Hey guys! At the beginning of each chapter, I will have a dictionary of foreign words used in the chapter by each character. Most will be french due to Simone. But, Please! Do enjoy and don't forget to leave a comment or vote!! <3
irrésistible = irresistible
l'amour = love
petit déjeuner = breakfest
loups = wolves
lourdaud = oaf
mon amour = my love
l'autre moitié = other half
appeler le plombier = call the plumber
"Ms. Carter, your father wishes to see you."
"Yes of course Dina, may I ask what for?"
"Um, he didn't encompass any uh-, details, Ms. Carter." I sighed, waving her away from my office door as I finished off signing on a random document.
The trip from my office to the elevator wasn't long, my assistant following closely behind me with stacks on top of stacks of documents. She kept rambling on about a meeting I had tomorrow with a few of the company's assets, the repetitive reminder becoming white noise to my ears.
"Dina, please have my lunch with Mr. Daniels today canceled. While you're at it, clear the rest of my day, I'm going to be busy." Dina nodded at me, running off to her desk which was placed right outside my office door.
I slid my card into a chip reader, the elevator granting me access before I pressed the button that led to my father's floor. My heels clicked obnoxiously against the marble flooring, the few employees on the floor letting their eyes trail my every move.
"Amara, please sit," My legs crossed atop each other as I followed my father's command, " in two weeks, I'm to be on a plane headed to Moscow."
"What for father?" I questioned, Moscow being out of the ordinary for our company.
"Well, for business my love. Once I leave, I need you to stay here and run things. Can you do that?" He tilted his head with the question, my nerves spiking under his harsh glare.
"Yes, of course." I nodded with reassurance, my hands clamped tightly together in my lap. Nerves plowing through my body full force.
"Good," he paused before his next sentence, examining my body language, " this means that you will be handling our business with the Bresciani's, can you do that as well, daughter?" I gulped heavily at his statement, my skin crawling at the name.
"What good of a daughter would I be if I couldn't handle this, father?" his face remained impassive, up until he pulled his lips into a bright smile, standing and waving me closer to him. I stood with a smile of my own, hugging him quickly before leaving his brooding office after discussing more details of his leave.
My hands shook the second I was back in my own office, the nerves racking my body became too much. The Bresciani's are the leaders of the most ruthless mafia to ever roam this city's streets, and my father happened to be involved in such 'activity'. Giovanni Bresciani was a cruel man, but he was a man of his word, always following through with his promises. I didn't know that much about his family, only that he had a wife who was just as vicious as him, and a son who was known to be worse than both his father and mother.
And now, I had to continue our business with this man while my father took a trip to Moscow for some most likely illegal reasons. I was so screwed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Simone, you only arrived in the states yesterday. How can you already have a date?" I spoke questionably into my office phone, my foreign friend scoffing on the other end of the line.
"Amara, I am what you American's call irrésistible. How could I not already land myself a date l'amour?" Simone spoke in and out of the English language, taunting me with his overly attractive accent.
"You mean irresistible. Simone, you've got to keep your pants on for now okay? I invited you here because of my big meeting, now you're canceling on me for a silly blonde you met in an airport." I sighed, as I placed the phone on speaker, giving me the access to comb together the loose papers that littered my desk. My father had left on his plane to Moscow 12 hours ago, all of his meetings rescheduled for me. I'd already met with one of our accountants about our profits, the meeting being a very positive one and leaving me in high spirits.
That was until my assistant Dina entered my office when I first arrived this morning, only to tell me about my late-night meeting with Mr. Bresciani. I'd spent all day dreading for the sun to come down and the clock to strike 7:30 pm. The time was currently 7, the day 30 minutes away from bringing me a whirlwind of action. I'd hoped that with the arrival of my overseas friend, my nerves would lessen a bit, up until he announced that he was canceling his day with me for a lousy lay.
"I'll be at your office tomorrow morning to take you for a petit déjeuner, where we can discuss your meeting with the big bad loups over some pancakes. Yes?" I giggled at his suggestion, knowing that I always was a sucker for breakfast dates.
