Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 315 -

*Giovani*

"What the fuck is this?"

There was a stalemate as I stared at Alessandro, and he glared back. Neither of us was willing to give an inch, and the study fell into a thick silence. After a few seconds, Alessandro shifted on his feet, his anger melting into impatience and anxiety as I just stared at him.

Some might say using intimidating tactics on your much-younger cousin was going overboard, but I disagreed.

They didn't know how pissed off I could get just seeing his face.

"Well?" Alessandro snapped.

I could tell my silence was getting to him.

Gabriele shook his head behind Alessandro, and I calmly grabbed my cousin's wrist and removed his hand from my laptop. He flinched, the frown on his lips growing by the minute, and I could tell he didn't know where to go from here. Good. Better to keep him confused than keep letting him rampage all over my organization.

"That," I finally said, "is a laptop, the cherry red addition, and very delicate-"

"Cut the crap!" Alessandro growled. "You know what I mean."

"How on earth am I supposed to know what you mean? If I could read minds, my life would be a lot easier," I snarked back at him.

I wasn't willing to play these games today. I wasn't going to treat him as an adult until he started acting like one.

"Why the fuck was I left out of this important intel?" Alessandro finally said, looking aggrieved. Good, I was too.

"And what intel would you happen to be referring to?" I danced around the question, perfectly content to keep him out of things as long as possible, especially the angrier it made him. He deserved it for blackmailing me and just being a jerk in general.

"The attack!" Alessandro finally snapped, gripping the edges of my desk. "I had to replace out from the guard outside that we got attacked by the fucking Russians. Why didn't you tell me directly?"

I didn't move or even tense up. I simply stared back at him, perfectly calm.

"I tried to call," I said. "But you did not pick up your phone. I left a voice message."

Alessandro paused, then fished into his pocket for his phone. He glanced at it, and I knew the moment he realized I was right. His jaw clenched, his face heating up, and I smirked in victory.

"So what?" he scoffed, stuffing his phone back into his pocket. "You should've come to get me in person before doing anything."

"We had bigger problems on our hands. Or do you not want us to catch the Russians who tried to kill your sister?" I said, getting annoyed now. I didn't have to report anything to him. I was the Don and not him.

"Of course I do! And that's why you should've got me! I could've seen something that you didn't!" Alessandro argued.

"So I should've held up the investigation so we could wait for you?" I snapped back. "This organization doesn't revolve around you, Alessandro."

A dark look crossed his face, and he straightened to his full height, intending to look threatening. I stood my ground, my calmness quickly fading away under his insubordination.

I'd had just about enough of him challenging my every move.

"You promised me a say in this organization, in this investigation," Alessandro growled. "I expect to be informed about anything that happens before we make any moves."

"Expect away," I said firmly. "But that doesn't mean I am obligated to follow your every whim. I am still the Don, Alessandro, and I will not let you hinder our investigations because of your grudge against me. Remember your place." The calmness I had practiced was fading away now, and the thin string that was patience was about to snap.

He clenched his jaw, and Gabriele looked between us warily, unsure of whether to step in or not. I shook my head at him, telling him to stand back, and he sighed but listened.

"I informed you of the incident, just like you asked," I started, clenching my fists on the desk. "When you failed to answer, I determined you were unnecessary to the mission. We had the situation handled without you. It is your responsibility to answer your goddamn phone. And if you can't even do that, how can I trust you to help lead this family?"

He sucked in a breath, the fire in his eyes tripling as he glared at me like I was the enemy. The malice in his eyes was alarming, considering our positions, but I refused to back down.

I had an entire organization to protect, and I didn't have time to play these stupid little games with him. Blackmail or not, he needed to learn he couldn't push me around.

Alessandro stepped forward, a harsh and threatening look on his face. "You swore I had more say in this organization. If you go back on your deal, I'll spill to everyone what you and Olivia-"

"Enough!"

I finally stood up, leaning over the desk to glower at the younger man. Alessandro shut his mouth, but he did not step back at all. He kept his hostile stance, defiant to the very end, and I did not have enough patience left in me to deal with him along with everyone else.

