Both Alexa and Nicola were currently sitting on opposite ends of the long white sofa. The room was filled with an uneasy silence as they did their best to try and ignore the other.
After doing it for almost ten minutes, Alexa had enough of the awkwardness and decided to get a conversation going between the two of them.
She wanted to know a little bit more about Nicola and the place they were in. Call her curious.
Shuffling herself in closer towards him, she watched as his eyes followed her with each of her movements, as if he were afraid of being anywhere near her.
"I don't bite, you know?" she suddenly broke through the silence with a kind smile.
He did not reply to her attempt to bait him, instead he reached into his jacket pocket and grasped at something.
"So why don't you tell me a little about yourself, Nicola?"
She surprised him with her forwardness all of a sudden.
He frowned at the suggestion.
"What do you want to know, Miss Myers?" he asked cautiously.
She shrugged as she replied.
"I don't know. Anything I guess... and please, call me Alexa. Miss Myers is so formal."
He appeared to take her request on board before he finally turned his body around to face her a little more.
"I mean, what do you do for work?" she asked, seemingly interested in what he had to say.
"Like, what's your job description here?"
Now it was his turn to shrug.
"I do a little bit of this and that. I'm Dante's second-in-command, so I usually just maintain control of the other staff and their workloads. Nothing too exciting I'm afraid."
As Nicola began to play with something in front of him, Alexa suddenly noticed the concealed weapon that he was currently twirling quite skillfully between his large fingers. He was actually quite good at it!
"Is that your knife?" she asked him.
He only now appeared to notice that he had been playing with it in front of her, as he glanced down to see it in his hands.
A guilty expression suddenly washed over his face, and just as quickly, the expression had disappeared once more.
"Uh, yeah. It's one of my favourites, actually." he admitted shyly. "It's called a nine-inch Punisher Skull Stiletto Tactical Spring Open Assisted Pocket Folding Knife..." he paused nodding proudly.
"Wow, that's certainly a mouthful, isn't it?" she teased, her brows furrowed in jest. "Kinda just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?"
He appeared to smile at her joke.
"And you use this knife for..."
His expression suddenly changed, becoming much darker.
"Believe me when I tell you, piccolo... (little one) you really don't want to know."
"You've called me that before. Piccolo. What does it mean? It's Italian, right?" she asked.
"It means 'little one' in your language." he replied with a smirk.
"Right... because I'm so small?"
"Compared to me you are." he mused.
She merely smiled back at him and the cute little nickname he had for her. She liked it.
Alexa knew that this monster of a man she was seated beside had a kind heart buried somewhere deep within his muscular exterior.
Why else would he have saved her life the night before?
He didn't have to.
She slid closer towards him on the sofa, holding out her hand as she asked him a question.
"May I see it?"
"What?"
"The knife. May I see it?"
He looked between her and his weapon for a moment, as if weighing up the two choices he had.
Seeing no sense of danger in such an innocent act, he nodded his head and handed it over to her.
"Careful, it's sharp." he warned her.
As Alexa studied the craftsmanship of such a dangerous and deadly tool, one he clearly idolised, she found herself strangely interested to learn more about such a taboo world.
Perhaps her curiosity had gotten the best of her.
She thought back to the night prior, back in the alleyway when she was attacked, and the question suddenly emerged from her parted lips without warning.
"Why did you save me, Nicola?"
He seemed hesitant to reply at first, though it came surprisingly naturally when he finally did.
"Those men had no business doing what they did to you, piccolo." (little one) he announced solemnly.
"Besides, they were in Reaper territory when they attacked you. That in itself is a crime punishable by death. Everyone in this city knows that."
"Wait, what's Reaper territory?" she queried.
"This entire city is Reaper territory. It is owned and run by a single man, a very powerful man."
Nicola explained vaguely, making sure not to link the infamous title of the Reaper with his boss, Dante.
If Alexa made the connection she would be in more danger than she could possibly imagine!
"You're talking about the criminal underworld, right?" she asked, stunning him with her apparent knowledge of the seedy world he worked in.
"Si." (yes)
"As in the Mafia?" she probed.
He merely nodded his response the second time.
She shook her head, trying with apparent difficulty to connect the dots. It was all so confusing for her to try and make sense of.
"So, you're saying you felt justified in killing those men? And all for this... Reaper character?"
His expression seemed to soften as he spoke his reply.
"What do you think they would have done to you, if I hadn't been there to intercede, hmm? Be honest."
Her expression became solemn as she averted her gaze from him.
"They would have hurt me." she admitted.
"If not worse!" he added.
Strangely enough, his words made sense to her. Though she still couldn't justify murder as a sensible act, not under any circumstance.
But the truth remained; he was right.
If Nicola hadn't have come in when he did, those men would most certainly have raped her, and who knows what else they may have done.
She probably wouldn't have lived through the ordeal, that's for sure!
Nicola spoke again, reaffirming what he had just said.
"Killing those men was a kindness, piccolo." (little one) he announced boldly.
"Not only to you, but to the countless other women unlucky enough to have fallen into the exact same situation. You may not see it now... hell, you may never see it the same way I do. But I can assure you, I did the world a deed of kindness last night."
"And what about the police?" she challenged him.
"You don't think they could have dealt with those clowns on their own, without you having to kill them?"
Nicola chuckled, causing Alexa to frown.
"What's so funny?"
He shook his head, still smiling.
"You still don't get it, do you? It's the Reaper who runs this city. That includes the police."
Her blood almost curdled on the spot at such a ludicrous idea.
There was no way in the world that their city's police force were working under the thumb of a criminal mastermind!
Much less a man naming himself after death itself.
It was inconceivable.
"That's ridiculous." she frowned with a smile of disbelief.
His brows both rose as he too smiled.
"If you stick around with us for long enough piccolo, (little one) you may take that back."
Before she could open her mouth to fire away more questions about the seedy underworld of their city, the office door suddenly swung open and several familiar figures marched inside to join them.
Dante walked out front and as soon as he sighted Alexa, his expression immediately softened into a smile.
"There she is, safe and sound." he mused.
"Did you two find something to talk about in my absence?"
Alexa handed the knife back to Nicola, who quickly pocketed it.
The two then stood just as Dante made his way across the room. He stopped before the woman he hoped would soon become his personal assistant and smiled.
"Now, how about that dessert I promised earlier, hmm?" he urged, holding out his hand for her to take.
Alexa bit her bottom lip, glancing at his hand for a moment before she replied.
"Actually, I was wondering if we could go over the contract instead." she suggested, straightening her posture.
"If that's alright with you, Mr. Romano?"
Dante seemed surprised by her sudden decision to go ahead with his offer so willingly.
Earlier on she seemed so hesitant about it.
So, what had changed her mind in the meantime?
"Just to clarify, you're... accepting the position I offered?" he asked smoothly.
Alexa looked to Nicola for a moment.
Their conversation, even as brief as it had been, opened a new and exciting doorway for her. One that now held her curiosity.
The idea of learning more about something as taboo as the criminal underworld was far too tempting for her to deny herself. And let's face it, the job had far too many perks to ignore as well!
Holding her hand out for him to shake, she replied with confidence.
"Yes, Mr. Romano. I am accepting the position as your personal assistant." she agreed. "When would you like me to start?"
"How's tomorrow?" he replied with a smirk.