"Fine, be here at 9 a.m. sharp, you lourdaud." the word he taught me felt weird on my tongue, the french boy laughing at my attempt to say it.
"All right, good luck my little bunny." We bid our goodbyes before I hung up the phone, my fingers going back to mindlessly typing on my large computer.
A knock on my office door awoke me from my zone, pulling my thoughts away from new blueprints and too Dina's nervous form shaking in my doorway. I knew it could only be for one reason, the girl's fear radiating off her and into me, "T-They're here Ms. Carter."
I could only nod at her announcement, standing up to greet my guests. I felt my posture weaken and my bones turn to jelly the second my door opened wider. Dina's smile was visibly forced as she gestured to someone to enter my office. But what was worse, was when a man passed over the threshold of my office door, completely covering Dina's small and fragile body with his tall and muscular form. The man had tattoos littering his hands and neck, scars buried into the flesh of his jaw. The intense gaze on his face almost tore me to shreds, my mind thinking that this was Giovanni Bresciani, a 6'5" man with muscles larger than my head. That was until I noticed the wires leading from his ear to the underside of his suit, two more men following behind him that looked the same, letting me know that these were only bodyguards.
But, the man behind them was what sickened me deeply. He was not much shorter than his security detail, his shoulders broad and thick, and his body still being able to block Dina from my sights. His hair was longer, barely reaching his shoulders in a black mop. He had slicked his hair back, leaving his thick and bushy brows on display. His face also portrayed a mild beard, the wispy hairs filled with some grey, letting me know that he was older than he seemed. His bourbon brown eyes held such darkness that I swore my heart stopped beating the second they landed on my form. He strode over to me, with long legs and a frown on his face.
His guards took positions around my room, one gesturing me to sit back down in my office chair before standing to the left of me and nearly murdering me with his intense gaze. My eyes never left the man before me, as he unbuttoned his suit jacket and pushed it back a bit to sit down in the chair adjacent to my desk.
He didn't speak, only stared at me with his hands clasped above his crossed knees. I became jittery, my fingers playing with the hem of my penciled dress. The black material clung to my slim figure, but still accentuated the curves I had. I paired the work dress with simple black pumps, my brown hair cascading down my back. It wasn't a lie that I was breathtaking, I'd heard it my whole life. But, the second that this older man entered the room and never removed his gaze from my body, I felt like everything about me was wrong. I soon regretted wearing my penciled dress, even though it was my most favorite, I regretted wearing the basic pumps, my casually styled hair, my simple makeup. I felt like going home to completely redo my entire look, just because a powerful man held me captive with his dangerous gaze.
"Ms. Carter-" he began
"Amara," I soon realized I'd cut him off when his security detail began to advance toward me, the man's hand flying in the air, ushering them to relax and me to continue, "please, call me Amara," I spoke with fear, my voice clearly showing the man that he intimidated me.
"Amara," he corrected himself, "your father speaks greatly of you. I expect you know who I am?" his head tilts to the side, drinking in my nod.
"Yes, of course, Mr. Bresciani." I'd never been so nervous around someone before, but he was different. He could easily ruin my life and my father's in seconds if he wanted to.
"Please, call me Giovanni." he smiled, the sight of his bright white teeth somehow forcing a shiver down my spine.
"Giovanni." I tested.
"Ms. Carter," he started once again, ignoring my request of using my first name, " I was to discuss with your father, Francesco, important details of a new club I was pondering opening. Do you know what I'm talking about?" I nodded at him, turning to my computer to pull the blueprints back up to my screen from the files my father left me.
"Yes, 'ecstasy' right? It says here that you plan on building it in Glade Corners?" I question, looking from the computer and back to the observant man.
"Very good job. Your father and I were discussing offers and deals before he told me you'd be taking the next few meetings." He spoke eloquently, examining my every feature before I looked back to the computer in an attempt to calm my nerves.
