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“I insist. It’ll make working much easier for you and Luc. He’ll also have a room here.”
That was news. The urge to look at him to see if he was surprised by that revelation was strong, but I managed to stay focused on Nicole. “I appreciate your hospitality.”
“What will your hours be?” Sofia polished off the rest of her salad while waiting for my answer.
“Um.” I looked at Luc.
“Her mornings will be full, but she can organize her time in the afternoons however she likes.”
Generous. I gave him a slight nod in acknowledgment, warming to the idea of being there. And maybe even to him a little. I still didn’t trust him, but the option of controlling my afternoon schedule sounded pretty good to me.
“Great. I saw you have a small bag with you. We’ll go shopping tomorrow.”
“Ah, I don’t think I’ll be able to do that.” I ducked my head while answering Sofia. I’d noticed their designer clothing. Mine was secondhand. There was no way I could shop where they did.
“Find the time.” Emiliana grinned when I lifted my head. “We’ll use Luc’s card, since he just found out he’s loaded. You can get it from Nico, right, Sof?”
Enzo laughed then whipped an end piece of bread at Luc, whose reaction was immediate in catching it before it hit his face. I waited for the explosion, considering how he’d reacted when he thought I’d cleaned out his accounts this morning. When none came, I studied his shuttered features.What is going on?
The rest of dinner was a blur of food, easy conversation, and laughter. They drank wine like water, while Luc and I were cautious in our consumption. Even though I was in enemy territory, so to speak, I enjoyed everything about the evening. If things had been different, I would have liked to think I would have been friends with these women. But they weren’t different, and I had to be careful.
I slid out of my chair when we were done with Luc on my heels when Max stepped in front of me. “After you and Luc talk about what’ll happen with your job responsibilities over the next few weeks, I would like a word.”
I swallowed audibly and nodded, words failing me. Then Luc had my arm in his giant hand. He led me to a sitting room with fancy couches that looked like no one had ever sat on them. I didn’t want to be the first. A polished coffee table was between the sofas. He nudged me closer to the couch, and with a sigh, I sat, waiting for him to tell me what the hell was going on.
The cushion dipped as he sat next to me then turned so that we faced one another. I halfway wondered if he was on the same couch to stop me from bolting because whatever he had to tell me caused exhaustion to etch lines in his forehead.
I couldn’t help it. I took pity on him and started the conversation by resting my hand on his in a show of support. “What’s going on? Why do we have to stay here?”
“If you stay and help me with the work I need you to complete, doors will open for you at any Fortune 500 company. And when you’re through here, you’re free to go anywhere. I’ll help even you.”
That had its appeal. While I didn’t necessarily love every aspect of my job, I enjoyed the reports, where I could make suggestions from the algorithms and patterns I identified. “Why exactly are we here? Or why are you here?”
Luc scrubbed his face with his palms. When he dropped them into his lap, the exhaustion had multiplied. Then he started talking, and I learned everything. He had a sister he never knew about, the gorgeous platinum blonde with light-blue eyes, which I’d already found out from Lil. His mother had been a Mafia princess who’d gotten pregnant then left him with his father. He’d just found out he was next in line to take over the Brambilla Mafia family as boss.
“Holy crap.” I couldn’t wrap my head around it. “Are you going to do it?”
“I am.”
It was a statement filled with the confidence I’d come to expect from him. “Why am I here? Since you know they had control of your money and I have nothing to do with it”—I narrowed my eyes and jabbed my finger in his chest—“which you owe me an apology for. By the way… why can’t I return home?”
“I want you to stay because I need your help.” He dropped his elbows to his knees, hunching forward. “I have a company to run. You’ll be paid for your work plus overtime.”
“That’s not enough.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You brought me to the freaking Mafia. I want more for the risk factor alone. And not just money. I want your guaranteed protection.”
His eyes narrowed. “Protection from whom?”
“Please.” I huffed out a breath. “I don’t want to stay where I’m expendable.”
“I’ll give you five hundred thousand a month on top of your salary to remain here and stop fighting me.”
My mouth dropped open. I couldn’t even imagine it. I’ve been living in poverty for so long that I never thought I’d see that kind of money in my life. It was enough for me to disappear when I left so that no one could find me. I recovered quickly. “Deal.”
We shook on it, and that familiar jolt of electricity traveled up my arm at the contact. I withdrew my hand immediately.
“I have to ask you if there is any truth to the accusations Edward Cartier made this morning about you.”
“About me?” Everything fell into place. When I saw Luc last night with a man who looked vaguely familiar… it had to have been Cartier. Then this morning, in that scene out front, he’d been talking about me. Horror filled me. “I would never spy for him. I barely know the man and definitely not outside of my job description.”
