What She Doesn't Know

Chapter 2

Rafael slowly swirled his glass of whiskey around in his glass as he thought about the information he had received. The thought of it burned the back of his mind like the whiskey that slid down his throat.

His boss looked exhausted. There were defined lines of stress engraved on his forehead as well as underneath his eyes. The brown in his eyes had been dimmed considerably since the last time they had encountered each other.

His arms were currently crossed over his chest as he sat opposite of Rafael. His tie was hanging loosely around his neck and his white shirt was untucked from his black slacks.

"I am assuming Isabella has been informed of the situation?" His question earned him a deadpanned look. Rafael smoothly set his glass down on the counter across from where his boss was sitting.

Of course Leonardo did not inform his wife about the situation that required immediate action. In fact, Rafael could not remember the last time he had known Isabella finding out about her husband's job.

"Eventually? Boss, it is necessary for her to know for her safety."

Leonardo snorted ungracefully at the thought. He uncrossed his arms and rested his hands on his knees. "Please, tell me more, Rafael. Inform me as to how I tell my wife. I am open to any ideas you might have."

Rafael was accustomed to his boss' sarcasm. However, he still thought it best to give him an idea or two. "Well, you could take her out to -"

"It was a rhetorical question, Rafael," he snapped.

"I am aware, but perhaps, since your anniversary -"

"Her," Leonardo interrupted.

"Excuse me?"

Leonardo sighed. "It's her anniversary. Not mine."

Rolling his eyes, he continued, explaining a way in which he could woo his wife to be a little more lenient when the news was broken to her. It included the two of them going to a fancy restaurant where they could spend some time together, all the while Isabella could drink one or two more glasses of wine than she usually did, and when they got home, Leonardo would tell her. "Who knows, you could even get a little action out of it."

Leonardo glared at Rafael. "I am not going to intoxicate my wife so that I can seduce her," he bit out through clenched teeth.

Defensive, Rafael put his hands up in mock surrender. "I wasn't my intention to allude to you taking advantage of her -"

"The problem," Leonardo began while standing and heading over to cross the small distance between them, "is not what you were alluding. The problem, Rafael," Leonardo fisted Rafael's collar, "resides in the fact that your thought process would subject me to being that kind of man."

Rafael's Adam's apple bobbed up and down in nervousness. "I'm sorry if I insinuated such a horrible thought."

Brown eyes searched the soul that resided inside the eyes of another pair of frightened brown. Leonardo's eyes glared heavily, creating the look of a predator staring down its prey. If he so desired, his assistant could be dead in the next five seconds; however, Rafael was a considerably good accomplice. Besides, he didn't want Isabella to see a dead body and call the cops on him. That would set him back even further.

A set of footsteps were picked up in both of the men's ears to which Leonardo let go of Rafael's collar and took a step back. Even seeing in them in the situation would be accompanied by questions he had no intention of answering.

Leonardo sent Rafael a glare, silently commanding him to not bring anything up. Rafael nodded weakly, hesitantly.

As if on cue, Isabella walked into the kitchen in with just a white tank top and little shorts. Both of which left nothing to the imagination. Blue eyes widening, she stood in shock as she stared at the man just a few inches away from her husband. Her arms encircled her chest, hiding what was only her husband's to gaze upon.

"Oh, um, hello," Isabella welcomed the handsome stranger.

Leonardo took a stand in front of Rafael. "You need to go upstairs."

Narrowing her eyes at Leonardo, she stepped to the side and held out her hand for the handsome stranger to take. She plastered on a beautiful smile, albeit feeling rather exhausted.

Taken aback by her beauty, he understood as to why his boss was so keen on withholding information from her. A smirk turned up on the corners of his lips. If he had a wife that looked like Isabella, he'd only keep her in their bedroom too.

Like a true gentleman, he took her hand and brought it up to his lips. A warm blush crept up to the surface of her cheeks which did everything besides brightening Leonardo's mood.

Once Rafel's head was brought back up, the smug that once adorned his lips was wiped away as soon as he saw the deathly look penetrating into his soul from his boss.

Leonardo's hard glare returned to Isabella. "You need to go to bed."

She matched his glare, saying, "And you need to treat me as more of a wife than a daughter."

He took a step closer to her, their faces mere inches apart. "I am positive your father doesn't give you as much satisfaction as I do."

Scoffing, she rolled her eyes. "Yes, my father doesn't have sex with me, but you don't either."

Feeling overwhelmingly uncomfortable, Rafael side-stepped them. The tension was too much for him to handle. "You two obviously have some... things to figure out, so I'll be seeing you, Boss."

Keeping his eyes locked with Isabella's, Leonardo said, "We're not finished, Rafael. Isabella was just leaving."

He was not welcoming the thoughts of having his boss wring him from his balls over alligators in a blazing ring of fire.

"Rafael, you can leave. Leo and I have to speak about personal matters. Privately."

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, he decided to listen to his boss, even if the beauty glaring at his boss was intimidating. "I'm sorry, Isabella, but I have to listen to my boss."

She sighed, knowing how much of a hardass her husband can be. "Fine. But you," she snatched Leo's tie which made his head jerk forward so that their lips nearly brushed, "are not off the hook, Mr. Moretti."

Leaving the kitchen with nothing in hand, she swayed her hips a little bit more than usual. Retreating up the steps, she remembered she hadn't gotten the snack she went down for.

"Stare at my wife's ass one more time, and I will personally cut your dick off and stuff it down your throat."

Rafael gulped, "Noted."