Page 1 of Demanding Mob Boss

Chapter 1

ANNA

I really need this job. Only I don’t know how long I can sit here. There’s so much movement, so much noise.

Stay calm. You can breathe. Inhale. Exhale.

One, two, look at my shoe.

My feet are aligned under my chair, no scuffs on my leather flats. Should I have worn heels? I have a pair, but they feel unsteady.

Three, four, find the door.

It took nine steps to come into the room and meet the HR person who checked me in. It was six more to reach the chair where I sit. If I went directly from the chair to the door, that would be twelve steps, I think.

Five, six, click, click, clicks.

I tap my thumbnail and my middle fingernail together three times, the familiar sound soothing me.

Seven, eight, release the weight.

Breath out slowly. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. My lungs are empty. I do not breathe in or out for seven and eight.

Nine, ten, inhale the Zen.

I inhale counting to ten.

Now start again.

The rhyme is something I made up with my mom and it still gives me comfort when my anxiety spikes.

Mrs. Bantry is in the doorway.

She gives us all that big fake smile. But her eyes…they are not friendly. They're smug. She will decide which one of us gets the job, and she likes knowing that. She looks around at all of us, like she's measuring our worth.

The other people in the room sit up straight and smile at her, hoping they will be the next one called in. The longer it takes for her to call our names, the more chance the position will be filled before she gets to us. It's simple math.

Her gaze skips right over the two men in the room, like it has each time she's come out of her office. I do not know why. Men can be receptionists as easily as women. I do not understand most people's prejudices. They confuse me because they make no sense to me.

She points at a brunette sitting across the room from me. The woman grips her purse tightly but smiles brightly and follows Mrs. Bantry into the office. The door closes behind them. The noise and the movement start all over again, only worse, because she has been in here. People talk and speculate. They shift and adjust their clothing.

I want to leave. I can’t. Ini is relying on me to pay my half of the rent and everything else. I only have two friends. Her and Mrs. Hart. I met Ini in elementary school right after I moved in with my aunt and uncle. Ini had just been placed with a new foster family.

When she found out my parents were dead like hers, she said we would be best friends. And we have been, ever since.

I can’t let Ini down. Not again.

Keeping a job is as hard for me as getting one. After a certain point, they all become too much. Too many sounds. Too many people. Things get too bright. Too chaotic. I say my rhyme so often, I lose track of what I'm supposed to be doing on the job itself. Either I leave and can't go back, or I get fired. It's inevitable, but I have to work.

I force myself into stillness, not even letting myself say my rhyme again. Though I cannot control the chaos around me, I try to control the anxiety within.

Suddenly, everyone goes quiet. No one even moves. The stillness is delicious. I look up and I see a man standing in the doorway to the hall. He’s big. Well over six feet tall. His shoulders are broad; power exudes from him.Hecaused the stillness.

I want to thank him.

The door to Mrs. Bantry’s office opens again. The broad smile and smug expression fall off her face when she sees the man. Shock widens her eyes. Her mouth opens, but I count five seconds before she speaks.

Five seconds of peace.

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