly longer than the one she is wearing, the slit that runs up the side will go higher than her hip.
I hold the dress out to her.
"Oh." She says in surprise. "I - you - you got me a dress?"
"I saw what happened, and I don't want you to be uncomfortable for the rest of the evening, because I want you to stay longer. So, I'd like you to change into something dry."
"And then what?" She laughs.
"And then join me back in the club so that we can have a drink together and I can spend the evening getting to know who you are." I smile darkly, knowing what I want to do with her, but holding back on being too forward about it.
She is not the usual girl who trips over herself trying to impress me. Her confidence is mesmerizing, radiating from her self-assured smile and the seductive sway of her hips. She is a girl who knows what she wants and knows exactly how to get it.
I have to be careful with this one. She deserves more than I've ever given anyone if I want to win her over.
Amelia takes the dress out of my hands and walks over to the office door. At first, I assume she is going to walk out of it, to find a place to change, but instead, she closes the door while she is still inside.
Then she smiles at me and twirls her fingers in the air. "Be polite, turn around." She smirks.
The boldness on this one.
I turn my back to her, but of course, the glass cabinets behind my desk let me watch her glossed reflection as she lets the glittering green dress slide off her body.
"At least it was vodka and soda." She laughs as she runs her hands over her naked stomach. "It isn't sticky." I can't tear my eyes away from her reflection, but at the same time, it's taking everything in me to not turn around and grab her and throw her over my desk.
She's insanely perfect.
She slips the new dress on, wiggling it over her hips. The slit teased me in every way possible.
"I'm done." She says casually, picking up the glittery dress from the floor. I take it from her. "I'll have it dry-cleaned and returned to you."
She grins and tilts her head at me. That cute little look in her eyes sent a shiver down my spine. "Thank you."
"Now, will you join me back in the club?" I hold out my hand for her to take.
She delicately places her hand in mine and nods. "I'd love to."