Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
So while working with her was not ideal, being out in public felt good. Amazing, even.
And that was before I walked out of the back and saw him.
A man I thought I’d never see again.
Massimo Grassi.
Looking wholly out of place even though he’d left his tie and jacket off.
The man just sort of… oozed money and sophistication.
I didn’t even really wrap my head around the fact that his presence likely meant he was going to help me. I was too focused for a while on how attractive he looked, how he seemed to swallow up the whole room, and suck out all the air.
Then he was passing me notes, reminding me why he was actually there. Not for a sandwich. But to help me and my brothers.
His timing was impeccable, too. Showing up right when I started a new job.
I knew it was risky to meet him at the indie coffee shop a couple doors down when I took my break. But I knew from my brothers that Colin’s men were not allowed in, so there was a layer of safety in that.
Colin had been clear. I was allowed to leave the deli for my break—seeing as there was nowhere in the deli to stand around and be useless and in the way—but I had to stay on that side of the street. I could sit on the bench, take a walk, or get something to eat at one of the other shops.
Mainly, I knew, because he knew his mom would keep an eye on me.
And if Colin asked why I went to the coffee place, I could play dumb and act like I didn’t know it wasn’t a place that his men or even his mom were allowed to visit.
“Okay. Go,” Rizzo said, waving a rag at me. “I need to clean up after your mess anyway,” she added. “Be back in thirty minutes, or I will have to call my son.”
“Okay. Thanks, Rizzo,” I said, tone bright, even if my insides were cringing at being friendly to her when she’d been a witch to me all day.
It didn’t matter.
I had some freedom.
That was what counted.
Some part of me was almost afraid that the second I stepped out the doors, that someone was going to swoop down and drag me back to Colin’s house. But, amazingly, nothing happened.
No one even seemed to be paying me any mind as I started walking toward the coffee house.
It was a cute little indie place full of crystals and gorgeous art. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Massimo sitting at a table, but I didn’t want it to look like I was noticing him, so I made my way toward the counter instead.
“Okay, normally, I wouldn’t serve anyone who works at that place,” the green-haired lady behind the counter told me as soon as I walked up. “But judging by the way Hot Mafia Dude is eye-fucking the shit out of you right now, I’m going to assume you are here to talk to him.”
“I…”
“It’s okay. I won’t say anything. I hate that whole crew, so if you two are conspiring to take them out, I am all for it. Won’t say shit. In fact, your coffee is on me. What are you having?”
“Something sweet,” I said, already salivating at the thought.
“Got you covered,” she said, grabbing a mug. “Hot or cold?”
“Hot.”
“Classic. What’s your name?”
“Cammie,” I said immediately before I could think better of it, not knowing if maybe I should have been using an alias or something.
“Cammie. Cute. I’m Traveler. I didn’t catch Hot Mafia Guy’s name, but I bet it something sexy that rolls off the tongue.”
She wasn’t wrong, but I thought it was maybe smartest not to comment on that sort of thing. Just in case.
“Nope. Like I said, on me,” she said when I went for the small bit of cash I had on me, leftover from my trip to see Massimo over a week ago. “You have to deal with that witch of a boss all day. Her last employee would spend all her breaks sitting here crying her eyes out. So… enjoy the coffee. Try to decompress a little. Share an eye-fuck with the hottie. Or, better yet, share an actual fuck in the bathroom,” she said, wiggling her brows at me.
On that crazy little comment, I turned around to the busy little shop, looking around like I might find a seat until Massimo gestured toward his.
“Hey,” I said, voice low as I lowered onto my seat.
“Hey, babe. Got yourself a job, huh?”
“It was a way out of the house,” I told him. “I don’t know if it will last, but it’s nice to get out.”
“I get it.”
“You came,” I said, inwardly wincing at the comment, at the neediness in my tone.
“I came a week ago, actually,” he told me, making my heart swell up a bit, for reasons I didn’t really understand.