"Mmh, my father's in Moscow dealing with a few of our overseas businesses. But, back to the club, I think you should consider moving the build to Wicker park instead of Glade Corners." I watched Giovanni tilt his head at my suggestion, my heart spiking at the thought that I overstepped my boundaries.
"And why do you suggest Wicker Park, Ms. Carter?"
"Well, my father has a few buildings down there of his own, and I can tell you that the foot traffic is astonishing. Plus, the lots there are much cheaper than in Glades Corners." I spoke with a smile, the happy gesture falling from my lips the second his eyes narrowed and his frown grew larger.
"Are you accusing me of not being able to afford a lot in Glades Corners, Ms. Carter?" He spoke with venom.
"No, no of course not Giovanni-" he cut me off the second his name left my lips.
"Mr. Bresciani." he corrected.
"Mr. Bresciani, I was just saying that maybe if you bought it on a cheaper lot-." The angered man stood abruptly, my form shooting up just as quick.
"Ms. Carter, I'm not going to waste my time with you. Obviously, you are not ready to be in charge of your father's business if you can't control that mouth of yours." he pulled the button of his jacket back into place, turning and striding back to my door.
"Please Mr. Bresciani, I'm so sorry. Please give me a second chance to prove to you that I'm worthy of running this company." I spoke urgently, fearing the wrath of my father for pissing off the kingpin of the local mafia.
"I'm afraid I don't give second chances until your father arrives, you and I won't have anything more to discuss. But, since things are still to progress, you will be meeting with my eldest and only son from this point forward. You and Antonio will meet in place of both me and your father, I hope the two of you can prove that you both do indeed deserve to run our businesses. Until then, I won't waste my time with you or your antics." One of his men pulled open my door for him as I stood dumbfounded at my desk.
"B-But." I didn't even know what to say, the meeting ending just as quickly as it started.
"Have a good day Ms. Carter, Antonio will be in touch." The second the door closed behind the men, I snapped back into reality, my breathing going back to normal. But, the thought of what just happened led me over to the small table that sat in the middle of my office, holding my favorite liquors.
I poured myself a well-needed glass of bourbon, quickly downing the drink like water before pouring another one. I began to keep tossing the drinks back, quickly ruining my sober state and sending me into a spastic drunken state.
I was jumping around my office, my heels long gone and my dress pulled up to rest on my upper thighs, giving me more freedom to jump. My mind had been wiped of any and all dark thoughts of the Bresciani's, my body doing whatever it pleased. In all honesty, I didn't even remember when I turned the music on, but I sure as hell liked the song.
I couldn't quite figure out what the words meant, the foggy noise of words jumbled together plagued my brain. All I could comprehend though was the beat, the vibrations from the bass radiating throughout my body.
~~~~
It was at least an hour or two later when I'd realized that my bottle of bourbon was empty. Giggles slipping past my lips as my feet carried me to my desk. My fingers tapped the button on my phone, sending my voice straight out to my assistant.
"Dinnaaaaa," I laughed out frantically, "could you get someone to get me some bourbon? Even some Daniels would do me some good." I still danced to the incoherent song, not paying attention to Dina's response.
"Yes, Ms. Carter. But, uh- Mr. Pi'erre's here for you, shall I send him in?" she questioned, to which I yelled out yes, not being able to keep my calm.
The door to my office opened as I busied myself with jumping up and down. I could see Simone smirking at my drunken form, his slim body leaning against the threshold of my door. One thing Simone always made clear between the two of us, was that he loved it when I drank. I couldn't blame him though, I truly was a treat to be around, my serious vibe leaving and instead giving me a goofy and laid back one.
"What a creature you are, Little Bunny." his rich accent didn't startle me, his closeness did. Two seconds ago he was admiring my messy state from the dark mahogany door, but now he was behind me with his arms quickly wrapping around my stomach in an embrace.
"Simone! Mon amour, you're here!" I spoke as I melted into his arms, my head falling back onto his shoulder. He pressed his cheek into my neck, swaying our bodies to the soft music which he somehow turned down throughout all this, "what happened with the sexy airport girl?" I questioned.
