Chapter IX: Drunken Nights

Salvatore Romano was a man of many talents and even more expertise. Efficient, punctual, quick witted, loyal, and trustworthy.
His father worked for Arcangelo's father, but never obtained the position which Salvatore did. And now, Salvatore worked for Arcangelo.
He joined the Mafia when he was 23, and now being 35, he had been a part of the Regnante household for 12 years.
Upon Arcangelo instatement, he knew that the man could use help from someone who knew how the Mafia worked. So his goal was to help him from the position of his guard. Having known the Boss for 4 years now, he never expected a promotion, much less the acting-second-in-command.
Today was his first day as the second-in-command and for this special occasion, he took out his brand new black Armani suit, already feeling powerful as he walked down the hall. His friends giving him a small smirk before bowing their head to him in greeting. Before making his way into the office, Salvatore picked up all the necessary paperwork, flipping through the contents to familiarize himself with it, before stalking down the hall.
The doors burst open for him as he entered Arcangelo's office, the fragrance of his boss's cologne lingered in the air mixed with freshly ground coffee and a hint of nicotine. For some odd reason, the various smells combined was unpleasant, it felt almost comforting, freezing in place.
Guards were not allowed in the east wing, and this was his first time here.
The room was enormous, with carved mahogany double doors at his back and four large African blackwood bookshelves to his left. The floor was a light wood with a beige velvet sofa set to his right accompanied by a glass coffee table. Behind the sofas was a table equipped with a music system, a large flat screen T.V and a decanter, a shelf containing CDs and vinyl beside it. A blue Persian carpet was rolled out across half of the office before Salvatore looked up. Gawking at the view before him, the wall in front of him was made up entirely of glass with embroidered grey curtains at either end.
The view was exquisite.
Showing off the Italian heights in the distance with white capped peaks, birds flying overhead, a snow-covered flower garden before him with a porcelain marble fountain glistening in the winter sunlight.
Shaking himself out of his stupor, Salvatore cautiously made his way across the room, stepping as if though there were detonators beneath the wood. Exhaling, he stood before the largest desk he had ever seen. It was polished mahogany with a black office chair. Arcangelo's laptop stood in the center, photo frames facing the seat with stationery items at the top, a couple of files beside the laptop with an ashtray on the other side, an empty coffee mug standing isolated at one corner.
With trembling fingers, Salvatore put down the files, inhaling deeply to calm the anxiety brewing inside him. Having nothing to do until Arcangelo arrived he fumbled around with the items on the table, straightening and aligning them.
"I hope I can trust you to do your job right." A deep voice spoke from behind him as Salvatore whirling around to stare at his boss standing in a pinstriped grey suit with a white undershirt, his dark hair gelled back and his cold eyes pinning him in place, a coffee mug in hand with the other slipped into his slack's pocket. "Well, can you?"
Swallowing thickly, Salvatore straightened and nodded. "Yes, sir. I won't disappoint you."
"We shall see about that, won't we?" Arcangelo took a sip from his mug and approached, unbuttoning his blazer as he settled in his seat, starting his laptop before looking down at the filed laid beside him. "Today's work?"
"Yes, sir,"
Rasing an eyebrow at the confirmation, he pulled them towards himself.
"Let's get to work, shall we?"
The day progressed rather smoothly.
Everything was getting done within a matter of minutes and with punctuality. Salvatore took it upon himself to read the documents before debriefing Arcangelo about the matter, and finally having them delivered to their destination, signed and stamped. They weren't even a minute late to any meeting. Arcangelo dealt with difficult matters over the phone, paying a visit every once in a while, and exactly at 5 p.m. his nephew and niece came running in with something in hand followed by a smiling Rosalie.
"Uncle!" The two children squealed as Arcangelo's face lit up with life. Standing, he scooped the two into his arms before peppering them with kisses. "We did baking today!"
"What?" He asked in ecstatic surprise and stared at the cupcakes in their hand. "No way!"
"Yes, way!"
"Amazing!"
Taking a bite of their cupcakes he just couldn't stop praising them.
