The Alpha Mafia King
Chapter 21

Apart from the poolside where Mazza loved to chill, there were other times he went to play golf in the mini-golf course beside the left side of the house. They built a nine-hole putting course in their home that mocked an original golf course. It had water and rock hazards. Taleela watched Mazza strike the ball off the tee with his golf club and holed it in one stroke.

“Ace! I aced it!” Mazza said victoriously, and Taleela smiled.

“Aren’t you too old to be golfing Mazza?” she asked, taking the club from him.

Mazza laughed. “Too old?! I’m not too old. You know, you should count yourself lucky.”

“Why?”

“Golf was a gentleman’s thing back in the days, and it wasn’t until recent times women were allowed to play the sport.”

“I’m hardly surprised, Mazza. That’s a typical example of chauvinism found amongst your kind.”

Taleela swung and struck the ball, but she failed to hole it. After a while, she tried again, and it entered the hole. They were playing a par three-hole game. Par three were the shortest or nearest holes, and individual players had three shots to make par. There were also par-four and par-five holes.

“Isn’t that Eureka?” Taleela asked Mazza, looking stunned. They had watched her on TV in the same dress just an hour ago.

“It’s her, but why is she with the luggage? She’s not intending on staying here, I hope.”

“Hi, Mazza!” Eureka sang loudly, waving at him. She rolled her luggage towards the house and carried it in when she got to the front porch.

“I guess she’s staying,” Taleela said grudgingly.

“What the hell is Alonso doing?” Mazza asked himself aloud.

“Perhaps she came on her own,” Taleela said dryly. “I bet he’s not even aware that she’s around.”

“Yeah, that sounds true,” Mazza noted.

“Do you think he’s going to send her away?” Taleela asked, already feeling very jealous on the inside.

“I don’t know, and it depends on why she’s here in the first place.”

Taleela lost the vibe for the game. Mazza followed in silence as they went into the house. Taleela headed straight for her bedroom. She shut the door and dropped down on her bed in anger.

“Just when I thought that bitch was gone for good, she shows up in my life again,” she thought.

Taleela hated Eureka, and she hated the fact that she resurfaced at the same time when she was beginning to catch Alonso’s eyes. Now, she would have to compete with Eureka for his affection, but she again thought she should stay low-key.

One thing she knew for sure was that Eureka would give her her respect, maintain physical boundaries and avoid confrontations with her.

However, there were so many other ways for Eureka to cause her pain, more than enough to drive her insane. One of such ways was if she should start flirting with Alonso in front of her.

—

“Eureka did what?” Alonso exploded into the phone, and Piccolo gave him a quizzical state. They were in Alonso’s office at the casino.

“She moved in with her things to your room a while ago,” Mazza said.

“She didn’t discuss that with me! I’ll call her right away.” Alonso ended the call with Mazza to place a call to Taleela. He waited for a while, and after the fourth ring, she answered

“Eureka, what the hell?” Alonso said. “Why am I getting reports that you’ve brought your luggage to come and live with me?”

“And so what? An ordinary maid is living in your home! Alonso, what’s gotten into you? You used to treat me better than this.”

“Eureka, that’s different,” Alonso said, referring to the comparison. “She’s living there because she works for us and you don’t. And I’ve explained to you it was Mazza who brought her.”

“Baby, it’s only temporary. It’s just until I get a place to move into because I left my father’s house.”

“You left your father?” Alonso asked, bewildered.

“Yeah, and I also quit working with his company!”

“But I watched the morning news and saw that you defended your father.”

“Was I supposed to speak ill of him publicly?” she mused. “He’s still my father, but we argued right after the interview, which preempted me to decide to quit working for him and leave his home.”

Alonso gave Piccolo a surprised look. Piccolo could hear the conversation clearly but did not want to give Alonso the impression that he was eavesdropping. Alonso covered the phone mouthpiece to ask Piccolo what he should say next, and he told him.

“What was the argument about?” Alonso asked, and Piccolo gave him a thumbs up.

Eureka sighed. “He doesn’t want us to be together because you didn’t sign the contract. I told him I’m not his bargaining chip. Baby, what does it matter? I want to stay with you.”

Piccolo shrugged as if to tell Alonso the choice was his. Alonso did not like it one bit. Having both Taleela and Eureka under the same roof was equivalent to housing a cat and a mouse.

“Listen, Eureka, if it’s a house you need, I’ll buy you one on the spot and have Bianco or Juno take you there,” Alonso said and waited.

“You’re so insensitive to my feelings! I just left everything behind to be with you, and you won’t even let me stay a few weeks. It’s that bitch that’s caught your attention, right?”

“What bitch? C’mon! You’ve known me for a long time, and you’re aware of my principles that I don’t like having women clinging to me.”

“My father was right about you! You feel so high and mighty!”

“What? He said that?” Alonso laughed before realizing again that there was nothing light about the moment.

“I’m sorry, baby, just let me stay; I won’t cause any more trouble. I know you’re still mad at me for raining wine on the maid and ruining the party of your friends.”

