Word count: 3036
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Rosa's POV
*
Ingrid arrived this morning, alone.
She was supposed to have arrived two days ago along with Dennis but the flight had been rescheduled for today instead and she was the only one that eventually came home.
Apparently, Dennis left for an assignment immediately the plane touched down and she was brought home by a bodyguard so I didn't have the privilege to observe her with Dennis and see how they interacted with one another.
Mostly, I wanted to observe what kind of a lover Dennis was. But maybe I should cut him some slack, since this would probably be his first relationship in a while.
At the moment, I was filling Ingrid in on all that had happened over the time we'd gotten back from Italy and I'd gotten to the part where his godfather brought another lady into our home to replace me if I ever ended up leaving Luciano.
"How can you be so dense, Riley? Do you know who you are?"
I gave her a look, scoffing. "Of course I do. I'm Luciano's girlfriend-"
"No. Come here. Scoot closer." She offered softly while patting the spot beside her and I did as she'd requested, glancing at her perfectly curled edges before looking back at her. "Okay, so this is how it is. According to what I know about the mafia family, you don't get told what to do by anyone except the Beast, my cousin."
"Wait, I-"
"No one can tell you what to do except the Don."
I gaped at her. "Do you even know how much power his godfather wields? Luciano literally sees the man as a demigod. I don't want to disrespect him."
She scoffed. "You're disrespecting yourself and my cousin by allowing him tell you what to do. That's not how this works. Look, according to what we've learnt and even grew up understanding, you can't take orders from anyone except your man. The Don. You're his partner for a reason. You're the most powerful lady and you can literally tell his men what to do. Though, with all I've seen and heard so far, you're not fulfilling that expectation. I bet you stutter when talking to the bodyguards."
"I, well- ugh, this is all so weird to me." I huffed and took a deep exhale. I still stuttered while speaking to the bodyguard the other day.
"Thank goodness I came here. If not, they would've reduced you to a permanent role barely above the maids duties and knowing you, you'd have been happy to comply."
"It's not that bad. I actually enjoy doing things around the house though I only work in the kitchen. That too being once in a while."
"And you got the mafioso code of conduct booklet. Seems you never read anything that was in it."
"Oh." I raised my brows. They did give us such a thing but I couldn't even remember where I tossed it since that time. "I actually didn't read the booklet. I read a little and pretty much figured every other thing out."
Ingrid laughed and got off the bed, planting her right hand on her hip sassily.
"Riley. You are it. You're the queen. You should walk, talk, eat, breatheeee with glamour. You should do every damn thing like a royalty. Command respect in the way you interact with the people here. You are the future Donna, act like it. Go to the kitchen once in a while and interact with the ladies. Let them . Go shopping, go to parties, live the life. Don't tell me you spend the day staying in all day. That's so sad."
"No it's not. I have a life here as well."
"Says the ice princess." She grumbled.
A frown morphed on my face. "What was that?"
"Huh? Nothing." She gave me a smile, avoiding my eyes but I shook my head.
"No it's not nothing. You mentioned ice princess just now." And I could remember my brothers also mentioning the same thing when they were speaking to me the other day they visited.
"Well, people expect you to be one badass kinda person and all, you know? Being Riley Evans and all. Also, you're my brother's woman so one would think you would do things in a uhm, in a badass way."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm badass, thank you very much. Anyway, so what's the deal between you and Dennis? We've been talking about me so much that I forgot you finally got yourself a real-life squishy bear." I wiggled my brows, giggling when her cheeks flamed red.
She cleared her throat. "Nothing much. We're taking things slow."
"So have you guys kissed?"
"Huh? No, why would you even ask that?" She chuckled and got out of the bed, stretching. I stood in front of her and planted my hands on my hips.
"You better don't lie to me or I swear to jah, you won't like what I'll do to you." I warned, half meaning it as my eyes trailed over her attractive body and I wondered where she would be most receptive for my attacks.
She backed away slowly and wrapped her arms around herself, blinking. "Wh-what are you going to do? Stop moving closer. You better-"
"Hah!" I tackled her and started tickling the hell out of her, making her scream in laughter as she tried to get out of my hold. I put my arms around her and pushed her on the couch where I would be able to tickle her to my heart's desire and she began to wheeze as she laughed. "Hahahaha please stop. I'll tell you, I promise. I'll talk..." She coughed.
I heaved a contented sigh and got off her, crossing my arms. "Speak."