Rosalie gave a nod of greeting to Salvatore who smiled back at her as they both silently stood to the side, watching Arcangelo entirely change from a daunting mafia boss to a doting father-figure. He played with them before asking if they wanted to stay in his office to which they had said that were about to take the dogs out for a walk with Rosalie.
"Alright," Arcangelo nodded and stood with the two in his arms. "Then let's go wear something warm before I send you two off to a very exhausting activity."
Equipping the two children in fluffy winter jackets, mittens, scarves and hats, he whispered something to them as they giggled. Standing up, he turned towards Rosalie who stood before him in a long overcoat, boots, and a beanie as she gave him a small smile, Arcangelo nodding back in acknowledgment.
"Thank you for looking out for them."
"As I've said before, I get something to do with my time here." She chuckled, patting his shoulder while walking past him and after the kids.
Salvatore watched in amusement as his boss watched them walk away before running a hand over his forehead, seemingly in thought.
"Alright, what's next?"
---
"Cheers!" Men exclaimed as they all clinked their glasses together, huddled around Salvatore who stood grinning with accomplishment.
"Here is to a successful first day on the job!" Salvatore exclaimed as the men cheered in response.
Once he had been dismissed, Salv found himself in the basement bar with Major, Gun, and Hulk, along with Lorenzo, Romeo, and Marcello.
The men laughed and joked as they refilled their glasses for a second time. Drinking, Salv glanced around at the laughing faces, catching sight of Rosalie walking away with a book in hand.
"Rosa!" He called out above the ruckus, everyone falling quiet as they glanced towards Rosalie, who poked her head into the doorway, looking at him with a questioning gaze. "Come, join us!"
An uncertain look overcame her face as she seemed hesitant regarding that prospect. Putting his glass down, he bound over to her with a broad grin and grasped her hand into his own, dragging her towards the rest of the men as they all welcomed her with warm smiles, one of them handing her a glass of scotch.
"Okay, just one drink." Rosalie relented as she drank with a soft smile.
Soon one drink turned into two, two turned into many. And soon enough everyone was laughing hysterically at the most random of things all gathered around one person or the other before they decided to have a little dance. The music blasting through the speakers as they all were completely lost in their own bubbles.
Roughly around 2 a.m. the men started to receive calls from their wives who were all asking where they were. After another drink, they all departed for their respective houses or rooms.
Rosalie giggled as she stumbled through the hallways, receiving amused glances from the guards patrolling at this time as she just hiccupped and laughed. It took her some time to climb the stairs but once she had, she couldn't help but laugh at how everything was spinning around her.
"Shh!" She hissed at herself. "Quite." She slurred before stumbling across the foyer.
Grasping the door handle, she tried to turn it, but her drunken mind couldn't momentarily comprehend how that worked. After struggling with the door for 5 minutes, she finally managed to push it open.
"Ha!" She exclaimed in triumph and glanced around at the bedroom. "Honey! I'm home!" Rosalie resumed to no one in particular.
With furrowed eyebrows, she glanced around the room, looking for any signs of someone before her ringing ears managed to pick up the faintest of music coming from her right.
A grin spread across her face as she stumbled across the expensive clothes in the walk-in closet, standing before the sliding washroom doors, hearing the music louder now.
With a wide smile, she slid open the doors, dramatically standing in the doorway and watched Arcangelo glance up with water droplets running down his face, the water running in the basin as he stood in the steamed washroom, standing naked save for the towel around his waist.
"Hello!" She giggled flirtatiously and openly ogled him, noticing how handsome he looked with his wet tresses messed up, making him look younger. Rosalie's eyes traveled to the tattoo on his broad shoulders, before trailing to his muscled chest, his defined abdomen, her heart rate spiking and her face flushed with the realization that he was absolutely naked beneath the towel. She licked her lips in anticipation as she tried to lean against the doorway.
A shriek escaped her when the door moved back, forcing her to stumble before regaining her footing. Glancing up, she gave Arcangelo a wide smile to try and cover up her failure as he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Turning off the faucet, he grabbed the towel beside him before wiping his face and reached for the small remote, turning off the music.
