Tied to a Boss 2 (7 page)

Nodding his head in response to Dante, Dominic grinned as he dug out a cigar from the inner pocket of his suit jacket.

* * *

They made it back to the mansion and waited until the Bentley came to a full stop out front. Dante opened the car door just as the driver was rushing around to open it for him and Dominic.

Dante nodded at the driver, who smirked and nodded back at him. Dante then stood to the side as Dominic stepped out of the Bentley as Carlos walked up.

“You’re free until tonight, Carlos,” Dominic told his head of security. “Remember, we’re leaving for the business dinner with Malcolm Pierce.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Saldana,” Carlos replied, as both Dante and Dominic walked off and headed towards the front door of the mansion.

Leading Dante to the front door of his estate, where one of seven staff members was holding open the door, Dominic said to Dante over his shoulder, “Come. I’ll introduce you to the staff as well as the mistress of the mansion.”

Following Dominic inside, Dante stood beside his employer as six other staff members showed up, listening as members introduced themselves to him.

“So, this is the young man I’ve been hearing non-stop about?”

Dante looked over to the far right and saw a slim but nicely built older version of Dominic’s daughter, Natalie, ask the question. Dante looked to Dominic who happily said, “Carmen, my wife! Come and meet Mr. Dante Blackwell.”

“I feel like I already know him,” Carmen stated with a smile, as she walked over to Dante with her hand held out.

“It’s good to meet you, Mrs. Saldana!” Dante said, smiling at the older woman while being a bit surprised at how gorgeous she looked.

“I see that my daughter was correct when describing you,” Carmen replied looking Dante over with a grin. “You really are extremely handsome, Mr. Blackwell.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Saldana!” Dante answered before adding, “Please, call me Dante.”

“As long as you call me Carmen,” she told Dante while still smiling. She looked over at her husband as he stood smiling and watching her with Dante. “My love, you’ve had a few calls. I’ve left messages in your office. Why don’t you go and check them while I show Dante around his new residence.”

“Very well!” Dominic replied with a smile as he kissed his wife. He turned to Dante and said, “We leave for dinner at 10:00 tonight. I will see you then.”

Nodding his head in response, Dante looked back at Carmen as she announced, “Come Dante! Let me show you around the place.”

Allowing Carmen to wrap her arm around his left arm and leading him further into the mansion, Dante found himself walking alongside the older woman and touring the two-story, 7-bedroom, 3-bathroom home, complete with an elevator. It even had a chef-style kitchen that looked like it belonged in a restaurant, which included three chefs who worked on staff.

Carmen then led him outside behind the mansion to a detached guesthouse that was a two-minute walk away from the home’s back entrance. Dante laughed as Carmen led him into the guesthouse. It looked like a smaller version of the mansion itself with two bedrooms, two baths and its own pool and spa outside.

“What do you think, Dante?” Carmen asked, smiling at him as he stood beside her and looked around.

“What do I think, huh?” Dante repeated. “This is some place you guys live in. I’m really impressed!”

“I’m happy you approve,” Carmen told him. “This will be where you will be living. I figured you would want your own place and space.”

Nodding his head in approval, Dante thanked the older woman as he continued looking around the guesthouse.

“I’ll leave you to look around, Dante,” Carmen told him, handing him a set of keys. “When you’re finished looking around, come back to the house. There’s something else Dominic and I have for you.”

Dante watched as Carmen walked out of the guesthouse door. Then he turned back around to look at his new home. He first walked to the nice-sized kitchen that was done up in white and marble.

Then he made his way from the kitchen through the living room, which led to two bedrooms. He walked into the master bedroom’s bath, which had a standing-glass, sliding shower door and a Jacuzzi-style bathtub. Dante shook his head, smirking as he turned and walked back out into the master bedroom.

He stopped in front of the walk-in closet and saw all the different styles of suits and urban clothes. Dante lowered his eyes to the racks filled with different styles of dress shoes and even…

Dante immediately snatched his banger from the left-side holster that Dominic had given him. He shifted his body and turned towards the bedroom door. Dante was seconds away from pulling the trigger when he recognized who walked into the room.