"Well," she cleared her throat, still chuckling as her chest heaved. "We kissed."
I squealed, doing a happy dance around the room and giggling. Who would think Dennis had a romantic bone in his body?!
"Just twice though, and it was brief."
"When?! when?!" I screamed the room down with excitement.
"When he asked me to be his girlfriend and when he put me in the car this morning with another bodyguard."
"How did he ask you out?" I asked with a dreamy sigh, shaking my head as a scowl replaced my smile when I remembered how I asked Luciano out. That man had absolutely no class!
"Okay. So, Dennis tortured the guy that tried to gun down Noah and when they were cleaning up later that day, I decided I'd heard enough of the stuff that was being said and tried to sneak out of there. But I was caught. And when Dennis cornered me, he put his hands to rest on the wall behind my head. I...it was stupid but I remember all I could think about as he sternly asked me what I was doing there, was how hot he was. Then unknown to me, I'd blurted it out. The next moment, his eyes widened and he got off me. Then he'd told one of the bodyguards to escort me away from them and told them to keep me in my room. I was so embarrassed to be treated that way so I cursed him out and then he proceeded to drag me to the room himself. And I kept yelling and cursing him for being such an emotionless bastard. Now I realize how childish I must've sounded." She cringed.
I rolled my eyes, far too lost in her story to care about her self review. "What happened next?!"
"Okay. Then as I was screaming my lungs out at him and tried to go out while daring him to do his words, he cornered me against my door and just...kissed me. I was so confused but I kissed him back because I liked him and all. Then after the kiss, I became as quiet as a lamb. And suddenly, I accused him of stealing my first kiss even though it really isn't, since a boy kissed me on the playground in elementary school. So, yeah. After that, he told me he would want me to be his girlfriend because he kinda liked me and for us to see where things goes."
"How exactly did he say it?" I blinked eagerly.
"I would like you to be my girlfriend because I sort of like you. Let's see how things go. Goodnight." She said in a thick voice, trying to mimic the way Dennis usually spoke. "Then he pecked my forehead in this way that melted my heart and told me to sleep early. Honestly I couldn't get any sleep because the scene where we kissed kept playing in my head till the next morning and I had to sleep in."
"Wow. A beautiful love story." I purred and she palmed her cheeks, giggling. "You're staying here for long, right?"
"I guess so. Dennis said he would like me to be with him and asked if there was anything holding me back in Italy. Apart from my cousins and Noah, nothing else was. I was only a part-time teacher at the school I taught so I went to say goodbye and they gave me a short send forth. Then we agreed I would stay here till he gets his own place, that's if it's necessary too because this place is large and I wouldn't mind sharing a room with him. Yes, I have no shame." She giggled again and I heaved a dreamy sigh, hoping all would be well with them.
"So what do you think I can do about the dummy that was brought to replace me?"
"Has she done anything to upset you since she came here?"
"Nope. She only walks around and chats with the maids, the bodyguards and the security men. To be honest, I feel somehow about it. I don't chat with them. When they see me, they even dodge. They avoid the kitchen."
"That's about to change. Get changed. We're going to the market."
"Huh? Why?"
"To get stuffs. I'll explain later."
I did as she instructed and took the credit card Luciano gave me. I hadn't been been making use of the credit card all this time. I just never left the house so there was no way I could go shopping and stuff."
I had two bodyguards follow me and Ingrid and we left the estate. It felt surreal. I never knew I could tell them what to do and have my orders obeyed.
We went to the clothing store first, where I got nice clothes. I was skeptical about spending too much until I remembered that the clothes in my wardrobe cost far much more than the ones in this store so I shamelessly spent my man's money. Next, we got a few sets of underwear and finally went to get our nails done.
Then we went to the market. I'd never been here before. Well simply put, I couldn't remember ever going to the market.
When I was with my guardians, they did the shopping. At the orphanage, the sisters did the shopping and here at the black mansion, the maids did the shopping.
We got foodstuff, ingredients, fruits and all sort of vegetables.
After stiffing them into the booth and the backseat, we headed back home.
As I chatted with Ingrid, I realized for the first time ever, that I wasn't worried about being gunned down by the enemies. It was fun.
When we got back home, I called three of the maids and told them they would be joining me in the cooking. Paula and Diana. They were surprised but wordlessly began cooking with me and Ingrid.
I'd gotten five frozen turkeys because we would be having a feast. It would feel more like a thanksgiving dinner.
