I had just about finished setting everything up when I went to start brewing the coffee.

Despite the lack of sleep last night, I was in a good mood. After I got Vince to turn down his blasting music, I had tried to go back to bed but to my luck, I couldn't. And it was because of how sexually frustrated Vince had made me.

I didn't understand why he made me feel the way I did. Maybe it was his ridiculously good looks or his stupid remarks or maybe it was how every time he spoke it heat would rush to my core. Whatever it was, it was starting to become a problem.

Putting on my apron, I notice the aroma of coffee starting to fill the air. Walking back up to the coffee machine, I remove the brew pot full of coffee.

"Mr. Ferraro!"

I looked up from the counter to see the front door of the coffee shop open. Vince strolled in with at least 10 other people smothering him. They surrounded him while taking pictures of him. Lights flashed every few seconds.

Was that... paparazzi?

I stood there in shock, unsure of what to do.

"Are you opening any more clubs?" Someone shoved a microphone in his face. He seemed unfazed and just slowly pushed the microphone out of his face. He continued walking up to the counter where I was, ignoring them. Why was he getting bombarded by paparazzi?

"Are you getting married soon?" They continued asking him questions and Vince waved them off, clearly irritated. He managed to make it to the counter even with the people blocking his way.

"Dark roasted coffee." He requested. I nodded, speechless before going to make his drink. I could see flashes from their cameras from the corner of my eye as they continued taking pictures of him and asking him more questions.

Who was he? Why did he have the paparazzi following him around like a celebrity? Was he a celebrity?

Dozens of questions ran through my head, demanding to be answered but to no avail. I knew I couldn't ask him, especially not when he was already overwhelmed with all the questions the paparazzi was asking.

Placing the cap on top of his cup, I turned and handed Vince his coffee, ignoring everyone else. He nodded silently, almost as if it was his way of showing gratitude.

"How much money have you made the past year?" They continued to ask him questions.

Vince seemed calm as he pulled out his wallet and plucked out a 20 dollar bill.

I could tell that this wasn't his first time getting swarmed by paparazzi. He was handling it all so well as if he had done this hundred of times. His nonchalant behavior seemed to make the paparazzi quiet down once they realized he wasn't going to answer any of their questions.

He handed the money to me.

"Keep the change." He grumbled before walking out of the coffee shop with the drink in his hand.

The paparazzi followed him out of the building.

...

"Darcy." A voice said, waking me up from my peaceful slumber. I felt a pair of hands grab my shoulders and shake me violently.

I groaned, refusing to wake up, and kept my eyes closed.

"Darcy." The same voice repeated, this time more firmly. The same pair of hands continued to shake me out of my sleep.

I finally gave in and opened my eyes as they adjusted on Erin, who had woken me up. Her hands left my shoulders,

"What?" I said groggily, rubbing my eyes, attempting to clear my vision. She had woken me up mid-dream and I was still half asleep. Hard sleep was hard to come by these days.

"Your dad's here," She said.

I blinked, not sure if I had heard her correctly. I stared at her for a moment, not saying anything.

A laugh broke loose from my lips but it came out more croaky and hoarse than I intended it to be.

"That's funny. It almost sounded like you said that m-"

"Your dad is here," Erin repeated, cutting me off.

I studied her face for a second, trying to find any sign of humor in her eyes but there were none. The amused look on my face had passed and was now placed with a more serious one.

"Wait, are you being serious?" I asked. I couldn't tell if she was being serious or this was some elaborate joke. But Erin wasn't one to joke about something like this.

She pointed her thumb towards the door. "Go see for yourself."

I reluctantly crawled out of my sheets and out of my bed. If my dad was here, I would be screwed.

"Where is he?" I asked, eyeing her suspiciously. I didn't want to believe that my dad had actually come all this way but deep down I had known that he would do something like this all this time.

"In the living room," Erin replied.

So it was worse than I'd thought. He must've known all this time. He must've known every little thing I had done ever since I left his place. I wasn't surprised. He had money and tons of resources that even I didn't know about.

We had lived in New Jersey which wasn't too far from New York but I still didn't expect him to come all this way. I followed all of his rules so what else could he possibly want?

I grabbed a large hoodie that was sitting on the floor before pulling it over my head and my sleepwear.

Taking a deep breath, I walked out of my room to find my dad. I looked over to the living room to see him sitting on one of the couches. His eyes met mine and I froze.

