I've been staying with Alessandro for a few days, and I must say, it was way better than I expected.
We would work throughout the morning at Alessandro's study. We would have daily meetings with the team and go on with our work. Then we'll have our lunch, which I insisted on cooking most of the time, and just watching TV. He would go on with his daily routine, probably working out most of the time while I will be on group FaceTime with my best friends for hours. Then at night, we would watch movies till it's late.
Now, we're currently done with our work today, and we're presently deciding who's going to cook lunch.
"I"m going to do it. No more arguments," I said to him.
"You've been cooking for the last few days. Now, I wanna cook for you," he said.
"You must be used to your cooking. Maybe it'll be a change for you," I told him.
"No, I want to cook some good homemade Italian food for you," he replied, and I just looked at him.
"If you loved my simple pasta, you must love this," he said, grabbing my wrist and storming out of the study.
We went to the kitchen in a swift, me being breathless when we stopped because I can't keep up to his pace.
His face showed pure happiness; a huge goofy grin etched on his face. It strangely made my heart swell, seeing how happy he looked. I've never seen someone so excited to cook a simple meal before.
"Hey, Amy, can you help me with this?" he excitedly asked.
"Y-yeah, sure."
He gave me a knife and demonstrated how to cut the vegetables because apparently, they needed to be cut in a specific way.
"I'm sorry, Amy, but the way you're cutting the onion is wrong," Alessandro said.
"What do you mean? Even the onion has a specific way to cut? Nevertheless, the outcome is going to be the same," I replied.
"No, it's not the same," he said, slowly placing his hands on mine.
My body stiffened upon his action. The feeling of his firm, broad chest on my back, his warm breath hitting the back of my neck, was strange.
It somehow made me safe and protected. I don't know; all these feelings blossomed in my heart since I've set my eyes on this man.
I found myself leaning onto him, which I quickly prevented myself from doing.
"This is how you should do it," he said, placing the onion in an angle and cutting it slowly.
His calloused palm on my hand, cutting the onion in full precision, into thin and fine slices. I couldn't focus on what was happening due to his proximity. Never in my life, I've been this close with a member of the opposite sex before.
"Now, you turn it around and cut it into small dices," he said in a low voice, almost a whisper.
His grip on my hand tightened, increasing the state of a haze I was in. I felt him take a long breath on his nose. He then exhaled ruggedly, making me slightly shiver. He proceeded to cut the onion, just like he said, small dices. He was cutting slowly, probably for me to catch on to what he's doing, but it wasn't even helping me in the slightest.
I felt the heat radiating from his body slowly subside, indicating that he had moved from his initial position. Again, I found myself strangely craving for it, making me blush deeply.
"Did you get it?" he asked me as if he didn't notice that I went through a myriad of emotions in a span of a few minutes.
"Yes," I replied, earning a satisfied look from him. There was also a mysterious glint in his eyes, which was hard for me to ignore.
He returned to the stove to do whatever he was doing before, and I too.
I looked at the cutting board, and I was amazed by the way the onion was cut.
How could this man, a successful billionaire, I add, have this much skill in the cooking field? It's not that I'm not opposed to the idea of successful men like him being skillful in this field; I do not believe in gender roles. Besides, his skill could compete with Gordon Ramsay or Giada. It was that impressive.
I continued my work, my work not even near to his precision. I took all the cut vegetables and went to the stove to proceed to the next process.
"Alessandro, uh, I didn't get to cut the way you did, sorry," I told him, my face showing a hint of sadness.
"Hey, it's okay. You did quite impressive for your first time," he replied, placing his hand on my upper arm.
"We should drop the vegetables in the stove with the concoction that I've made," he said.
I slowly did what he said as he stirred the vegetables with the concoction.
I silently took a few whiffs of the cooking, each time the aroma of it satisfied my nose's sensory nerves. With that, I knew this is going to be tasty. I honestly can't wait to have this for lunch.
"I take it that you like it," he asked me, dropping a spoonful of ground black pepper into the concoction.
"Duh! This smells good," I exclaimed.
"That's what I thought, bambina," he said.
"Amy, can you get me the mozzarella from the fridge? It's at the bottom compartment," he asked.
I took the cheese from the fridge.
"And also, please grab the cheese grinder," he told me, pointing to it.
I took it and handed it to him.
"No, I want you to grind the cheese. Cut a small part of it; we don't need it much."
I cut the cheese and ground it into the stove.
He continued mixing everything till all the vegetables were cooked properly.
Besides it, he was also cooking two pieces of steak on a pan.
"Everything's done," Alessandro chirped.
He placed each piece of steak on different plates and poured the gravy onto the meat. My mouth salivated at the sight of it.
Before I could even touch the plate, he took it and placed both of them on the dining table.
"Amy, do you like mint juice?" he asked me.
"I've never tasted it before, but sure," I replied.
He went to the fridge and took a huge bottle, which obviously has mint juice in it. He poured it into two glasses and placed it on the dining table.
