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~ Daniela's POV ~

"Let me up...let go."

My eyes began to open as I tried to move my body, trying to get out of the vice like grip that was somehow wrapped around my body weighing me down.

I tried to twist and turn to loosen it but it didn't work, not with the wall right next to me on the otherside. Instead I began to feel the familiar cold air of the room even more, every inch of my skin was slowly becoming exposed to it.

My skin stung every time it touched the cold wall next to me on the left but unlike I remember, the thing holding me down on the right was also cold, stone cold.

"Move." Once again I tried to get the weight off my waist, unable to see anything in the dark although if felt like the walls were closing in on me. That's how I sometimes felt when I woke up and couldn't see a thing in that room.

I knew it was that same tiny room, the one I'd memorised every inch of but the darkness left me to my imagination which only made it feel smaller.

Then I heard the familiar sound of the door opening, like we heard so many times before.

"Let me up." When I pushed against the weight on my stomach again, it still didn't budge.

"No baby, stay there."

When I heard his voice it sent a jolt of terror through me as my heart beat began to quicken. When I heard the familiar sound of his belt opening and the unzipping of his pants my hands went to the heavy weight resting on my waist trying to get it off but it still wouldn't move.

"Ah, perfect. I didn't like when you used to move around too much. At least he's good for one thing, even if he's dead."

"Dead?" When I heard that word my movements slowed as I turned to face the stone cold object that I remembered used bring me so much warmth. I couldn't see a thing in that room, so I lifted my hand up into the cold air reaching out to touch it.

I trailed my finger along the cold strange surface until they finally reached something familiar...lips.

I didn't even have a split second after that before the lights flashed on giving me just enough time to see the face of the body lying next to me and Ayden standing in the background of that small room.

A chilling scream ripped through my mouth as I tried to push the weight away from me, trying to put some distance between myself and the body next to me.

I can't really remember what happened, I just remember screaming like my life depended on it in the dark while I was trying to figure out what was going on.

"Dani! Dani calm down." The second I felt someone touch me I lost it all over again with renewed energy, thrashing around in the bed in a messy attempt at pushing them away. "Let me go!"

"Dani I'm not going to hurt you my beautiful, it's okay, you're safe." I knew his voice, but it was too dark and all I was focusing on was the darkness. Ayden was in the room with me, we were still in that room. I was locked in there alone now, he wasn't with me anymore. I saw him, he was dead.

Carson was dead.

The moment that image came back into my head, I let out another scream which in the end came out more like a strangled sob.

"Dani baby calm down. Just calm down." Shaking my head I tried to push the sound of his voice out of my head, instead trying to get away from the person next to me.

"Daniela please, stop just stop and look at me. It's me, it's just me."

It's not real. He's not here, he's dead he's not here.

I knew my mind was playing tricks on me, I just couldn't figure out which part was the trick. I just had to get away, I had to get out. But the darkness wouldn't let me.

The second I felt an arm snake around my waist with the intention of turning me to face the person next to me, I kicked my legs out trying to get away again.

"Ow!" When the person let out a pained groan followed by a curse word, it didn't sound like what I wanted to hear. Something was telling me to stop, that it wasn't something I wanted to hear again, it was too familiar. But I couldn't understand what was happening.

"I can't see." The words came out through a sob as I pushed against the person next to me although, now that they were in pain my attempts became less forceful.

After that a few seconds passed before the room was lit up in a dim light, allowing me to see the large bedroom I was in.

Not that tiny room.

"Daniela look at me." When I heard his voice again which was now strained from the pain, I turned my head to look at him, frowning when I saw him looking back at me with worry written all over his face. "You're safe baby, you're here with me. It's okay."

Shaking my head, I felt myself trembling in the bed next to him as my breathing came out in fast short pants.

"N-no...I was in that room again. I was there and A-Ayden was there and you were there but you were..." As I spoke and my sentence trailed off, a cry left my mouth as I lifted my hand placing it on his cheek. "You were dead Carson."

Just like that the sobs started leaving my mouth at full force again when I couldn't shake that thought from my head. We may have fought like hell sometimes and our relationship may be turbulent, but he was still my everything and it felt so real. It was so real in my head.

