Page 44 of Caught in the Middle

Lucy frowned. Clearly this girl was just hired help, she had no idea of what actually went on with Joey Leonardo. She wondered if she even knew that he was a Mafia boss.

She did find it strange, and incredibly sadistic, however, if Joey wanted Lucy to get all dressed up just to kill her.

'So why am I here then?'

Emma couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief. 'What do you mean, why are you here? To go for dinner with Joey, obviously. And then you turn up looking like that... my God, maybe if Joey had seen you in that awful fleece thing he would have you killed.'

Dinner? Lucy couldn't comprehend what was going on, as Emma ripped her towel off of her, and flung the dress in her direction.

'Get dressed, weirdo. They we will try and do something with your face and hair.'

She quickly scrambled to pull the dress on, feeling very vulnerable naked, especially because this girl was an absolute goddess.

Emma then shoved her into the chair and began pulling, brushing and twisting her hair, muttering and sighing in exasperation. Lucy's face burned in shame. She felt so ugly, having tostare at herself in the mirror whilst this beautiful woman didn't tried to hide how grossed out she was by her.

She had her hair blow dryed and dragged into rollers, then Emma span her around to focus on her makeup. For what felt like forever, she plucked her eyebrows, scrubbed and painted her face in silence. Lucy was too confused, and a little scared of Emma to try and find out more information.

She just guessed she'd have to wait and see what was going to happen.

Eventually, Emma took a step back to admire her work, and almost smiled. 'It's like a whole new woman,' she said, stuffing the makeup into a bag. 'Go on, have a look at yourself,' she nodded over to a full length mirror.

Lucy got up, gingerly, and made her way over to it.

Jesus fucking Christ, she thought. She didn't even recognise herself. She looked tiny in the beautiful figure hugging lace dress, the neckline plunged to show the perfect amount of cleavage. Not only did her hair look clean, but it looked amazing. Whatever dream products she had used in the bathroom had given her the shiniest, most luxurious hair she had ever had, and the rollers had transformed her hair into elegant, bouncy waves.

And don't even get her started on her makeup. She didn't know what kind of magic that Emma girl possessed, but she suddenly had cheekbones. She'd given her smoky eyes and a dramatic red lip, and Lucy had never felt so beautiful in her entire life.

'Crazy what a bit of makeup can do,' Emma said, as if reading her mind.

She handed her a pair of black stilettos, and checked her watched. 'Shit, you were meant to be at dinner an hour ago, we better get you moving.'

In the shock of seeing herself looking so glamorous, she had forgotten entirely the reason why she was here, in this ridiculously huge mansion.

Her hands began to shake as they made their way down the grand corridor, and back to the top of the marble staircase.

The view from the top of the staircase took her breath away. She hadn't seen it in her confusion when she entered the house, but looming over the lobby was an enormous, crystal chandelier, its dazzling, soft lighting refracting across the marble flooring. Everything was guided in gold - the door she had been dragged through, the flower tables, the door knobs on doors that led off to unknown rooms.

She stood there for a moment, taking it all in. She couldn't even begin to imagine how rich this man must be to be able to afford all of this.

'First door at the bottom of the stairs. Enjoy.' Emma said, and abruptly turned on her heels.

'Wait! Wait - aren't you coming with me?' Even though she hadn't been the most pleasant person to Lucy, she felt like she had become somewhat familiar with her, as if she was a comfort blanket.

'Um, no,' Emma snapped, 'not my dinner date, is it?' And with that, she was gone, strutting down the vast hallway.

Lucy legs were like jelly as she made her way slowly down the stairs, trying not to break her neck in the crazy high-heels Emma had gifted to her.

She took deep breaths, and tried to rationalise the situation. Surely, he wouldn't be so cruel as to make her get all dressed up before killing her? But then again, he does kill a girl every year, just to serve as a reminder to his rivals... that is pretty cruel.

But then, Emma found it... almost hilarious that she thought she was about to be killed. Unless, of course, Emma was just desensitised to it.

Everything that came flooding through her brain could not rationalise the fact of the matter that she was about to come face to face with Joey Leonardo. And probably her death.

As she walked across the shiny floor to the room Emma had directed her to, she had to focus solely on not being sick, otherwise she'd be giving these maids another job to do. An old butler was standing in front of the door, and he bowed deeply as she approached.

'Ms. Davies, it's a pleasure,' he said, smiling at her warmly.

How did he know her last name?

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