Page 7 of Ruthless Mafia Heir

"You know exactly what I’m talking about. And you could have any girl on this campus if you wanted. Hell, I’m sure you’ve been through most of them as it is. What’s the obsession with her, in particular?"

I shrugged.

"She’s interesting to me," I told him, simply. "She’s not part of our world. It’s been a long time since I encountered anyone like that..."

Damon has been doing his best to talk me out of my plans, but when I get something in mind, I don’t let anything throw me off my game. He’s right, I could have had any girl in this place I wanted, but that would be too easy. Something about the way she spoke to me sparked something in me, something dangerous. If she’s that defiant in a casual setting, I’m curious to know how much farther she would take it, given the chance.

I’ve followed her back from work a couple of times, keeping watch for any suitors who might be trying their luck with her, but I haven’t seen a single man approach her. She doesn’t seem that into going out or partying, so I doubt she’s got someone I don’t know about. In the scouring I did of her social media, I couldn’t find any pictures of her with a man, so it’s unlikely she’s dating someone from back home, some long-term boyfriend.

And even if she was... that wouldn’t mean anything to me.

I hear a noise at the entrance to the student support offices. It’s just me in here right now, since I told everyone else to take the day off. That’s the good part about having my reputation in this place. Nobody dares argue with me when I tell them how it’s going to be. I’m far from a student support officer myself—it’s too much like hard work, handling kids who are struggling one way or another—but there’s one student I’m happy to offer that help to.

I bite back a grin when I see her stumbling through the door, her eyes wide, those dark rings under her eyes even more pronounced than the last time I saw her. She stops dead in her tracks when she sees me. But as her shoulders sag downward, she shuffles toward the desk.

"Hi," she greets me. "I... I think I need help..."

"Oh, you do?" I reply, a tinge of amusement in my voice. It’s ironic, her coming to me like this after how dismissive she was of me the first time we met. Her chin drops to her chest.

"Yeah, I do."

I rise to my feet and gesture for her to come into the office.

"This way," I tell her. She hesitates for a moment.

"I’m sorry about what happened that night," she blurts out finally. "I... I shouldn’t have been so harsh with you."

I smile as benevolently as I can. It doesn’t come naturally to me.

"All forgiven and forgotten. Come into the office. Let's talk about what you need."

I hold the door for her, and she makes her way past me. I catch the scent of her in the air for a moment, strawberries wrapped up in cream, so delicious it’s nearly impossible to fight the urge to press my face into her neck and smell her properly.

But there will be plenty of time for that in the future. Right now, I need to push the next stage of my plan forward—and get her exactly where I want her. Glancing around to make sure nobody else is hanging around, I pull the door shut behind us and follow her in.

Chapter Five—Sophia

I swipe my hands underneath my eyes, trying to catch the last of the tears that have been leaking out of me since I first got the news.

The bodega fired me. Fired me. As if things haven’t been hard enough these last few weeks. I could feel something had changed, with the new owners coming in and everything, but this? This is the last thing I could have expected. And I don’t know how I’m meant to handle it.

The student support offices are a few buildings over from my dorm, and while I’ve been doing my best to keep my distance from them and prove I can handle everything myself, I don’t see what other choice I have but to beg for their help. I need to find another job so I can keep paying for my dorm room, but I don’t have time to look for it, what with all the work I’m doing to catch up on my classes after those essays went missing. The weight of the world is pressing down on my shoulders, and I have no idea how to shake it loose.

And, of course, the moment I stepped through the door, I found myself face-to-face with the last person on Earth I want to see. That guy. That guy who I snapped at when I was at the Hanna Brown event, the guy who’s been stopping by my coffee shop and observing me from his window seat. I can’t figure out if he despises me or desires me, but I know I don’t want to be having that debate in my head while I’m asking for help.

"I’m Sophia, by the way," I blurt out to him as he sinks into the seat opposite me. He seems utterly unbothered by this, even amused by my presence.

"I know, I got your name when we met," he replies calmly, clasping his hands in front of him. "I’m Blake."

"Good to meet you, Blake," I mutter, though I wish it were under any other circumstances. Or maybe not at all. After the snooty attitude he’d taken with me that night, I feel like he’s just another one of the many rich kids who populate this school. Not that it surprises me, given the reputation this place has, but I didn’t expect the gap between them and me to be quite so... intense.

"So, what can I help you with?" he asks. His eyes remain just as cold as they were the night I met him. I don’t know what someone like this is doing working student support. I can’t think of anyone I would want to come to for help less.

"I just lost my job," I blurt out. "I was... I mean, I’ve been working at a bodega part-time, to try and bring in money, but they just fired me..."

He frowns.

"I thought you worked at the coffee shop."

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