"Baby I'm right here, I'm okay, see? I'm fine baby, we're home and we're okay."

He said those words to me as he pulled me into him allowing me to hold onto him. My hands gripped his shirt as I cried, trembling against his chest while he just kept repeating those same words to me.

"We're not there anymore Dani, it's over, we're home."

"It felt so real, that room...it was like we were locked in there again."

I felt him nod as if he understood what I was saying but he didn't say anything about it, instead he just repeatedly told me I was safe and I was with him at home.

We stayed like that until my cries calmed down and I stopped trembling and shaking which took a long while. As soon as I did I felt the exhaustion take over my body as I rested my head in the crook of his neck like I used to do whenever I was cold at night in that room.

"Go to sleep my beautiful." 

"Can we keep the light on?" I mumbled the words against his skin as he rubbed my back soothingly. "Of course baby."

<<<<<<< >>>>>>> <<<<<<<<

The second time I woke up that morning, the lamp on Carson's side of the bed was still on which confused me for a second before I remembered what happened during the night.

Last night after I accepted the ring he spent the next half hour trying to convince me to let him sleep in his own bed with me. After my nightmare, I was glad I did finally give in to him, I don't know what would have happened to me if I woke up after that dream and he wasn't there.

"Hey." When I heard his tired voice my eyes shifted away from the ceiling and towards him, noticing the frown on his face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay." When I spoke my voice was surprisingly very hoarse causing me to bring my hand to my throat, massaging it. "Did I really scream that much?"

Nodding his head he pulled me in closer to him as he pressed a kiss to my throat just above the base of my neck.

"You scared the hell out of me Dani." When he tightened his arms around my waist, nuzzling his face into my neck I let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, I had a bad dream."

"I kind of got that part."

I felt his lips twitch into a smile against my skin before he pressed another kiss to the same spot.

"I hurt you, didn't I? I kicked you in your..." When I awkwardly trailed off my sentence he let out a laugh. "Yeah, but it's okay, it was an accident."

He didn't say anything for a while after that as we both lay there taking some time to wake up. I had no clue what time it was but from the way I had to fight to keep my eyes open I knew it was early.

"What time do you have to be at work today?"

"9am, I have a meeting with a son of a bitch." I nodded my head, not even bothered or fazed by his choice of language this early in the morning. In fact I was starting to swear a lot more than I usually did thanks to how much time I spent with him.

Or maybe it was because he managed to piss me off to no end.

"If you're still tired you can stay here and sleep for a bit? You can take one of my cars or my driver later."

Shaking my head I let out a yawn as I curled up closer into his chest while he rubbed my back which only made me feel even sleepier.

"I liked going with you yesterday, you bought me a coffee." My words caused him to let a laugh which allowed me to feel his chest rumble. "Isn't it funny how I planned to do just that today as well?"

"Hm." I nodded my head as smile tugging at my lips when he kissed my forehead. "I'm going to take a shower, go back to sleep. I'll wake you up when I'm done."

<<<<<<< >>>>>>> <<<<<<<

"Grey asked for you to meet him in his office. Also, when you see him tell him to start texting you instead of me because I'm the damn boss here, I don't pass messages on to people."

Carson kept his eyes on his phone, muttering the words next to me as we walked through the front doors while I let out a laugh gripping my Starbucks latte in my hand.

"Boss?" When we heard someone call Carson, we both stopped just as we reached the bottom of the stairs. Just like the guy in Grey's office yesterday, this guy glanced awkwardly in my direction instead of speaking, causing Carson to sigh.

"Carry on Dani, I'll see you later."

Glancing between the two I realised they weren't going to say another word until I'd gone so without another word I went up the stairs heading for Grey's office. When I got there I found the door open with Grey sitting behind his desk reading some papers.

"Grey?" When I said his name he looked up, a blank expression on his face as he stood up. I didn't expect him to smile but at least he didn't glare at me.

"Your office is ready." Nodding my head I walked out of his office stopping at the door across from his that he showed me yesterday. Once he grabbed the keys, he came out and handed them to me which, thankfully this time, I was prepared for.

However I definitely wasn't prepared for what I saw when I opened the door.

