Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 679 -

*Elio*

"It's been slow going due to the transfer of assets from here to America," Alessandro told me with a frustrated look. "We've been having trouble hiring people over there due to the lack of loyalty. We've had nine cases of deserters in the past few weeks, all US hires. It's making establishing operations more difficult."

"The US doesn't really have the same loyalty as they do in Florence. We've got roots and power here, but family doesn't really have the same meaning overseas," I explained, my lips twisted into a frown. "Plus, there's been a new rise of work- hopping, just going from one company to the next without staying for long. It's difficult for everyone to keep workers, especially for dangerous work like we're asking. We may have to raise the salaries to keep people on." Cat yawned, her head propped up on my arm as she listened to us debate back and forth with a groggy look. She listened quietly to our conversation as a hand gently laid a mug of steaming hot coffee in front of her.

I heard her thank the servant quietly, a sweet middle-aged woman who reminded me of my mom. She nodded, smiling as Cat took a sip of the mind-awakening potion. I chuckled, kissing her forehead as she leaned against me. "The Euro doesn't come out to be an exact transfer either, so you're losing about four coins per dollar for every hire," I said, pointing to the paperwork on the kitchen table.

"Three," Cat corrected.

I looked over at her with a raised eyebrow, but Alessandro didn't even register her as he plowed straight on, eyes focused entirely on me.

"And what are we supposed to do about that? The inflation of the US dollar keeps rising and we've got to pay our men somehow. These new hires do half the work for twice the pay, and it's causing significant rifts in our US branches." Cat's expression turned sour. I knew she hated being ignored.

"Losing four coins is the least of our worries at this-" Alessandro continued.

"Three." Cat asserted herself into the conversation, voice stronger and louder as she crossed my arms. "Let's get something straight here, Alessandro," Cat emphasized his name, glaring at him straight in the eyes. "I asked to be a part of this. I am not Elio's girlfriend he dragged along. This is my family that was affected by this motherfucker, and I am going to help catch him with or without you. Your choice."

There was a beat of silence when Alessandro's glare leveled at her. I stared at her in awe as she glared into the face of the head of the Italian mafia and threatened him before my very eyes.

But the stalemate was broken by the sound of a slow clap and a quiet chuckling from behind us. I glanced over my shoulder, a bit startled to see Mia standing there with a huge grin, looking like she'd just seen all her dreams come true. "Mia," Alessandro warned slowly, but Mia didn't pay him a single mind.

"Well said, Cat," Mia praised her, beaming like she'd won a medal. "Not many people can stand up to Alessandro and his grumpy face, but you did. I told him he shouldn't glare so much, or he would get wrinkles. Now look at him." She sighed like it was such a shame and Alessandro's face cracked, melting away in embarrassment as he rubbed his forehead.

"Oh, you're fine," Mia waved her hand, the tense atmosphere disappearing immediately as she rounded the table and laid a kiss on his cheek. "You're still handsome. Now stop trying to act all tough, grumpy pants."

She grabbed his cheeks, grinning as she wiggled them up and down and getting out of range as he immediately broke out of her hold. "I told you to stop doing that," He growled, rubbing his cheeks which now looked a bit red. She just blew through her lips like a horse before sitting down opposite him and right next to me.

"So?" She tilted her toward Cat, and Alessandro pursed his lips, before sighing in defeat. Cat grinned in victory.

"You're right, Cat," Alessandro admitted begrudgingly, though he did have a hint of a smile now "You have a right to be involved in this." "Thank you."

Alessandro turned to me. "You're lucky to have a woman who will give you a kick in the ass when you need it. She's a keeper."

Cat shot him a grateful smile.

He nodded, then glanced at the mountain of paperwork laid out on the breakfast table. "So, three you said?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Right here." She pointed to the paper she had noticed, bringing it to everyone's view.

We continued to discuss things late into the morning, at which point Alessandro left to gather the family.

By the time we were getting ready for dinner, the sun was already setting and more than half of the day had gone by. I dressed in a causal suit and Cat was in a gorgeous evening gown. I had to restrain myself from taking her right there and messing up her makeup and hair.

The dining room was always a shock for those seeing it for the first time, and Cat was in a daze as we were seated at the huge table next to Alessandro and Mia.

As the family came up, I took the time to whisper the names of the people into Cat's ear. I could see that a few of them caught her off guard, especially at the bold few who came right up, all excited to meet 'Giovani's son.'

"I'm Randy." The man shook his six-fingered hand with me and completely ignored Cat. "But they call me Six-Fingers."

"I'm Elio. This is "

I gestured to Cat but she cut in with a sharp, "I'm Cat."

Six-Fingers ignored her completely, heading to his seat without a single acknowledgment of her existence.

"I'm Sweet-Cakes," one of the few women purred as she looked me up and down like I was a snack despite her clearly being two decades older than me. "Want to replace out why, honey?" "No, he doesn't." Cat pulled his arm away toward me, irritated.

The woman barely glanced at her, looking her up and down before giving a little smirk. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, giving me a sultry look before she retreated to her own seat. "I am Francesco," a voice beamed.

