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“And how will those…skills help you to care for and teach my children?” Mamma’s sharp voice made the woman gulp and her blue eyes widen. I decided to zone out of the rest of the interrogation. It would only be more of the same. Mamma would be drilling the girl to the point she made her cry. It was strange. She has many personalities, and you never know exactly which one you will get. The strong, intimidating, and shrewd Mafia wife or the sweet, vulnerable and comical woman. It was surprising to see she acted in the latter with Olivia. She also had a dark side too. One that she had battled with since the death of my papi. Hence, why we needed a full-time nanny. We never knew day to day if it would be one of her good days or not.
Thoughts of that defiant girl swarmed my mind. There was something about her. She was… different from other girls. It was amusing to see her so flustered out in the waiting room, scrambling around on the floor for her bizarre bag contents. Exactly where I liked my women. On their knees. I'd had a semi from the moment I caught a glimpse of her soft, bouncy cleavage in that cute little dress. But the moment she lifted her flushed pretty face and I looked into those eyes; I knew I had to have her. Maybe it was purely the fact that she seemed so unaffected by me and didn’t cower in my presence like others did. She had a backbone. A fighting spirit, but at the same time, she seemed so innocent. Naïve to what she had just walked into. From the way she dressed in that flirty little summer dress, to her messy, unkempt hair piled on top of her head, she was oblivious to how gorgeous she was. Images of fisting her messy bun in my hand while I dominated her from behind, that dress up around her waist had my dick stirring.
She had no idea who I was. If she did, she would fear me. She would never have spoken to me the way she did. And it only made me want to corrupt her more. The devil in me couldn’t help but be enraptured by her ethereal beauty. She was so naturally stunning. Her eyes. Fuck. Those exquisite green irises that were haloed with an outer ring of blue as well as speckles of gold. But when she opened her mouth and insulted me at every opportunity, the desire and filthy thoughts that entered my mind of what I could teach that smart little mouth to do shocked me to the core. I was floored. Sucker punched. Name the cliche. I had never felt such an immediate intense longing for a woman before. Women to me were beautiful but just a pass time. They never plagued my mind for longer than a few minutes. A way to relieve stress and meet a need. I gave them what they wanted and in return I got what I needed. But this was different… This was dangerous. She was dangerous.
I am Giovanni Buccini. The underboss of one of the largest and most violent and powerful families in Italy, otherwise known as the Mala del Brenta. I am next in line to take over from my zio (uncle), The Boss. And the last thing I needed right now was a distraction. Albeit a beautiful, enchanting distraction. No. She wasn’t even qualified for the job. It’s fine. I won't have to see her again. Life can continue exactly how it was. Making money, fucking and killing. That was who I was. And her innocence had no place in my world.
“We will be in touch,” My mother concluded the interview, and I glanced up to see the woman close to tears. She looked my way but I didn’t give her even an inkling of hope that her plan had worked. She had not interested me in any shape or form and her feeble attempt to seduce me was unsuccessful. She stood up abruptly and left the room without saying goodbye.
Lifting my hand to my face, I rubbed my forehead and closed my eyes. This was becoming exhausting. We had been interviewing for a nanny for weeks now and mamma insisted I sit in on them all, but no one was good enough for mamma.
“So shall I call her?” She leaned back in her white leather swivel chair with a mischievous glint in her eyes. I frowned.
“Who?” I already knew the answer, but I didn’t want to believe it.
“The first one. Olivia Jones. She is perfect,” Mamma said excitedly. The sternness and authority had dissolved and she was in one of her playful moods again. I couldn’t keep up.
“No. She was not perfect,” I groaned, but my forbidding heart fluttered at the lie. She was perfect. The perfect little package. She was curved in all the right places and soft and inviting. Everything about the way she looked screamed effortless femininity, yet when she opened her mouth, she was a lioness. If I was just some normal man who spotted her on the street, I wouldn’t hesitate to make her mine. But she didn’t deserve to be thrown into this world. I couldn’t offer her the kind of thing she would want or need from a man. “She had no qualifications and there was something off about her.”
“Why? Because she is not interested in you?” She teased and my frown deepened.
“I couldn’t care less if she was interested in me or not. She is not even my type. You saw her. She was scatty, unprofessional and stubborn.” I tried to argue with some conviction but failed miserably as my mamma’s smile grew.