It looked absolutely nothing like the trashed old man's office I saw. This one was clean and fresh and perfectly designed. It still had the dark vibes like the Carson's and Grey's office had, but it was still soft and feminine.

It was perfect.

"When did this happen?"

"Yesterday and last night. They did the finishing touches this morning." He shrugged his shoulders as he handed me the keys while I still just stood there in shock.

This was mine?

"You did this?" When I turned my head away from the office and towards him, he nodded his head scratching back of his neck. "Do you like it? I can have it changed if you think it's too dark-"

"No, it's perfect, I love it. Thank you." When I gave him a bright smile, he only nodded his head awkwardly which I found cute although I would never ever say that out loud.

Ever.

"Am I working in here today?"

"I still have so much to teach you, I'm not sure if it will work just yet. You might be better off in my office."

I nodded my head in understanding since I didn't expect him to leave his office to come and sit in mine all day.

"What are we doing today?" When I asked the question as I locked my door and turned back to face him, he rolled his eyes at my choice of words.

I don't understand him, it was a normal question.

"The same as yesterday. I have to finish teaching you about all the clients, then I have to teach you about everything we do and sell and about all the different kinds of drugs and guns."

Following him into his office, I watched as he moved a chair behind his desk next to his again like he did yesterday.

"Why do I need to know about that?"

"For one you work in the mafia now, at some point Fox is going to have train you to use a gun and because that's what we sell. How are you supposed to know how to save us money if you don't know about the products we're selling?"

He did make a good point there, but I was too focused on the first part to care.

"Why do I need to know how to use a gun? I'm an accountant not a ninja." As he sat down he cracked a smile at my choice of words before shaking his head. "It's for protection. Carson would never let anything happen but you could become a valuable target for anyone who wants information on us."

"So I could get hurt?" When he heard the worry in my voice as images of George's beating suddenly popped into my mind, he turned his attention back to me. "No one is going to let that happen. You have security detailing you all the time and, like I said, Fox will train you to use a weapon."

"Can he train me in self defence too?"

I thought he would make fun of me for asking that, but all he did was nod his head. "Sure, I'll ask him for you."

I nodded my head as I sat down next to him, taking out my phone, laptop, notebook, pencil case and a bottle of water. The entire time I took out what I needed, I felt his eyes on me.

"How the hell do you fit all that crap into one bag?"

"Oh trust me, it's a skill I've acquired over many, many years."

Of course he only gave me a weird look as I opened up my laptop turning it on.

"It's not a skill - a skill is being able to snap someone's neck with one turn."

Too graphic.

"No, that's just being a jerk. Have you ever been a student Grey? The amount of crap you need to carry with you in one day is terrifying. But, if you're a girl you need to have a nice bag because, if you don't then what are you doing with your life? So then, you have to know how to pack everything perfectly."

By the time I was finished speaking, I'd already scanned my thumb on the flash drive to get into the server when I finally realised Grey wasn't paying any attention to me instead he was reading a text on his phone with a frown.

"You're not a very good listener Grey." Although I only mumbled the words, giving him a smile to show it was meant to be a joke, he didn't take it as a joke - not even in the slightest.

"Why the hell would I listen to a word you have to say? Carson is the one who unfortunately has to endure it but I don't, I'm being forced to do this, so shut the hell up."

His words were laced with venom as he all but spat them at me causing me to flinch back, instantly turning away from him. I could feel my heart rate pick up as I shakily lifted my hand to pick up my pen, well aware of his eyes still on me.

Trying not to think too much about his words so that they didn't get to me, I turned my attention back to the only reason I was still sitting in that room with him.

"Can we get on with the work please?" I refused to meet his eye as I spoke, but all he did was turn my laptop a little to face him, moving onto the next client we had to go over.

To say it was awkward would be the absolute understatement of the millennium. I tried to make sure I was as far away from him as I could, I barely used any of my things just so that I didn't irritate him by leaving too many highlighters out on his desk or something. 

For the next two hours I was just on edge, I don't really know what I did that was so bad. I was only making conversation with him. Maybe he really hated me that much, well, clearly he hated me enough to basically tell me that I'm torturing Carson by speaking to him.

