Santi's Downfall

Chapter 22: The Tension

The world is all gates, all opportunities, and strings of tension waiting to be struck.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Haven Pierce's POV

I stared at Santi with my mouth wide open. I can't believe this guy! How dare he bully people like that without basis? Poor Vito paled visibly while looking at his brooding boss. I think he was getting grumpier as the days passed.

"Uh...pardon me, Signore," Vito let go of my hand as if he was burned by it. "Excuse me."

I watched the poor man walk away from the hallway leaving me alone to deal with this impossible man. I threw a disapproving look in his direction. "Is that necessary to intimate him like that when he did nothing wrong?"

"He did nothing wrong?" He scoffed, looking at me as though I was the one being ridiculous here not him. "He was holding your hand, Haven! He should be grateful that I managed to stop myself from breaking his hand."

"Exactly!" I answered angrily, throwing a dagger look at him. "He did nothing wrong. He was holding my hand because I offered it in the first place. I apologized for my behavior earlier and promised him that I would not do that again."

"You don't have to do that."

My brows furrowed in confusion. "Why not? I think it's only logical that I owned my actions. Because of me, everything went into chaos. You canceled your meeting and probably lost a lot of money. Same thing with Nico who is scheduled to be in customs today and then there's Vito who nearly lost his job because of me."

He was silent for a moment. I think that he would agree with me. But what I didn't get was why the hell he was fuming mad at his bodyguard just now. His anger has no basis.

"I think you should apologize to Vito for your uncalled rude behavior," I suggested when he remained silent in front of me.

He eyed me indecorously, his eyes snapping with fire. "Are you out of your mind? Why the fuck will I need to say sorry to my employee?" He started making advances in my direction. "Besides, do you think you can order me around in my house? Are you forgetting who am I?"

"I haven't forgotten not for a single moment," I responded bravely. "But I think it's common courtesy to make an apology when you did something wrong mafia boss or not, don't you think?"

"No," he said stubbornly, his face was taut. "I will never apologize to anyone. Keep that in mind, Haven. I am Santino Marchesi, after all."

I laughed humorlessly. I couldn't believe this guy, at all. He was probably the most arrogant guy I ever met in my life and I am not even exaggerating. "I can't wait to see the day that your conceited personality will crumble down and someone will finally bring you to your knees. I wish I was there to witness it."

He smirked devilishly in my direction, giving me a smug look. "I hate to tell you this but that will not happen, Haven. Not in this lifetime, at least. In addition, women were the ones who were on their knees when I was with them."

"W-What...?"

The corner of his mouth was twitching with a grin. Instead of answering, he only gave a speaking glance at his crotch area.

It took me a while before I realized what he meant. I could feel that my cheeks were starting to heat up when I imagined it. "Oh, my God! You are incorrigible. I don't know what my father sees in you for him to leave me in your care for the next four years."

"Do you regret meeting, cara?" He queried in a low voice as he started to trap me on my doorframe and his hard body.

I swallowed hard while my heart started to race in my chest. "What do you think you're doing? Move away, will you?"