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“Would you mind showing me?”
She smiles and walks around the desk to access my computer. I roll back a few inches in my chair, not standing up to let her take the seat. She leans forward on the desk and starts working. I know how to add a function to a spreadsheet, it's a very basic thing to do. Instead of watching her stumble her way through explaining it, I focus on her ass right in front of me.
Daniella is curvy in all the right places. The skirt she's wearing is tight enough to accentuate all of them. All I can think about is ripping it off her and pulling her into my lap, feeling her soft body up against mine. I'm so carried away in my thoughts that I almost reach out to touch her, but I stop myself.
When she's done showing me how to add a function, she turns around and asks me if I got it. She has to ask me twice before I am focused enough to answer her. Just thinking about her makes me hard, and it's noticeable. She notices the bulge in my pants and her eyes hold on to it for a moment before she looks back at me, with bright pink cheeks.
“Thank you, Daniella,” I say, leaning back in the chair, not ashamed of how I’ve reacted to her. “Enjoy the party.”
She says goodbye and walks out of my office. I watch her leave, rubbing the palms of her hands on her black skirt as she moves farther away from me. I think about walking up behind her, pulling her hair to the side, kissing the silky smooth skin on her neck, and hearing the gentle moans escape her throat while my hand grips it.
As soon as she steps on the elevator, I unbutton my pants and pleasure myself to the thought of her. I’ve been turned on since the first moment I laid eyes on her, and the frustration is becoming too much.
When I finish, I wash my hands and head back to the party.
It’s still in full swing when I arrive. It’s almost like I never even left. Employees and family members stop me to thank me for their bonuses and make small talk about holiday plans, but I brush past all of them as quickly as possible. I want to give Daniella space at the party, but I want to make sure she’s in sight.
I watch her mingle with some of the women in the office. They laugh and help themselves to the drinks on the table. She seems to be integrating herself well, which is a relief. I can only hope the other women warn her about what men to stay away from. One of the hazards of working in my line of work is the shady people you can wind up around. I don't like to associate myself with people who would hurt an innocent person, especially women or children. But there are a few people who I've unfortunately not been able to get rid of. Getting them out of the family would mean they could potentially end up working as an informant against us. I can't risk that.
Paulie walks into the party after about half an hour, and it catches my attention long enough for me to lose track of Daniella again. He sees me staring at him and approaches me. Any annoyance or frustration he feels is hidden behind a big, fake smile. We’re in front of everyone else in the business. They can’t see any signs of animosity between us.
“Can we talk?” he asks me, nodding his head to the side exit in the room for us to sneak out of.
“I’d love to, Paulie, but it’s about time for my toast,” I say before I slip away from him and make my way to the small stage erected at the end of the room. Truthfully, I do need to talk to him. But there’s a time and a place for the discussion we need to have, and it isn’t right here. The suggestion itself annoys me, so leaving is the best option for me anyway.
I tap on the microphone a few times to get everyone’s attention. While I’m above everyone, I scan the room looking for Daniella. I don’t see her right away and feel myself getting nervous. I convince myself that she’s just in the restroom or out of the room or a phone call.
“Thank you all for coming out here today,” I begin my toast, raising my glass high for everyone to do the same. There is a long pause while the kitchen door opens and Daniella walks through it with a tray of food, apparently helping one of the servers. “It’s been an incredible year for us, and I have all of you to thank for it. I couldn't have asked for a better team to help me run this place. As you all know, I've grown up here and I've known most of you since I was a baby, and I'm happy all of us could see the success together. All of you are my family, and I'm proud of each and every one of you. It means the world to me that all of you support me when times are tough, but I know that we can get through anything together. So here's a toast to family, friendship, and all of our success!”
I flip the switch on the mic and everyone in the room goes back to what they were doing before I interrupted them. Daniella walks back to the kitchen, carrying a few empty trays. I don’t see a server she’s helping, so I wonder if she’s just cleaning up on her own. But then I notice the last person I want to see near her. Tyler. He’s an enforcer, someone we use as muscle frequently. There’s always been something about him that rubbed me the wrong way. Unfortunately, being the leader of a crime family means being forced to keep the company of some bad people. If I do confront him, I could have a rat on my hands.
Tyler follows Daniella into the kitchen, and without giving it a second thought, I jump off the stage and make my way there.
4
DANIELLA
I’ve always felt overwhelmed at parties.
I love the idea of them, especially holiday parties, but the crowds of people and commotion bring up unpleasant memories. Now that I’m here undercover, my paranoia has gotten the better of me. I’m alone, surrounded by people who have possibly committed heinous crimes in the past. My job is to get evidence against them. If one of them has any clue who I am, my life could be on the line.
I almost didn't go back down. I just thought it would look a little suspicious if I distanced myself so much from the other coworkers so soon after arriving. People keep introducing themselves to me, and I already know who most of them are thanks to the studying I did before arriving, but I have a hard time focusing.
All I can think about is what happened in the office before I left. Dominic made no attempts to hide how he felt. I've never seen a man react to me that way before. My head is still spinning, and I feel like I'm permanently blushing. I like it. While I was there, standing in front of him, I wanted more.
Dominic promoted me because he’s drawn to me, and I can exploit that to get what I'm looking for. I feel bad for even thinking that. It feels wrong to deceive someone that way, but I'm here on a mission and I have to keep that in mind.
That’s why I slip away to the kitchen. I scope it out before going in. Thankfully, all the cooks are too busy to notice me. After that, I just grab some old trays to use as an excuse to go back. I need to send a quick message to my sergeant, letting him know what’s happened. I’m confident in my skills, but I’m in over my head. Working for Dominic is not what I was sent here to do.
The cooks don’t notice me slipping through the side door. The air is chilly, and I want to go back inside as soon as possible, so I pull out my phone and type a quick message to my sergeant. I manage to send off the text message when someone walks through the door behind me.
“Texting your boyfriend?” he says. It’s not a voice I’m familiar with at all, but when I turn around, I recognize him instantly. Tyler Fredericks. Our informant told us that he goes by the nickname Brick sometimes. As he walks up to me, I can see why.
He’s huge. His shoulders are broad, and his neck is thick enough that I don’t think I’d be able to wrap both hands around it if I tried. With the look in his eyes and the fact that we’re both standing outside in an alley alone, I get an unsettling feeling in my stomach. I’m already mentally running through all the ways to fight him off.
“No.” I laugh, quickly putting my phone in my pocket so he can’t see what message I’ve sent. “My dad is sick and I just like to check in on him when I can.”
Before starting today, my sergeant had me study everything I could about the DeLuca family and their underlings. I know all too well what Tyler is capable of, and I know I needto get inside. I’ve taken countless self-defense classes, both personally and professionally. If it comes down to it, I might be able to fight him off, but it would leave him wondering where I learned to fight so well. As much experience I have fighting, he easily outweighs me by 200 pounds and is just as skilled in fighting.