Maybe that's why I don't have any friends?

"Do you know any of these?" When Grey pointed at a bunch of photos of guns on the screen, I pointed at the simplest one I saw.

"That's a pistol." When I pointed to the handgun, Grey didn't say a word as he printed the page off, putting it in front of us before he told me to make notes on everything he was about to say in my notebook.

"You were right when you said it's a pistol, but it's actual name is a Beretta M9. It holds 15 bullets, which is important for you to know so write that down."

"Why?" I glanced over at him as I wrote down the number of bullets it held. "It helps for you to understand the quantities of ammunition we sell. This is one of our most popular guns, so the ammunition is equally as popular."

"What ammunition does it take?"

"9mm." I nodded my head as if I knew what he was talking about although, I had no clue what that meant. After that he told me the pricing for this particular gun and then how much they bought it for and how much they sold it for.

After that we went through a huge list of all the guns they sold, while I was still cluelessly nodding along as if I knew what he was talking about. I really did want to tell him I didn't know, but I didn't want to upset him again so I just stayed quiet.

"We'll talk about the rest after you've eaten, it's already 1pm." Once he finished going through all the guns, he mumbled those words as he turned his attention back to his phone. "Where do I get food from?"

Yesterday after I mentioned lunch to him Grey had someone bring some food upstairs to his office for me. But it didn't look like he was going to do that for me again. Yesterday he told me he, Carson, Aviana and Fox usually all ate their meals together, but they were busy yesterday so they didn't.

"Ask Carson or go to the kitchen, I don't know." Once again he mumbled his response as he typed a message on his phone. Letting out a breath, I stood up from the chair grabbing my phone as I walked out of his office.

Just like yesterday I thought about going to see Carson, but then I decided against it. I didn't want to bother him with something as simple as lunch.

By the time I reached the kitchen that Carson and I argued in a few weeks ago after I tried to calm him down and then made it worse instead, I was a nervous mess. Those nerves only increased when I walked in and saw three women sitting at the table eating a small bowl of salad each.

One of them being Chloe.

The moment I stepped inside they all turned to look at me without saying a word, clearly just scrutinising me by the way they eyed my skin tight black jeans and oversized white button up shirt which I'd paired with some heels.

However, before any of them could say whatever rude comments they were thinking of, a curvy middle aged woman dressed in a plain black outfit suddenly rushed into the kitchen.

"I swear, that man will be the death of me." Her thick Italian accent surprised me as she shook her head with a glare, heading back over to the stove to stir something in a pan when she finally noticed me standing there.

"Can I help you?" Unlike everyone else here, she suddenly gave me a kind smile as I stepped closer to her, still aware of the three women watching my every move. "Oh, it's only my second day here and I don't really know where I can get some lunch from."

"Well you came to the right place." She flashed me a teasing smile as she gestured to the kitchen around us causing my cheeks to instantly redden. "Don't worry cara, this is my kitchen, I will make you whatever you want. Please sit." (Dear)

She gestured to one of the stools at the island in the middle of the kitchen while she went back to making whatever was in the pan on the stove.

"I'm telling you cara, Mr Agnello is one fussy man, but don't tell him I said that otherwise he'll have my head."

Her words caused me to smile as I watched her run over to a chopping board to cut some vegetables, back to the stove and then back to the chopping board.

"Would you like some help?"

"Oh, no! No no, this is my kitchen." The way she glared at me while shaking her head in horror made me smile again. Her Italian accent only made it funnier to me. "So what would you like?"

"Um...a sandwich is fine, but I can make it if-"

"What is your name?" When she suddenly put down her knife and glared at me I frowned at her, trying not to shrink under her glare. "Daniela."

"Listen Daniela, my dolcezza, I will not tell you again. This is my kitchen." (Sweetness)

Clamping my mouth shut when she scolded me in her thick Italian accent, I quickly nodded my head to which she gave me a smile.

"Now, a sandwich is no good, you're too skinny look at you. Let me make you something else. I'm making Mr Agnello and everyone else my cheese Ziti Al Forno, is a kind of cheesy pasta, this okay for you too?"

