Kara's POV:

I lifted myself from the silky soft sheets under me as my eyes adjusted to the light in the room. Where am I? This isn't my room. I uncovered the sheets from my body. Okay, I'm not naked, that's a good sign. My hands fiddled with the material of the oversized tee-shirt and sweatpants. Thinking back to the happenings of the previous night. Oh right, I must have fallen asleep in Alessandro's place.

When the thought actually registered in my mind, I had a mini-panic attack. I slept in Alessandro's house. I. SLEPT. IN. ALESSANDRO'S. HOUSE. Holding my head in my hands, I thought of the 101 ways that Hannah was going to kill me. I needed to call her right now. Hoping my clutch was on the bedside table, I turned around and thanked god it was right there.

Along with my clutch was a note. I picked it up, reading the note silently.

Dear Kara,

Hopefully you didn't panic when you woke up and had a good night's rest. There's a fresh set of clothes in the bathroom. Once you are ready, come down for breakfast.

- A

I set the note down, picking up my phone to see 34 messages from Hannah. Choosing not to hear her shrieking so early in the morning, I sent her a text instead. The room around me was so monotone, so boring. Everything was one colour, black. So typical for a man like Alessandro. I got up from bed, pulling the jaw strings of my sweatpants tightly and went into the bathroom.

Holy macaroni. I gasped.

His bathroom was mind blowing. The shower had multiple features, with ten different shower heads shooting out water at your command. The bathtub doubled as a hot spring that could easily fit five people comfortably. Everything there was sparkly clean, so organised, nothing was out of place.

Deciding not to keep him waiting for long, I opted for a shower instead of a bath, even though it was tempting to say the least. I hopped into the shower, making it a quick one before getting out. I wore the light pink pencil skirt and white blouse he had set on the counter, folding the ones I used that night neatly on his bed. Wait a minute. Who changed me?

I unconsciously covered my body with my hands, though no one was around, feeling slightly violated. How could he? He's so dead.

I grabbed my clutch from the bedside table and headed out of his room, looking for the kitchen. I heard voices around the corner and headed in that direction, hoping it would lead me to the right place. Bingo.

When I entered the kitchen I saw Alessandro in his classic black tie suit, sipping on his coffee while reading on his tablet. I let out a small cough to get his attention, causing him to look up.

"Good morning Kara," he said, giving me a warm smile, "come, have some breakfast."

"Morning." I replied.

As soon as I saw the spread set out in front of us, my mouth watered and my stomach grumbled in anticipation. A plate was set in front of me as I reached out for the fluffy stack of pancakes in front of me, topping them with a truckload of berries and maple syrup. Food was definitely a way to a woman's heart. Well, mine at least.

I sliced through the stack on my plate, moaning softly as the fluffy goodness melted into my mouth. Feeling eyes on me, I looked up, only to meet those mesmerising gloomy eyes of Alessandro's, seeming very interested in my eating habits.

"Hannah dropped off the clothes for you this morning," he said, changing the subject, gesturing to the clothes on my body.

"Oh."

"By the way, did you change me last night?" I asked somewhat accusingly.

"No, my housekeeper did." He said simply. I heaved a sigh of relief. How awkward would that be? I was slightly happy of the fact that he wasn't a douchebag and respected my privacy.

I continued devouring the food in front of me as Alessandro continued to read through his tablet, occasionally sipping on his coffee. It was comfortable between us which I was glad about. There wasn't any awkward tension or beating around the bush of what happened last night.

"Thank you." I blurted out, "for letting me sleep here last night."

"No problem tesoro. You're always welcome here." He said sincerely before standing up and buttoning up from suit jacket.

"If you're done," he looked at his watch, adjusting his cuff links, "we should head to work."

I set my utensils down, wiping my mouth with a napkin before grabbing my clutch and my work bag that Hannah brought. Before we could enter the elevator, Alessandro stopped me, turning me to face him. He pulled my hair out from the messy low bun I had before, smoothing it out and tucking one side behind my ear.

"Perfect," he said before walking into the elevator. I unconsciously played with the ends of my hair, smiling happily as I walked in after him.

We walked towards Benjamin's car at the front with him opening the door for both Alessandro and I as he greeted us.

"Good morning Mr De Luca, Ms Coleman."

"Good morning Benjamin." We both said while getting into the car.

The moment we got in the car, Alessandro received a phone call. Benjamin rolled up the divider between the driver and the passengers to give him some privacy. I was wandering in my own thoughts when I heard Alessandro getting frustrated, practically yelling into his phone. God I feel so sorry for the person on the other line. It was a miracle how this man could act so harshly towards his employees yet was so loving towards Brooke.

"Someone better give me a fucking good explanation," he yelled into the phone, his hand running through his hair in frustration, pulling at its roots. His hand slid down his face, as he gritted his teeth, fuming in anger.

