Chris

He was the boss of the Italian mafia officially.

Since Cassandra Oxford's parents died in that supposed plane crash, and I have become The Consigliere of the Italian mafia to become the new boss. And I say, supposed fall, because Mr. and Mrs. Oxford, former bosses of the mafia, died in an attack on their enemies. The only thing that was known about the Oxfords' death was that a gunshot had killed both to the head. The deal I had with them was that, if one day they died, I would be the new CEO of all their companies. And, beyond running his companies correctly, I also had to be close to his daughter, Cassandra Oxford, to take care of her, to protect her with my own hands, since she did not know the real and dangerous life that her parents had.

When I arrived at the Oxford funeral, I felt sorry for Mr. and Mrs. for they had both been very good to me since I was little. I trained in the mafia from the age of fourteen, learned to fight, to shoot, improved my reflexes, studied, and even graduated from a prestigious law school in Italy. Mr. Oxford was always a great mentor and friend of my father and promised me the incredible position of The Consigliere of the Italian Mafia as a favor to my father if I graduated from law within the stipulated years.

One of the laws of the mafia is that The Consigliere graduates at twenty-two years of age, and that is what I managed to do after much effort and study. But I never imagined that Mr. and Mrs. Oxford would die so soon, leaving the top job to me. Not only was that my position now, but I had to protect Cassandra Oxford, their daughter, with my life.

I noticed his presence in the front row of chairs at the burial. I was walking slowly to the chairs in front, noticing the sad air that every burial had. I didn't like to say it, but since I grew up, I've had many burials in my life. The mafia wasn't a game, and even though our mafia gang was incredibly strong, not all our fighters made it out alive.

I took a seat in one of the rows, recognizing that girl's dark hair. I didn't see her face, but I knew she was beautiful. His posture seemed beautiful to me. I paid attention to the father bidding farewell to the Oxfords, but I completely lost my concentration when I felt someone was looking at me. To my right, Cassandra Oxford's eyes were waiting for me to penetrate mine deeply and disturbingly. I always knew that she was beautiful because when her father traveled to Italy, he always showed me a new photograph of Cassandra, but the photos did not do justice to her beautiful look, to her beautiful face.

From my place, I could feel the sadness that abounded in Cassandra's eyes, and I wanted to get up and walk toward her to give her my condolences, but it was not the time to do so. Worst of all, today I was going to have to sit down with her to talk about the leadership of the Oxford companies because on Monday morning I was going to have to exercise the position of CEO and she had to be aware of this, so as not to be uncomfortable surprised to see me in the chair that her father used to occupy.

I folded my arms, but I gave a smile to the beautiful girl who was looking at me and I turned my attention back to the father. I didn't see Cassandra again until the ceremony was over, but I knew she was watching me for a while. I went straight to my car once they started burying Mr. and Mrs. Oxford because I did not want to witness such a heartbreaking event. Of all the funerals I had had to attend in my life for members of the mafia, this was undoubtedly the most painful for me, because I greatly appreciated the boss.

"What's wrong, Mom?" I answered my mother's call.

"How's everything going?"

"Good. I'm still in the cemetery. Soon I will go to the Oxford mansion.

"Be very careful, Chris. You know our enemies are stronger than ever. And don't forget to protect Cassandra. She needs you a lot now.”

"I will protect her with my life, Mom. Even if she doesn't know me, I won't let anything bad ever happen to that woman.”

And he meant it. I came here to take the position of CEO, but, above all, to take care of Cassandra Oxford.

I waited for Cassandra's limousine to follow the car discreetly. As of today, my duty to care for her had begun. I didn't enter the farewell meeting that was being held at Cassandra's house until two hours after it began. I looked for Cassandra to talk to her, but I didn't find her until I found her in the mansion's kitchen. I found her with her hands covering her face.

I sat next to her, but Cassandra didn't notice my presence. I stood there with her, next to her, listening to her sigh repeatedly, as if she were tired. She was very sorry for her loss, but even if she thought she was alone in life now, that was not the case. She would never be alone.

That beautiful woman, now she had me. Although she didn't know me, I knew her. I knew more about Cassandra than she could imagine.

Her beauty was so shocking, I knew I was going to have to use all my strength not to fall in love with her. Perhaps, that was going to be the battle that I would have the hardest time fighting.