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I smile grimly and follow the tap of her heels down the hallway. "The duration of my job here?"
"Yes. This is just until your wedding to Mr. Xander. It'll be great publicity for us if you work here."
No one had said there was a duration for my job with Amory Corp. The business, literally named after Xander's father, is most probably another money laundering joint, but I wince the thought away from my head.
I already miss the simplicity of my day, spending most of it with Lucian as I always did. Father would never let me work because he was worried about my safety, but his place is teeming with people, Xander's men stationed like statues at the door.
The real truth he would never say, but which I already know, is that women of the mob do not work. Their men keep them at home, like rich paintings, to be shown off when convenient.
Which is why I'm shocked Xander is fine with me working. I guess it makes sense though, since we haven't even signed the marriage contract yet, and I'm not his to control. Who knows what he’ll do when we actually get married, especially if he has to convince his father.
I hope I’ll still work, though. It gives me meaning.
Rosa pushes open the door and holds it for me to step in. Romero tries to step in, but she clicks it close behind us. I watch through the glass as he takes up station just outside the door, displeasure painted on his face.
The office is large and more rectangular than square. It's a corner office with a stunning view of the skyline outside. I settle into the chair behind the large antique desk and swivel the chair to the view.
"What will I be doing here?"
"Whatever you want to do."
I splay my hand over my dress and tug at a bit of bunched fabric, straightening it out. "What does that mean?"
Rosa drops my bag to the table finally as I turn to her. She has a look of perturbed curiosity on her face. "What do you want to spend your time on? There are projects you could indulge in. If not, we'll find what you like."
She really had meant it then when she'd said I was here more for the publicity than anything else. I consider if she knows what the business does, and I decide she probably does.
Xander wouldn't let anyone close to me who didn't understand the business.
Rosa scrolls through the tablet in her hands, then shifts her glasses to her nose and sniffs. "You could take over the charities. No one pays them much attention apart from pumping money into them, and I think that's a blinking shame. We could do so much with them."
She continues without waiting for a reply. "Or you could take over running the PR team. Your wedding would be a nice excuse to release a flurry of photos."
"Rosa. Take a seat." I wave my hand at the chair in front of mine and nod when she hesitates.
She blows a hank of her blonde fringe away from her eyes. "I can find you something else if none of the options appeal to you."
"Tell me about the charities."
Charities, as in there were more than one. How could the Amory family run charities? They’re not exactly charitable people, if I’m being honest.
Rosa hitches her shoulder and shrugs. "Mr.. Xander's idea. That's all we know. He signs the checks himself too. Doesn't say much to anyone about anything. I only know about it because he asked my opinion once. Now, you could speak to him about it."
What is this about?
"I'm to make sure your transition to work is as smooth as possible. You have a need; I'm the person to ask. If you'd rather not deal with the charities like I said, you don't have to.”
I nod. That all sounds reasonable. Rosa opens a folder and glances through it. Without looking back up at me, she holds out her hand. “I'll need your phone too."
I stiffen for a second. "Why?"
She pulls out something that looks like it’s a shiny sticker, and gestures to it. "Mr. Xander requested a tracker be inserted in one of your phones. We could get you a new one if you'd rather have one. However, if you insist on keeping with your current phone, you’ll need to put this in there.”
“Why do I need one?”
Rosa casts me a glare with her eyebrow arched. “Miss Mel, you are aware the type of business your fiancé is in?”
“Of course,” I mutter.