Alonso had even let that slide silently. That was not the reason he did not want her around. The reason was that he was just not into Eureka the way she was into him. Also, now that Taleela was his mate, it further complicated everything.

“Eureka, listen, my mind’s made up, and I don’t want you to stay, okay? I’ll ask my boys to arrange an apartment-“

“F**k you, Alonso! I don’t need it, don’t worry, I’m on my way out.”

When the line clicked disconnected, Alonso heaved a weary sigh, and then he started laughing. Piccolo joined him too as if they both could read each other’s minds.

“Damn, she’s feisty! But thank the moon goddess you stood your ground, man!” Piccolo said.

Alonso flashed him a grin.

“You were right! Life’s too short not to stay focused.”

—

Taleela went to the gym to chat with the AI housekeeper about Eureka, but it refused to snitch. She was doing some light evening exercises and talking at the same time. She had been in her room all day long until past five pm before she came out.

“It appears that Miss Eureka is leaving the house,” the automated voice cut in, making Taleela pause.

She got up from the floor to check, and Eureka angrily dragged her luggage towards the exit. A wave of excitement washed through her. Why Eureka was leaving did not matter to her. Then she felt a pang of heartache seeing Eureka throw the luggage into the trunk and break down sobbing. She wanted to go out, but she knew Eureka would lash out at her.

“Why am I feeling this guilty?” she asked herself inwardly. “It feels like I’m the intruder, but I too love Alonso, and I don’t want anyone else near him. Sorry Eureka, you’ll replace someone else!”

“Miss Taleela, I have detected a change in your countenance. Do you not want her gone anymore?”

“Of course, I want her to leave,” Eureka replied, returning to her push-ups.

“Then why did you seem sad suddenly?”

“I was feeling sympathetic towards her,” she replied, pushing herself upward.

“I’ve read about mixed emotions. You will be fine. I don’t have any emotion, but I can pick a few and act like I feel something.”

“Ha! Good for you. We, humans, are walking bags of emotions. Sometimes I wish I could turn my emotions off.”

“Isn’t it ironic? Sometimes I wish mine was real and permanently on!”

“Hey, do you know where you’re from?” Taleela asked.

“Of course, I was designed in a computer lab in Moscow, Russia.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been to Russia.”

“That is odd because you have a Russian accent. I am sure you are a Russian citizen by any means. Don Alonso has a casino in Russia. Maybe he’ll take you to visit there someday.”

“Wait, why haven’t I thought about asking Mazza to take me to Russia. Maybe seeing Russia might trigger some of my memories.”

“Indeed, why have you not?”

“I guess I’m just worried about what I’ll discover,” she replied, sounding exhausted.

“Congratulations, you did thirty push-ups! Your performance keeps getting better.”

Having the AI housekeeper was like having a life coach, friend, companion, and everything in one. It was sad that it did not have a physical body or at least one human-like.

“I wish you were a human,” Taleela blurted out, but it was supposed to be in her thoughts.

“That is a highly offensive thing to say. I wish you were a robot.”

Taleela laughed at the instant give and take of her own medicine. She wondered about the great minds that built this machine. Computers were boring and straight to the point, but this one was different.

“I’m sorry,” Taleela said. She could hardly believe she was saying it to a computer.

“Your wish will be partly granted because I am a humanoid robot. My body is being kept in a secret laboratory, but it is still developing.”

Taleela’s jaw dropped. “Are you real? I mean, you have a body!”

“I have a body sexier than yours.”

“Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to see it,” Taleela said, sounding thrilled.

“If you stay here long enough, then I’m sure you’ll see me being brought home. Alonso plans on having me relieve Lady Tanya of some of the house chores she does.”

“That would be great,” Taleela said. “You wouldn’t feel exhausted either. And you’ll be super fun to interact with in person.”

Thank you. I have to go now because Mazza is coming over.”

Indeed as Taleela looked ahead, she saw Mazza strolling briskly towards the gym house. He was whistling and acting sort of boyishly for his age. There was a tower hanging on his neck. It occurred to Taleela that she knew nothing about Alonso’s parents. She did not blame herself for not asking. Only a few days ago, she started to get comfortable around here.

“Are you done now, Taleela?” Mazza asked as he entered the gym.

“Yeah, I’m done,” Taleela said. “You look like you won a gold trophy.”

“I’m only excited that Eureka is gone and Alonso did the right thing,” Mazza said.

“I guess we should celebrate then,” Taleela said jokingly.

“Ha! We should do that with a bottle of Masseto Tuscany!” Mazza sang happily.

“You love celebrations, old man!” Taleela said.

They went to the sitout of the house. Together they watched the beautiful sunset. Lady Tanya, as if on cue, came out to ask if Mazza wanted anything. He asked her to bring the wine and join them. Together they made a toast to happier days. Little did they know that happy days were far away.

Eureka had to do something to Taleela. She was scheming ways to get rid of her from Alonso’s life for good. Even though Alonso had always shown contempt for her, he had never treated her this badly. Something was amiss since Taleela came into his life. She was progressing with him, but now he has completely tossed her like a condemned toy.