Chapter 5

Daphnée looked at Alessandro and asked, “So, where are we going now?”

Alessandro, who she met over two hours ago, frowned. He had given her all the documents on the club that were translated into English on the jet and she had read through everything.

They had also been to her apartment, which overlooked Milan, and it was empty. He thought it over and said, “We need to get your shopping done as soon as possible.”

She nodded her head slowly and asked, “What is bitch in Italian?” 

He raised a brow and said, “La Cagna or la puttana.”

She pursed her lips and asked, “What about fuck you?”

“Vaffanculo,” he aswered.

She nodded her head and asked, “How about go kill yourself?”

His brows knitted as he answered, “Vai a ucciderti.”

“And I will kill you?” She again.

“Ti uccidero. Why are you asking me this?” He questioned her.

“One thing my mother taught me is that you need to learn the swear words first and especially the words, I will kill you in a different language,” she answered.

He nodded his head as he looked at the road and said, “I will never let anyone hurt you and if someone disrespects you, that is asking for death.”

She shook her head, not really caring about it. He looked into the rearview mirror and said, “You also will receive a gun, and you’ll need to know how to use it.”

She looked over at him, then chucked the documents to her side and sat forward. She gazed at him intently and asked, “So, if I need to learn how to use a gun, why are you here?”

“Extra protection. We have many enemies, the French, the Irish, local gangs and many more. We own much of the market and many are not happy about it. You will be targeted too and you will undergo training comprising possible scenarios,” he explained to her.

She thought about it and asked, “Like what?”

“Like getting kidnapped,” he answered her, and she went silent. Daphnée shook her head and sat back in her seat, they kidnapped her but were going to train her to deal with her kidnappers and asked, “So when will all of this happen?”

“You run the club at night and during the day you will undergo training and meet the other members of the family if they do not visit the club to meet you,” he answered.

She looked out of the window and asked, “Will you be with me until I am done training?”

“Yes, even if the boss needs me, I am to stay by your side,” he answered.

Daphnée looked out of the window and saw a restaurant and said excitedly, “I want to go there. Let’s go eat.”

Alessandro slowed down and looked at the place she pointed at. He shook his head, saying, “If you want to eat Italian food, we have a few restaurants.”

She tsked, “Fine, just take me there.”

“I need to inform them you are coming first,” he said with a smirk. She was feeling fine now and hungry. Italian food sounded like music to her ears.

He pulled a black envelope out of the glove compartment and handed it to her. “Your credit cards, government documents, visa and phone are in there and I must warn you, do not contact anyone from your past life. Daphnée Lefebvre no longer exists. You are now Daphnée Bardi and if the boss gets wind of you even trying to contact your friends, there will be trouble.”

She poured all the contents onto her lap and looked at the phone. It was basically empty, and she did not need it. She looked ahead of her and said, “Why don’t you keep my phone then and answered my calls.”

He shook his head. “You need to answer it when it rings, not me.”

‘So some people have my number already?’ She picked up her identity card and looked at it. Everything was basically the same except her surname and asked as she recalled, “Why do I have the same surname as Dante?”

Alessandro looked into the mirror at her as she was flipping through everything and said, “It was the madam’s idea. She did not like the women courting her son and thus said you should be her daughter-in-law by name and hopefully, the flies will disappear.”

Daphnée’s brows shot up and almost yelled, “I’m married?!”

*

They arrived at the restaurant and she looked at the name on the window and did not know what it meant. Alessandro took her hands in his and she asked, “What is this place’s name?”

“This restaurant has been in the madam’s family for over one hundred years and it has five branches, it is called, ‘Family’s home’ in English,” he explained to her and the door opened by itself but to her surprise, it was a waiter who opened the door. She looked at him and was going to speak to him, but he had his head bowed and as she looked around beside the patrons, the other employees had their heads bowed, too.

Alessandro leaned in and whispered into her ear, “It is rude for the employees to see the boss’s wife without her or his permission. You are literally our queen and can throw any command at us. I suggest you use a commanding voice.”

She looked at him, baffled, and he did not move. Even now, the patrons were looking at her with curious eyes and slightly annoyed.

Shaking her head, she took in a deep breath and said, “Thank you all for welcoming me at such short notice, I hope I am not disrupting you.”

“Certainly not, my lady. You are welcome here any time,” the manager answered as he stood at a doorway.

Daphnée smiled and said, “Well then, everybody gets to work, no slacking. I’ll be keeping a close eye on you all.”

“Yes, my lady,” they said in unison and snuck a peek. Their brows rose in surprise, never expecting that their big boss was the type that liked big women.

They were shown to a private room where the manager saw to them personally. 

“What would you like to eat, my lady?” The middle-aged man asked respectfully.

Daphnée smiled at him and said, “Seafood please, five different dishes.”

“Right away.” he bowed and left.

Daphnée looked at Alessandro and asked, “Are you not going to eat with me?”

“I cannot,” he answered.

“Well, you are making me uncomfortable and you need to explain some shit to me. You need to help me get rid of the food as well,” she said, pointing to the seat opposite her.

He smirked, then sat down. He looked at her and she asked, “All you men do is smirk, smile a bit.”

She got no response out of him, so she continued, “Tell me more about this, Mrs Bardi, that I am supposed to play.”

“Well, once everyone finds out about you, they will want to meet you,” he said.

She thought about it and asked, “So what should I say when I am asked how we met?”

“I do not know the details but it should be among the items I gave you,” he explained

She nodded her head and said, “So, why didn’t he tell me about it himself?”

“He does not need to since it is all pretend,” he answered.

“Yeah, I was just fucking threatened, end of story,” she complained and the door opened. The manager came in with a basket of bread, champagne, and a bowl of boneless wings. He bowed and said, “Your food will be out shortly, my lady. This dish is new on our menu and we would love your opinion of it.”

Daphnée opened her mouth to say something, but held back and waved him away. When the door shut, Alessandro commented, “Impressive. You learn quick.”

“I naturally speak too much,” she said.

“And it is best to keep your tongue, especially in front of the madam. She saw your picture and said, ‘Although she is a big woman and owes us money, her looks are natural and you can tell by her smile that she will love you with everything she has.’ The madam did not choose you in the manner you think but judge you on your character which she observed,” he explained.

“You all speak of the madam. What about her husband?” She asked.

“He was killed and our boss almost died. Till today we do not know who it is and that happened when the boss was sixteen years old.” He answered.

“That is a terrifying enemy,” she muttered under her breath.

“Who is lucky to have escaped from the boss’s wrath, now my queen, eat before the food gets cold,” he smirked.