Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 673 -

*Elio*

I woke up the next day with Cat's naked body draped across my chest. Her beautiful hair tickled my arm, and I couldn't resist giving her a few kisses as I gently moved her so that I could get out of bed.

I would've loved to wake her up by kissing her everywhere, but she needed to sleep longer, and I needed to get going. She sighed in her sleep as I gently rolled her to the other side, but she didn't wake up. I had kept her up late the night before, and I knew she'd end up sleeping for another few hours. After tucking the covers up around her, I quietly got ready for the day.

I was going to meet Alessandro and Leo today to discuss the latest intel they had about Paul and Antonio. If I was honest, I was getting sick and tired of chasing around Junior and Antonio. I was hungry for retribution, and I wanted to get my hands on them.

I hoped Alessandro had something good to tell me. I wanted to come back and be able to tell Cat that we were close to ending this. With one last glance at her sweet face, I snuck out of the bedroom and quietly closed the door behind me. As usual, Alessandro wanted to meet at a busy restaurant. I drove to it quickly, glancing in my rear-view mirror a few times to ensure I wasn't being followed.

I arrived to replace a trendy breakfast spot overtaken by college students. I chuckled to see Alessandro, Leo, and a few of Alessandro's men sitting in a large corner booth, their suits standing out ridiculously among the kids dressed in athleisure. Alessandro must not have checked the place out before agreeing to meet. I was surprised that he would make such a simple mistake.

"Hey, now that you're here, we're leaving," Alessandro said as soon as I walked up to the table.

He and his men were already standing. Leo looked slightly confused but stood up as he saw everyone else getting up.

I looked around and nodded. It was obvious to me why we couldn't stay. Anyone who saw us would easily remember it, and more than a few people would be trying to eavesdrop on our conversation to figure out who we were. I had already caught a few people glancing our way more than once.

"We're heading to the same warehouse as before," Alessandro said before throwing a wad of cash down on the table. Our waitress hurried over and began clearing the table, the money more than enough to fix the fact that they'd taken up her table without ordering anything.

We all left together. I knew it would draw even more attention, but at this point, we hadn't discussed anything important enough to care. Leo hopped in the car with me, and we followed Alessandro's driver to the location, again checking to ensure nobody was following..

"That was fucking weird," I said as soon as Leo and I were alone in my car.

"Yeah, I don't know. He seems a little frazzled these days. I wonder if it's been too much to try to keep a hold on things here in the States and in Italy. It's a lot for one man to handle. I knew as soon as I got there that he had fucked up." I nodded my agreement, hoping that meant that I could get Alessandro's blessing to take control here in the States even sooner. I knew I was ready for it.

I might have been naive about this life a year ago, but at this point, I knew everything. And if Alessandro was slipping, he needed to let me take charge. It only made sense for the future of the family business. I hoped that he would see it that way too.

We pulled up to the warehouse and hopped out of our vehicles, glancing around to ensure nobody saw the crowd of men walking in. It helped to maintain the abandoned charade if people didn't notice us going in and out. Once we were all seated around a table that had been arranged in the middle of the main room, Alessandro began speaking.

"Elio, I wanted to wait until I could tell you this in person. Some of my men already know. As you know, we've been looking diligently for Antonio. We finally managed to get eyes on him in Italy. Now, I know that's not what you wanted to hear because it means we can't deal with him here, but this will work out better," he said in a voice that demanded respect.

My stomach sank. The last thing I had wanted was for Antonio to manage to get out of the US before I got my hands on him. The fact that he had eluded us like that made it feel even more hopeless that we'd ever be able to replace him. I hated that he was still running around free.

"Alright, tell me how this is better," I said gruffly, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

I would have preferred for him to tell me this privately so that I could show my true emotions. But in front of his men, I knew I needed to keep up a tough facade.

"I need to get back to Italy. I've been in America for far too long now, and things are slipping. I want to go back, and I want you to come with me," he said in a way that made it clear that saying no wasn't really an option.

I was shocked. I hadn't ever considered going back to Italy to be a part of my overall plan. We had always talked about me maintaining control here. I supposed that it made sense for me to go to Italy eventually, but this was sooner than I'd imagined.

"Why do you want me to do that?" I asked.

"I have a few contacts who need to meet you in person before they'll agree to do business with you. And I think it would be nice for you to get up close and personal with the family business before you take things over here. I know you think you know everything, but you still have a lot to learn."

"What about Junior?" I asked. "He's still hanging around here. I don't want to lose track of him or give him the chance to become a threat to Caterina or her mother."

"I'll keep a tail on him," Leo said, "We've got a tracker on his car now, so we know where he is at all times. He still has no idea whatsoever that we have eyes on him, so I doubt he'll do anything crazy."

I nodded, my mind quickly working through all my options. If Alessandro wanted me to go to Italy, then I would need to go. I had to prove to him that I was fully in if I ever wanted him to trust me enough to put me in charge. "Alright, I'll do it," I said before I could talk myself out of it.

"Good. I thought you might say that. I'll plan to arrange a dinner in three days so we can discuss this further. It was good seeing you today."

"You too," I said, shaking his hand before Leo and I headed back out to my car.

I was grateful to get out of there. Although I was becoming more comfortable around Alessandro and his men, it still put me on edge to be with them. I always felt like I had to perform perfectly so that they would trust me.

I drove Leo to our usual office. We still had work to do that day, although it felt like the real estate development business was slowly slipping further and further out of our minds. We still needed to keep the business going as a front. We'd just need to hire new executives.

"How do you think I should approach these contacts?" I asked Leo once we were back in the office.

"You're going to need to be humble, but also make it clear that you know what the fuck you're doing," Leo said.

"Yeah, that's a good point. I know most of them probably respect my dad, but I can't have them thinking that I'm only doing this because of him. In fact, it might be better if they know that I'm doing this in spite of him. Maybe that would show my dedication to the cause."

Leo nodded, then paused. I could tell that he had something he wanted to say but he wasn't sure how I would react to it.

"What is it?" I asked, not wanting there to be things left unsaid between us.

"Well... it's just that, Caterina could help you out."

"What do you mean? She doesn't know nearly as much as I do about all this."

"She's good with people, Elio. Look at how well she handled Alexi."

He was right about that. And as much as I hated to admit it, I loved the idea of taking her to Italy with me. Although we both had ties to Italy, we'd never been there together as a couple. I knew it would be magical to show each other the places that we remembered.

"I just hate putting her at risk. It goes against literally everything I've ever been taught. I was raised to believe that women should be protected, not put into the middle of everything."

I sighed, running my hand through my hair. I knew Cat would hate that I had even said that. It was an old-fashioned and mildly sexist belief system.

"You aren't putting her at risk. You're letting her help you. Do you really think she wouldn't want to be a part of this?" Leo asked.

"You're right. And she'd be pissed if she even knew that I had considered not inviting her. It's not my choice anymore. I already promised her that I'd tell her everything from here on out. She wants us to be equal partners, and although it scares the shit out of me, I want that too. I know it's the only way for us to work."

Leo nodded in agreement. I knew he respected the hell out of Cat.

She was a fighter. It was obvious to everyone who knew her. Who was I to try to take that away from her just because of my own fears?

"Alright, fuck it," I said, pulling out my phone to text Cat.

"I have a surprise for you when I get home," I sent her, smiling to think of the excitement she'd get from that simple message. Now that I really thought about it, I couldn't wait to see how she'd feel about coming to Italy. It very well could be the trip of a lifetime.