Page 121 of My Mafia King

“Thank you so much,” I say, breaking away from him, my fingers gliding down his jacket. “You just made my day,” I add, smiling. “I’ll be forever grateful. And don’t forget… I’ll do anything for you. Anything,” I say, carried away and deeply touched by his gesture.

“Don’t be so quick at saying this,gattino,I might hold you to your promise.”

He flicks his eyes away and checks the pool before bringing his gaze back to me.

“Go swim,” he suggests, and I’m about to say I don’t have a bathing suit, when he speaks again.

“There’s a shop inside the hotel where you can buy stuff. Ask the woman at the reception to direct you there. Here,” he says, reaching inside his jacket and handing me some cash.

Brand new one hundred dollar bills. The stash is thick, and there is way more money than I need to buy a swimming suit.

I take it and look at him.

“Keep the rest. You might need it. You’ve done a great job so far,” he says, giving me a soft wink.

He surely is in a better disposition today.

“Thank you,” I say, suppressing my need to wrap my arms around his neck and thank him by kissing his cheek again.

22

CARMINA

“The purple oneand the blue one,” I say, leaning over the counter and pointing to the swimsuits displayed on the mannequins.

“All right,” the woman behind the counter says. “I thought I had them displayed in the front. “Let me get you one of each. Anything else?” she asks.

“I’m looking for a summer dress and some shorts.”

“Everything is over there,” she says, pointing to the left.

“Okay. I’ll be right back.”

I peruse the clothing racks and end up with a red dress with narrow straps that tie on my shoulders, white shorts, two cropped tops, and flip-flops.

“Are you an employee?” the woman asks while ringing up my items.

I hesitate for a moment.

“Uh… Yes. But I don’t have the badge with me.”

“No problem.”

She gives me the employee discount, and I’m happy about it.

Despite all that, I opt against the blue swimming suit since I still consider it a splurge, and I walk out of the boutique with a shopping bag and a lot of cash in my pocket.

There were forty one hundred dollar bills in that roll of cash. And that’s quite a bit of cash still left for me.

Having money in my pocket feels good. And I was serious when I said I’d do anything for him if I could continue making this kind of cash and make my plan work.

Once in his suite, I put my money in a shoe box, change my clothes, and head downstairs.

Clad in my red dress, flip-flops, and purple bikini swimsuit, I enter the dining area, which is now empty.

Voices ring in the background, most likely in the kitchen.

I walk past the tables set for the next lunch or dinner party and reach the pool area.

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