Page 37 of Who Said Mobsters Were Scary?
Seeing as I’ve teased him enough, I point to the luxury brand department store. “We’re headed there.”
His eyes scope the surroundings, alert and focused. “Sure.”
I lead us to the clothes section, asking a shop assistant to get the in-store tailor. She disappears for a few moments, and I take that opportunity to pick out a few suits.
“I think the blue would be better,” Leo says, tilting his chin at a nice dark navy suit. He’s right, but he’s also wrong, because I’m not looking for a suit for myself.
“All of Akiyama’s bodyguards usually wear black. Or are you asking for preferential treatment already, Leo?”
He gawks at me and I can practically see the gears of his brain spinning.
Chuckling, I hand him the three suits I picked. “Try this on for me, will you? The shop tailor should be able to do any adjustments before we head over to Evio.”
He takes the clothes, but still looks very confused. “Wait. When you said you needed to do some shopping, I assumed you’d be buying things for you.” He points athimself and raises his eyebrows. “So, why are you gettingmestuff?”
He’s kind of dense and it’s kind of cute.
Crossing my arms, I give him a meaningful, hard look. “As much as I appreciate your effort to dress for the occasion, I really can’t have my bodyguard looking like…” I give him a deliberately heated once-over. “A country rockstar in a dingy bar.
His eyes go wide as he looks down at his clothes. “It’s the leather jacket, isn’t it?” he mumbles to himself. “Should I have gone for the hoodie? I’m not taking advice from Chris again.” Shifting his attention back to me, he mock-scowls. “Chai, I’ll have you know that these are mybestclothes. I don’t exactly have a wardrobe full of fancy suits.”
I hum, adding a few ties to the pile he’s holding. “Who said I only have one wardrobe of suits?”
His face breaks into a massive grin, which he tries and fails to stop. “If you weren’t my boss, I’d smack you.”
He’s right. Iamhis boss, aren’t I? I had forgotten until he pointed it out. He’s just so easy to talk to, and he doesn’t really treat me any differently compared to before. It’s refreshing, and fun too. I’d need to be careful when it’s not just the two of us though. The Akiyama Group’s reputation is a big deal to my father.
I wave Leo toward the changing rooms as the shop assistant arrives with the tailor. While we wait for him, I run through the agenda for the next few days. Aran is handling the access side of things, gyms, training, etc. After I sort out Leo’s suit, we could grab something to eat. There is a nice Indian curry place near Evio. Tomorrow, I’ll take him to the car dealership… even though that should technically wait until after the introductions. But I mean, the contracthas been signed by me and Leo already, and it’s just that my father hasn’t approved it yet.
I do dread that part. Aran is helping me with it, but that doesn’t guarantee my father won’t go back on the preliminary agreement once we break the news that Leo is from America. But, well, that’s why I’m having him accompany me tonight and tomorrow. If things were to go wrong and I happened to find myself in a sticky situation and Leo helped me out of it, then surely that would be a rather convincing argument in his favor, right?
Not that I am planning to do anything dangerous, but I may or may not have let the word slip that I’ll be visiting the dealership tomorrow. I’m sure someone stupid enough will take the bait.
Leo appears from the changing room, wearing the black suit with the black shirt and tie combo. He’s left the vest and jacket unbuttoned and he looks positively mouth-watering. We are about the same height, though I have a couple inches on him that he makes up for in muscle mass. He’s not buff by any extent of the word—he’s more of a swimmer’s body type like me—but his physique is more developed.
“Chai, I’m not sure about this,” he says, spinning around as I motion him to do so. “It feels like it might be too much? I’ve…” He bites his bottom lip, flashing me a sheepish smile. “I’ve never worn a suit.”
I can’t help but stare at him, my heart rate kicking up a notch. He’s never had a suit, and his first ever is the one I’ll buy for him here. It’s a silly thing and it shouldn’t really matter, but it brings me immense satisfaction. It’s like I’m claiming a part of him, of his life, for myself and it feels so good I’m already addicted to the sensation. I needmore of it, the taste overwhelming and not enough at the same time.
“It looks good on you. How does it feel? Can you move comfortably?” I say, gesturing him to spin again and walk around the changing room.
I wonder what else I can snatch. Has he ever tried horse riding? Driving a yacht? Skydiving? Flying with a private jet? Paragliding? Surfing? I’m not really into that kind of stuff, but he seems like the type that might enjoy it.
I’m buzzing by the time he tries the other two suits, but even though they also look good on him and I contemplate buying all three, I settle for the first one. I like the cut and the material. Leo doesn’t protest or complain, even though I don’t let him pick.
“I mean, you know more about these things than me,” he says when I ask him if he’s fine with my choice while the tailor takes his measurements. “And, um, I don’t think you’d pick something that doesn’t look good on me. Or well, I hope so.”
He’s very right. If I’m going to be staring at him for hours on end, you bet I want him in a suit that I like. The one I picked brings out an elegant streak he has hiding behind the wild and easy-going exterior, the contrast making him even more enticing.
Fortunately, there aren’t many adjustments to be made. It takes the tailor about half an hour to tweak the suit, so I make Leo put it on before we make our way to Osu.
“You know, I’m kind of starting to like it,” he says as we ride the elevator down to the street level, checking himself out in the mirrored walls. “I think it makes me look hot in that classy way that you do.”
I move behind him and place my hand at the low of his back. He goes rigid at the contact, but quickly relaxes as I rub circles with my thumb. His eyes cut to mine in the mirror, intense and captivating as they suck me in. His scent suddenly surrounds me, reminding me of mountains and the outdoors. Before I think it through, I lean in and inhale him, watching as hackles rise along the side of his neck.
“You look very handsome, I agree. It’s why I picked this particular cut,” I rasp, exhaling into his skin.
He goes tense again, but it’s not the shocked type of tense. It’s the one where it feels like he’s trying to restrain a reaction or prevent himself from doing something that he shouldn’t. An urge to push him so he does just that rises in me, but before I can act on it, the elevator dings and the doors open.