"She wasn't as fun as I'd thought she'd be. Plus, you're more fun to be around Little bunny." We giggled, his head bearing deep into my collar bones as he breathed me in. I felt his arms tighten around my stomach, locking me into his embrace and making me feel at home. For the 6 long years I've known him, we've always had this connection.
I've never romantically seen him, but our relationship went farther than friendship and even farther than a family bond. It was like we were one soul, split into two bodies. Simone agreed with me on this, always calling me his L'autre moitié.
"Simone, I don't have any more bourbon," I grumbled into the air, my french friend laughing while spinning me away from his lean frame.
"I suppose it's about time that we cut you off l'amour, no?" he spoke in between languages fluently, pulling me back into his body only to pull his coat off and lay it over my shoulders, "sit," he demanded, in which I complied.
"But, I was having so much fun!" I complained as he strapped my heels back onto my feet, grabbing a hold of my purse before returning to me. He only chuckled in return, pulling my stumbling body from the couch and into his own once again.
"I'm going to assume that the meeting didn't go very well?" he quizzed as he easily walked me out the office door, signaling to Dina that he was to take me home.
"Oh god no, he basically told me that I was too loud-mouthed to run my father's company, then proceeded to tell me that I'd be dealing with his son from then on. Like what the fuck, he was so scary looking though Simone." I giggled into his shoulder as he walked me through the lobby of my father's company.
"You do have quite the, how do you call it, raucous voice?" he chuckled out to me.
"He was so buff and angry looking. I swear, that man made me feel like a child back in grade school again." I spoke as my friend shoved me into one of my father's personal 'cabs'.
"Ms. Carter's flat please, sir," Simone spoke to the driver, commanding him to bring us to my apartment.
~~
An ugly snort left my lips as I woke abruptly, shooting up and out of my bed in a terrified state. It was early in the morning, far as I could tell with my raging hangover. My hair was bunched up in a mess of a bun, on the top of my head, my body in an oversized t-shirt I've never seen before.
"S-Simone!" I called out into the silence of my apartment, screaming when the boy in question shot up from beside me?
"appeler le plombier!" he yelled out in fear. His bewildered face looked to me, a beige sleeping mask covering one eye, the other side covering his forehead.
"Simone!" I yelled at him, the boy looking at me expectantly with wide and annoyed eyes.
"What Little bunny?" he spoke exasperatedly at me.
I couldn't help but push him off my bed, his body tumbling to the floor with an umph. I burst out in laughter, the foreign boy scowling at me from the floor but soon joined me in my laughter.
"Simone?" I questioned him as he stood from the floor.
"Yes Amara?" he took his time crawling back into the bed, laying his head down on my exposed thighs.
"What are you doing in my bed? I have a guest room and a couch." he barely responded, lazily flinging his wrist in the air before rolling back over to the other side of the bed. I probably sat there like an idiot for 5 minutes, waiting for a response. After I realized I wasn't getting one, I stood from the bed, shivering at the cool air before entering my bathroom.
"I'm probably going to be home late, so don't be afraid to flirt with my neighbor or something when you get bored." Simone looked up from his phone, eyes taking in my work attire before landing back on my face.
"The one across the hall?" I nodded in response, picking my purse up from the floor and stuffing the essentials inside, "Um, isn't he a dude?" His brows creased in confusion.
"I don't judge," I spoke, leaving my room and entering my kitchen.
Simone followed me, practically sprinting to catch up, "I'm not gay, Amara! We've been over this." he whined, watching me intently as I started up my Keurig.
"You could be Bi, Sim. You never know, I mean Christian is Bi." I try reasoning, pushing a cover onto my cup to secure it from spilling.
"I like the vagina. Plus, I sleep with women left and right, doesn't that make me straight?" He questions, even following me to my front door like a puppy.
"All I'm saying is, if you were to be Bi, don't hold back on Christian. Plus, I heard he's into french boys." I teased, pulling open my front door.
