Page 23 of Hired By the Consigliere

I closed my eyes, savoring the perfectly melded flavors and a soft moan escaped my lips.

“This tastes like heaven.”

As I opened my eyes, the heat in Enzo’s gaze startled me and I swallowed hard. He blinked, shaking his head as if awakening from a dream and cleared his throat.

“Please, enjoy.” He took a bite of his own dessert, and I went back to enjoying mine but part of me still wondered what that had been before.

I was finishing my last glass of wine as the night wound down when Enzo cleared his throat, sitting up straighter. A serious expression crossed his face, looking like he was trying to prepare himself for something.

I was just about to open my mouth to ask him what he wanted to say, when he spoke. “I would like to make one more amendment to the contract before filing it with my lawyer. That is, if you are in agreement with it.”

"I'm listening."

“I would like to amend the per-date payment from five-hundred euros to seven hundred.”

“Enzo, I already said that the five hundred was too much.”

He held up a hand defensively. “I know, but hear me out, please?”

“Okay.” I leaned back in my chair, as I set my mind to hearing what he was proposing.

“I don’t want to limit our sexual activity to just once a week. I would like for the possibility of a sexual encounter to be available on any of our dates.”

I was shocked thatthatwas the one amendment he wanted to make.

“Anytime you want? On any of the dates?”

“Yes.”

I hesitated for a moment. Did getting paid for more nights in his bed make me any more of a whore than once a week?No. But that kind of money over two months could completely change my life. That money on top of what I would be getting paid as his executive assistant would be more than enough to save up. Maybe I would be able to finally go back to school and get my degree. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“Okay.”

Enzo blinked in surprise. “Really?”

“Don’t sound so surprised or I might rethink my decision,” I chuckled nervously.

“Oh, no.” He forced a serious expression, looking almost bored but his eyes sparkled with excitement, giving him away. “I’m not surprised at all. In fact, I’m amazed that it took you that long to accept.”

“Mhm, sure.” I smirked at him, and he grinned, pulling the stack out again, and scribbling out the changes in the contract for us to initial. I was flattered that my agreement made him so happy, even if he was trying to hide it. He could have any woman he wanted. I wondered why he wanted me.

Chapter 9

Enzo

The amount of effort it had taken to watch Aurora walk into her apartment without taking her to bed was a feat of super-human proportions. Listening to her moan over her dessert nearly broke me. I couldn’t believe that she had agreed to include sex in our deal, not just on Tuesdays but any time. I thought she would say no since it wasn’t part of our initial deal. To be fair, I never really imagined it would be something I wanted. For the past three years, I’d been content with keeping my urges under control by meeting up with one of Delphine's girls once a week. I didn’t want to connect with any of those women. It was part of why I wanted things in such a specific way. I didn’t want to think about who they were or what they were like. They were just a stand in for what I really wanted and the less I saw them as a person, the easier it was for me to just pretend.

To them, I probably seemed like some cold businessman just looking to get off. I couldn’t imagine how confusing it must have felt for them to also know that I wanted them to stay and cuddle. I’d given myself that one indulgence, one night a week for years. What was I going to do when I had free reign to go wild with those urges?Anytime. Anywhere.

But Aurora was different. I did see her as a person. Maybe it was the way she blushed or awkwardly rambled on that first night, but she’d made me smile which was something a woman hadn’t done in quite a long time.

I wasn’t so concerned with forgetting everything when I was around Aurora, but I could see losing myself in her. I would have to be careful. Maybe it would be okay to see her as a person when we weren’t in bed. We could be friends even. But in the bedroom, she was just an instrument, a tool to help me escape reality and get the release I needed. Or at least that was what I would tell myself.

I was eager to get the newly revised contract to my lawyer, so I called him on the way to work the next morning to schedule a meeting. He wouldn’t be available until ten, which meant sitting anxiously through meetings until then. Once I had Aurora locked into the agreement, I’d be able to relax knowing that she didn’t have much choice but to continue with me for the next two months.

Finally, our financial meeting was complete, and I headed back to my office to wait for Signore Rossi to arrive. I sat in my large, leather chair, knowing that I should be looking over the emails my secretary had flagged as important, but I couldn’t get my mind off of Aurora. The papers were signed, the agreement made. After Rossi took care of his part, she would be mine.

I picked up my phone and dialed Aurora on her new office line.

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