"So how do you like working here?" I asked the ladies and saw Ingrid giving me a thumbs up.
"It's great. Boss treats us well and we usually get bonuses."
"That's good. Our plans for you guys is to enjoy working with us and also do your best in doing your jobs. So, why do you guys usually stock the house and do the chores very early in the morning before I get out of bed?" I asked them, curious about the thought that had been nagging my mind for a while.
"You don't like it when we move around the place." Paula said. She was the older maid and looked docile but had fierce eyes that told me she would be a strict and somewhat disciplined person.
But her words surprised me. I'd never even spoken to the maids here before. Well, maybe except one of the maids...
"Me?" I asked.
"Yes. You didn't like us working whenever you got back from-"
"Riley? The water has overheated." Ingrid called me and I quickly carried the large pot of boiling water, pouring it on the turkeys so the fat and other dirt would easily float away from the meat.
After sorting out the turkey, I turned back to the women, completely lost. What were they even talking about?
"Yeah Paula, I'm with you." I told the brunette and she gave me a look, clearing her throat with tense shoulders. "Relax, okay? We're merely chatting. You don't have to be so stiff. Beside, it's not like I can hurt you or something." I chuckled and picked the vegetable to rinse before I start slicing them.
"What Paula means is that, the boss told us not to disturb you. He believes you might get upset if you see people working around the place because you aren't used to it."
I frowned but nodded nonetheless. I couldn't understand why Luci would tell them not to disturb me if they were just doing my work but I wouldn't worry about it anymore.
We prepared turkey with a large plate of vegetable soup, curry soup, some seafood, white rice, por roast and homemade fruit juice.
Ingrid had handled the pot roast, enriching it with a mixture of potatoes, carrots, onions, some garlic and ginger spice with a full cup of red wine. It looked delicious and smelled even better.
I had Paula call in the other maids to clean the dining before the plates, coolers and pots were then neatly set at the center.
Then I sent a message out to all the bodyguards not on duty. Luciano had made sure enough bodyguards were left at home and some had recently been transferred from other states to guard the house till he gets back.
Sigh, I miss him.
The room was full before I knew what was happening. I handed out trays to the maids and they went out to serve the other men all in their designated stations.
The room though, had pin drop silence as everyone ate, looking guarded. I'd even dished enough for each maid.
"So you all must be wondering why I made such a feast. I don't even know most of you all and that's because we never interact. Guess what? That's about to change. From now on, a roaster will be created for all the maids. I need to know when each and everyone of you is on duty and you will resume your daily duties from seven am. No longer four at dawn when you should be sleeping. Paula and Diana, you'll assist me with this. I want to know which bodyguard is stationed in the house and which isn't. I want to know how you guys work around here. I've been busy with my studies and didn't have time for this. Now, I'm not trying to out you guys under pressure here. I just want to know how you guys operate and do your things. Let's all start eating." I walked over and began to pour juices in each glass cup, feeling my cheeks heat up because of the amount of people I'd just addressed.
Where did I get the confidence from?
As if the bubble had burst, the men all suddenly began to talk and make jokes amongst themselves though they still made sure their voices were not too loud. The maids were all over the place, carrying this and that, some eating, some chatting in groups as they ate and discussed the ingredients I'd used.
Then Ingrid dragged me to the kitchen and hugged me, squealing. "That's my future Donna! Keep this going and you'll be entertaining ministers before you know what." She chuckled and even pecked my cheek.
The rest of the day went by like a blur. When I asked about the other lady, they told me she hadn't left her room since morning and I sent a maid up to give her dinner. Why don't you kill them with kindness, huh?
Ingrid and I spent the rest of the week occasionally walking around the estate when I wasn't studying. We would sometimes join the maids while they cooked in the kitchen. Once they told me about the things they needed to get and I learnt it was either Dennis or Nico that had been taking care of such things.
Writing a list or other things needed to make the mansion look more aesthetically pleasing including changing of curtains and flower vases, I transferred some money to Paula sent her to the market with a bodyguard and two maids.
I saw the other Riley only once and she'd been talking on the phone at the time but after she was done with her call, she'd retired to the gym where I noticed she spent so much time.
Throughout this period, I didn't get even a single call from Luciano.
I miss him.
*
What do you think about this chapter?
How do you think Luciano and the others are coping at the moment?
We've not heard from Keanu in a while. He's building a strong foundation for Luciano's empire in Asia and trying to gather allies at the moment.
Let's hope everything works out fine XD