Chapter 17: After Effects

**D O M I N I C**

I was having a meeting in my office when I suddenly heard Jade shouting in the hallway.

A few seconds later, I watched as she stormed into the room, leaving the large armed bodyguards and Jee-min at the door with defeated looks on their faces. She ignored Vincent and Quintin's shocked expressions as she slammed her palm down on my desk.

"Seriously Dominic? No kissing on the first date? What the hell!" Jade all but screamed in my face.

Vincent and Quintin looked at each other knowingly and cleared their throats. Shifting in their seats, they pressed their lips into thin lines, I could tell that they wanted to laugh, but I knew that they would not dare.

Exhaling calming, I replied nonchalantly, "It's for your own protection.

Now if you'll excuse me, I was in the middle of something very important."

I tried keeping my irritation at bay as I continued, "You need to remember that you aren't a little child anymore, Jade. You can't just waltz into the middle of my meetings when you feel like it, it's not cute at this age."

Jade narrowed her eyes at me, ignoring my last comment, "I can kiss whomever I want to, Dominic. If you don't want to, Cristiano is more than willing!"

I do not know why, maybe it was the condescending tone in her voice. But either way, hearing those words caused me to snap. Roaring loudly in exasperation, I got up so suddenly that my chair flew back. I walked around my desk, my right hand seizing her upper left arm in a tight grip as I stared down into her eyes.

"Be careful not to start a war with me, Jade, because you will lose!" my voice was low as I warned, "Now stop embarrassing yourself and go to bed!"

By now, Jade was fuming. Her eyes were glassy as she looked up at me. She roughly wrenched herself free from my grasp, the skin already bruising.

Looking back at Vincent and Quintin before glaring up at me, Jade yelled out in frustration and stamped her right foot before running out of the room.

"What the hell do I pay you guys for, huh?" I asked Jee-min and the others who stood by the door.

"Sorry boss!" they replied in unison.

"Cazzo!" I cursed in Italian before grumbling while shaking my head, "I really am getting too old for this!"

Vincent and Quintin looked at each other again in silence, unsure whether it would be a good idea to speak or not. As a result, they decided to keep their mouths shut until they were addressed.

Smart choice on their part, because I was absolutely fuming. Running a hand over my face, I turned to Quintin, "Go make sure that she doesn't do anything reckless."

"On it!" he reacted quickly and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Sitting up straighter, Vincent asked, "Don't you think that you might have been a bit too harsh on her?"

Making a clicking sound with my mouth I replied, "She's a woman, they usually get over these things."

Vincent scoffed as he shook his head, "Unbelievable..."

"What?" I questioned as I sat back at my desk, "You know how I am."

"Oh yes, you don't have to remind me," Vincent replied with a slightly raised eyebrow before continuing, "I just think that you should hurry and make a decision where Jade is concerned."

I shuffled some papers, my eyes focused on the images printed, "And what decision might that be?"

Vincent leaned forward in his seat, "Come on, Dominic, she's been with us since she was six years old! She's going to be a target whether she's with us or not. I mean, we could set her up with the son of a Don from one of the mafia families from the neighbouring cities once she's graduated from university. Some have already expressed interest in wanting to form an alliance through marriage, but I know that you have feelings for h–" Cutting Vincent off, I fired back defensively, "Don't even finish that sentence! I do not have feelings for her!"

"Right... Yet you've let her get away with so many things these last few weeks. Not even I have the privileges that she does, and I've seen you shoot men for much less. Not to mention she's the only one you actually let touch you. Like really touch you. I've seen her bare hands caressing your face for crying out loud!" Vincent paused, then his voice lowered, "Could you imagine if that sort of information got out?"

Exhaling deeply, I leaned my head back, closing my eyes, as a pained expression came across my face while listening to my right-hand man's words. I knew better than anyone that a person's weakness could be used as leverage.

"I know that you might think it looks bad, but you're not her father, Dominic. Okay yes, you took her in and kept her safe within the organisation. There's nothing wrong if your protective love evolved into something more, it happens. But she's an adult and has grown into a remarkable young woman. You can't keep her from living her life," Vincent stated.

With my eyes still closed, I replied, "Gods, you're sounding like Tolstoy and O'Doherty."

"Don't you dare demean what I'm trying to say! I speak more about her as a person, not as a wet hole to plough. You and I both know that Jade is much more than that! Jee-min has trained her well. I mean, have you seen how she handles a knife and a bow and arrow? Not to mention the way she wields a gun, she's practically a pro. With some more training I think she'd make a good sniper!" Vincent recommended.

"I said no!" my eyes popped open, "I don't want her getting involved in the business!"

Recently, I had been secretly observing her training progress, admiring how fast she had adapted to using the higher calibre guns. In our world, it was very important to know how to handle a weapon. Even though I did not want her involved, I was happy and extremely proud to know that she would be able to defend herself, if it ever became necessary.

"So why did you make that arrangement with her going to university then?

I'm confused, Dominic, what is she supposed to do?" Vincent asked, his eyes focused on my face.

Inwardly groaning, I stared back at him and remained silent.

"You don't want to explore your feelings; you won't let her explore hers. You get moody at the thought of her being with someone else. And from your facial expression, I can tell that you'll probably keep stalling to let her join the organisation once she graduates. So... What are you expecting of her exactly? To just sit here at home, bake brownies and look pretty?"

Vincent raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to answer. I did not answer immediately, my mind wandering off at the thought of Jade's brownies. She usually baked up a storm and the men always flocked to the kitchen like children. At my silence, he added in disbelief, "Seriously Dominic?"

"What? Can't a gangster dream? I just want to keep her safe!" I argued, slightly annoyed that I was being lectured.

"The best place for that, I think, is at your side. It's obvious to me that she clearly loves you, and we both know how that emotion can make people do stupid things. I don't even want to know what she has planned to win you over," Vincent countered.

At his words, I took out my switchblade and began fiddling with it, "There's no plan! Didn't you see how she stormed in here tonight? I doubt that she loves me like that, she probably doesn't even understand what she's feeling.

From the look on her face, she seemed genuinely upset about not getting to kiss young Cristiano. I think that she might actually like him, which is good. I won't come in the middle of that."

Even as I said the words, I felt an uncomfortable sensation settling into the pit of my stomach.

I was confused by what I was feeling. After all, this was what I wanted for her, not so? I wanted her to be with someone her own age, someone not connected to the darkness associated with the mafia.

Yet why did I hate the thought of her being with Cristiano?

My hand tightened around the hilt of my blade as I tried to process what I was feeling. This was why I had never been one to deal with emotions, it was too messy and I had seen it inhibit many mafia bosses in the past.

It was easy to have one's judgment clouded when emotions got involved, and I had no plans of jeopardising everything I had built on something that might not even last in the long run. Too much was at stake for me to lose it all over something that I did not even understand myself.

Shaking my thoughts away, I continued, "If she has a chance of genuine happiness, away from our shit, I won't hinder it."

"Fair enough," my second in command said, not bothering to push the issue. I visibly relaxed as I looked at my blade.

"Cristiano seems nice, but I couldn't find much on him..." Vincent added with a stoic expression, "Although I'm not sure if that's good or not. In our line of work, such a spotless record usually means you're either really clean or you're hiding something."

"Well, it just means we'll have to keep a permanent eye on him now, won't we?" I suggested.

"Will do, boss," Vincent replied.

Putting the knife back into my pocket, I huffed out, "Alright, enough chit chat. Let's go over the details again about our delivery date with Sallaku."