When she pointed at my body I glanced down with a frown before I eventually nodded my head to accept her offer. When I gave her a grateful smile, she flashed me one right back as she went back to making the food. I watched her as she then went to the fridge to grab a huge block of cheese, rushing back over to the pan.

As she was busy cooking, I heard the chairs across the room scrape against the floor when the three women stood up.

"Giana we're done."

At the sound of Chloe's bitchy tone, both the chef lady and I turned to look at her. Chloe barely glanced in my direction as she shamelessly reached down to pull her skirt down that had ridden higher than I wanted to see. With that she followed the other two women out of the kitchen leaving me alone with the chef.

At least I was more comfortable now that I knew they weren't glaring daggers into my back.

"Ragazza maleducata." (Rude girl)

After she muttered something to herself in Italian, it fell silent again before I finally spoke.

"So why is he fussy?" I asked her the question as I crossed on of my legs over the other, resting my elbows on the island in front of me. "Oh that Mr Agnello."

The way she kept saying his name with so much anger brought a smile to my face.

"He always wants the healthy option, I'm a Mediterranean, I don't know what that is. Just now he said to me, 'Gianna, I don't want too much cheese' and I said to him, 'Mr Agnello, is a cheesy pasta, I have to use the cheese.'"

The glare on her face made me chuckle as she shook her head in frustration, forcefully grating even more cheese into the pan as she grumbled to herself.

"Don't get me wrong cara, Mr Agnello is very nice, he just doesn't understand food. He always wants the meat and chicken - protein he calls it, I say just have what I make for you and be happy."

"It sounds like you have your hands full with him." She nodded her head at this as she turned to glance at me before she turned back to her pan. "Oh yes, all of them, they all give me headaches. Miss Aviana never wants the carbs, Mr Fox and Mr Grey are the same as Mr Agnello, protein. I ask you, what is wrong with the children of today? Well they can have all my cheese, I don't make low cheese cheesy pasta."

By the time she'd finished her rant, adding more cheese to the pan with a vengeance I couldn't contain my laugher any longer.

"So cara, what is it that you do here? You said it is your second day, yes?" I nodded my head her, tapping my fingers on the marble counter as I watched her. "I'm the new accountant."

"New?" As she said the word a frown formed on her face before realisation struck. "Oh! Hector, yes, I heard of his passing - good riddance I say to you Daniela, but to God I say rest his soul - I'm a believing Christian woman. So how is your job?"

When she flashed me a smile, I quickly gave her one in return still trying to keep up with her shifting mood. One minute she was furious and the next she was smiling again. "I'm still learning everything, but it's going okay so far."

If okay means I want to grate myself into her pan, then yes it's okay.

"Ah, well you will be working closely with Mr Agnello, no? Maybe you can teach him about food."

"Well, actually I live with him, he's my boyfriend."

The moment I said those words she dropped her wooden spoon into her pan causing it to clang against the metal. My eyes widened as she turned around, grabbing a cloth to wipe her hands as she came towards me.

"You're the one?"

"The one?" I gave her a confused look as I shifted in my seat uncomfortably watching her frantically nod her head. "The one they talk about! I hear it everywhere, boss's girl. Mio Dio, I should have seen it sooner, how I miss that?" (My God.) 

"People are talking about me?" When she noticed my discomfort, she reached her hand across the island to place it over mine. "My cara, they say nice things, I promise. Not everyone here is bad, only a few of them."

I nodded my head at her, giving her a small smile when she pulled her hand away to go and grab some plates.

"My advice to you cara, stay away from that woman." As she spoke she glanced over at the table where Chloe had left her empty bowl. "From her eyes I see she means you harm, now I understand why."

Because she used to be his bed buddy.

"I'm not scared of her." On the outside, I should have added.

"Very good, maybe you can get rid of her for me? You'd be doing me a favour like they did with rude Mr Hector - God rest his soul."

When a laugh escaped my lips she flashed me a grin as she began to plate up the pasta into large plates. While she was busy plating up, I heard the door open behind me before a squeal erupted in the background.

"Dani!" I just about had time to turn my body to see Aviana before she rushed over to me in her heels before wrapping her arms around me.

