Page 44 of Sins and Secrets

15

BILLIE

I lean against the wall and sip my coffee, watching as the ancient photocopier struggles to make copies of profit and loss statements. The machine groans and whines as copies spit out onto the tray.

I could go home and pack my things right now. I could leave the mafia right now and Alessio wouldn’t have a clue.

Though it’s a tempting thought, Papa is still in the hospital. It’s only been a couple of days since he woke up and the doctor still says it will be weeks before he can come home. Since I can’t leave without him, I’m stuck with Alessio.

Being around him is making me reckless and I know it. What happened in the pool the other day never should have happened.

And I certainly shouldn’t have gone to my room and pulled out a vibrator after.

Getting myself off to the thought of him fucking me in the pool was reckless. There is a chance that he heard me and thinking about that while I came only turned me on more.

I’m losing my damn mind in that house.

What I should be focusing on is my escape. I’ve started hiding money around the compound, picking places that will be easy to access if my escape plan goes wrong. In reality, it should be as easy as driving out of the compound and never coming back.

I’d be stupid to not have several different contingency plans, though. This isn’t a perfect world, and nothing is ever as simple as the easiest plan.

Although, I should be doing more to plan my way out. I don’t even know where I’m going to take Papa once we leave. I could take him to another country, but I don’t know anybody who would be able to smuggle us in. Between me and Papa, there is enough suspicion surrounding what crimes we may have committed that the authorities would tie us up for as long as they wanted.

The photocopier stops, giving a loud thud before it shoots out its final paper. A man walks into the room with a stack of papers in his hand.

“Is that thing acting up again?” he asks, shaking his head as he sets the stack of papers down on a counter that runs the length of the wall to my right. “I swear. You would think that with the money this place makes, they would replace a copier. Instead, they just keep calling in a repair man and supposedly fixing it.”

He grins and walks over to the machine, pulling off a side panel. The man hums to himself as he reaches inside and twists something before standing up and putting the panel back on.

“Alright, you’re going to have to show me what you did the next time this thing starts sounding like it’s going to blow up,” I say with a grin as I head for the door. “Nice to meet you, though. I’m Billie.”

“Jefferson.” He holds out his hand and I shake it quickly. “You’re the new assistant, aren’t you?”

“That I am.”

His gaze moves down my body, landing for a moment longer than polite on the hem of my faux leather pencil skirt. When his gaze connects with mine again, he’s got a smile on his face that I’m sure is meant to charm women.

It’s nothing compared to the way Alessio looks at me when he wants me.

“Do you want to go out and get drinks sometime after work?” Jefferson asks. “I know that it can be hard to meet people around here since the job is so demanding.”

“That’s nice of you to offer, but I’m not much of a drinker,” I say, hoping to get out of this conversation without letting Jefferson down too hard.

Though he isn’t the kind of man I would normally go out with, I don’t want things at work to become difficult either. I’ve worked in other places where my coworkers haven’t taken too kindly to me rejecting their advances.

“We could go get coffee or lunch.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, giving him a polite smile as I back toward the door. “I’m seeing someone right now. It’s still pretty new, but it’s the kind of thing I don’t want to mess up.”

“That’s alright,” Jefferson says, his tone still cheery. “See you around, Billie. Let me know if you ever need help with anything.”

“Will do. Have a good day, Jefferson.”

I turn the corner, the papers clutched to my chest, and run straight into Alessio. He scowls down at me as the papers flutter to the ground.

“You should watch where you’re going,” he says, his tone cold as I stoop to pick up the papers. “And I would ask that you keep yourself from having personal relationships with the staff while on work time.”

“What are you talking about?” I gather the papers and stand, already dreading having to put them back in order before the meeting.

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