"Let's eat. I'm so excited about your reaction," he told me.
We went and took our seats.
I cut a little part of a steak, and let me tell you, when I placed it in my mouth, tastes that I've never tasted before exploded in my mouth. The fact that it's freshly cooked just compliments the taste of it.
"Mmhmm, this taste's good," I mumbled with the steak in my mouth.
"I'm glad you liked it, bambina," he replied.
"You should become a professional chef, Alessandro. I'm curious about why you didn't take this as your career path," I told him.
"No, cooking is my hobby since I was a child. I love the concept that I could make someone's day by just cooking good food. Over the years, it kind of faded away, you know, the tragic demise of my mom and all, I never had anyone to cook for, other than Jake. I would cook for the both of us on our birthdays," he told me.
I noticed the utter sadness in his voice. It made me sad too; I can't see him like this. I was so used to the joy his face and his grey orbs displayed.
"I'm so sorry for what happened to your parents, Alessandro," I said to him.
"It's okay, Amy," he said and continued eating.
"I know it sounds crazy but, you could cook for me if you want," I told him. I was surprised; I don't know what made me say that.
He looked at me, his eyes gaining the sparkle he always had.
"Really? You would let me cook for you?" he asked me, excitement in his eyes.
"Well, you don't need to cook for me every day. Maybe once a week? Or maybe when you feel like it," I suggested to him.
"Okay, how about once a week?" he asked me.
"Alessandro, you're a busy man, and I don't want to disturb you. You can cook whenever you want," I said to him.
"Nonsense. I'm tempted to cook for you every day, but I don't want you to get tired of my cooking, so I'm going to cook for you once a week."
"I'm never going to be tired of your cooking, Alessandro. Look at this! This looks and tastes marvelous," I told him.
He let out a hearty chuckle.
Lunch went by swiftly because we were in an in-depth conversation about different cuisines. Wow, I didn't know this man has a vast amount of knowledge about this.
I went back to my room and FaceTimed my friends for hours. I told them about the whole lunch thing, except for the incident, because I don't feel like telling them now.
They were telling me about their time at home. Amelia and Trevor said that they played different types of cards, and both of them will do board games after Amelia with her work. Hailey was blushing every time we asked her what she did.
Hmm, I wonder what she did with her boyfriend.
I took a quick nap after ending the call.
Waking up, I was on my computer researching how to start a business. Since I am working at a successful company, a high paying salary is guaranteed. I could start my own makeup business after a few years of working here.
It was already 6 pm when I came out of my room. I called out for Alessandro, but he was nowhere to be found. He's probably working out at his gym.
I walked myself to the balcony where I was admiring the beauty of the city in the evening. Different shades of pink and red scattered on the sky with the sun setting beautifully among the skyscrapers.
"Amy?"
I turned around, and I choked on my spit. Every cell in my body froze at the moment.
There, a few meters in front of me, stood Alessandro, freshly out of the gym.
The man was drenched in sweat, top to bottom. He was wearing a black muscle cut tank top with gym shorts of the same color. I could see the ridges of his abdominal muscles, the edges of his abs. I could tell that this man has a muscled body, but not overly like those bodybuilders who flex their fake tanned body. His curly, sandy brown hair was sticking on his forehead. He had his hands on his hips, huffing out air from his mouth.
I didn't know what made this thought even slip in my mind, but he looked more attractive than ever at the moment. I mentally slapped myself due to the thought.
"Stop it, Amy. He's your boss!" my brain reminded me.
"Y-yes?" I questioned stuttering.
"I was wondering if we could go out tonight. I'm extremely bored being cooped in here," he said.
"Umm, aren't we supposed not to exit the house throughout the lockdown? We would get caught if we went out," I replied.
"Ahh, who cares. It's fun to break the rules once in a while," he nonchalantly told.
"I don't think so, Alessandro."
"Come on, Amy. Live a little."
The statement itself shocked me. Did this man, this billionaire, my boss, just asked me to 'live a little'? Never in the whole time I was acquainted with him where I knew he could be a carefree person, under his cold, hard exterior.
"Alessandro, you're my boss. You're supposed to advise me of the contrary to your previous statement," I said.
"But nothing changes the fact that we're human. It's normal for us to break the rules, knowingly and unknowingly," he replied. I crossed my arms under my chest, giving me a hard stare.
He looked at me, amused, and said, " Let's get ready for the night. Dress something casual, preferably activewear."
I exited the balcony, Alessandro and I going on our separate ways.
"You know, Alessandro? I was always told that I was an obedient kid. So, breaking the rules is not in my dictionary," I jokingly said.
"Well, you're going to break one soon. Besides, no one in this world is a saint, Amy," he replied in the same manner.
I laughed a little before entering my room.
After a steamy shower, I got out of the bathroom because the weather seemed cold today, and I was shivering.
