Cold Brew and Bullets (Part 1 of the Syndicate Series)

Alessio:

Sleep had been evading me much more lately and I was still in my office when the sun rose, so the last thing on my mind was a date. Leonardo eventually knocked on my office door, looking freshly slept with his new pile of paperwork. He raised his eyebrows, "Please tell me that you slept recently, and you're going to shower before you meet up with your date."

"My what?"

"Did you forget about your date with Lucia?" He stared at me in exasperation. "I don't want to be the one to tell your mother you forget about your first and only prospective relationship."

In complete honesty, it had slipped my mind and now my entire inner dialogue was just a string of profanities. I wasn't particularly interested in this specific woman, but I wanted to get it over with and I rarely missed appointments that I made.

I sprung up from my desk and began loosening my tie, "I'm going to go grab a shower before I head out, the coffee place is close to the park, right?"

"Yes," Leonardo nodded. "Since you're meeting her this morning you can always use the excuse of work to step away, just say you have a midday meeting if you literally can not think of anything to talk about."

I nodded but hurried out of the room to take my shower, knowing that my right hand man would be able to take care of things for a couple of hours. It was a fast process to get ready and dressed back into my normal suit and tie, but Leonardo had told me to lose the jacket. I couldn't seem to part my tie, however, it felt odd to not have something around my neck. The car ride wasn't long, but I felt exasperated with the situation. This should have been the last of my concerns, and while I felt completely in control and without nerves, I didn't want to be on my way to make small talk while my men were in danger. One was still in the hospital, if not in my office, I should have been there.

Nevertheless, I parked my car and stepped onto the street, locking it behind me as I walked toward the coffee shop. The park was only a block over, so I figured that I would just walk when I was done there. It was still and odd feeling to be walking alone without any of my men or security in public, I usually didn't leave the building because I was so busy, or because it wasn't very safe. Even with the Russians getting aggressive, I could at least risk it for an hour or so. I would go crazy if I didn't set foot outdoors soon anyways.

As I neared the door, my phone vibrated with a text from Leonard, letting me know that Benvolioan was showing signs of recovery and should be waking up soon. I immediately responded with quick instructions to make sure that he was completely protected and two of my men were staged outside of the room to guard him.

I locked my phone again as I reached the register, but when I finally looked up I was caught by surprise. The girl standing there wasn't anything that I had expected. She didn't flinch back at the glare that I knew had become permanently etched on my face, but for some reason I found myself wanting to soften it just long enough that I wouldn't scare her. She didn't seem to need it, though, and she continued to give me a grin that didn't seem to meet her eyes. It was good enough to probably fool other customers who would glance her way and move on, but something about her eyes was distant. I had gotten good at reading people, in my line of work it was a necessity, and if I could get anything from this girl, it was that the smile was rehearsed, not learned. She hadn't done it much naturally, she was only reflecting what she saw other people do.

However, I was also very aware of how I came across. Leonardo, the only one of my men who could say something critical or instructive to me, had often told me to change my face especially in public so that I didn't look like I had just murdered a puppy.
When she asked about my order, I realized that I had no idea what I should get my date. My brooding face and stance didn't seem to faze her, she was patient and playful while she called on the other waitress to help figure out what I should get, and for some reason it didn't annoy me, it was actually rather calming. I was slightly puzzled and distracted by my own behavior and I almost forgot to get what Leonardo had recommended. "A friend of mine also recommended getting the girl some cake, I think it was lemon?"