Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 210 -

Becca.

"Oh James, I'm so glad it all worked out," I said after hearing about the encounter with Ronaldo and the Russian mob. Neal had come through for us in the end, as well, since Mikhail was now taken out. I think we all had some breathing room

now.

James gave me a smile, swooping me into his arms and giving me a gentle kiss on the lips. I let myself get lost in it for a moment as I sat there in his arms. We were on the couch right now after having discussed the entire situation. "Took a lot of planning and resources, but yes, all of our plans came through seamlessly. The greed and oversight of our enemies certainly helped in this case, though," James replied. He let out a sigh of relief, his body language relaxed and his general demeanor became a happy one.

"You said you had plans for us tonight?" I asked, not bothering to hide my excitement. Sophia was in the other room, playing with the kids. I'd spent many hours with them today and was happy to have a break!

James nodded, saying, "Yes. How does Ora d'Aria sound? I booked us a table on the ground floor in advance. That place will be bustling this time of night."

I let out a squeal of approval at his suggestion. "You did? That sounds wonderful!" I said. I'd heard so many great things about the restaurant, and having some time with James after all of this stress sounded wonderful. The tension between us was rapidly fading.

I wasn't, by any means, close to dropping my charity plans, but I could now get a little more comfortable in Italy since Ronaldo and that mob was gone. James had come through just like he said he would, and I couldn't be happier. For once in a very long time, I was on top of the world. I said, "I'm going to go get ready, then. How much time do I have?"

"About an hour, excluding the drive there. Think you'll have enough time?" James asked. I smiled at him and nodded, leaning over to give him a big hug. After exchanging another kiss, I got up from the couch and made my way to the bathroom.

I didn't take long to shower and get myself ready for a fun night. I dressed in a beautiful red evening gown James had gotten me a few weeks ago. The slit in the leg was high but not obscenely so. With my makeup done to perfection, I was now ready.

When I emerged from the bathroom, I smiled at James, doing a little twirl. "How do I look?"

James said, "You look amazing, Becca." He walked over and placed a gentle kiss on my lips, which caused my face to flush.

"Thank you, James. You look very handsome yourself," I said, eyeing him up and down. He had on a fancy suit, perfect for an outing at a restaurant. Soon, we exited the house, bidding Sophia farewell and thanking her for staying with the children..

Security measures, as usual, were set up so that we'd be perfectly safe during our outing. Nothing disruptive, thankfully.

James was in the driver seat, and I rode shotgun, gazing out of the window at all of the beautiful nightlife that passed us by. Shuddered windows decorated white buildings that stretched down pearly brick streets. I was able to see more soon as we parked the car and got out.

Now, we could stroll down the streets to our destination. The crowd was bustling, going this way and that, cheerful chattering and pleasant music humming in my ears. The smell of intricate cheeses and meats cooked to perfection hit my nose, making my stomach rumble.

Streetlights connected to the buildings on stands with wispy, circular designs lit up the area wonderfully, brightening the verdant vines with little white flowers growing from them. My heart sung with just how beautiful everything was. At every step, I realized I should give this place a chance, especially since we finally had a few more things off of our shoulders. "This place is beautiful, James," I breathed, loud enough for him to hear over the music and crowd. "It is," James said, squeezing my hand as we walked. Soon, we arrived at the restaurant and entered, greeted by the lady at the front podium who gave us a brilliant smile.

"Welcome! To whom do I have the pleasure?" she asked.

James gave his name, and soon, we were led to our table. I sat down, gazing around the atmosphere in awe. It'd been a while since I'd been at a fancy restaurant, I just hadn't had the time with everything going on with the children and relocating. Here and now, it was amazing.

The walls were a smooth white and the ceilings a beautiful wooden brown. Archways led into different sections of the restaurant where staff wearing tailored uniforms moved in and out with plates of gourmet dishes.

Square and circular tables were covered with white tablecloths, and the comfortable grey chairs had a bit of light cushioning. White lights that reminded me of what someone may see at a coral reef hung lazily above the fancy tables. The hard floor had pleasing angular designs.

We sat down and were handed menus. There was an array of pasta dishes that made me sweep my tongue over my red-painted lips. Tonight was going to be delicious, and I couldn't wait to dig in.

