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My brothers made fun of me for my ritual, but it soothed me. None of them had a clue what it was like to be me. The underboss of the Boardwalk Mafia. Casino and hotel manager. I had thousands of people working under me, and I didn’t have the time or energy to waste trying new things.
After eating breakfast and showering, I stepped into the hallway to meet Ava. I assumed she would be late again. That girl didn’t respect my time.
But she surprised me by standing beside the elevator five minutes before nine. She wore a red knee-length dress that hugged her curves, paired with a black cardigan. Her legs looked long and lean in black Louboutin heels.
Fuck, she looked good.
But I didn’t have time for women. And yet, I was stuck with the thief’s daughter for the foreseeable future. Well, until I could prove both of their guilt and get rid of them.
With her arms behind her back, Ava smiled. “Good morning, Mr. Luciano.”
“You’re on time,” I commented as I hit the button to call the elevator. “Are you still up from last night?”
She shook her head, and her dark hair fell in front of her eyes, forcing her to tuck it behind her ears.
I tapped Ava’s back to push her into the elevator when the doors opened. “Unlike when you spend time with my brothers, today you will work. All day and night.”
She leaned against the mirrored wall and rubbed her red glossed lips together, drawing my attention to her mouth. “So I’m your shadow for the day?”
“Yes.”
I had to look away.
She was too fucking tempting, and I didn’t want her. The second we uncovered her father’s deception, she wouldn’t be breathing anymore. So there was no sense in getting comfortable with a dead girl.
“What are we doing today?”
“Whatever the fuck I tell you to do,” I shot back as we exited the elevator on the ground floor.
“Well, aren’t you a ray of sunshine in the morning,” she quipped. “It wouldn’t kill you to be nice to me.”
I stopped in the middle of the hallway. “Let’s get something straight, Miss Vianello. I’m not your friend or your fuck buddy. I’m your boss. And you’re here to do a job for my family. Do you understand me?”
She inched closer to me, and I wanted to walk away. But for some stupid fucking reason, I let her invade my space.
God, she smelled good.
Like grapefruit.
“Do you know what I think?”
“I don’t care what you think.”
Ava giggled, unaffected by my attitude. “I think you’re a very busy and powerful man, and you work too much.” She moved her palm to my chest. “And I think you need someone to relieve your stress.”
I hated that she tried to use sex to make me like her. That shit worked on my brothers, but it wouldn’t fly with me.
I shoved her hand away. “Don’t fucking touch me. You don’t know what I want or need.” I continued down the corridor toward the ringing bells and sounds of people winning, which annoyed me even more. “You’re young. A little girl who’s still trying to figure out what to do with her life.”
“I’m not a little girl,” she challenged with anger in her tone. “I’m turning twenty-two in a few weeks.”
“Do you know what I was doing when I was your age?” I focused on the casino ahead of us, and she followed my lead. “I was running a crew of men and going to war for my family. And I had two young boys to look after when I wasn’t working. You don’t even know the meaning of responsibility, Miss Vianello.”
“Would you please call me Ava?”
“No.”
“Dante,” she groaned. “I hate when you call me that.”