He had dark hair like me but he did a better job at taming and controlling it than I did. His face now had more wrinkles that weren't there the last time I had seen him. He was dressed in his normal casual but formal attire.

I had no clue what I was going to say to him.

Sorry, dad didn't mean to run away without any warning at all.

But, I did. I did mean to run away without any warning at all.

"Hey, dad," I said, cutting my thoughts off. I gave my dad an innocent, meek smile.

His eyes seemed to grow angrier at what I had said but his other facial expressions remained the same. He was always good at controlling his emotions which I envied.

"You ran away to another state for three weeks and that's all you have to say?" My dad stood up from the couch. I gulped, knowing there was no correct answer to that question so I stayed silent.

"Tell me, Darcy." My dad started, taking one large wide step towards me. "Was what I gave you just simply not enough?"

I broke eye contact with him, looking at the ground. My dad was an intimidating man. That was why he was so good at his job.

"I've bought you everything you could want and even more but you were still unhappy with what I gave you." He continued to speak.

He was right. He had bought me everything I've ever wanted and plenty more. I was spoiled and yet I still ran away to seek another life.

And what was my excuse? I wanted freedom. A taste of actual life.

"How long are you going to keep controlling me?" I shot back after mustering up the courage. "Newsflash: I'm 18. I'm a legal adult. Let me live my own life."

"How many times do I have to tell you this?" My dad lowered his voice in case anyone was listening. "It is not just simply your life. Your life will be threatened, Darcy. And you know why."

I sighed. We had gone over this more times than I could count. Because of my dad's job, my life was constantly in danger. Getting kidnapped and getting held for ransom was something my dad had always warned me about.

He was overreacting. The same excuse he used for limiting everything I could do was getting old. I liked working for my own money. Having something that I had worked hard for and earned myself.

"I'll be fine,"

"You won't be fine." My dad said almost as soon as I had finished talking. "You need to be careful and stop going out. In fact, stop working at all."

I snorted. "I need money to survive, dad," I said, dryly.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He unfolded the paper and handed it to me. I looked down at the paper to see that it was a check of $10,000.

"I'll let you continue to stay in New York as long as you follow my rules."

I looked up at him before looking at the check again. Although I had been surrounded by wealth my whole life I knew 10 grand was still a shit ton of money. But I wasn't going to give up my job so easy.

"This will be your last warning." My dad said. He gave me a look before starting to walk towards the front door.

I tore the check into pieces before walking towards the trashcan and throwing it away. I didn't need his money. Most people would be elated to be handed money like this but I couldn't depend on my dad to support me for the rest of my life.

I saw my dad pause and glance over his shoulder to see me throw the check he had given me that was now in shreds into the trash.

When I was done ripping the last pieces, he walked out the door without a word.

...

The front door of the coffee shop opened and Vince strolled in as if he owned the place.

After the whole thing with my dad, I went to work. My day was already off to a bad start and now Vince was at the coffee shop I worked at once again. Was this going to become a habit?

Vince looked as sexy as ever as he looked around him, and our eyes met for a moment. I raised both eyebrows, giving him a look before shaking my head.

Vince was wearing another freshly tailored suit. It was free from any wrinkles and fit him in the best way possible. He was always so well dressed, it made me wonder what he did after he left.

What did the fucking CEO of a multi-billionaire even do all day? Surely he had better things to do than spend his time in a coffee shop.

His lips curled into a smile and I was sure he was mocking me. He walked up to the counter before ordering the same thing he ordered yesterday. A dark roasted coffee.

I wanted to ask him about the whole thing with the paparazzi yesterday but I couldn't seem to bring myself to. Instead, I smiled and went to go make his coffee.

After finishing making his order, I handed him his coffee and he gave me another 20 dollar bill, letting me keep the change.

He then sat down at the same spot to eat.

I went to continue fixing a few more things and began setting more things up. A few more customers came in and I took their orders.

After a while, I noticed that Vince was still here.

He moved his head to gaze out the window, a few dark strands falling loose. His hair was styled to perfection, framing his tanned face. He paused for a moment, before sipping another sip of the drink. My eyes wandered up to his arm, to his strong forearm hiding underneath the suit but it was still obvious he had muscles.

As much as I hated to admit it, I was attracted to him.

...

It was a cool autumn day in New York. I was walking back from work with a large black jacket that kept me warm.

