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Locked Away
Giovanni
Iwas having a fucking great day!
I had timed everything perfectly. I knew the kids' schedules like the back of my hand now, so putting off my morning swim until lunch would mean Olivia would be in the kitchen with a front seat view of my workout. I could feel her eyes on me as I propelled myself through the water as powerfully and skillfully as I could. Yes. I was showing off. Course I fucking was. But the look on her face when I strolled into the kitchen dripping wet and out of breath was priceless. It told me everything I needed to know... She was just as affected by me as I was by her. Now I can really start to put my plan into action.
Now I knew about her stepbrother and why she had been putting up a cement wall around her, I knew what I was doing wrong. For the first time in my life, relying solely on my good looks and arrogant charms was not going to work. I was going to have to actually work hard for a woman’s affections. But Olivia would be worth it.
The idea of France came to me last night on my drive back from dropping Olivia home. It would be the perfect opportunity to show Olivia a different side to me. The side that only my family knew. If I was away from work, away from responsibility, I could let go. Or so that was the plan. I have never actually tried to consciously switch off being a gangster before. It was a part of me. But I knew here, in this environment, it was the most dominant part of me. I had to find a way of letting Olivia see that it wasn’t always who I was. That around her, I would be different. And the only way I knew how to do that was to be around my family.
Of course, I was still going to flirt outrageously, torture her with seduction and tease her until she cannot take it anymore, because that is who I am. I enjoy it. I enjoy making her squirm. I love seeing how much she wants me but is fighting so hard against it. It will make it even more satisfying when she finally gives in to her needs.
“Has she signed the contract?” I asked mamma over my shoulder, as she pushed me down the lobby away from the kitchen.
She rolled her eyes. “No, but she will. She has a strong head on those shoulders of hers and she is sensible. She doesn’t want to sign for a year.”
I paused and turned around. “Why not?”
“She doesn’t know how long she is going to be in Italy for. I get the impression it is not permanent, and she doesn’t want to make it so.”
My mood shifted immediately. For some reason, the thought of her leaving or returning to England caused an alien feeling to bubble in my stomach. But what was I really expecting? That she loved it here so much that she would live here forever? That she would work for us forever? I hadn’t really thought about it, but now I was faced with it, I didn’t like how it was making me feel.
“What did you say?” Mamma’s brown eyes were assessing me carefully. She knew me better than anyone. Maybe even more than I knew myself. I knew I couldn’t hide my obsession with Olivia from her for much longer, but I just wasn’t sure how she was going to react. She had warned me not to sleep with her, but technically I didn’t.
“That I would remove the clause about it being binding and make it a flexible contract. As long as she gives two weeks' notice, she can leave when she wants.”
Fucksake. For a persuasive woman, that was a shit agreement! “Why did you do that? You know you could have persuaded her to sign for a year, mamma!”
She tilted her head to the side as she folded her arms and a slow smile spread across her face. “Yes, I could have. But I want her to want to stay because she chooses to. Not because she is forced to.”
Her eyes burned into mine and it felt like she was trying to send me some kind of message through her words. “And what if she decides to leave? We will be back to square one with childcare.”
Mamma shrugged and placed one hand on my damp arm. Looking deeply into my eyes, she whispered, “Then you will just have to give her a good enough reason to want to stay...”
Me? She walked away quickly to her office, leaving me standing in the lobby staring after her. Did she just say I had to make her stay? Was she just giving me permission to sleep with Olivia? I shook my head in disbelief. That woman was as much a mystery to me as Olivia.
Taking steps up to my floor, I had a quick shower and got dressed for the day. On entering my office, I could see my phone flashing red, meaning I had a number of missed calls. Pressing the button, the room filled with the thick, deep Italian voices of my men all wanting my immediate attention. Maximus about a knife fight between two soldiers in his regime that had had a heated argument; Leo reporting that the Leone’s were making a new deal with a Southern mafia family that would bring them millions and strengthen their position; and then last, my zio. He was brief and frank as always.
“Giovanni. Call me.”
Huffing down into my leather chair, I decided to work my way backwards. Salvatore is not someone you could keep waiting, and he would already be pissed that I wasn’t here to answer his call.
He answered on the third ring.
“Si.”
“Boss, it's me. You called.”
“Why have I just been informed by Toni that you have booked the larger private jet to take you to France this weekend? I was planning on using that to fly in the Knowles for a business meeting.”
I sighed, “Sorry Boss. I hadn’t realised. I am taking the family with me to France and need to take the larger plane.”
There was a pause. “Why?”
I knew he wouldn’t let this drop. “Mamma needs it. She has not been so good recently and some time with her children away from this place will help.”
Another long silence. There was some truth behind my excuse. I had been noticing the signs that she was struggling again the last few days and I know that spending time together as a family will help remind her how much she has to live for. But from a selfish point of view, it wasn’t the only reason I was taking the family.
