Page 10 of Unforgivable Ties

Vincenzo had his car parked in the loading zone and was leaning against the passenger door. He wore a black suit that gave him an air of authority and danger, and his long black hairwas half up and down. He had a presence that was undeniable—like a magnificent predator waiting for its prey.

“Oh my god,” I said under my breath.

“Do you know him?” Preston asked as Vincenzo nodded in my direction.

“Uh…yeah,” I said, speeding up our pace so I could avoid having this conversation with him.

“How? He looks dangerous.”

Ha. Preston didn’t know the half of it.

“He just likes tattoos,” I responded, making up a lame excuse for the mafia member. As we approached him, he pushed himself up from his sleek black car and straightened his tie.

There was an awkward pause as the three of us stood there, our worlds colliding in a moment that felt surreal.

“Uh…nice car, man,” Preston said, being the first one to break the silence. No matter his reservations about Vincenzo, his parents always taught him to make a good first impression, because you’d never know if you’d need a favor down the line.

“Thanks,” he responded in a deep, gravelly voice that made me shiver. He had a slight Italian accent that seemed to linger on the vowels. His eyes never left mine for a second, even as he acknowledged Preston’s compliment.

“Is this,” Preston shifted uncomfortably, “Your new boyfriend, Stephanie?”

I opened my mouth to deny it, that no, he was absolutely not, but Vincenzo beat me to it.

“Yeah,” he responded with a nonchalant shrug. “We’re pretty serious.”

If looks could kill, the glare I shot Vincenzo’s way would’ve left him six feet under. Preston’s eyes widened like saucers, looking between the dangerous man and me with absolute disbelief.

“Stephanie—” he began to say, but a stern look from Vincenzo quickly shut him up.

“We have to go,” I blurted out, wanting to escape this situation as soon as possible. “See you later, Preston!”

Vincenzo opened the passenger door for me and I hesitantly slid into the leather seats of his car, my heart pounding in my chest. As I put on the seatbelt, I could feel the weight of his gaze on me. He closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side, and as he ducked into the car, I had to restrain myself from screaming at him. Preston was still watching us through the window.

When Vincenzo had driven us a respectable distance from the school, I freaked out.

“What the fuck, Vincenzo?!” I exploded. “Why would you tell him you’re my boyfriend?”

“Sorry,” he said, but he didn’t sound very sorry at all. “But I can’t have you busy fawning over a guy when there’s work to do.”

“I don’t like him,” I said, gently tapping my head against the dashboard. “I would dissolve him into a pit of acid if I could.”

“It could be arranged,” Vincenzo said, but didn’t prod about our relationship further.

“I wasn’t being—ugh!” I slammed my hand against my face and dragged it down the length of it.

The situation had me furious, and I felt like venting. “He dumped me because I was too poor, ok? His mommy and daddy said I was a nobody, and that was more important than our three-year relationship.”

Vincenzo shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road. He had this infuriating way of acting like he didn’t give a damn about anything. “You’re better off without him then,” he said.

I scoffed and turned away from him to look out the window. “Where are we going, anyways?”

“Your new job.”

As soon as I heard that, my ears perked up and my temper went down a bit. I was very interested to see what this $100,000a year job was going to be like. Well, it didn’t feel right to call it a job, more like forced labor.

“Where is it?” I asked.

“In a place where they won’t care about your financial status,” he responded, his gaze remaining fixed on the road.

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