I grabbed and wore a long-sleeved Nike T-shirt and Nike leggings. I went to the mirror, where I applied tinted moisturizer and pulled up my hair into a tight bun.
I came out of the room and walked to the kitchen, only to see Alessandro chugging on a drink from the fridge. He was wearing a Versace jacket and track pants.
Talking about how rich he is
"Oh hey, you're ready?" he asked me, noticing my presence.
"Yeah."
"We shall go then," he said.
We headed to Alessandro's car after that.
"Ready for our mini 'illegal' adventure, Amy?" he asked me.
"Well, it's not technically illegal, but yeah, I'm ready," I replied.
We went on our ride after that.
Throughout my life, I've never seen the roads being empty. The environment looked lifeless, lacking human activity. At the same time, I was scared shitless of us being caught by the police. I turned to look at Alessandro, but he seems to be calm. It's like he knew how to get away from the police.
"Where are we going?" I questioned him.
"That's for me to know and you to find out," he replied.
"You want to hear some music? Sorry, I'm not used to listening to music in the car," he said.
"No, it's okay. I like the silence anyway," I replied.
He seems to drive us into the woods. Now, I'm curious.
"Why are we going to the woods?"
"You'll just have to wait and see what I'm about to show you," he replied.
He parked the car where the ground was even. We exited the vehicle, and I saw a trail, mostly hidden by dried leaves.
He went on the trail, I followed him as well. We walked along the path.
"Amy, can you close your eyes for me?" Alessandro questioned.
"Why?" I asked him back.
"Don't worry; I'm not going to do anything to you. Just close your eyes, please," he said.
"Okay," I said and sighed. I slowly closed my eyes.
I felt hands covering my already closed eyes. Alessandro guided me, making sure I don't trip on anything. After what seemed like at least a few minutes, we came to a stop. His hands were off my eyes.
"Now you can open them," he said.
I opened my eyes and stunned by what I was looking at. It was a lake, a moderately huge one. Trees consisted of different shades of green and brown decorated around the lake. Under the moonlight, I could see water lilies floating on the lake. The sight was truly spectacular.
"Wow, i-its beautiful," I said to him.
"Indeed. Let's go near the lake and lie down. It's pretty relaxing."
We went there, and both of us lay on the ground near the lake. After that, there was pure silence, a peaceful one. Just as he said, it was pretty relaxing, looking at the moon and stars decorating the night sky.
"How did you find this place?" I asked him.
"It's Jake who actually found it. He told me he was driving around to clear his head when he found this place. He brought me here several times, and I've been hooked to this place ever since. I could say this can be my relaxing spot," he told me.
We returned to silence again.
"You look like an ambitious person, Amy. Every time we work together, I can see this fire in your eyes. Tell me, what is your dream. What is it that you truly want to be?" he asked me. This time it wasn't in a neutral tone; it sounded somewhat serious.
I thought about it. He asked me once before, but I refused to tell him. But now, I am much closer to him. He was anything but a good, respectful man towards me since I've met him. He is someone who respects women and generous.
Answering his question will not hurt.
"I want to be a successful businesswoman, just like you. I want to own a business in the beauty industry, makeup, and hair products. I also want to be a makeup artist, hopefully, a world-renowned one. I know it looks far fetched for someone like me, but a girl can dream."
"I don't think it's far fetched, Amy. Anyone can dream, how matter crazy it can be. And also, you should be yourself, not to be like me. I was like you too, dreaming every day of my future. I dreamt of being successful, being able to help people in need, and so on. I studied hard, worked my way up, and here I am, my dreams came into reality."
"You really inspire me, Alessandro. I thought rich people would be arrogant and full of themselves, but you've proved me wrong. Though I'm really sad for you sometimes," I told him.
"Why's that?" he asked.
"You do know that people speculate you to be involved in the mob, right?" I blurted.
His face stiffened upon my statement. Oh god, why did I say that?
"I think we shouldn't talk about this. The topic itself makes me uncomfortable," Alessandro said, his face hard as a stone.
"Oh, I'm sorry for what I said, Alessandro. But I don't believe the public if that's what you're concerned."
"It's okay, Amy. You didn't know," he replied.
We continued talking about work and business. Alessandro told me several times throughout our conversation that he would help me for achieving my dreams. Although my mindset is on being successful independently, I just replied, supporting his suggestion.
Both of us also told the bits and pieces of our childhoods, mostly me. Alessandro just seemed to stare at me with a smile on his face. I wet my feet in the lake at one point, and the feeling was pleasant.
When it was nearing midnight, we returned to the car and headed back to his apartment. I would say today was a fun and exciting day indeed.
________________________________________________________________________________Hello, babes.
I'm sorry it's been a few extra days since I've updated. I promise to have a consistent update schedule.
The start of 2021 itself has become a little stressful for me as I'm having my GCSE's this year. However, I'm not going to let this book go. Never.
Vote and comment if you liked the story.
Love,
-V-