But I also wasn't willing to continue arguing until the end of our days. I had actual shit to do.

"Gabriele, show him the video, and you, sit here," I demanded firmly, rounding the desk and heading straight for the door. "I have a call to make anyway."

I didn't stay to replace out if they followed my instructions. I just stormed off into my room. The further I was away from Alessandro, the easier it was to cool off.

I headed straight for the liquor cabinet in my room, pouring myself a drink as I collapsed into my leather chair.

I threw my arm over my eyes, blocking out the light as I tried my best to get my thoughts into order. My temper had been getting worse over the weeks. I knew it, but I couldn't do anything to stop it.

Dahlia getting kidnapped and then shot, the Russians trying to destroy everything I'd helped build, and the stress of Alessandro blackmailing me-all of it was building up and causing my normally mellow temper to explode at uncertain times. The truth was, I felt helpless in the middle of all of this. And that terrified me more than anything else that the people around me would continue to get hurt or be killed, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it.

It was my worst nightmare coming to life before my very eyes.

Names floated around my head, faces I couldn't pinpoint. I felt like I was chasing a ghost with Dmitri Zaytsev, and especially with the man on the security tape. We only had the image of Dmitri when he was a young man, barely out of school. I had no clue whether they could be the same person or not. We were searching blindly here, getting fucked around shadows.

That man in the video, the cold smirk he'd given the camera like he knew exactly where it was beforehand-he could be anyone. Or no one at all.

It took a few minutes, but I heard the boots heading to my room and the three knocks on the door that I recognized as Gabriele. "Come in," I called out.

I sat up in the chair as Gabriele stepped inside, a very tense look on his face.

"Alessandro left," he told me.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"He didn't know the man in the video either, but I wasn't expecting him to," Gabriele remarked, shrugging. "I'm going to head to the city and poke around a bit. I'll see if any of my old contacts know anything. I'll call you if I replace anything." I nodded. That seemed like a good idea.

"See if you can show the picture around, but take someone with you before you do anything," I warned him seriously. "Nobody does anything alone-pairs or groups from now on, at least until we get this mess settled."

"I'll spread the message." Gabriele nodded. He turned on his heel and then paused, glancing over his shoulder. "Don't sit in here and drink yourself to death, Gio. Do something to take your mind off all this."

"Yeah, yeah," I waved my hand dismissively.

"Maybe spend some time with that girl of yours. You've got a huge apology to make," Gabriele smirked.

I grimaced at the thought, and Gabriele chuckled under his breath, shutting the door behind him.

I was left alone with my thoughts.

Now that I had time to properly focus on my relationship with her, I realized just how fucked I was.

Anything short of falling on my knees and begging Olivia to forgive me would just get me slapped. She was kind, sometimes too kind for her own good, but she also had a spine to her.

I'd crossed a line earlier; even I could see that. She wasn't going to just forgive me, especially since I'd done it in front of her best friend. Dahlia was right-I was an asshole.

I downed the rest of my drink, the liquid courage burning as it slid down my throat, but it was just what I needed.

I got to my feet, satisfied now that the crisis was over. I could talk to Olivia without any more disruptions now.

The guilt and regret pulled my feet forward and leaving my room, all the confidence I had went out the window. What was I even going to say to her?

The look of hurt on her face was painful enough, but the fact that it was caused by me, by my own words lashing out at her, was excruciating. I dragged my feet down the hallway, trying to think of anything I could say to make this better... that I was stressed and took it out on her because she was the closest target... that I felt like a failure for letting Alessandro and the Russians get to me?

Or maybe I would tell her how I was so used to people being against me, questioning me, and doubting me, that I automatically lashed out in defense? Even though that wasn't true.

I might tell her that I was just an asshole who couldn't manage his anger properly.

I sighed as I stood in front of her door, hesitating now. Everything I thought of sounded like an excuse.

She had every right to be angry after the way I'd treated her. She'd been hurt, and I had to take responsibility for that. It was my own words and my own actions that had driven a wedge between us, and all I could do was hope she wasn't too angry with me.

I hoped she would forgive me.