"Do you realize what time it is?" Arcangelo asked her, watching her walk towards him and trying to look dignified with drunken eyes, ruffled clothes, and messed up hair.
"Do *you* realize what time it is?" Rosalie asked, punctuating each word with a poke to his chest. 
Arcangelo stared down at her with unmoving eyes as she lowered her gaze to where her finger was on his chest, his heat radiating around her with his musky scent enveloping her mind as she swallowed thickly. 
"Oh, my." She gasped and flattened her palm against his chest, slowly sliding her hand down his body, a quiet hiss escaping him at the action.
Just as her fingers grazed the soft fabric of the towel, Arcangelo pulled her hand away, the suddenness having her look up at his hard eyes with flushed cheeks.
"You are drunk." He stated as she continued to stare at him with parted lips, her eyes bloodshot and wide as she felt her stomach churn in discomfort.
"I feel sick." She managed to choke out and placed a hand on her stomach, the other one covering her mouth.
Her eyes widened into saucers as she pushed past Arcangelo, kneeling on the floor and emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet.
Her throat burned as she tried to keep the hair out of her face, before a hand softly gathered all her hair behind her, stroking her back. Her eyes stung as the pungent taste continued to infiltrate her mouth.
After what felt like an eternity to her, she sat hunched over the bowl, coughing and gagging with Arcangelo rubbing her back. Sitting on her haunches, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as Arcangelo stood up, leaving her to feel the lack of his warmth.
He returned a moment later with a wet towel and wiped her mouth, giving her a moment to recompose herself before walking out of the washroom. Rosalie's eyes blurred with tears as the sudden sensation of nostalgia hit her, wanting nothing more than to be back in her mother's arms again. Sobs wracked through her as she wiped at her face, managing to make out the blurred figure of Arcangelo before her, now dressed in a trouser and a long-sleeved shirt.
Crouching before her, he tucked her hair behind her ear as the tears flowed down her cheeks.
"Everything is okay." He spoke to her gently, Rosalie shaking with her emotions. "Just breathe."
After a moment of hiccupping, she tried to control her breathing, slowly calming down.
"That's it," Arcangelo encouraged and stroked her hair. "You'll be alright, no one can hurt you here."
Sniffling, Rosalie stared at him with swollen eyes as he wiped the tears.
"Why don't you wash your face then go and get changed into something comfortable, huh? How does that sound?" He asked her gently, pushing the hair from her face as she couldn't bring herself to look at him, too embarrassed to meet his eyes.
"Okay." She croaked before sniffling.
"Ok." He nodded and stood to leave her to wash up.
Struggling to her feet, Rosalie splashed cold water on her face before looking up at how blotched her face looked with her hair resembling a bird's nest. In a futile attempt, she tried to settle them before going into the walk-in closet.
Seeing it vacant of Arcangelo's presence, she turned towards the racks of clothes and seeing formal suits before finally finding more casual wear folded on the shelves above her. Reaching up, she grabbed one of his shirts before stripping out of her clothes. Pulling it over her head, she stared at how she got drowned by the size of the grey t-shirt.
A sudden yawn tore through her with her eyes growing heavy with sleep. Stepping out of the closet, she noticed Arcangelo standing by the window, staring out at the view as Rosalie quietly went and lay down on his bed. Curling up into a ball, she lay on top of the covers, her gaze on his back before they drooped to a close, allowing her to promptly fall asleep.
Turning around, Arcangelo heaved a breath at seeing Rosalie curled on top of his covers. Exhaling, he knew he didn't have a choice before pulling the duvet over her, watching as she shuffled before cuddling into the comforter. Tucking her hair behind her ear, Arcangelo momentarily loomed over her and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. Sighing quietly, he lay down on his side of the bed, getting under the covers before turning off the lamp which illuminated the room.
He momentarily lay in the dark when he felt Rosalie shift beside him, shuffling closer as she curled into his side. A small smile overcame Arcangelo's lips as he knew all that he would tell her when she came to.
Oh, how he would enjoy tormenting her.