Amalgamate

Chapter 2

Thick tension coiled around Matteo and I. If anyone around us noticed the confrontation happening, they didn't show it. The bartender who had stopped to gasp at my outburst had returned to work after a quick glare from Matteo.

Matteo, or my 'new boss' as he called himself, dropped his smile from his handsome face at my lack of response. His hand retreated as he realized that I wasn't going to take his hand in mine and shake it. I was too stunned to realize that my actions were showing signs of disrespect towards such a powerful person.

He leaned against the bar counter again and picked up his drink once more. He finished it off as he locked his eyes on mine. Something about the way he stared at me had me transfixed with mixed emotions of fear and wonder. I was paralyzed in my seat, not once able to look away from his amber colored eyes.

A man who had been standing a few feet away from the bar had moved closer to Matteo and whispered something in his ear. For a split second Matteo's eyes looked away from me and onto the man. In that split second that Matteo was no longer looking at me, my state of transfixion broke. Realizing that my mouth was still slightly open, I quickly closed it. I turned away from the man who was causing me to feel things I had learned to conceal.

From the corner of my eye I noticed that the man who had walked up to Matteo wore all black. As he spoke his eyes roamed the room. His eyes stopped on certain people as he observed them but continued to talk in a low voice to Matteo. The sight of a machine gun in one of his hands had me stumbling out of my seat. I quickly turned towards the back of the room knowing that there was a door that led to the dressing rooms upstairs. I walked briskly towards my target.

My heart thumped fast, something that had not happened in a while. The last time I felt this way was when I first started dancing in front of a crowd of men. I didn't understand why that man with the gun was allowed to walk into here with that gun. My boss, well, my former boss had a no gun policy.

I mentally scolded myself for missing an important meeting like the one that was scheduled earlier today. It's not that I didn't know it was taking place today, hell, I never missed mandatory meetings. But as I confessed, I overslept. If I had just came when I was supposed too I wouldn't be in the mess that I was now.

I sighed in relief as I reached the back of the room and made my way past the threshold. The door I was heading too was just a few steps away. As I got closer I reached out to grab the door knob. My hand gripped onto it but I was quickly pulled back. A breath of air escaped my lips as my back collided roughly with the wall. Dread filled my body as I looked up into the eyes of Matteo. One of his hands gripped my chin; the other gripped my waist while his lower body kept my body pressed against the wall.

"I wasn't done speaking with you, donna misteriosa." He said to me as he brought his face closer to mine.

I tried turning away from his piercing gaze but the grip his hand had on my chin wasn't letting me move much. I placed my hands against his chest and tried pushing him off of me but he moved not even an inch away. The hand that was holding my chin finally let go of my face and instead grabbed both of my wrists on one hand. He lifted my hands above my head. I struggled to get free from his hold but his strength was no match for me.

"I expect an answer when I ask a question, especially when the person I'm asking is my employee."

"What happened to Fabian?" I asked. Just yesterday I was talking to Fabian, my former boss. What could have happened in less than 24 hours for him to suddenly be replaced with this guy?

"He wasn't doing his job so he was fired." From the look on his face I knew I wasn't going to get further explanation on what had happened.