Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 65054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“Sofia, this isn’t something that has happened before on my watch, and I promise you that it isn’t going to happen again.”
“Good,” she says harshly. “Because I can’t work for a violent man.”
That pulls a laugh out of me. If only she knew exactly how violent I can be. She shifts in her chair at my reaction and looks me up and down.
“Is there something funny about that?”
I shake my head. “Nothing to concern you, Sofia,” I tell her, because I fully intend to keep my business and my crime syndicate as separate as I always have. She doesn’t need to see what happens behind closed doors.
“It does concern me when you’re punching clients in front of me!” she shouts in frustration. “It concerns me when I’m working for a man I don’t know nearly as well as I thought I did.”
That stings too. For better or worse, Sofia is incredibly observant. She’s gotten to know me well just by watching my routine and running my life these last six weeks. And she’s seen enough to know there’s a lot she doesn’t know.
She’s very familiar with Dominic Vieri, CEO of Vieri Holdings. She knows the man with the hotels, clubs, acquisitions, and billions of dollars in assets. She doesn’t know the other side. She doesn’t know about the money laundering or the extortion or the bribes. She doesn’t know the side of me that keeps men like Kevin Armand scared to even blink at her the wrong way.
That’s the side she’s unwittingly asking to see, and I can’t allow it. It would complicate the carefully crafted life I’ve built.
“You know me well enough,” I tell her carefully. “But I understand if you feel that you can’t do this job anymore. Do you want to quit?”
She looks taken aback. “No… that’s… that isn’t what I meant,” she sputters.
“Are you sure?” I ask seriously. “Because you’ve come in here all fire and brimstone this morning. I get it, Sofia. My life is complicated, and I won’t begrudge you that decision.”
“I need this job,” she answers quietly.
“I’d give you an excellent recommendation,” I go on. “I could even help you find your next role.”
“No other assistant role in this city will pay me what you do,” she says, and I catch the tension in her jaw.
She doesn’t want to admit this to me. She needs the money. I get that life is expensive, but the way she says it makes me think that there’s more than just ordinary bills keeping her up at night. There’s something deeper. It seems I’m not the only one who’s keeping secrets.
“Well, then, we’re agreed,” I say. “You’ll keep working here and I’ll keep living my life the way I need to.”
“Dominic,” she says fiercely, finding her voice again. “I need you to promise that you aren’t going to do anything like that again. I need you to promise me that you aren’t going to go all macho man on any more clients on my behalf.”
“Trust me,” I tell her. “It’s better if I punch them in the face than if you do. My name carries a lot of gravitas.”
She clenches her jaw again. It’s the best I can offer her without giving her a full picture of why no one would dare retaliate against me. She’ll just have to accept that and move on. Otherwise, we’re back at square one.
“Fine,” she says. “Then I’ll have to make sure that I’m not put in a situation like that again.”
I nod.
“That sounds like a much better plan. In general, your safety is much more important than a job. Even this one. So, in the future I need you to abstain from following anyone into a dark corner, even if you think you have to. Always come get me first. That will help avoid any unpleasantness.”
She narrows her eyes, but eventually nods at my request.
“I should get back to my desk,” she mutters, getting up and leaving without a proper goodbye.
I watch her go, then stare at the empty space she’s left behind. This is a clusterfuck. Worst of all, there’s an angry monster inside me clawing at the surface to get out. He’s been very active the last few weeks. Since she started, in fact.
I first noticed it when all the men on our floor were trying to flirt with her. It was easy then to say that I was frustrated because work wasn’t being done. If it weren’t for Rafe and his goddamn nosiness, I might still think that way. He just had to point out how pretty Sofia is, and make the suggestion that I could be attracted to her.
The monster only grew stronger when I saw Leonard Shaw checking out her ass one day. It took everything in me not to fire him right then and there. Later, when Sofia put him in his place, I was glad for it, but I also worried that he would try to retaliate in some way. He isn’t a man who accepts humility easily.