“Whoa! It’s just me!” Natalie cried, throwing up both her hands and falling back against the bedroom door, staring wide-eyed at Dante.

“You should announce yourself when you walk into a room,” Dante told her as he lowered his gun.

“How did you know I was there?” she asked as she lowered her hands and relaxed.

“I heard the front door when it opened,” Dante answered. “What are you doing here?’

“You don’t sound happy to see me, Dante?” Natalie asked him, with a fake pouting look on her face.

Shaking his head as he slid his hammer back into his holster, he turned back to the closet and asked, “What do you want, Natalie?”

“Actually, I wanted to see you. I’m also supposed to show you what’s outside for you.”

“What are you talking about?”

With a big smile, Natalie walked over to Dante and took his hand, leading him from the closet toward the bedroom door and said, “Just come with me. You’ll like what I’ve got to show you.”

Chapter 7

Dante allowed Dominic’s daughter to drag him back through the mansion, passing a smiling Carmen, who was walking out of one of the many rooms on the first floor. Dante found himself being pulled out the front door and then down the walkway around to the far side of the mansion where a metallic-gray Benz was parked in front of a five-car garage.

“What do you think?” Natalie asked, turning and smiling back at Dante.

“What?” Dante asked confused, looking straight at Natalie.

“The car, Dante!” Natalie answered with a giggle. She turned Dante around to the driver’s side of the Mercedes. “This is your new car, Dante.”

“What?” Dante exclaimed in both disbelief and confusion.

“What my daughter is telling you, Dante,” Carmen began, as she and two security guards walked over from the front of the house, “is that this is a gift from both Dominic and me.”

“I picked it out,” Natalie told him, still smiling at Dante.

Looking back to Carmen from Natalie, Dante met the older woman’s eyes and said, “What’s this all about? I could have bought my own ride.”

“We’re well aware of that, Mr. Blackwell,” Carmen replied smiling at him. “My husband did a background check on you and we are fully aware of what you are able to do. This is our way of saying that we want you to feel welcome and at home here with us.”

“Dante, come on! Let’s go for a ride!” Natalie screamed, rushing around to the passenger side of the Benz.

“The key is already attached to the ring I handed to you earlier, Dante,” Carmen told him, as she turned and walked away. She turned back around and said, “Enjoy yourself!”

“Dante! Come on!” Natalie cried out, waving to get Dante’s attention.

Dante looked at Carmen as she was walking away and then focused back on Natalie. He looked down at the Mercedes Benz S-class coupe that was just given to him. Then he dug out the keys from inside his pocket and hit the remote that was also a key. Both he and Natalie climbed inside onto creamy, brown-leather seats.

He checked out the new smart phone-style console, touch-pad perches over a command-system control knob that operated numerous vehicle functions. Dante looked around the car, nodding in approval at what he was seeing.

“Are you just going to sit there or are we going for a ride, Dante?” Natalie spoke up, smiling over at him.

Shifting his eyes over to Natalie, Dante shook his head. He smiled as he pushed the button that started the Mercedes engine. He glanced back over at Natalie as he reversed the Benz from in front of the garage.

* * *

Carmen watched from the front door as both Dante and her daughter drove away inside the new Mercedes. She smiled and stepped back inside the house, closing and locking the door behind her. She turned and started towards the side hallway leading to her husband’s office.

She lightly knocked and pushed open the thick, oil-shined redwood office door. Stepping inside her husband’s office, she saw Dominic seated behind his desk speaking on the phone. Carmen met her husband’s eyes as he held up his hand for her to hold on.

Taking a seat in one of the two cushioned chairs in front of her husband’s desk, Carmen crossed her long and slim, nicely muscular, legs. She smiled at her husband. His eyes shifted from the papers on top of his desk in front of him to her legs and then up to her eyes.

“I will call you back,” Dominic said into the phone, holding his wife’s eyes as he hung up the phone. He smiled at Carmen and said, “What is it, my love?”

“I wanted to inform you that I was able to get Mr. Blackwell to accept our gift, “Carmen told her husband, before adding, “It may also have had a little to do with your daughter as well, my husband.”

Making a face, Dominic asked, “Exactly what does Natalie have to do with Dante?”

