Loving Marcello

Chapter Eighteen

I blow a piece of hair from my face as I look at the office door longingly. I'm almost done, but I don't think I can handle this a second longer.

"Marcello." I call out, but he ignores me. "Marcello." I repeat.

He still doesn't answer.

"Marcello." I shout loudly, succeeding in getting his attention.

"If you scream like that in my office one more time, I'll do something I most definitely won't regret." He grits.

I snort, remembering the last time he said that.

"Yeah, okay." I mock.

He sighs impatiently, and I realize I'm losing his attention.

"Marcello, can I take a tiny break?" I ask, hoping he's still focusing on me.

"You've already had six within the last 20 minutes." He deadpans, looking at me with complete and utter annoyance.

"Just one more." I plead.

"You have, like, 20 papers left." He points out. "That'll only take about 10 minutes."

I groan, sprawling out on the floor, "This office is starting to make me sick. I can't handle being suffocated in here any longer."

"Stop being so dramatic and get back to organizing." He rolls his eyes, looking back at the pile of folders and papers on his desk.

"You're no fun." I gripe, sticking my tongue out at him even though he's not looking at me.

"So I've heard." He mumbles.

"Not surprised." I say under my breath as I sit up and begin shuffling through the last papers in the box.

"Just be quiet." He says, seeming to give up as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

"What if I don't wanna?" I challenge with a raised eyebrow.

His head shifts sharply so he's now looking at me.

"I'll make you." He growls threateningly.

"We both know that you're all bark and no bite." I roll my eyes, focusing back on the papers.

"Wanna bet?" His reply comes, this time sounding a lot closer.

I turn to look at him and feel my eyes widen as I watch his intimidating figure marching towards me angrily.

I scatter back, wanting to avoid physical interaction. Last time we touched, it ended up...weird.

Yikes.

The sound of a phone ringing fills the silence, but instead of answering, Marcello continues his journey toward me. Feeling defeated, I look down at the floor, avoiding any eye contact whatsoever.

My attempts fail when he loops his finger underneath my chin and forces me to look up.

Just then, the door swings open, causing both of our heads to shoot in the direction of the intruder, or in my case, savior.

An annoyed grunt comes from Marcello, "What're you doing here?"

His dad leans against the doorway, looking amused.

"I tried calling earlier, but you failed to answer, so I decided to let myself in." He replies nonchalantly, studying his fingernails.

"If I didn't answer the phone, there's a very high chance that I'm busy." Marcello barks condescendingly.

"Oh, yes, I can see you were very busy." He snorts, looking between Marcello and I.

I realize that we're still in the same position as we were before he walked in, and slowly yank Marcello's hand from my face, backing away.

"This is none of your concern." Marcello growls.

"None of my concern?" His dad replies, chuckling, "You're my son, of course this is my concern."

"Not everything I do is your business, father." Marcello grabs the bridge of his nose in annoyance, shaking his head slightly.

"Okay, not everything you do is my business, but when it involves your future wi-"

"Dad!" Marcello says quietly, but he manages to silence his father. "You don't even know her, you can't just assu-"

"Oh, how rude of me! I haven't introduced myself." His dad says, seemingly guiltily surprised.

I just nod, at a loss for words.

"Well, my name is Francesco, but you can call me dad." Francesco say with humor, holding his hand out to shake.

"If it were different circumstances, I'd be honored, but in this case, I'll stick to Francesco. My name is Brimmy, nice to meet you." I smile innocently.

Francesco's smile only widens at that statement, "You say that now, but let's see if you've changed your mind in a week or so." He muses.

"Alright, bet." I challenge.

He raises an eyebrow, "Bet."

Marcello scoffs, "Stop being childish, take that nonsense outside my office, please."

"Okay then." Francesco says stubbornly, "Shall we take this conversation outside?"

"We shall." I agree, sending a sideways glare at Marcello as I follow his dad out of his office.

He massages his temples, blowing out a heavy breath, "How am I gonna deal with them two?" I overhear him asking himself.

I grin, glad to know that we're annoying him.

Francesco snickers in front of me and I know he's just as pleased as I to have gotten a reaction out of his son.

I feel Marcello following after us and don't know if I'm happy or disappointed to be in his presence any longer.

The sound of a phone ringing breaks the somewhat silence that's enveloped the air around us. Francesco stops immediately, and I almost run into his back.

Before I can sigh in relief at the close crash I've almost had, a hard frame crashes into me. But again, I manage to avoid hitting Francesco again, but only because Marcello pulls me back after pushing me forward.

"Oh, I've got to take this." Francesco winks at his son.

"Have fun." I feel Marcello's voice vibrate through his chest as he mutters sarcastically.

I try to squirm from his tight hold on me, but he just presses me closer against his chest. I huff in annoyance, advancing my struggles, but don't succeed in anything but having myself suffocate.