“Hush. I will say this once to all of you. We will operate a friendly, one-screw up allowed policy. That means if you mess up one time, I will forgive you. But if you slip up a second time, I will not.”
The room was deathly quiet. I could hear the traffic outside and the whirring of the air conditioner.
“If you want to know what it looks like when I’m pissed off, then you can urge our friend David here to try his luck, he has already used his first screw up card.” My cold gaze washed over everybody in the room. “And if you think this is unfair, you are very free to complain, I promise I’ll forgive you.”
The first time.
Chapter 17 - Alessandro
My apartment was on the penthouse floor of a five-star building.
It was the whole floor.
My mother had resisted us moving out, her theory had been because our family home was so large, and us staying together was safer. Yet, all of us had a place.
Even Arianna, and she was our mother's favorite.
However, since I'd become Don of the Sorvino family, I had basically moved out despite her reservations.
It was grand and worth millions of dollars, I'd picked it out to be on my own, but there were times when I didn't mind company.
Katya and I were having dinner together. We had been married for days now, but she had her living arrangements, and I had mine.
I hadn't expected her to agree without putting up a fight, but that was exactly what had happened.
So far, though, we hadn't said a word to each other.
I wanted to change that. “I’ve given it some thought, and I think that it would be best for you to move in with me, Kitten.”
“I think that you should stop thinking then, Ales.”
I reached for my wine glass. “Again, with my name, would it not be better to call me something…sweeter?”
Her eyes flickered up to glare at me from across the table, and I winked at her.
“I can call you Alex or Mr. Sorvino. You can pick.”
I chuckled and put down my cutlery. “I suppose Alex will do for now, then. When do you plan on moving in?”
“I’ll set my calendar to remind me next century. I don’t know what part of this arrangement is difficult to understand. It is a marriage of convenience. We married for business purposes, and it was bad enough that I took your surname, I will not move in with you.”
“You changed your name by your choice, Katya, I had no hand in it.”
“Really?” She put her cutlery down and glared at me full on. “Are you sure you did not…I don’t know, go behind my back to speak to my father?!”
This was really getting to her.
I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. For the shit she'd started the morning after our wedding, I didn’t know how this evening would turn out.
I leaned forward with my elbows on the table, pretending that I was trying to remember. “I cannot say that I did you know.”
“Oh please!” she scoffed, reached for her glass of wine, and downed it.
“Well, I didn't talk to him about the surname, but I will say something to him about us living together.”
“You will do no such thing.” Her eyes narrowed to slits.
I scoffed and raised a brow. “No?”