Chapter 41 The Don's Presence
“Well that I'll believe! Madam Paula makes one of the best Chicken alla Cacciatora!”, Isabella said.
Alex caught the slight Italian accent when Isabella pronounced the name of the dish.
“What do you mean one of?!”, Alex asked, quite puzzled.
“My mother also makes the dish!”, Isabella answered.
“Chicken alla Cacciatora?!”, Alex asked, to which Isabella Isabella gently nodded her head.
Finally seeing her chance to infiltrate, Alex probed.
“Where are you from?!”, Alex asked.
“Is Chicken alla Cacciatora the most famous meal there?”, Alex asked again as she sat on the chairs by the kitchen Island.
Noticing Isabella’s silence, Alex decided to use reverse psychology.
“It's totally okay if you don't want to speak about it!”.
“Tuscany!”, Isabella finally answered after a while.
Watching as she prepped the ingredients, Alex opted to engage the conversation then.
“Ohh that's farmy! So you used to live there!?!”, Alex asked, pretending like she'd had genuine interest.
“Yes!”, Isabella simply replied.
“Ouu that means you used to live with your mom!”
“Well, not just my mother! We were so happy! The whole lot of us! Mama, Papa and my four sisters!”, Isabella replied, thinking back to the good times.
The good times which didn’t involve Luciano.
“You have four sisters!?”, Alex asked, feigning false interest.
“I used to get that a lot!”,Isabella mentioned as she watched her outburst.
“What do you mean used to?!”, Alex inquired.
“I mean back when I was at home!”, Isabella said.
“Ouuu! Was that a long time now?!”, Alex said as she gently placed her hand on Isabella's which was on the table.
The check in she hadn't gotten in months was starting to get to her, making her even more vulnerable.
Seeing that she was silent, Alex gently asked, “Is there anything wrong!”
“No, nothing in particular! It's just I didn't expect that I would be here !”, Isabella said as she looked around before looking towards the clothes she was putting on.
“Ohhh! I don't mean to pry, but are you okay?!”, Alex asked.
“Oh no it's fine! I just haven't realized the whole thing weighed on me this much!”, Isabella said as she prepped the chickens.
“Weighed, don't you think that's such a strong word for a job you're working!?!”, Alex asked, confirming the information Luciano had divulged to her.
“Oh no! I'm not doing this voluntarily!”, Isabella said, causing Alex to widen her eyes.
“The Don could definitely do some unexpected things sometimes!”, Isabella heard
“I should probably tell…!”, Alex started as she suddenly stopped upon hearing sounds of tires on the limestone path.
“I think that's the Don!”, Isabella said as she looked towards the main entrance. The thought of Luciano's imminent arrival made her heart drop.
“I think it is too!”, Alex said as she stood up.
“How far along have you gone with his dinner!?!”, Alex asked.
“Well, I'm halfway through!”, Isabella replied.
“Okay! That's fine. Hey! We'll have that discussion later! If that's The Don, I have to usher him in!”, Alex said to Isabella as she turned and headed towards the main entrance.
Isabella didn't need to wonder much, as the distinct smell of Luciano's perfume announced his presence even before he entered the room.
If her heart could drop further, it probably already did.
He scared her too much.
“Ouch!”, Isabella winced as the knife cut her index finger.
She had been too focused on acting normal that she hadn't concentrated on the pieces of chicken she was cutting.
She winced again as she put her finger under running water.
‘What am I going to do?!’, Isabella asked herself as she looked around the kitchen.
Sighting the soap beside her, Isabella suddenly got the bright idea to wash her hands.
She winced as the soap and water combination brought about a sting.
However, she was too afraid at the thought of Luciano seeing she was lazing around.
She quickly went back to cooking, going about like nothing had happened.
The voices suddenly died down as she wondered what was happening.
‘Should I go out?!’, Isabella asked herself as the food was already cooking by then.
Cooking seemed to be a good excuse to stay away from The Don.
Thus, Isabella decided to stay put.
Alex suddenly came in as she was cleaning, quite mesmerized by the aroma of the food cooking.
“Well, that smells nice! How long before it's ready?!”, Alex asked.
“Ohh just a few minutes!”, Isabella replied.
“Oh well! That's fine I guess! I have to run a quick errand for the boss!”, Alex said.
“Ohh okay!”
“I'm really interested in how it tastes so I'll be very grateful if you kept some for me!”
“Oh sure! That's not a problem!”, Isabella said.
As Alex left, Isabella started doing some calculations in her head.
‘Alex has left, so that leaves me with The Don and his assistant!
His assistant doesn't really have an effect on his thoughts, or actions
He'll do what he wants regardless!’, Isabella realized.
Letting out a deep sigh, Isabella readied her mind one more time as she stepped out of the kitchen.
Seeing the door close shut, Isabella turned to see that it remained just her and The Don.
“Would you like dinner now sir!?!”, Isabella asked as she came to a halt directly opposite the couch Luciano sat in.
He typed away on his phone, very much aware that Isabella stood in the living room and had asked him a question.
Speculating that the food would start burning if she didn't take it off the heat, Isabella turned to head to the kitchen.
“Have I told you what I wanted ?!”, Luciano asked, noticing she had moved from where she stood.
“The food might get burnt sir! So I wanted to go take it off the heat!”, Isabella said.
“I'll have dinner here!”, Luciano said.
“Okay sir, I'll go check on the food now!”, Isabella said as she practically ran to the kitchen to turn the heat off the food she was cooking.