When the waiter approached our table, introduced himself, and asked what we would like, I said, "May I please have this dish?" I pointed to one of the tantalizing pasta dishes that sounded delicious.

While we waited for our food, I smiled at James. "Thank you for taking me here. It's beautiful. I will admit, I'm feeling less stressed here lately, especially since many of our issues were just worked out. Think we'll get a moment of peace now?" James chuckled and nodded, taking a sip of his wine. "With any luck, we will."

It was around that point I started feeling off, as though a withering stare was burning into the back of my head. My heart began to pound, and I swallowed, nearly jumping out of my skin when food was placed in front of us.

The scent of savory cheeses and rich sauces hit my nose, momentarily distracting me. I stabbed a bit of pasta with my fork, bringing it to my mouth and savoring it for a bit. My eyes met James's, and I noticed his expression fade from a content smile to a frown of horror.

Swallowing my food, I asked, "What is it?"

That's when her voice hit my ears, causing a frigid chill to ripple down my spine. "JAMES!" came the voice of none other than Allison, like nails ripping down a chalkboard. This couldn't be real. What was she doing here?! James's eyes flashed with anger as he snarled, "Allison. You're not welcome here. Get out. Leave." Restaurant staff was starting to gather and stare at the ordeal, whispering back and forth, likely on how to break this up. I turned my chair to fix my gaze on her. She was in a fancy, glimmering silver dress that brought out her hourglass figure well. Her blonde hair was frazzled, and her blue eyes may as well have been lit on fire as she met my stare. "You," she said, in a dangerous tone, "don't deserve him. You don't deserve Alessandro, you f*cking bitch, you deserve nothing. The Cartwrights should have won that case. They DID win that case. CORRUPTION WON'T F*CKING SAVE YOU." James raised his voice as security began to come closer, both those working for James and the restaurant itself. He stood up from the table and fixed his stare on Allison, a scowl of hatred spreading on his face.

"I don't ever want you to show your face here again. Get the f*ck out of here, Allison. It's over," he snapped.

"I want you BACK, James. I'll do WHATEVER it takes to get you-HEY! LET ME THE F*CK go!" her voice was rising in volume, causing me to flinch. My stare hardened as I, too, got up from my chair and stood my ground. "Alessandro has a family now. You need to stay out of our business. You're a piece of shit that needs to move on from James. He's mine. Listen to what he said. Get away from us or we're going to have even more problems," I said in a tone just as aggressive as James's.

Allison's eyes fastened on me, and without warning, she grabbed a knife from a nearby table. That's when she was tackled down, screaming, obscenities about just how much she deserved James and how much hurt I'd be put through soon. I winced and clenched my jaw, my head swimming with stress. We had just gotten through so much trouble with Ronaldo and Ronaldo's cronies. We finally put that to rest. Now this?! It was one thing after another. A complete nightmare. Tears began to stream down my face as I watched her get dragged off. I felt something billow in my gut right then. A sort of fire, something blazing out without mercy as I clenched my fist. We were finally going to get peace here, and now, this.

Florence was James's turf now. How dare she step here, back into our lives, after everything that happened, and demand James back? She was out of it-deranged-and she was going to bring even more hell that I honestly did not feel like handling right now.

"Becca?" James asked, causing me to turn my head as she was hauled off. I wasn't paying attention, in the slightest, to the people around me asking if I was okay. My focus was on James as I began to shake, a small sob emitting from my lips. I just wanted one night to relax with James, one thing to go right! "Yes?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. Hopefully, he could hear it, otherwise, he'd need to read my lips. Concern flashed across James's face as he walked over and took me into his arms.

I buried my face in his chest and began to cry harder. Everyone was moving around us as if in slow motion, trying to calm down the onlookers, who were frightened by that woman's erratic, insane behavior.

"How did she get here?" I whimpered into his chest, wrapping my arms around him and holding him close. He bent down to try and reassure me of the situation, speaking softly into my ear.

"It doesn't matter. She won't be a problem. I'll make sure of it," he said. I wasn't so sure. This bitch had been after him, working with Sergei to try to kill him when I thought he'd died, and now she said she wanted him back. If she was still a problem, I doubted he could take care of it.

Those damn Cartwrights had used their money to get her out of prison-and now, she was here? She needed to be back in jail-or dead.