Page 4 of Mob Boss's Second Chance

He nods with a smile, then tucks his hands into his pocket and does a one-eight with a flourish, going the same way his cousin went. I let out a breath when he disappears through the gate, my smile falling off.

“That went well,” I mutter.

My phone buzzes, and I reach for it, rolling my eyes when I see Danielle’s name on the screen. Is this perfect timing or terrible timing?

“Hey, girl,” she gushes, “how is it going? Did you meet him?”

“No,” I lie. “Apparently, he’s out of the country.”

She sighs in disappointment. “That’s something. Maybe he’ll show up tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed; you just might run into him, and your luck will change.”

I glance down at my hand to make sure my fingers are uncrossed.

Good. I’m not leaving anything up to fate.

Now that I know the rumors are true, I’ll do my best to stay away from Ethan Cross. Anthony Cross might be warm and friendly, but he’s not going to take my side over his cousin’s if Ethan decides to fire me.

And since he’s the billionaire in the family—the head of Cross Industries—my resume revamping depends on him.

Chapter Two

Ethan

Ilook up from the screen on my desk as the study door opens. Anthony walks in, rubbing the back of his head.

“You should open the drapes sometimes,” he says, walking up to the window. “Some people might start to believe that you’re Dracula.”

“Would that be going on the list of other names I’ve been called already?” I retort dryly.

He shrugs. “Who knows? With the party coming up, the tabloids might decide to spin their articles a different way. I do think they’re getting tired of repeating the same things—elusive billionaire, reserved and known by some to be aloof,” he says, ticking the words off his fingers.

“And you think opening thedrapes would change that?”

Anthony walks up to the desk and pulls back a chair. He sits and crosses a leg at the knee. “It would give a glimpse into your private space. And it might help people see your more humane side.”

I roll my eyes. “You do enough socializing for both of us.”

He tilts his head and starts to say something but stops short.

Oh well.I know Anthony would rather I accompany him to every occasion and party, even though most of them happen in loud places, but someone has to keep things in order.

“Why did you hire her?” I ask offhandedly as I return to my screen, looking through the bi-annual revenue report from some of our smaller businesses.

“Who?” Anthony replies smoothly, feigning ignorance as he leans back and folds his arms loosely. I arch a brow, and he chuckles. “The event planner? Natalie? Why not?”

Why not?

While Anthony is reckless and sometimes needs reigning in, he doesn’t report his every movement and decision to me. It was his decision to host the party too—although it’s a tradition that stopped after my father died because I couldn’t be bothered with frivolities.

So I told him to handle everything—from planning to execution.

Why does it bother me, then?

I don’t know.

Seeing a random woman sitting under a canopy, her body curved forward, and her hair pulled back in a tight bun, shouldn’t have affected me the way it did. She was simply there, a picture of quiet focus, oblivious to the world around her.

Yet, her smell—subtle and arresting—lingered in the air, carried by the faintest breeze. The soft scent of lavender and pressed roses wrapped around me, stirring something I couldn’t name. It was apull, gentle but undeniable, drawing me across the yard before I even realized I was moving.

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