"He is?" his eyes shoot open as I send him a smirk, not letting him 'explain himself' as I shut the door.
I always had a hunch that Simone was into both genders, from the day we met. I still remember the two of us gushing over some mysterious playboy that we spotted from our perches at this random bar. I said something about his face, and then Simone went on a rant talking about his 'perfect ass and skull-crushing thighs'. After that, it just progressed to become more obvious, always so interested in the men I met and such fourth.
He's always denied it, going on about how even if he was 'Bi', he would never possibly find someone to 'soothe his weak spot for Ryan Renolds'. Plus, I'm pretty sure he told me about one of his 'guy crushes' back in middle school when we were drunk, could've been a dream, to be honest though.
"Hello, Ms. Carter!" Dina greeted with a bright smile, standing from her chair the second she saw me round the corner.
"Goodmorning Dina, how's the lovely Tati?" I smirked as my assistant's cheeks turned a bright red, her entire body flushing from embarrassment.
"U-Uh, she's fine. Why do you ask?" her lips pursed to the side in wonder, eyes trying to read my mind.
"I just haven't heard one of your darling stories about how she 'spoiled you' in a few days. Just wanted to check and make sure you didn't get sent to the couch." Dina giggled, following me into my office as I pressed a button in which pulled the curtains away from my large windows.
"Around 6 this morning, I got a call from Giovanni Bresciani-." She paused, tilting her head to the side and surveying my office as I sat down in my chair, "well, I think it was one of his spooky bodyguards but, ya know." she sighed, chipper gaze trained on one of the paintings hung on my far wall. I stared at her impatiently, the thought of Giovanni's men calling to let Dina know they were coming to merc me where I stood, swirled around my mind.
"Dina?" I called anxiously, the young girl humming as her eyes ripped away from the painting, "what did Mr. Bresciani's men say." Her mouth formed an 'O', eyes bulging and sending me all the wrong messages.
"He said that you had a 10 O'Clock meeting with someone named Antonio, and said to 'behave this time'," she spoke, pulling out the company issued iPad she used, pulling up something before walking to my desk, "He was very short and empty on detail but, this is what I conjured up." I thanked her before taking the held out tablet kindly. I let my eyes scroll over the digital notes, soaking in the little information.
The small bullet points left a whole lot to my imagination, only portraying what she'd already told me. There was no recorded or stated reason behind this meeting, and I'm only guessing that Antonio didn't set it up.
"Okay, have them send up some security just in case. I don't trust these people, so I want two men outside the office, one at your desk and one at the door. Can you do that?" Dina nodded, already tapping away at the tablet I gave back.
She hurriedly left my office, probably rushing back to her neat desk to toss around 'direct orders'.
I took the time I had left from between now and when Antonio was scheduled to get here, to think. I didn't bother with anything else, every email that chimed off in my inbox was wholly ignored. I wondered what the meeting would encompass; Would Antonio bring men as his father did? Would he be as intimidatingly scary as his father? Would he even truly come?
My thoughts ran wild, the sound of my heart beating was most likely heard around the world and back. I nearly pissed myself when my door swung open, thinking my life was over until I saw my bodyguard (if you will), Danny, walk into my office.
"Amara," he bowed quickly walking to my window and looking out to observe the buildings, "how's your morning going?"
"Minus the fact that I'm practically withering away in my chair, right now? Swell Danny, just swell. Whatcha up to?" I questioned, having a feeling that I was going to regret asking.
"Scanning the rooftops for a sniper, want some coffee?" he spoke cooly, pressing the chip in his ear to confirm to the person on the other end, that there was in fact no snipers on the roofs to murder me where I stood.
"Um, no thank you. You can have some though if you'd like." I turned down politely. I watched as Danny chuckled as if what I just said was the 1 million dollar joke.
"You know your father strictly forbids us from doing things like that while on the clock, right Amara?" I looked at the buff man in horror.
"Well my dad can kiss my ass, I don't have cameras in here so-" I trailed off, looking about the room for my cup from home, "here, have mine." I handed him the mug, the man smiling before he took it from my hands and sipped on it lightly.