My body reacted on its own, shocking me in the process as I reached out, grabbing his hand, my thumb rubbing circles on the back. I looked up and saw him looking straight back at me but this time a bit more calmly. However I could still see the storm raging behind his eyes. Thinking he wouldn't appreciate my gesture for a prolonged period of time, I gently began to released his hand.

Instead of letting my hand go, he gripped it tighter, lacing his fingers in mine, as he continued on with his conversation. Keeping my hand in his grasp, I looked down at our intertwined hands, blushing profusely. My heart was racing, daring to jump out of my chest.

Keep it together Kara, I repeated to myself mentally.

Once Alessandro was done with the phone call, he lifted my hand towards his mouth, giving the back of my hand a gentle kiss. He gave me a warm smile before looking back out the window, enjoying the peacefulness before battling the chaos.

-------------

"If you look at section 14, second paragraph, of the report analysis," I explained, gesturing to the documents in front of them, "it is inferred that the success rate has decreased to about 5.6% of its initial outcome."

"Now," I paused, glaring at each one of them besides Alessandro who observed at the head of the table, "how the hell did it drop so much within the span of two days?"

My voice deepened, almost as if a demon had possessed me. All the employees in the room quivered in fear, no one daring to meet my blazing eyes, refusing to utter a word. Except Alessandro of course, who gave me a nonchalant expression, not seeming to be surprised by my authority. Good, I'm glad he understands it too.

"Answer me," I grunted, clicking my tongue against my teeth as I sat back on my seat on the right of Alessandro.

"Th-e-ere, there was a m-mix..." I raised my eyebrows.

"Speak clearly."

"There was misunderstanding between the manufacturing agencies." One rushed out, shutting his mouth right after.

"A misunderstanding you say," I seethed, almost shaking in anger. The one thing I asked them to handle themselves and they couldn't even get that right.

"A misunderstanding happens between friends and it causes less to no harm," I said, calming myself down, "but this, this is no misunderstanding."

"This," I threw the report at the table, "This is pure incompetence."

I was done talking to them. My blood was boiling in my veins, hotter than lava flowing out of an active volcano. I intertwined my fingers together, leaning my head against them as I took deep breaths in and out. I felt a hand on my leg, tapping lightly against my knee. I looked up to the eyes of the beholder, sighing.

"Come up with a solution within the day. Dismissed. " Alessandro said in a dark deep voice as the employees rushed out of the room.

Once all of them were out of sight, my hands flopped flat against the table as my head came crashing down next to it. I closed my eyes, sighing loudly. The calm before the storm. If only there were a thousand Karas, then I wouldn't need to depend on anyone else to get the job done right.

I turned towards him, opening my eyes, looking at him while my head was still on the table. He reached out towards me, his hands gently petting my hair in comfort.

"Don't worry too much tesoro," he stroked my hair, "they'll get it done."

"Before I die. I hope," I replied sarcastically.

He laughed heartily, making me laugh as well. The heavy weight on my chest lifted slightly as I sat back up. He stood up, fixing his suit jacket before grabbing my hands, forcing me to get up. I followed his lead as he pulled my hand, gripping it tightly in his.

"Where are we going?" I asked but got no response.

We headed in the direction of his office as he pushed open his doors, leading us into the room. I walked into the room, heading straight for the seat next to the windows. My favourite spot. Alessandro unbuttoned his suit jacket and shrugged it off, draping it on his chair. He turned towards the bookshelf behind him, browsing over his collections. One must have caught his eye as he picked it off the shelf and flipped through it.

Curiosity peaked in me as I headed to where he stood. However, wearing these nasty slim heels and being the clutz that I was, I tripped over my own feet, sending me straight into his body, crashing into his arms.

"Oops," I blushed, gripping onto his arms for support, "sorry."

"Missed me that much huh," he mocked teasingly as he brought me up into a standing position.

Once I got my footing, I picked up the book that had fallen onto the ground.

"12 Rules for Life," I read the title, "interesting."

"An antidote to chaos." He stated, leaning against the shelf.

"Hmm. Quite suiting for the day we had don't you think?" I said, looking up at him.

He nodded as I set the book down on his desk. He ran his hand through his hair countless times, loosening his tie from his neck. My hands moved on their own accord as they reached out to his tie, making him stop in his efforts, staring down at me. I continued to removed his tie slowly, untangling it from its knot. I bit my lip in frustration, having trouble at certain sections. I unbuttoned the first two buttons of his dress shirt knowing that it would make him more comfortable.

Once I was done, my hands lifted off his chest and back down to my sides as our eyes never left each others. His hand encapsulated my cheek, as his finger ran down my face.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked. Gosh, he's such a gentlemen. I love it.

"Yes," I said, barely above a whisper.

He grabbed my face gently with two hands as he leaned closely, our lips a whisper away, teasing me. Nervousness was bubbling in my stomach, my heart pounding loudly against my chest, ensuring people a mile away could hear its beat.

Deciding not to let him control the whole situation, I leaned forward, placing my lips fully against his, wrapping my arms around his torso. The butterflies in my stomach burst into fireworks, igniting every part of my body.

*****

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