Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
I swallow. “I don’t know …”
Emily glares down at me. “Bella, you deserve to be paid for your work. When I was spending every weekend partying my ass off in high school, what were you doing? Practicing until your fingers bled. You were obsessed. Just ask him.”
I quickly write the text. If I give myself any time to think about it, it will become too difficult. I’ve recently started a new policy of taking a 10% deposit in case of cancellations. Is that okay?
Sure, send me your bank details. What times do you have available?
I show Emily the screen.
“Send them, then!”
Going into my bedroom, I grab my bank information and quickly send the information. By the time I walk into the living room, I already have a notification from my banking app saying the funds have been transferred.
I can do anytime tomorrow from 11 a.m. to late evening, I quickly send and then look at the notification again—fifty bucks from DeLuca Investments Limited.
We’ll see you at 11 a.m. Sofia is very excited.
Thank you! See you then!
I sit back on the couch. My head is cloudy, and my heart refuses to slow down. It’s like I’ve had several shots of caffeine. I even go into my banking app to ensure the funds are there. It’s not a glitch.
“This is crazy,” I say when Emily emerges from her bedroom.
“The deposit went in?” she asks, sitting beside me with her notebook. She always makes a point of working on her poetry when she returns from work.
“Yeah. They’re coming tomorrow. He seems real excited for his little sister.” I imagine a young girl, her face full of excitement, the same thrill that burned through me when I first heard the beauty of the violin.
“He must be rich,” Emily says. “What’s the name on the payment account?”
When I tell her, she quickly types into her phone and then shrugs. “I can’t find them online.”
“Maybe they don’t have a website. I don’t know.”
“I’m looking a gift horse in the mouth,” Emily says, shaking her head.
“You’re right too. It’s not every day something like this happens.”
“Or maybe we’ve both been poor for too long.”
Emily had it even worse than me growing up. I had Mom busting her ass and running herself ragged to give me violin lessons and the freedom to try my hardest in high school. Emily had a dad with a depraved mind and a mom with selective sight.
She grabs my hand. “This could be it, Bella. Your big break. You might even be able to quit the restaurant—”
“Crap, the restaurant!” I jump to my feet. “I need to get ready. Dang, I won’t even have time for a shower.”
“Yes, you will,” Emily says. “Use some of that deposit to grab a cab.”
“That’s a waste.”
I usually get a bus and a subway to get to and from work.
“It’s better than losing your job. Anyway …” She leans in, nudging me playfully. “You’ve got the money.”
It seems surreal and incredibly difficult to believe, but for once, she’s right.
“Okay, yeah, just this once.” Heading to the bedroom, I mutter, “Now I just need to make sure I do a good job tomorrow.”
CHAPTER THREE
MATTEO
The rest of the day goes off without a hitch, which is the most a man can ask for in a life like mine. I get a hard workout in the gym, soaking the floor with sweat and flooding myself with adrenaline. After a shower, I lie in bed, expecting to fall flat out like usual.
This is by design. I hate lying awake thinking about everything I’ve done and have to do. If a person could function without sleep, I wouldn’t even bother. It’s boring. It’s pointless. Trying to sleep makes me restless half the time.
Rolling over, I close my eyes even tighter, trying not to see blood and chaos, trying not to hear gunshots and screaming. Sofia’s words return to me. She’s determined for Bella to see her as just another student. She doesn’t want the respect and fear of being a DeLuca.
Do I? It’s odd to even think about what I want. I rarely do it. The Family has to come first.
Rolling over again, I shift uncomfortably. This mattress costs more than some people’s rent for the year, yet I can’t sleep. What sort of ungrateful ass does that make me?
Grabbing my phone, I intend to go to my emails. Since I run the Family along with several legitimate businesses, there’s always something to do, a never-ending list of tasks. Yet somehow, I find myself on Bella’s page. I bite down when I see her profile photo.
She’s standing in nature someplace, with the sun behind her and the lighting emphasizing her shape. The adrenaline from the workout is usually enough to linger during my deep sleep, letting me wake up primed and ready to go. Today, all the energy goes right to Bella.