The sidewalks and roads were busy like any other day. Even with everyone rushing and occasionally bumping into me, today felt calm. Relaxing.

I took a deep breath of the fresh air before exhaling. I was in a really good mood, mostly because of the nice weather. The sun was starting to set and the autumn breeze was perfect.

For a second, everything seemed to fade away and I was in my own world.

Suddenly, I felt something hard press against my lower back, bringing me back into reality.

I had stopped walking, my body tensed up in response. I was about to turn around and look but a voice stopped me.

"Keep walking." The gruff unfamiliar voice behind me said. I heard a familiar click and my face drained of color once I realized what it was pressed against my back.

It was a gun. And he had just clicked off the safety.

There went my good mood.

I started walking again, my heart thudding so loud against my chest, I was sure he could hear too. The last thing I wanted was to get shot so all I could do was obey.

"Stay quiet." He ordered. "Do as I say or I will shoot."

I stiffened but kept walking, doing as he said.

Why were they targeting me? I could feel two other presences next to me. Their bodies prevented the gun from being seen by anyone else.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see they were both tall with shades that covered their eyes. They were wearing a black button-up polo shirt and black pants. I wasn't able to see the man behind me that was holding the gun.

No one around us seemed to even be the slightest bit curious about what was going on. They were all too invested in their own lives to worry.

I could feel the man behind me dig the gun into my back, urging me to go faster. I complied, not wanting to get shot. My heart was racing, adrenaline pumping through my veins. I was going to die and there was nothing I could do about it.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I exhaled, trying to calm my nerves. The best I could do was obey and stay calm. If I tried to resist, there was no doubt I was going to get shot.

I didn't know where I was going at this point. All four of us had already walked past the apartment complex I lived in.

I needed to escape. But how was I going to escape from three men and a gun??

"Turn left." The gruff voice behind me ordered. I turned left.

Suddenly I felt a painful impact on the back of my head. Before I could react I was already falling towards the floor, about to blackout.

...

I forced my heavy eyes open. The room seemed to spin as a wave of nausea hit me.

The room was too dark to be able to see anything. My hands were tied together above my head as my body hung from the ropes that tied it. I wiggled my arms and then winced at the pain. My wrists felt raw and sore from the harsh material of the rope.

The side of my head hurt badly from where it had been hit. I groaned in pain. Where was I?

I began to steady my feet onto the ground, supporting my weight instead of letting the rope carry all of it.

I realized I wasn't wearing the same clothes I had been wearing before. My clothes had been replaced by a tank top and a pair of shorts that weren't mine.

Had they undressed me.

"You're awake." A deep familiar voice said.

I tilted my head up to see who had said that. My jaw dropped when I saw the last person I expected to see walk through the door. If it wasn't for the light from the other side of the door, I wouldn't have been able to make out who it was.

In strolled Vincent Ferraro in his usual composed posture.

He was wearing a black button-up shirt that almost blended into the dark and a pair of black dress pants. The first two buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned, revealing his muscular chest. I tore my eyes away from his chest, trying not to stare.

Had he been the one that kidnapped me?

"What the hell did you do?" I spat, tugging my arms at the ropes again. My arms were tired and sore and I didn't know how much longer I could hold this position until I passed out again.

"Please be more specific, Darcy." He had walked up to me and was now examining me.

I felt exposed and vulnerable under his gaze, especially with the shorts I was wearing and the white tank top.

His eyes were exploring every part of my body. I didn't know what he was trying to do.

"Let me go," I demanded, emphasizing each word. I violently tugged at the ropes that bounded my hands together. The skin of my wrists felt raw and burned.

His eyes slowly trailed up my body, finally meeting my eyes. His lips curved into a smirk, amused by my useless attempts to free myself.

What did he want?

"You're a bit feisty today, aren't you?" He asked, slightly leaning towards me as he spoke. I could almost feel his minty breath against my skin.

He then reached his hand out to touch my face. I jerked my head back and tried to bite his hand but he moved them away before I could.

"What do you want?" I spat out, narrowing my eyes. I tried to ignore how dangerously attractive he looked at the moment. My neighbor had kidnapped me. How attractive he was should've been the last thing on my mind. What would someone as rich as Vince want with me?

He flashed his rows of pearly white teeth before speaking.

"As of right now, I have everything I want in front of me."