Chapter 49


    I don’t know what his business entails when he’s not and I would rather never find out, to be honest.


    Seeing glimpses of some of the men he deals with and knowing he never has his phone away from him


    at all hours, day or night, has given me a rough idea that his empire and responsibilities are huge.


    He carries a lot while still maintaining a dominant stance and unbreakable demeanour to his enemies


    all around, while they y nice to his face. No wonder he is such a psycho.


    I wouldn’tst five minutes doing what he does; it’s why he’s so good at maniption and coercing


    people and situations. I can see why he is what he is, but it doesn’t make me forgive him in any way or


    swallow it any better. He’s cold because he is immune to suffering and death. He has probably killed


    his fair share of people in thest neen years since he first pulled that trigger, and I don’t doubt with


    every single one he lost a little bit of his humanity.


    I could never do it, never pull a trigger and take a life no matter how much I hate some people. It’s not


    in me and I don’t think I could live with the images ying in my head after.


    He keeps people at a distance, except his blood of course, they are all close-knit andpact as one


    fluid unit. That much was obvious in the interaction with Mico and Arrick. The Carreros are a family who


    stay close, trust one another and have each other’s back. He cares about them, they care about each


    other and if you are lucky enough to be one of his family, like Sophie, then he makes sure nothing ever


    happens to you.


    Alexi moves mountains for the people he loves, and despite his cold bastard nature, I think he does


    and is capable of love. He knows how to care and nurture he just chooses not to. Not when ites to


    women he fucks anyway.


    That kind of love is something he is not open to at all. Alexi is a protector for the ones he allows himself


    to care for, and I am just an outsider looking in who never even scraped the surface of his armour. It’s


    depressing knowing no matter what I try and tell myself, he doesn’t care about me even a little bit.


    ‘’Good, you’re up. Here.’’ Alexi’s voice from behind startles me and I jump as I turn to him and try to


    regain myposure fast, to not show he’s rattled me. I wasn’t expecting him to break the silent


    treatment so soon. He lookspletely deadpan this morning, no hint of anything under the surface


    just cool, controlled and groomed to perfection in a light shirt and chinos. He holds out a clipboard to


    me and I take it gracefully, eyes scanning the first page which is a list of tonight’s guests.


    This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Trying to ignore my physical reaction and keep myself together. Trying not to show him he makes me


    jumpy, nervy and just fall to bits when he gets too close. It’s like his presence makes me forget


    everything else and we seem to just start from the here and now. It’s creepy and uncanny, I am not


    sure I like the ability to sweep it all away and act like mature adults in the new light of day. Not after all


    he has done.


    I tip my chin down and scan the paperwork in a bid to drive my mind on something non-Alexi.


    ‘‘Only fifteen?’’ I query, confused by the drop in booked rooms tonight when the club has been packed


    full since opening. One thing which will always take precedence over my fragile emotions, over him—


    the running of MY club. It’s my baby and I dislike it when someone else changes something to make it


    run differently to how I do it.


    I created this ce, tweaked it and caressed it beautifully into the pristine power pce it is … no one


    gets to fuck with that. I missed this ce like crazy when he sent me away and it’s the one ce I feel


    at home.


    ‘‘It’s intentional. I made Joanne keep the numbers low, so we can give certain guests more options and


    more attention.’’


    Joanne … I don’t even want to open that little jar of poison just yet. I have yet to see the bitch he has


    put in my ce in both this club and his bed. I try to focus on what I have in my hand but my heart is


    hammering and twisting itself inside out in pain.


    Don’t let him get to you Cami, he knows exactly what he’s doing.


    ‘’So which ones? So I can make sure their demands are met and their girls are extra attentive.’’ I purr at


    him, my fa?ade firmly in ce, making sure I show no interest at his mention of her. Or the fact I am


    internally brewing a storm at how he has changed the rota and the ns without consulting me first.


    My club, my rota, my way of doing things!!!


    ‘‘Number six on the list, Mercurio … He’s important and demanding. Multiple girls, a constant flow of


    booze and product, and he likes to bring his closest to shadow him. His party is four men so that


    bumps up the numbers.’’ I scan the list and see a Robert Mercurio tagged as CEO of some business


    name that rings a bell. I think it’s something to do with shipping containers and I wonder if this is who


    helps him get his weapons around.


    ‘‘Check. Multiple girls, food, booze, blow all night and extra special sucking up to him and his minions.’’


    I make a mental note to scan the member profiles and memorise his face for arrival, so I can greet him


    myself. The personal touch is always a good angle for ego brushing.


    ‘’Last two on the list, no girls and no blow … just booze and royalty treatment. Put them in the upstairs


    VIP lounge and close it off so no one can stray up there without an ess card. They want privacy.’’


    Alexi is in all business approach and I can handle him when he’s like this. Focused, emotionally stable


    andpletely disinterested in me. ‘’Carreros?’’ I catch thest two names and blink up at him in


    surprise.


    ‘‘My father and uncle, they’reing by to see what I have built here. I trust their counsel and I respect


    their opinions, both still have a hand in our family’s responsibilities so I want them treated as such.


    They are meeting some business acquaintances that are booked in here, so mostly I want them left


    alone.’’


    I look back at the list, Giovanni and Dimitri and I nod,pletely intrigued that I am about to meet two


    of his peers who are not only important to him but direct blood links. His father, the man who moulded


    him, and I have heard Giovanni mentioned by Mico before, the uncle who ys a silent role but is still


    very much embroiled. Interesting.


    ‘’But no girls?’’ I repeat to be sure.


    ‘‘No. No girls.’’


    ‘’Boys?’’ I wink mischievously, despite my reservations around him and I smile naughtily, dropping it


    when I see the furious re thrown my way. Alexi is okay with gay, but it seems not when daddy and


    uncle are the centre of the joke.


    I clear my throat and look away from the intensity of those greys trying to impale me and lose my


    inkling of jest. Reminding myself that an anally retentive psycho stands before me.


    ‘‘No boys. No drugs. They don’t partake, just treat them like they matter more than anyone else in here


    tonight, and you won’t piss me off.’’


    ‘‘I didn’t think that was possible.’’ I joke sarcastically, mouth over brain and then sigh at myself for this


    inability to just stop trying to get a rise out of him. I lose my bravado, face paling as I catch yet another


    unimpressed look thrown at me and go back to my list. So much for wearing my mask of sassy and


    indifference. Like all my bestid ns … they go to shit when faced with him.


    ‘‘Any kink requests that I need to cover?’’ I go back to flicking the papers, diverting his rage and note


    it’s mostly invoices for deliveries due today and some little hints on client requests … Caviar and


    oysters for room fifteen.


    For the love of God, sometimes this feels like a hotel and not a brothel of sorts.


    ‘’Taylor … room four. He’s bringing some of his own whores tonight, so whatever he does to them in his


    own room, as long as they are not ours then do not intervene. Brief security, he wasn’t impressed with


    our safe word policy and the limits on what he can do to the girls and this is thepromise.’’ Alexi


    actually sounds annoyed at that, strangely.


    ‘’Why can’t he just do that shit in his own club if he wants to torture women, instead of leaving his mess


    here for us to clean up?’’ I bite, unusually piqued with sudden anger.