“It seems that our daughter may have taken an interest in Mr. Dante Blackwell,” Carmen told her husband, with a small smile.

“Where is she?”

“Both Dante and Natalie have left. He’s taken her for a ride at our daughter’s request.”

Leaning back in his cushion, black-leather office desk chair, Dominic folded his hands around his chest and said, “Where is Gomez?”

“My guess would be that he’s inside his room as was told of him,” Carmen answered. “I’m pretty sure that Gomez will be upset once he hears Natalie has left without him.”

Slowly smiling as he stared across at his wife, Dominic said, “You questioned me about Dante’s ability and sureness with wanting to hire him. This is the perfect timing for a display.”

“What are you planning, Dominic?” Carmen asked her husband, staring at him with a funny expression on her face.

Smiling a little more, Dominic answered, “Just wait and see, my wife. Wait and see!”

* * *

Pulling in front of Alex’s condo, Alinna saw his Cadillac parked outside. She parked her BMW beside his car and shut off the engine.

Alinna grabbed her bag and climbed out of her car. As she was locking it up, she heard a voice from her left side: “What’s up, beautiful?”

She smiled seeing Alex standing in the doorway to his condominium dressed in gray cotton sweatpants and a white wife beater. She silently cursed herself as she found herself comparing Alex to Dante.

She was still smiling as she walked from the car and headed toward his front door. Alinna went up on her toes and kissed Alex on the lips and said, “Hey, sexy! You look like you missed me!”

“More than you know!” Alex replied, smiling as he took Alinna’s hand and pulled her gently inside the condo. He closed and locked the door behind them.

Alinna was impressed when she looked around the condo. She heard Alex tell her to make herself at home, as he headed towards the kitchen. She slowly made her way through to the den, checking out the hook-up.

Alinna nodded her head at the setup Alex had in his den. She stopped in front of the picture display, as she found herself looking for females in pictures with Alex. She noticed an exotic-looking female who showed up in more than one photo with Alex, even though she looked much younger than Alex did.

“That’s my baby sister you’re staring at!” Alex spoke up, as he walked up behind her.

Looking from the photos back over her shoulder at Alex’s face, Alinna waited until he looked down meeting her eyes and said, “You sure that’s your sister, Alex?”

“Would I lie?”

“I don’t know,” she answered. A moment later she asked, “Would you lie to me, Alex?”

“Come on!” he told Alinna, taking her hand and leading her over to the sofa. They sat down and he pulled her beside him. “Alinna, listen! I’m not a fool, beautiful. I can see the hurt in your eyes and I know it was a guy before me that put that hurt there. But I’m not him. I don’t want to be him but I do want you, though. I understand we’ve only known each other a short time but I know that it’s you I want. I want this friendship to become a serious relationship. I want us to build something you can believe in but only if it’s also what you want.”

Shaking her head and sighing loudly, Alinna broke eye contract with Alex and said, “Alex, there’s a lot you don’t know about me. First, you should know that although I do like you a lot, I’m still in love with my son’s father, even though we’re no longer together.”

“Where is he now?”

“He left town.”

“Is he coming back?”

“I’m not really sure,” Alinna answered truthfully, before adding, “I don’t think he will though.”

“So, basically, what you’re telling me is that our chances of having anything aren’t great because you’re still in love with your son’s father, even though he hurt you?”

Looking back and meeting Alex’s eyes, Alinna said, “I want you, Alex. I won’t lie to you. But my trust isn’t really great right now. I can only promise you that I will give things between us a real try if you’re willing to give me time.”

Alex reached up and gently brushed back Alinna’s hair and lightly ran the back of his hand down the side of her face. Alex smiled as he replied, “Whatever it takes to make you mine, Alinna. I’m willing to endure whatever. I want you that badly.”

Smiling a bit as Alex leaned towards her, Alinna reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, while accepting the kiss he laid on her lips.

* * *

Dante drove the smooth-riding Benz up the drive back to the mansion and saw the crowd of security already posted out front. He also noticed both Carmen and Dominic standing outside the mansion doorway. Dante heard Natalie mumble something about Gomez, which directed his attention to the big man posted in front of the house just a bit further down from where her parents stood on the porch.

