Page 47 of Ruthless Mafia Daddy

A satisfied look crossed his face as he took the knife from me, turning to Adams’s brother with a look of glee. I checked my watch as I left the warehouse wondering if I should make a quick stop at the mall for a fresh shirt before proceeding home. The glowing hands of the watch revealed the time to bepast midnight. I had spent more time in the warehouse than I intended to. But on the other hand, it was way past Arielle’s bedtime.

I opted to drive myself home for the night, wanting to relish the feeling of the wind in my hair as I sped through the fairly empty streets of New York.

I made sure to take the longest route home, wanting to spend as much time as possible in the open air. It’s been a long couple of weeks, and late-night drives have always had a calming effect on me. I needed to be relaxed before I returned home to Arielle. I don’t like it when she sees this side of me. By the time I pulled into my driveway, another hour had passed, and an eerie silence descended on the world, just how I liked it. I’ve always thought the world would be a better place without humans. No noise, no pollution, just silence.

I undid my buttons as I stepped into the house, making a beeline for the kitchen. All that driving in the open left me very dehydrated. A clicking sound echoed behind me, followed by an explosion of bright light. A soft feminine gasp accompanied the light, and I shielded my eyes from the blinding effects of the light while desperately hoping for the gasp to somehow be from Maya.

I brought down my hands to find Arielle watching me from the door. I stood guilty with a bottle of water in hand, waiting for a reaction. I should’ve changed the stupid shirt.

A moment passed before she finally cleared her throat. “Is it yours? The blood.”

“No.” My reply came out gruff and a bit sharper than I intended.

“Was it him?”

“Yes.”

She didn’t need to explain for me to know who she was asking about. There’s only been one pain in my ass for a while.

She nodded, slowly taking in my answer. “And you took care of it?”

It was my turn to nod this time, not knowing the right words to say.

“So, it’s over.”

“Yes, baby, it is,” I replied, and I could see her visibly relax.

“Go clean up, you look like an executioner,” she ordered softly and turned on her heels, disappearing from the kitchen.

Though the conversation was insanely awkward, it took a much better turn than I had expected, and I didn’t know if I was relieved by that or uncomfortable with the fact that she was slowly tipping over to the dark side.

*****

I was in the office at the crack of dawn. I had told myself it was because I had a tall stack of paperwork waiting for me, but deep down, I knew it was because I had opted to sleep in my room, giving Arielle some time to take in the events of the night. I only slept well when I was with her.

A tired yawn escaped me as I flipped through the files in front of me, separating the time-sensitive projects from the ones I could let my COO take care of. Running a family business behind thescenes and a corporate enterprise publicly was not the easiest job, but I had promised that I would make a name for myself outside of my family business, and I was so close to my Eureka moment.

“Good morning, Mikky!” Enzo yelled, throwing my door wide open and sending my head throbbing.

“If you call me that one more time, I swear—”

“You swear what?” He challenged, carelessly dumping himself on the chair across from me. “I have great news for you. I’ve had it for a while, but I was waiting till the time was right.”

He pulled out a manila envelope from God knows where and handed it to me. “Did you sleep last night? You look like shit.”

I sent him a warning glare as I roughly snatched the envelope from him and smiled in return, busying himself with the files on my desk.

“What is this about?” I asked as I perused the document in the envelope.

“Turns out buying dear Levi’s business paid off. A luxury construction and architectural company in Paris would love to propose a partnership with you for your hotels,” he said, and I reassessed the document.

When I bought Levi’s company, it was purely out of spite, and I had no intentions of using it. I was going to slowly dismantle it and sell it out in parts while he watched, but Enzo suggested I rebrand it for my new expansion. Turns out he was onto something.

“When is this meeting scheduled?” I queried, folding the paper back into the envelope.

“I told the CEO you would contact him and fix a date if you’re interested. They’re very keen on working with you and are willing to offer any price. Also, they have a complete monopoly over the European and Asian markets; that’s an added bonus. They’re not the first to send mail, but they’re the best, and with them, you won’t have to worry about visibility,” Enzo explained.

“I see you’ve done your homework.”

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