“Exactly. She was perfect. She is exactly who I had in mind,” her thoughts seemed to travel somewhere else for a few moments and my dark eyebrows pulled together in confusion. She was up to something. “Think about it, Gio. She does not speak a word of Italian. She cannot understand it. She won’t be aware of what goes on within these walls and therefore, the children will be happy and unaffected. She will treat them like any other children and not the most feared underboss’s siblings. You know I am right. And it helps that she is a strong character. She is not going to take any shit from anyone, and I like that.”
I rolled my eyes and leaned my head back on the sofa. I would never win this argument. When my mother set her sights on something, she would make my life a living hell until I gave in. “That is a problem, mamma. She cannot walk around here causing havoc. She will get herself killed.”
Her painted lips turned up into a knowing smirk as she spun around on her chair. “That is why she will be under your protection. You know no one can touch her if you forbid it.”
I exhaled deeply. It wasn’t everyone else she needed protecting from. It was me.
“Fine. Give her the job on a two-week probation. Let’s see how she handles Soraya and Santino first,” I smirked. My siblings were rascals. They were super hard work and I gave her two days with them before she cracks and hands in her notice like the last one.
“You can do it yourself,” she held her file out to me and I glared at her. Fuck sake. This is the last thing I needed. Taking the folder from her hands, I kissed her on the top of her head and made my way to the door. “Oh and Gio…” I turned and she gave me one of her icy scowls. “Don’t sleep with her. I like this one.”
I scoffed and left the room. I was in for absolute hell.
∞∞∞
Pouring myself a whiskey on ice, I strolled over to my large mahogany desk. It was the only room in the house that wasn’t white and cream. My office was dark. Grey walls, dark furniture and black décor. It reflected my mood when I was at work. It helped me to do what was needed and reminded me of who I had to be when I entered it. With my mamma and siblings, I was Gio. They were the only ones who saw the real me. The very small part of me that was still buried deep within. But most of the time, I was Giovanni Buccini. The ruthless, unforgiving and arrogant underboss. I could never show weakness. I could never let my guard down. After my papi’s brutal murder, I was forced to grow up quickly and take on the responsibility of all the capos under our regime. And I was set on avenging my father’s death. One day soon. I was just waiting for the right time to strike.
I opened the folder and saw the picture of the girl that had been tormenting my mind all morning. How did this happen? How is she the girl my mamma wants? Staring into her unique eyes that held so much depth, I allowed myself to get lost in them. There was something lurking behind her pretty face and stunning eyes. Pain. I would recognise it anywhere because I had it too. Every time I stared into my own reflection; all I saw was emptiness. A void that can never be filled. A wound that will never heal. She had it too. Scanning her file, I read through her CV for anything that stood out.
She lived in a small village called Stratford-upon-Avon outside of London. Went to Niall Tawn High School. Attended university and did a BEd degree in primary education, majoring in English Literature. She was clearly a clever woman from her impressive school grades and essay results, but something didn’t add up. There is a two-year gap between when she finished her A levels and started university. No job or travel, just a blank space. And then there is the mystery as to why she dropped out of university this year and came to Italy. Family circumstances, she had said. That could mean anything. There was nothing alarming about her file and normally I would let something like this go. She wasn’t a threat to our family, but I wanted to know more. I wanted to know everything about this woman. I told myself it was because I was trusting her with the care of the two little people I loved most in this world, but really, I knew it was more than that.
Dialling Antonio’s number, I leaned back on my leather chair. Antonio is my zio, Salvatore's, trusted consigliere. He advised my uncle and me on all matters. He was not family by blood, but he may as well be. He has served our family faithfully for over twenty years and a lot of our success has come from his expert ideas at drawing up the best business deals.
“Ciao Giovanni,”
“Ciao Toni. I need a thorough background check on Olivia Jones. We are hiring her as the kids' new nanny and I want to make sure we have all the information. I will send you over her CV,” I said firmly, speaking in my mother tongue over the earpiece.
“No problem. Give me a couple of days. A new deal is coming through with the Columbian channels and it is going to take up a lot of my time with Boss. He wants you in on this deal, so meet us tomorrow at 9am.”
I sighed, rubbing my forehead again. “See you tomorrow.” This was a deal we had been working on securing for months. The fact that we were close to closing, should make me elated. This kind of deal would bring in millions, but it was dirty money.
Picking up my whiskey and downing the contents in one go, I started to dial the phone number provided for Olivia Jones. The rings resounded through the phone and each second that ticked by made me more impatient. Why was I so eager to hear her voice again?
“Hello?”