Pulling the Benz to a stop in front of the crowd of security team, Dante parked the car as a chauffeur rushed over around to the driver’s door. He noticed the big Spanish man snatch open the passenger-side door and grab Natalie aggressively out of the seat.

“Gomez!” Natalie cried, pulling and trying to get away from her bodyguard’s grip. “What is wrong with you? Let me go this minute!”

“You are not supposed to leave without me!” Gomez said, as he pressed his face angrily up into Natalie’s face.

“You are out of line. Release me now!” Natalie yelled, still trying to get away from her bodyguard.

“You will never leave without . . .”

“You may wanna let her go,” Dante stated, as he calmly walked up beside both Natalie and the bodyguard.

“You will be dealt with shortly,” Gomez told the new guy, pushing Dante away. He then turned his attention back to Natalie.

Dante caught Gomez’s hand by the top of his fingers and bent them backwards, causing the guy to cry out in pain. Dante then slammed his elbow into Gomez’s nose, snapping his head back. At the same time, he kicked his left leg out from under him and sent homeboy backwards to the pavement.

He then grabbed his banger from his right holster with his left hand, while still holding Gomez’s fingers in his right hand. Dante had the .45 pressed to the front of Gomez’s forehead by the time he opened his eyes and was looking up at Dante.

“Enough!” Dominic yelled out, drawing everyone’s attention to him including Dante who cut his eyes up to his new employer before focusing back on Gomez. “Release him, Dante! He’s okay now.”

Doing as he was told and releasing the muscular bodyguard’s hand while keeping his hammer out gripped it in his left hand, Dante grabbed Natalie and pulled her behind him. He watched Gomez slowly climb to one knee and wipe the blood away from his busted and bleeding nose.

“Do you still question my decision, my wife?” Dominic asked Carmen, while showing a small smile toward Dante, who was escorting Natalie toward the front door.

“He is better than I expected, my husband,” Carmen replied with a grin. “He is really fast also. Did you see how fast he took down Gomez and had his firearm out and pointed at Gomez?”

“I’m glad you approve, my wife,” Dominic said, just as Natalie rushed passed to her mother while Dante stopped in front of him.

“What’s up with homeboy?” Dante asked, nodding back over his shoulder down to where Gomez was being helped up by a few members of the security team.

“Pay Gomez no attention, Dante,” Dominic said, with a wave of the hand. “He is very overprotective when it comes to my daughter. Come with me.”

Looking over to Natalie before following behind Dominic, Dante met her eyes and asked, “You alright?”

Nodding her head yes, she stood watching as Dante followed behind her father. She then heard her mother say, “While you were out with Dante Jonathan called to speak to you.”

“Who?” Natalie asked, still staring after Dante.

Slowly smiling, Carmen wrapped her arms around her daughter and led her back into the house saying, “You do remember Jonathan Hernandez, the friend you’ve been seeing, right?”

* * *

Following Dominic into his office where Carlos was waiting, Dante nodded to him and took a seat on the sofa across the room. Dominic walked around behind his desk and sat down.

“Okay, gentlemen,” Dominic began, as he leaned forward and rested his arms atop the desk. He folded his hands together as he looked from Carlos to Dante. “This meeting tonight is very important and the gentleman I’m meeting with is coming all the way from Los Angles. The problem is that the meeting is at a restaurant located in Victor Fayman’s part of town and this meeting really isn’t a secret, so I’m expecting…”

“…him to show up and cause a little scene, right?” Dante finished his sentence, as he sat unwrapping one of the Black & Mild’s he pulled from the fresh box he bought on the way back to the mansion with Natalie.

Dominic allowed a small smile to show on his lips as he sat staring at Dante and said, “After what happened on Victor’s birthday the other night, I’m pretty sure that he is planning to react for what happened to him in front of the whole nightclub.”

“Why not relocate to a different spot to have this meeting at?” Dante asked, as he motioned for permission to light up and smoke.

Waving an okay for Dante to smoke, Dominic followed, “The problem with relocating for this meeting, Dante, is that this is the location Mr. and Mrs. Russell have decided on. It is near the hotel where they will be staying and it’s a favorite restaurant of Mrs. Russell.”