Well duh, Lucy thought, ashamed of how her brain turns to mush the second she talks to him.
She chewed her lip for a second. It seemed like an absolutely ridiculous proposal to accept. A billionaire Mafia boss wanted her to move in...And just look pretty. The feminist in her was screaming that of course she shouldn't accept - but in the cold light of day, when Lucy faced her future, she knew very well that she had absolutely nothing else going for her.
She was a failure. Without a degree, without any ambition. Without Oliver-
'I'd love to accept your offer,' she blurted out.
Joey stared at her for a while, that smirk never leaving his face. He scrutinised every inch of her, with his hungry, green eyes.
'Excellent,' he all but whispered, 'I'm so glad.'
The hairs stood up on the back of Lucy's neck. She didn't know if it was from fear or excitement... or both.
Eventually, Joey stood up, and guided her towards the door. 'Emma will give you everything you need.' He sat back down, and pulled out a stack of papers from a very neat pile in the corner of his desk. It was clear that the conversation was over as quickly as it had begun.
In a daze, Lucy turned to leave, then she remembered something she had been burning to ask.
'Sorry, Joey, just one question.'
He raised his eyebrows, signalling for her to go ahead.
'Can I call my parents?'
Joey frowned, and put his pen down. 'Why would you ask that?'
Lucy was thrown off by his answer. She didn't know what she was expecting him to say, but she didn't expect him to reply with a question.
'Um, I just wanted to check -'
'Of course you can call your parents, you can go visit them, take them on holiday - take my jet, whatever.' He studied her, rubbing his jawline. ‘It saddens me how much Oliver O'Brien has got into your head,' he said softly. 'This isn't a prison.'
She nodded, and turned to leave.
'Of course,' he continued, stopping Lucy in her tracks, 'it’s obvious that due to the nature of my... business, that perhaps you are not entirely open about why you now live here. But I shall leave that up to you.'