"French vanilla?" he questioned in surprise.
"It's my favorite, want me to bring you some every day?" I questioned with a laugh, the man joining in whilst accepting the offer graciously.
For the next 12 minutes, Danny and I spoke about absolutely nothing work-related. Come to find out, Danny used to be in the military for about 3 years before he was honorably discharged because of some former hip problems. He admitted that once he had the surgery, everything was different. He still wanted to protect people, he just couldn't go back for some reason. So, he decided to enlist in the secret service. How he ended up working for my father's company? I have no idea.
Danny was just telling me about how this one rich family he worked for had a kid who ate the dog's food when my office door was flung open.
The dark-skinned man stood up as soon as he heard the latch go off, hand on his holstered pistol, whilst his arm pushed me behind him in a hurry. Like with his father, Antonio had men of his own enter the office before him, all different from Giovanni's men but all the same vibes and appearances.
I stepped out from behind Danny, my hand landing on his bicep as a way to relax him seeing as he became overly tense. But, my body was next to freeze up as the man of the hour walked through the threshold. He was drop-dead gorgeous, his entire being enough to make me croak over and die of desire. He had thick eyebrows and a sharp jaw like his father, even growing out a small beard. Like his father, his hair was on the lengthier side, framing his face with wispy locks of chocolate. His eyes were a whisky brown; dark and brooding. He wore an all-black suit, the material clinging to his biceps and chest, pants working wonders for his 'skull-crushing thighs'. I nearly died when his eyes landed on my body, trailing from my face to my feet, then back up to my face. His lips quirked up into a smirk at my outfit, my black skirt landing just above my knees, and clinging to my curves, the white silk blouse was tucked into the waistline of the skirt, its first few buttons undone and revealing the swell of my breasts. My pumps gave me a few extra inches to my height, but alas I was still the shortest in the room.
"Amara?" the man questioned, standing before me in all his glory before signaling me to sit down. I did so, Danny pulling out my chair before pushing it back in once I sat. He didn't stray far, leaning against the wall behind me, but close enough to push me to the floor if need be.
Antonio looked around the room, letting his feet carry him away from my desk and to the one painting everyone happens to look at when they enter my office, "Monet?" he questions without looking at me.
"Uh, me-," I answer with uncertainty, my heart throbbing with nerves. It was amazing to hear someone compare me to Claude Monet, his art being an inspiration to me and a big part of my childhood. He was my mother's favorite artist, aside from Bob Ross. And to be honest, the painting was the last thing that I had of my mother. Sure I had her some of her clothes, jewelry, even some of her old art supplies. But, this painting was the last thing we did together, before the night she- it was the only thing that mattered to me, "and, uh my mother."
"Huh." he clicks his tongue, looking at the large painting for a few more seconds before moving about the room again. It was completely silent as he did so, my hands trembling and clammy as he got closer to my desk once again. Finally, he came around the chairs, unbuttoning his jacket like all men in suits do, before pushing it back slightly to sit down in a chair.
He stared at me for a few seconds, pursing his lips in thought before pulling his leg up to lay his ankle over his knee. His left arm laid out on the side of the chair, fingers tapping at his shoe where it lay on his knee, his right arm bent and fingers laying across his lips. I found myself staring back, my knees crossed and hands clasped over the top knee. I watched his eyes look at my legs, following them up until they became blocked out by the desk.
"Do you know why I'm here Amara?" he quizzed, head tilting to the side. I shook my head, truly clueless as to why he would be here. He sighed, hand wiping his mouth before dropping as he leaned back on his chair. His eyes went to my window, watching the city buzz with people and vehicles, before he stood once again, walking to said window.
"My father has a way of doing things. Get it done no matter what, even if it means doing the unthinkable. Are you willing to do the unthinkable, Amara?" his back was to me and the rest of the room, his hands in his pockets. I snorted as if he was joking, causing his men to look at me in surprise and him to turn around.
