DECEPTION | MAFIA ROMANCE | SMUT

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Honestly, I loved it. I could get used to working from here, with the well-stocked minibar and wall-mounted television screens.

I might buy a pool table for the billiard region. It will give Roy Petley's one-of-a-kind Tower Bridge painting company. Yes, it's back home, where it belongs. Alexa nailed it to the feature wall behind the desk.

"Timothy Andino's casino is no more." Alexa, wearing a white long-sleeved blouse tucked into a black high-waisted maternity pencil skirt paired with open-toe high heels and statement jewellery, slid envelopes with examples of gold-plated three-dimensional company signs isolated on black backgrounds down the conference table. "Sovereign is now the legally registered business name and the syndicate's official port of call."

"I approve." Tonight, Vincent is a slightly more relaxed version of his usual professional business style, with sleeves rolled up to the elbows and a suit jacket flung onto the back of a chair. "Is the casino licensed to sell alcohol and provide gambling facilities yet?"

"Nate sorted the gambling licence." Alexa read Nate's handwritten notes. "He also left safety and hygiene certificates and a copy of the liquor licence for us to check." Her stare skittered over the brothers. "It is strange without Nate present. He loves fatherhood, though. I visited yesterday to lend a hand with the baby."

I nursed a glass of Jameson, but a joint would be preferable. "Will he hire a nanny?"

"I imagine so." Her sleek, long dark hair was pulled into a tight ponytail. "He has to get back to work eventually."

Nate is missed amongst the brothers. A man of his remarkable skill set is incomparable. When he is unavailable, tricky tasks and work-based responsibilities weigh heavily on the shoulders of others. His curriculum vitae is unrivalled, and without him, the institution suffered. I had to rely on temps to conduct assignments he'd normally handle.

Josh's cursory eyes swept over the certificates. "Where do you plan on storing important documents and, for lack of better words, unmentionables."

He meant drugs and firearms.

"There is a clandestine panic room behind the bookcase," Alexa informed everyone, and naturally, the antique walnut bookcase, carved with ornate decorations, showcasing classic hardback editions, became the cynosure of inquisitiveness. "Ignore the paperless books. They serve misdirection purposes only."

A panic room.

I am impressed.

"The safe is in here." Alexa unlocked the secret door disguised as bookshelves to reveal yet another door. "It is bullet resistant, with ballistic steel discreetly infused inside. It can only be opened with biometric scanning and locks automatically." Then, with her back holding the door open, she let us have a glimpse of the panic room: solid mahogany furniture, gilded fixtures and dark leather chesterfield sofas parallel to the office's masculine interior. Warren is going to love the new man cave. "Brad, Vincent, I want you both on the biometric system. No one else is permitted access without my husband's authorisation."

"Rude." Josh handed her the certificates, and she dumped them inside the panic room until later. "I earned my bloody stripes. Why can't I pose for the scanner?"

"You have no reason to go in the panic room without Brad present anyway." She entertained the lad's witty remarks. "I am sure, when necessary, you will be in there with your feet on the coffee table."

"Absolutely." Josh picked up the pattern sample book. "What is this for? If you plan to repaint the office, I vote for pink walls, white furniture and soft, fluffy rugs."

"Josh, be serious for once in your life." Alexa gave Vincent a burgundy red velvet swatch. "And to answer your question, I am not redecorating the office. The sample book is for the casino. Think regal and majestic: floor-to-ceiling curtains, crystal chandeliers and jazz music."