"You all know I don't like wasting my time." He paused. His fingers adjusted the cuff of his shirt before he placed both hands on the table. "So tell me… why exactly did I have to wait for all of you?"
The fat man shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "There was traffic on the …"
"Don't."
Alessandro didn't raise his voice. He didn't have to. The single word was enough to make the man stop talking.
"I don't care about traffic," Alessandro said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "If I tell you to be here at eight, you are here before eight. Not eight fifteen. Not eight thirty."
He walked slowly around the table, his footsteps echoing through the quiet room.
Celia watched him carefully from where he stood beside Cas, noticing how everyone followed Alessandro with their eyes.
There was something about the way the people sat before him that made it obvious who held the power in the room.