"I uh, um- kinda sounds like you're trying to recruit me into your mafia, Antonio." It was his turn to snort, walking back over to where I sat uncomfortably.
"Mr. Bresciani," he spoke, catching me off guard.
"What?" I became puzzled.
"You address me as Mr. Bresciani, not Antonio." My face paled, his body towering over me as he pulled a pencil from my pen holder. He began to twirl the utensils in his hands, fingers lapping over each other in a desperate chase to touch the yellow coated wood, "And, I'm not in a mafia, Ms. Carter. I'm in a family business, something of which you know." he spoke lightly as if the topic wasn't obvious to everyone in the room.
He started to circle the office once again, tossing the pencil into the air before catching it with his opposite hand. My heart began to thump loudly against my chest, my body froze in fear. No matter how undeniably sexy this man was, he was dangerous, deadly even.
"Do you know what it is my family does, Amara?" he questioned, taking my silence as an answer, "well, if you do then you should know by now that these things aren't a joke. Tread lightly Ms. Carter, you're on thin ice as it is." he started his descent back to the desk, my pencil still in his hand.
"I don't understand." I managed to wriggle out of my throat, my tongue darting out to wet my lips.
"My father met with you yesterday, no?" Once again, he took my silence as an answer and continued, "Well, he wasn't very fond of your attitude and how you responded, so he assumed I could handle it. Is your pretty little mouth going to be a problem, kitten?" if there weren't other people in the room, I probably would've begged him to fuck me, but that's unethical.
But, the way he said it sent tingles down my spine and caused the heartbeat in my chest to travel down to my core. My thighs unconsciously squeezed together in an attempt to calm the thumping in my heat, the pressure only making it worse. Antonio sees this, his smirk growing as he placed the pencil down in front of me, my eyes watching his taunting fingers dance across the wood, veins bulging from his hand.
"No, no it won't." I successfully spoke, managing to hold in my whimper as the beating in my heat grew at the look on his face. How in the hell did he make me feel like this with a few simple words and suggestive mannerisms.
"Good," his hands drummed against the top of my desk, his body pushing off of it, "I should be going now. I'm a busy man Ms. Carter, but I'll be sure to set up a meeting with you soon to go over a few things. Have a wonderful evening." I stood from my chair, my smile not reaching my eyes as I stuck my hand out for him to shake. Antonio chuckled, wrapping his much longer hand around my own, bringing it to his mouth. My body tensed as his lips pressed against my knuckles, my knees nearly caving in at the sensation. This didn't go unnoticed by Antonio, the man rubbing his thumb over the bones before he dropped my hand.
He spun around, his men leading him to the door which was now open. My throat ran dry watching him walk, the way his suit hugged his body. I was hoping he'd turn around, give me one last final smirk, even a friggin wink, but he didn't stop walking. My heart finally stopped beating so loud the second he closed the door.
"Welp, that was awkward," Danny spoke up from his position on the wall behind me, pushing himself off and sitting down in the chair Antonio was sitting in only moments ago.
"Oh, bite me, Danny." I laughed, watching his face light up at the sound of my laughter.
"How hard?" he pokes, dramatically baring his teeth after.
The sound of my scoff is heard through the office, my hand picking up a random file and throwing it at the chortling man in front of me. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes as he bent over in his chair, the joke not all that funny to me. I stood silently in annoyance as his laughter died down, waiting for him to chill out so I could lecture him.
The sound of him speaking made me shut my mouth, my lips pulled into a thin line at the words, "Okay, fine, I'm sorry. Let's be real though, the sexual tension was fucking suffocating." I gasped in horror, picking up another random file to throw at him, the laugh from before being drowned out by the obnoxious laugh he belted out now. He began to lean back, the chair following him down until gravity said 'fuck it' and yanked him to the floor.
This was enough to get me laughing, Danny was on the floor making no sounds, but his face proved he was laughing. The vein in his neck stuck out prominently, his mouth opened in a large smile as his eyes squeezed shut. He'd laughed himself to the point of not breathing, myself not far behind. This was all extremely unprofessional, we both knew that. But, it was hard to keep a straight face, the joy was intoxicating and led me to believe that this man was a comedian in his past life.
