Page 32 of Anastasia

“Hey!” I chirped. Then, I turned to look at the girl Sarah had been talking to. “What do we have here, a new recruit?”

“No, this is Orabella. Orabella, meet Anastasia,” Sarah had introduced.

“Nice to meet you, Orabella. You know, if you ever get bored around here, I’d be more than happy to teach you a new way of life. Maybe a little stripping, or just casually hanging out. I get bored around here sometimes,” I told her with a grin.

Her face brightened with joy.

“You know, actually, I was just about to head out to see a friend. Do you want to join me?” I asked her. Sarah grimaced at my words, leaving my brows to pull together.What was her problem?

“Yes, please,” Orabella said desperately. With a huge smile spreading across my face, I grasped her hand into my own and led her to the front door.

She kept glancing behind her as we walked, but instead of speaking up about it, she followed me outside and we headed to my car. When I glanced at Orabella, I noticed her gaze was off somewhere else. She looked like a scared puppy who was about to pee on themselves.

Looking off in the direction she’d been staring at, I noticed Valentino was angrily heading directly to us…tome.

“Why would you bring her out here? Do you know what you’ve just done?” Valentino spat, his teeth clenching with anger.

“I don’t understand,” I whispered, my brows furrowing.

“This is Vincenzo’s girl. She is not allowed out of that house unless he’s with her,” he explained.

My eyes widened. Vincenzo was the boss, thedon. He made ruthless decisions every day, and the last thing I needed was to be on his bad side. I couldn’t comprehend why she couldn’t leave the house without Mr. Rossi, but I knew better than to question them. Their business was none of mine.

“I didn’t know,” I gasped.

“I’ll take care of my brother, but you—you owe me.” He smirked before letting me go and dragging Orabella back into the house. He was nowhere near gentle as he manhandled her. I felt bad for the poor girl. For some reason, I felt like there was more to the story.

* * *

The driveto Jacob’s house was short, seeing as he owned a huge place not very far from where I stayed. Once I was parked outside, Jacob walked out with a huge smile on his face. I stepped out of my car and quickly strolled over to embrace him in a hug.

“Hey, Jake!” I laughed.

“I thought we talked about you no longer calling me that.” He rolled his eyes as he pulled away from me. I laughed, wandering over to his front door, where I opened it as if I owned the place. Being an oncologist must’ve meant big money—his house was huge. The best part of it all was that he owned and lived in it all by himself.

“You’re not innocent. My sister insisted that you call her Alex, yet you always called her Alexandria,” I pointed out.

He nodded his head slowly as a tint of pink made its way onto his cheeks. “I am terrible with names. Once I call someone something, it just sticks and there’s no changing it with me.”

I laughed before sitting down on top of his couch. He wasn’t slow to join as he plopped down beside me.

“Max!” I yelled out right after I began making kissing noises with my lips.

As expected, the loud sound of nails clacking against the tile echoed through the room as the huge boxer jumped on top of me. He quickly began to lick the side of my face as I cringed away. His tail was wagging happily as he continued his assault.

“Hi, Max,” I gushed. His tail began to wag faster while I laughed at him. He was my favorite part of going over to Jacob’s place.

“Are you still available to watch him this weekend while I go to a meeting in Vegas? The house will be all yours,” he promised.

I pretended to think about it for a second before a huge grin broke out onto my face. “Of course, I’ll watch Max! Just go do your thing, Doc.”

My fingers skimmed through Max’s soft fur as his wet nose touched my cheek.

“Have you been talking to your mom?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yes, every day. I told her about you and she said she’d like to meet you,” I answered.

His brow rose as a small smile tugged on his lips. “I can’t believe you actually spoke about me. I thought you hated me.”

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