I looked up to see a man only a few years older than me who had a calm but cold demeanor to him.

"Your father helped me greatly when he was the Don," the icy man said coolly, ignoring my outstretched hand. "I expect you will disappoint his legacy."

I grabbed Cat's hand, reading the anger on her face and smiling at Francesco like I was unbothered.

"I will try not to, Francesco," I told him with a faux-friendly look. "But then again, I am not my father. I do things... differently."

Francesco's eyes narrowed before he actually looked at Cat, a sneer on his face. "I see you have your father's tastes. But I warn you. This is no place to bring your silly little toys. They have no business getting involved." "Excuse "

Cat stepped forward but I quickly pulled her behind him, cutting her off. I knew it would piss her off, but now wasn't the time to make enemies, even though he deserved it.

"Caterina has every right to be here. She is family to me," I said with narrowed eyes.

"We shall see how long that lasts." Francesco snorted, pivoting on his heel as he walked away. I grit my teeth, my mood souring by the minute, as was Cat's.

As the night grew on, Cat grew more annoyed as they ignored her every time, speaking only to me, talking over her, and treating her more like an ornament than a person. When I glanced at Alessandro, he just shrugged his shoulders. Mia was sympathetic, patting Cat's hand as she tried to chat with her to take her mind off it, but by dessert, Cat looked ready to flip the table on its side and scream.

Luckily, Alessandro called for the meeting to start. Some of the members left with Mia as she chatted to them, leaving less than half. I relaxed at the smaller numbers, hoping it would put Cat more at ease.

"Thank you for coming," Alessandro announced, projecting his voice across the room.

He immediately gained the attention of everyone in the room, a dozen eyes staring straight at him, but he didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

"Today, we are discussing our expansion in the US and our exhaustive efforts to catch the traitor, Antonio."

Growls went around the room, a few muttering insults under their breath.

"Thanks to Elio and Cat here," Alessandro said, nodding at us, "we have gained important information about how he is functioning over there, including several of the important safe houses and assets they use. We have located a few key members of his group but unfortunately, our manpower is running out. The danger of the job and lack of trust and resources overseas means we are seeing a rise in defectors. Any ideas on how to handle this would be welcome." Alessandro then crossed his arms, nodding to the group as he allowed the group to take over the discussion.

"Those American bastards have no sense of loyalty! We beat it into them then!" said Six-Fingers. He slammed his hand on the table with a snarl on his face.

"Idiot! That'll never work. I say we recruit younger members first and raise them up,' Sweet-Cakes declared loudly. "Loyalty can be cultivated, like we do here."

A dozen other suggestions went up, voices raising with each one until there was so much arguing I could barely hear myself think, until one cold voice cut through it all.

"It's simple really." It was Francesco, and I knew I would hate whatever came out of his mouth, "We catch the defectors and make an... example out of them. Show them what it means to abandon your family."

Silence reigned after his statement, but the meaning behind his suggestion was not lost on anyone. Francesco had a look as cold as ice like it wasn't people's lives he was discussing.

But as Alessandro actually appeared to be considering it, Cat had finally had enough.

"That won't solve anything," she said, making her voice as loud as she could.

The guests glanced at her once before dismissing her once more, discussing among themselves whether Francesco's idea would work.

"Caterina is talking-"

I tried to step in, but Cat cut me off as her patience finally snapped. She slammed her hands on the table, the sound reverbing through the room as she got to her feet, making her presence known.

The room fell into silence as every eye looked at her. She took a deep breath to control her raging emotions and then coldly glanced around the room at every person, especially Francesco. "Whether you like it or not, I am a part of this operation, and I am staying here not because I am fucking the former Don's son."

I flinched at this, mouth dropping.

She continued. "But because I have valuable input that this group needs. I had thought that considering the nature of your work, this group would have better evaluation skills, especially with potential assets, but apparently, I greatly underestimated you all."

The look of outrage directed at her was exactly what I didn't want, but Cat only stared back with a steely demeanor, not the least bit intimidated.

"America isn't like Italy," she said. "The reason you're losing money and people is that you're using too many hired hands. They are outsourced. Of course, they're going to leave. Contract work is temporary to them. If you really want to establish operations, you need to hire people from over here, within the family. It would be costly in the beginning but would save more money over time."

She waited patiently as her words sunk in and the looks of anger and outrage melted away in shock and awe, grins and smiles heading straight toward her. I breathed a sigh of relief and stared up at her in sheer adoration. "Ah, genius." Six-Fingers slapped the table with a huge grin.

"It could work," another admitted reluctantly.

The others chattered excitedly, and she sat down by my side. I was so turned on I couldn't control myself. My hands snuck around her waist, pulling her closer.

"That was amazing," I whispered in her ear, hands slipping lower.

She flushed, giving me a glare.

I nuzzled my face into her neck, pressing kisses there, but even as distracted as I was, I couldn't help but spy a pair of old eyes staring at us across the table. My possessive instincts lit up as Francesco leveled a freezing glare at me. He would have to be dealt with, one way or another.