Page 50 of Assistant to the Mafia

“Mr. Richardson,” she said as she turned the screen around, “in light of your disrespectful conduct, I’m not inclined to be gentle when I remind you that you have no company to claim. You sold everything under your label to DS Industries at the turn of the year. The contract was vetted by attorneys on both sides and signed by all parties. Feel free to challenge it if you want, but it will hold up in court. What you’re struggling with right now is seller’s remorse, and I’m afraid that’s not our problem.”

Richardson dragged in a breath and reached out—for her, or her tablet, she wasn’t sure. “How dare you talk to me that way, you bit—”

Romeo’s arm shot out, catching Richardson’s forearm in a firm grip. “I think we’re done here. Any further concerns you have regarding the transition process can be communicated between our lawyers.” He glanced at Grace. “Call security up.”

She nodded and stepped back, taking herself out of range. “Right away.” All she had to do was toggle an app on the tablet, so she closed the file she had open and tapped the necessary button.

Dante exited his office almost simultaneously. “Wesley,” he said, striding forward. “I could barely conduct my meeting over your shouting. Why are you causing a ruckus so early in the morning?”

Richardson gnashed his teeth. “Get your feral brother off me, De Salvo!”

Grace watched as Dante’s stare lowered to Romeo’s grip of Richardson’s arm, then shifted immediately over to her, before sliding to the twenty-something female trying to hide under the desk.

“You’re dismissed,” Dante said to the girl. “Return to your usual post.”

The girl jumped to her feet and scrambled to pick up her things. “Y-yes, sir. Thank you, sir. I-I’m sorry, sir.” She glanced at Grace and whispered, “Good luck.” Then she darted past them, practically running for the elevator.

“Now,” Dante said, “Wesley. If my brother’s put his hands on you, I imagine there’s a reason. So you have two choices. Wait for your escort … or deal with me. But we’re alone up here. I can’t promise you’ll prefer the latter.”

Richardson’s head turned back and forth as his eyes darted between Romeo and Dante. “Y-you’re threatening me?” He had the gall to sound shocked.

Dante’s brow dipped almost imperceptibly. “You’ve disrespected my staff, have been persistently badgering and distracting me from my work, directly threatened my assistant, and are attempting to bully your way out of a contract that was in fact your idea to begin with.” He paused and a strange, indefinable chill settled in the air. “So yes, Wesley, I’m threatening you. And I won’t give you another warning.”

Richardson struggled in Romeo’s grip. “This is unethical!”

Irritation sparked inside her and Grace opened another app on her tablet. Though her access was limited, she could tap into live and recent feeds from most of the building’s security cameras through the localized network. So she pulled up the program, found the angle she wanted, and rolled it back to the crucial moment. As soon as she had it, she spoke over whatever nonsense Richardson was babbling and turned her tablet around again, saying, “More or less unethical than assault? Because that’s what this looks like to anyone who would ever lay eyes on this footage.”

She watched Richardson’s stare drop to the screen and wasn’t surprised by the way his jaw clenched at what he saw. He saw himself, just a minute prior, reaching out for her with an almost claw-like grip. It was not a moment of impact, of course, but the intent was clear. Nothing about her body language said she was anticipating or complying with his manhandling.

“You manipulative—” Again, Richardson was cut off. This time by six armed men suddenly rushing into and crowding the space.

Grace quickly found herself pressed backward against the outer edge of her desk. She pulled the tablet in close to make sure it didn’t get damaged.

“Watch yourselves,” Romeo snapped.

The man nearest her immediately shuffled away, giving her breathing room.

“Wesley here needs help finding his car,” Dante said. “See that he remembers the way off the premises, and then make sure word is passed along that he is not to return without a police escort and a warrant.”

“Yes, sir,” the security team chorused.

“De Salvo!” Richardson shouted as he was physically passed from Romeo to two of the burlier men. “Give me back my company, you fraud!”

Grace barely kept from gaping as Wesley Richardson, fifty-four-year-old gambling addict and former CEO of the defunct Richardson Technologies, was hauled away by their security team. A security team she suddenly had questions about. DSI hired out security from Mikey’s recently established security firm, a way for elder brother to show support to youngest brother, but that knowledge suddenly had Grace wondering if perhaps these men were also a little more ‘in the family’ than she ever would have guessed.

“Don’t take too long composing yourselves,” Dante said, already turning back toward his office. “Work is piling up and we have an important meeting at noon.”

Grace exhaled as his door clicked shut. She’d forgotten about that meeting, but he was right, it couldn’t be missed. All three of them needed to be in attendance.

Romeo moved into her space, tilting her head to face him again. “You okay, angel?”

She smiled. “I’m fine. You’re over-protective.” She kind of liked it, in the way that she knew she shouldn’t. She pushed lightly against his chest. “I probably can’t help you clean up your office situation today.”

He grinned. “That’s fine. I’ll call up one of the people we pilfered from Dick Tech, just to spite the spitting asshole.”

She shouldn’t have laughed. “You’re terrible.”

“I am.” Romeo leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “See you in a little while, angel.”

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