Gael's Naughty Angel: A Mafia Prince Romance

Chapter 463 - In Which It Was All Up To Him Now

Gael smiled at Angela and reached out to her as he came closer and then pulled her towards their little group. "Babe, this is my friend Savannah. Sav, this is Angela Su."

Savannah gave her a once-over—from head to toe as if assessing her—before smiling and saying, "Hello," and nothing else.

Angela kept a stoic expression and a slight smile as she returned the greeting.

From her periphery, she could see Gael and Giovanni exchanging nervous glances. Then Giovanni cleared his throat, looped an arm around Savannah's shoulder as he said, "Savannah's the best lawyer I've ever…met." He cast a dirty smirk towards her.

Savannah rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest before glancing at her watch. "Are we doing this or what?"

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

"The airplane food was subpar, I didn't finish it. Now, I'm hungry. I need to eat to function properly or you'll deal with my mood the whole day."

Angela could at least agree with her on that. She still didn't know what to make of this acquaintance with this woman before her. There was something dodgy with Savannah, even though Angela couldn't put her finger into it. It was probably wrong of her to judge the other without getting to know her first. But for Angela, first impressions were important. And the premise on this one wasn't good.

"Come on, Gael. Let's go get Sandro," said Giovanni as he began maneuvering Savannah towards the office. Then he grinned at the woman he got under his arm. "Don't worry, Sav. I'll feed you." He took her away and disappeared behind the office door.

Angela took a deep breath and released it a little harshly. She didn't know why she got so worked up about a woman she had just met.

"What's wrong?" Gael put his hands on her shoulders then languidly stroked her arms as though soothing her.

"Nothing," she answered almost instantly; she surprised even herself. What was wrong with her today? She couldn't even look him in the eye.

When he didn't respond, she glanced at him, and he gave her a pointed look like he was saying, "Bullshit. It's not nothing. You're so obvious."

God. Her stomach fluttered in guilt. She had been bothered and cranky ever since she woke up from that nightmare; the smallest thing made her sensitive. Angela knew she could trust Gael, but she couldn't help feeling uneasy. She was having a bad day. Reluctantly, she muttered, "Should I be worried?"

His hands stopped at her elbows, and he cocked a brow. "About Savannah?"

She didn't answer, but the blank and waiting expression on her face said it all.

Gael took her hands and kissed the back of them, then stroked his thumbs against her skin. "No. Nothing is going on between her and me. We're just friends."

"She's very touchy…as a friend." Her voice was clipped.

"Y-yeah… That's her thing." He briefly glanced at the closed door. "I hope you noticed I did try to move away from her earlier, but she can't help herself."

Angela did see that, and that was why she wasn't really mad at Gael. She should drop this now, but she vowed to always tell him the truth—or at least whatever was on her mind. So she told him, "Well, I don't like it."

He looked into her eyes and cupped her face with his hands, his long fingers framing her head. She instantly softened in his touch, her brows relaxing. "You have nothing to worry about, baby. I only have eyes for you and no one else."

She nodded. He leaned in, pressing his lips to her forehead. Then when he pulled away, he explained, "Her touching isn't…sexual—at least not with me…or Gio—sometimes, I think? Like I said, it's her thing. Something happened to her when she was a child, and touching reminds her that she's not alone or something like that. Gio knows the whole story, but I don't. That's all."

Hearing Gael say that made Angela feel the acid in her stomach rise to her throat. It was uncomfortable. It felt as if she did something terrible to someone innocent. If that was true, then poor Savannah.

She bit her bottom lip. "Well, now that makes me feel shitty because it looks like she has trauma and yet…I still don't like it."

The corner of his lips curved into a smirk, making him look sexy that it was annoying to see on his face while she felt guilty.

Gael gave her a small, understanding smile and squeezed her shoulders. "I understand. It was weird the first time I met her too. Then… I just got used to it over time. I'll keep my distance from now on when I can."

Angela shook her head and released a sigh. "Forget it. She's your friend. I believe you. I'm just being unreasonable. I don't know what's wrong with me today. I'm sorry." 

"No…" He shook his head once. "Never apologize for your feelings, love. They're valid." Then he tilted his head to the side and then claimed her lips. His kiss was gentle and reassuring as if reminding her again and again that she was his only one.

She nearly melted in his arms, and if she didn't remember where they were, she would have probably dragged him into a bedroom. A child's laughter from a distance snapped her out of it. When they broke their kiss, he smiled at her.

"You going to be okay for a while? We won't be long."

Angela felt better now. That kiss shooed away her worries. "I'll be fine. I'll just be in the kitchen with Alice and Nonna."

He moved his lips towards her ear. For a second, she thought he was going to tease her not to burn the house down, but then she felt his smile against her skin, and then he whispered, "Have fun," before he disappeared into the office.

***

For the past twenty minutes, Gael, Alessandro, and Giovanni talked about contracts and some businesses that Savannah handled for them. They signed papers and discussed the course of action regarding some things that needed to be dealt with. Then finally, Savannah began to talk about KMH's 2% share that she had been investigating the past few weeks.

"I find no other evidence since. I really tried. Makarov is our only lead. I would have approached him already, but circumstances changed with Gabby being married to a Morelli now, so I'll have to ask. What do you want me to do next?" Savannah probed, running her stare among the three men.

Alessandro and Giovanni exchanged a look before they directed their stares at Gael. Then Alessandro nodded to his son, "It's your call now."

Gael let out a sigh, rubbing his fingers across his forehead. In the beginning, the other 49% ownership that belonged to Morgan was supposed to be shared between Gael and the SVR Corp. But in the end, Alessandro told his son that this was his chance to get out of the family's clandestine business. Going legit would take a long time, and Alessandro didn't want to burden his son anymore.

A week ago, Alessandro told Gael, "I didn't force you into this life. Your mother wanted you to live the life that you wanted. I'm so proud of what you've become, son. So I'll be right behind you every step of the way—whatever your choice may be. If you still need the rest of the funds, we'll do as we agreed, and I'll give it to you. But I know you can afford the whole sum if you let some of your properties go. Besides, you can buy more of those later, but this opportunity might not come again. So what's it going to be?"

Gael eventually decided that it would be the best move for him. He'd be set for a lifetime and accomplish his goal earlier, which was to steer away from the family business—even if it meant not actually reaching his other goal—that is to turn it completely legit. 

Although this would be solely Gael's purchase, it still involved his family because they were trying to drive Perri out of New York—with less blood possible. 

After thinking silently for a moment, Gael looked up and met three pairs of eyes from people waiting for his answer. Then he said, "Let's set up a meeting with Makarov. Make it so that the Pakhan won't know about it.." No matter how much he wanted that 2%, Gael had to be careful not to put Angela on her grandfather's radar.