Roberto kept rolling from one side to the other side of his bed. Throughout the night, he tried to sleep, but he couldn’t. Martina’s face kept hunting him in his sleep.
He couldn’t stop thinking about how passionate she was when she kissed him. The way he almost gave in to her kiss and how good the kiss was.
Though he wasn’t sure how a good kiss felt, he knew she was a good kisser.
He hauled the bedspread from his body and exhaled loudly. He turned on his side and checked his bedside clock. It was 7:04 am.
He sat at the edge of his bed and wore his fur slippers. He lowered his head and spoke up:
“I can’t let her filthy kiss get the best of me. It was nothing more than a kiss.”
He stood up and walked to the bathroom. He picked his toothbrush from his toothbrush holder and applied some toothpaste on it.
He moved the toothbrush to his mouth and began to brush his teeth.
He raised his head and looked into his frameless mirror. He stopped brushing and stared at his face. His eyes moved down to his lips and stopped. The kissing scene from the previous night rushed into his head again.
He exhaled loudly, and he stopped looking at the mirror. He turned his back to the mirror and continued brushing.
He spat out the foam and rinsed his mouth and the brush. He raised the right sleeve of his navy blue night robe to check out his wound.
He saw the bandage was still very clean, and he dropped the sleeve. Before he walked out of the bathroom, his stomach grumbled, and he clenched his jaw.
“Vincenzo must have ordered something,” He thought, walking out of the bathroom. He dragged his feet on the hardwood floor and headed to the living room.
He got to the hallway and the aroma of fried chicken filled his nostrils. He arched his brows as his stomach grumbled again.
“He ordered food already.”
Roberto walked briskly to where the aroma came from, and he was shocked to see Martina in the kitchen. His eyes trailed down her tempting body.
She wore a silk night robe too. It was sleeveless and short too.
Her curve made the robe look so sexy on her. Her tiny waist complemented her body shape. Her body shape was like that of an hourglass
As she moved from right to left, dipping the chicken thighs into the egg and throwing it in the peanut oil, Roberto’s eyes couldn’t leave her backside.
Martina turned to carry the plate of bread crumbs when she saw Roberto standing at the door. She jumped in fright and the ceramic plate fell from a hand, making a loud crashing noise and breaking into pieces.
“Holy sh*t! You scared the sh*t out of me, Roberto!”
“What are you doing in my kitchen?” He asked in a cold voice.
“Cooking… obviously. Now I have to make more bread crumbs.” She stared at the bread crumbs that were all over the wooden floor.
“And who asked you to cook?”
Martina sighed and looked at him. She proceeded to walk toward him, and his heart skipped a beat.
“No one has to tell me what I’m supposed to do, Roberto. You need to use your medications, and you have to eat before using them. So, I thought of preparing your breakfast.”
Roberto narrowed his gaze at her in suspension.
“Why is she so caring all of a sudden? Is this a sign that she is trying to poison me?” He thought to himself.
“It will be ready very soon. You should wait in the living room.”
She walked back to the table stove and checked the chicken laps in the oil.
She smiled widely and looked at Roberto again.
“It’s almost ready.”
Roberto walked away without uttering any words to her.
“Vincenzo!” He called, walking down the hallway again. He waited to hear him respond to his call, but he didn’t hear anything.
“Vincenzo!” he called again.
“Mr. Roberto, Vincenzo is with Bruno at the moment. He is helping him dress his gunshot wound.” One of his men said, rushing to him.
“I need him here right now!”
“Yes, sir!”
He ran down the hallway and headed to the room Vincenzo and Bruno, were in.
Roberto walked back to the living room with his grumbling stomach. The aroma of what Martina prepared made him hungrier.
He sat on the sofa and waited impatiently for Vincenzo to arrive.
After a few minutes, Vincenzo walked into the living room and headed to the sofa where Roberto was seated. Roberto looked at him and noticed he wore a weird look.
“Good morning, Mr. Roberto. You called for me.” He lowered his head as he spoke.
“What is wrong with you? Why are you so cold?”
“It's nothing, Mr. Roberto.”
“What do you mean by it’s nothing? Are you keeping something away from me?”
Martina walked into the living room with the tray of fried chicken in her hand.
“It is…”
She stopped talking after she saw Vincenzo in the living room. They exchanged looks, and Vincenzo was the first to look away.
Roberto furrowed his brows as he gazed at the both of them. He noticed the change in Martina’s face after she saw him and the look on Vincenzo’s face when his eyes met hers too.
“I am not hiding anything from you, Mr. Roberto. I am feeling a little sick, and I need to rest.” Vincenzo’s head was lowered as he spoke.
“And when did this start? You were doing very well last night.”
“It started when I went to bed. I woke up to throbbing pains all over my body.”
Roberto wasn’t sure if he wanted to believe Vincenzo’s words. He looked at Martina and saw she was still staring at him. She was yet to put the tray on the dining table.
“Breakfast is ready. You should eat before you rest. We can relocate tomorrow.”
Roberto stood up and strutted to the dining room.
“Mr. Roberto,” Vincenzo called, and Roberto turned to look at him.
“I don’t have an appetite. I’ll eat something later. Thank you, boss.”
At this point, Roberto knew something is wrong. He knew Vincenzo had something in his mind that he refused to tell him. And he guessed Martina was the cause.
“You can go.”
Martina kept staring at him, and she hoped he was going to change his mind but, he didn’t. He turned and began to walk away.
She made the breakfast mainly because of him. She wanted to use it as a medium of apology. But unfortunately, it was going to take more than breakfast to make up for what she had done.
“What did you do to him?” Roberto asked. Martina looked at Roberto and caught him glaring at her.
“What do you mean?” She placed the tray on the table carefully.
“You must have done something to upset Vincenzo. He has never told me he lost his appetite until today. Tell me the truth right now!”
“Why must his bad mood have anything to do with me?”
“I’m not stupid. I saw the look on your face when you looked at him. It was a look of guilt.”
“When did you turn to a Physiologist? I have nothing to do about it. He is your assistant, not mine.”
Roberto stormed to where she was and grabbed her neck. He pulled her closer and looked into her eyes with anger.
“Don’t you dare disrespect me! You are still my slave!”
Martina gulped under his firm grip and tried to nod. He pushed her away and sat on the dining chair.
“Take a bite.” He said to her, looking at the meal.