Page 47 of Bought By the Mafia

“Says the man who prefers looking at boring charts instead of being in bed with his newly wedded wife.”

“What’s your game here, Allison?”

“Game? I’m simply being upfront. You’re the one who’s faking. Faking your marriage. Faking your feelings, and who knows what else?”

Shit. Allison was smart, and I knew eventually she would have worked it out the longer she stayed here. I could continue the lie. Tell her it’s real. But was it even a lie when I wanted it to be true? “What’s it to you?”

“Friends look out for each other. I’m looking out for you as you did me. It’s only natural, don’t you think?” She lowered her voice to a sultry register. Her chest was almost in my face as she leaned towards me. She had nice breasts. Good looking breasts I’ve lusted after before. Now, however, they were a distraction. I turned my attention to her face. A small upturn of a smile was slowly forming. No, a smirk. She’s trying to seduce me, I realized. And she thinks she’s got me. If only it were that easy. The only person I was thinking of at that moment was Simona. Specifically, her reaction if she were to see us like this.

I leaned back to put more space between us. “It’s late,” I said. “You should go to back to bed.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“You’re free to roam in here and do whatever you want,” I said, standing up. In order to do so, I practically had to push her out of the way. She was as rigid as a brick wall, refusing to budge. When she did, she moved in such a way that her chest brushed against mine. If this were Simona, I would have a raging boner right now. But with Allison, I was annoyed. “I’m going to bed.”

“Don’t.” She grabbed hold of my hand and clasped it in hers.

“Allison.” It was a warning. She did not heed it. Instead, she took my hand and placed it on her left breast. I snatched it away, repulsed by the mere idea. “I think you have gone too far.” My voice was cold and hard. The kind of tone I reserved for people who were about to receive my wrath. For Allison’s sake, I hoped at that moment she wasn’t one of them. Smart as she was, she seemed to not take the hint.

“I have a wife,” I pressed further.

“You don’t love.”

“What’s between Simona and I is none of your business.”

“I don’t intend it to be. All I care about is you and I. Our relationship.”

“We’re friends. That’s all we’ll ever be.”

“We were more before. We’ve always colored outside the lines.” She brushed her hand down my chest. I caught it and swiped it away before she went any lower. Her smile faltered. “I’m not interested in you, Allison. I only want one woman and it’s not you.”

My words seemed to sink in this time. Instead of the tentative forward press she was doing, she stepped back and crossed her hands around her chest. A little surprised. A little shy. She took a huge gulp. Was she pushing back tears? I could not tell and I didn’t care, to be honest. My annoyance was overriding any compassion I might have felt for her.

“Wow,” she said finally, “You do love her.”

I shrugged. It felt more like a statement of fact coming from her, and in a way, it kinda was.

“Why?”

Why do I love my wife, the only person who’s ever held up a mirror to my face and showed me the real me? The only person who challenges me and isn’t afraid to do so? What’s not to love? There were so many reasons I could have told Allison, some of them I hadn’t fully understood yet, but before I could say anything, she added, “Why her? Do you have any idea what kind of person she is?”

“I do. It might be why I love her, actually.”

“You wouldn’t say that if you knew—”

“That she used to be part of a team that conned people out of money? Yes, I was aware. She told me all of that.” Technically, I didn’t know all the details until tonight, but there was no reason to give Allison that information. Her face fell when she realized the most powerful weapon in her arsenal turned out to be a dud. She must have thought that this would be a surprise to me. And besides, even if I hadn’t known, it was not as if I would have run into her arms. The more she tried to seduce me and smear Simona, the less attractive she became. Spite wasn’t her color.

“And you’re happy with that? A slut who would loves money more than you?”

“Careful Allison. That’s my wife you’re talking about.”

Her eyes narrowed. She glared at me as if she was looking at me from a different perspective. A specimen whose body she’s seeing in a whole new light. And then, as if this new realization was too unreal, she shook her head and made another move. This time, her hand went to my waist. I was too slow to react and froze when she placed her lips on mine. The kiss was desperate and sad. It was only a millisecond before I removed her away from me.

“Allison,” I started.

“You don’t love her. You don’t. You love me.” Her voice was shaky with emotion. I don’t know when or how it had happened, but somewhere along the way, she had deluded herself into thinking she was in love with me.

“It’s Simona Allison. She’s the one I care about. Now leave this office before you learn a side of me you don’t want to know.” She froze. My threat was clear. Tears welled in her eyes as the message sank in. “I want you gone tomorrow morning,” I added. “My men will take you to one of my apartments in Brooklyn. I think you’ve overstayed your welcome.”

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