Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 88153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Hell, Maxwell Korslova is the best man I’ve ever met, but I’ve not seen this side of him. It’s completely unfamiliar to me and extremely interesting. There’s a gentleness in the way he handles Emilia. I can’t seem to stop watching.
“You remember Mr. DeLuca.”
“I do. It’s good to see you again, sir.”
“You, too, Emilia. You’re growing up and I bet breaking all the boys’ hearts. How old are you now?”
She smiles, blushing with his words. “I’m fourteen.”
“Max, my friend, your worries are just beginning,” DeLuca says.
“Don’t I know it,” Maxwell responds, laughing. “Emilia, this is Nikolai Petrova.”
The young girl looks at me and the strangest thing hits me. Her eyes are blue. It’s not a normal blue either. They are like a Prussian blue, almost electric in color and so bright it’s startling. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.
“Hello, Mr. Petrova. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Call me Niko.”
“Niko,” she says so softly that I have to strain to hear her. She moistens her lips by rubbing them together. When she gets older, she’s going to be phenomenal. It almost makes me sad that I’m not younger…
We walk into the dining room together. I find myself sitting with little Emilia on my right and DeLuca at the head of the table. His men are standing against the wall, legs spread, and ready to defend their boss. Victorio is standing behind Emilia. I catch her smiling at him every once in a while. I can’t explain why, but it’s upsetting. I think I should bring up the fact that little Emilia obviously has a schoolgirl crush on her bodyguard. Maxwell needs to be aware of it.
Dinner is dry and conversation is general. I turn to look at Emilia and try to engage her here and there, but hell, I don’t know shit about kids. I never got to enjoy being one and I haven’t been around any either.
“Do you like school, Emilia?”
I wince because my voice sounds rough and on the verge of being annoyed. I didn’t mean for it to come out that way, but it does just the same. I know the girl notices it when she jumps slightly, causing the water in her glass to dance and jostle precariously against the rim.
“It’s okay. Kind of boring. Thankfully, Zoe is there with me. She makes it bearable.”
“Who is Zoe?”
“She’s my best friend,” she explains.
“Those are good to have,” I mutter lamely.
“Do you have one, too?”
I frown. “A best friend?” She nods yes. “My lawyer.”
Max and DeLuca who had been listening laugh, but I see disappointment in Emilia’s eyes. She hides it quickly, but I still catch a glimpse. I have the strangest feeling that I’ve hurt her feelings and I don’t like it.
I dismiss the thought and shake away the strange feeling of guilt that I’m having. Kids have the strangest effect on you. This is why I’ll never have any. A man like me can’t afford a weakness—too many people exploit it.
My gaze tracks a man entering the room quietly. He’s obviously part of the house staff. He walks straight to Maxwell and whispers something to him. I can see from the look on Maxwell’s face the news is not welcomed. He immediately talks with DeLuca. I’m close to them, but I can’t hear what they’re saying and there’s no way in fuck I’m going to make it apparent that I’m trying to eavesdrop. In this organization, it can get you killed—not promoted. Maxwell finally straightens and says, while clearly annoyed, “Let him in.”
Now it’s my turn to be confused. This was to be my meeting with DeLuca. I don’t like curve balls. As far as I know, no one within the family would show up at a meeting that the Boss arranged with others—at least not someone with a brain in their head.
My curiosity is appeased, although my temper is aroused a minute later when Dante Russo comes walking in the room. I know immediately he heard through the grapevine about my meeting tonight. His gaze goes to mine, bitter hate and cockiness blends in his eyes. Someday, I’m going to kill that motherfucker—and enjoy every minute of it.
CHAPTER 4
Emilia
I breathe a sigh of relief as my door closes. The first thing I do is go to my closet and take off the dress. I put on some worn denim shorts and an old T-shirt, then flop down on my bed. I loathe nights like tonight. Luckily, my father does his best to keep me out of business crap. He just refuses to keep me hidden at formal functions. I don’t think he realizes that I would prefer it.
I glance over at the clock and realize it’s still really early. That means Zoe is probably still at work. She works at a local grocery store. I wish I could get a job and work like her. There’s no way my father would let me, though. Zoe had to get special permission from her dad to work, but it’s not even about that for me. My father will never want me to work. He will do everything in his power to make sure I’m taken care of for the rest of my life. It feels suffocating, to be honest.