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Chapter Five
RAVEN
Working on a Saturday wasn’t my best idea. I woke with a cruel hangover and a dry mouth, which resulted in me heaving over the toilet for at least half an hour. I couldn’t eat breakfast, so I left twenty-minutes late with an empty stomach.
I’m thankful Vinn’s nowhere to be seen, and I get stuck into a pile of filing that’s been building up for weeks. I then make some calls to potential new dancers for Vinn’s strip club. That business is doing so well, he hired a club manager to take over the daily running and he now puts most of his time into this place. I arrange some interviews, and I’m still in Vinn’s office putting them in his diary, when he arrives. My stomach does somersaults, which adds to the hangover, and I feel physically sick.
Vinn hangs his jacket by the door, unfastens his cuff links, and rolls his sleeves. He’d do this right before he was about to pin me down and fuck the life out of me, so the somersaults soon turn to butterflies, but then he takes a seat at his desk, paying no attention to me. “Can you do that later?” he asks coldly. “I have calls to make.” He’s never asked me to leave his office. Never. I nod and make my way out. “Close the door,” he adds. Another thing he’s never done.
I sit at my desk and pretend to tap away on my laptop, but in truth, it’s not even switched on. My heart aches. I never got like this when I was with Chains. Sure, I liked him, but not like this. I knew Leia was right for him the second I saw them together. Then when I had the stupid fleeting crush on the Pres, I found it easy to turn my feelings off once Anna told me straight to stay the fuck away from him. But this, with Vinn, it’s different, and I hate he’s ignoring me. I hate his distance. I occasionally glance through the window to his office, seeing him in deep conversation on the phone. I decide to occupy myself with work, because I can do this. I can get over Vinn Romano.
* * *
It’s almost eleven o’clock when he surfaces from his office. He stands at my desk, holding out a piece of paper, and I glance up from my computer. “This is Sofia’s list of things still to do for the wedding. I thought I’d take some of the pressure off and finish it.” I take it and stare at the scribbled list. “If you could make it a priority.”
I stare wide-eyed. “You want me to do it?”
“Yes, you are my assistant,” he says dryly.
“I don’t think it would be appropriate,” I say, handing it back.
“In what way?”
“Vinn,” I sigh, “I know you’re mad at me, but punishing me by rubbing my face in your wedding plans is a little childish, especially for you.”
He glares at me, and I’m reminded of why men cower at his feet. “Raven, I pay you to do a job. If you can’t do it, then stop wasting my time.”
I gasp. “I do a damn good job, but planning your wedding isn’t in my job description. Hire a wedding planner. You can afford it.”
He places his hands on my desk, leaning closer. “I think you may have forgotten who the fuck I am. You do what I tell you to,” he hisses. “Now, get your coat. We have business to attend to.”
I stare at him a few seconds, thinking of all the ways I want to tell him to get fucked, but instead, I smile sweetly, grab my coat from the back of my chair, and stand. “Great. Let’s go.”
* * *
I bite the inside of my cheek so hard, I taste blood on my tongue. “I hope you’re not too hungover.” Vinn smirks as he drops the lump of flesh to the floor. It splats and I swallow the vomit threatening to appear any second. Gerry holds out the man’s arm, as he’s too weak to put up a fight, and Tommy slices another chunk of flesh. I didn’t bother to listen when Vinn listed the guy’s wrongdoings. It’s usually a drug dealer on Vinn’s patch or someone trying to move in on his deals. Vinn wipes his bloody hands on a cloth before straightening his tie and shrugging his jacket back on. “Next job.” We leave Gerry and Tommy to deal with the man.
Vinn drives like a maniac, darting in and out of traffic. I miss Gerry’s driving when he’s like this. “You’re very quiet,” he notes. When I don’t respond, I feel him look over, his eyes assessing me. “Are you not well?”
“Just tired,” I mutter, staring out of the window.
“Drinking until three in the morning with a stranger can do that.”
I spin my head to look at him and instantly regret it because of the nausea. “You were spying on me?”
“Checking you were safe, Corvo. There’s a difference.”
“He’s with the club, why wouldn’t I be safe?”
“He’s unstable. His brother just died.”
My mouth falls open. “How do you know that?”
“I’m Vincent Romano, I know everything.”
“Don’t spy on me. I don’t like it.”
“I’ll always watch over what’s mine.”