We finally got a hold of ourselves, both of us trying to regain our composure as the sound of my office door opened. I looked up to see a gleeful Dina sticking her head through the open space, peering at the two of us after she'd politely knocked.
"Sorry to interrupt, Ms. Carter," she apologized, my wrist flicking as an indication for her to come closer. She stepped into the room, glancing at Danny's joyful figure before looking back to me. I gave her a nod of encouragement to continue, "Mr. Bresciani told me to clear your schedule for tomorrow. He said it was important that you were free throughout the day." She nibbled on her bottom lip. I almost froze, my hand sweeping the wisps of my hair off my forehead.
"Oh- okay, Thank you, Dina. You can go home now, I'm sure Tati would enjoy some company after that big surgery. Don't worry, I won't mark it down." I winked, the younger girl grinning excitedly. I normally wouldn't do this, even if her girlfriend just had a huge surgery. I couldn't help it though, the mood I was in made me want to go and buy a friggin dog, maybe even volunteer at a soup kitchen. Both are rare things for me. It's not like I hate dogs or people in need, it's just that I never have time for that kind of stuff. I'm rarely home, and when I am I'm asleep or drunk. And things at the office are always so crazy, leaving me no room to do anything but eat, sleep, and work. I often take naps in my office, hence the overly comfortable couch that sits in the middle of the room.
"Cleared your schedule, huh?" Danny spoke, watching Dina walk back out of the room in a hurry. He looked back at me, his clean brows wiggling suggestively. Danny was a pretty attractive guy, so far I could see. He had a small stubble, a short cut of brown curly hair that sat stiffly atop his head. His skin was a deep chocolate, his complexion completely smooth and complementing his eyes. They were a sienna brown, a glint of mischief dancing in them as his plump lips curled up at my stare. This exposed his teeth, perfectly straight rows of white. His nose was larger towards the nostrils, slimming down at the bridge. He even had these perfect dimples, his cheeks creasing at the right spots and forcing an adorable smile to spurt.
"Shut up," I said looking down at my fingers with a blush, "now what?" I looked back up at him once I felt the heat leave my cheeks.
"Probably go home, my shift ends right about now," he pauses to look down at his watch, a laugh leaving his lips when he noticed the time, enticing a quizzical glance from me to his watch as well to see why the time would be funny, "actually-, it ended like 15 minutes ago." I nodded, watching him stand while stretching his arms above his head, causing his suit jacket to rise a little bit and show his belt and gun holster.
"You can stay," I blurted, my face paling when he stopped walking to turn and watch me speak, "only if you want to. My assistant just restocked my bourbon and I require a new drinking buddy." I spoke, wringing my hands in anxiousness, the fear of rejection weighing my shoulders down.
"I'd love to," a smile erupted on my face, the nerves leaving my body. Up until he began to speak again, "but, I don't drink. And you shouldn't either." He spoke, not noticing how the smile dropped from my lips, and continued his joyful skip to the brooding mahogany door.
"O-Oh, okay. See you tomorrow, maybe?" I spoke once again with high hopes, the last response crushing me. I hoped he would say yes, and undo a bit of the damage which happened to be my foolish heart.
"Oh, probably not. I normally work on the second floor, so I'm rarely up here unless it's important. Plus, I don't work again until Tuesday, the benefit of being head security." He gave me a thumbs-up, bouncing out of the office like a little kid and leaving me to wallow in my self-pity. The second the door closed, I huffed out exasperatedly, falling onto my chair.
As if gravity itself wanted to punish me for some odd reason, I missed the chair, falling straight back and hitting my head on the wall behind me.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I shouted, my hand reaching up and clutching the back of my throbbing scalp, "let's just murder Amara's self-esteem, heart, and brain cells all in one day!" I shouted out to no one, the sarcasm present in my words.
If only I could get a break, that would be a miracle.