"Hi Aviana." I awkwardly patted her arm as she hugged me before she let go, giving me a wide smile.

"When Carson first told me you were going to be working here I didn't believe him but then I saw Grey who looked ready to kill someone and then I knew it was true."

When she finished, she grabbed both of my hands moving my arms away from my body so that she could see my outfit. "I like it, especially the heels, but I'm going to have to teach you how to dress properly. Jeans and pants are a never, skirts are a must."

"Miss Aviana, she looks beautiful and you should copy her. You show too much skin always, see like this - pull your skirt down." When Giana gestured towards Aviana's short skirt, the brunette next to me only rolled her eyes as she tugged her skirt down a little.

"Don't you have cooking to do?" Despite her words, Giana only smiled in satisfaction as she finished putting the pasta into five plates. "Show me you can walk in those shoes and make yourself useful, take these plates in the dining room."

As she said the words, Giana slid some of the plates across the island towards Aviana who just glared straight back at the chef.

"These cost me 2000 dollars, of course I can't walk in them."

Why do I feel like I just walked into some kind of messed up argument between a mother and daughter?

"Ah, Mr Fox! You please take the plates for me then." When Giana suddenly turned her attention towards the door, we both turned to see Fox walk into the kitchen, eyeing the plates of pasta on the counter. "Sure Gi."

He flashed her a smile as he came over to where Aviana and I were, pressing a kiss to Aviana's cheek before he turned to look at me, flashing me a smile.

"I heard you've been giving Grey hell, I just want to personally thank you and encourage you to continue." I gave him a small smile at this as I reached out to grab a fork from the pile Giana had put down on the counter. However the moment I put it in the bowl, stabbing it into a piece of pasta, the plate was suddenly grabbed away from me.

"What are you doing?" When Giana gave me a glare, I only frowned in confusion holding the fork while looking at the plate in her hand. "S-sorry, I...I thought you made one for me."

"Oh I did my sweetheart I would make you anything, but you don't eat in here. You eat in the dining room with them." As she spoke she gestured over to Aviana and Fox who were watching with amused smiles on their faces.

"But I-"

"No buts now come on, I really can't stand for too long in these shoes." As she spoke, Aviana glanced down at her sparkly Louboutin heels before she gestured for me to follow her as she took one plate and Fox took two.

Pouting my lips I picked up my plate that Giana had given back to me, putting the fork back inside before I grabbed the final plate. I followed them out of the kitchen and into the dining room which was thankfully empty when we got there.

I didn't mind sitting with them, it was just Grey who I would rather avoid for the rest of eternity.

"Carson usually sits at the head so you can sit next to him if you want." Aviana gave me a small smile as she sat down next to me on the other side and then Fox sat down across from her leaving the seat next to Carson's empty.

That meant Grey would be sitting opposite me.

Yay.

"So how's it going with Grey?" When Fox flashed me a grin from across the table I shook my head. "Please don't. He makes me want to kill myself."

"I'm sure he'd do it for you if you're desperate." Even though Fox was only joking, we both knew it was true. If he was ever given the chance I'm sure he'd pay money just to have the opportunity to kill me.

"Oh come on he's not that bad. Sure he can be a jerk but so can Carson and even Fox." When Aviana jumped to his defence Fox was the one who disagreed with her. "Avi don't compare me to them. I'm the friendly one here, I'm all love, they're all hate. They're always so damn serious."

"That's because they have actual jobs to do, you just train everyone." When she fired her words back Fox suddenly glared at her, pointing his fork with a piece of pasta on the end of it in her direction. "The effort I put into training our men is the only reason they survive when they're out on missions. When I first met Dallas that kid couldn't even shoot a gun and now he hits the target every single time."

Dallas?

As he ate his pasta he flashed Aviana a smirk while she just rolled her eyes. Only a minute or two passed after that before Grey and Carson walked into the room seeming to be deep in conversation about something.

"You're sure?"Carson muttered the words to Grey as they walked in, stopping at the huge dining table without paying any attention to us yet. "Yeah, it was just Hector. He was stealing from you but he didn't have any accomplices, the money was never transferred on, it's all in accounts under his wife's name."

"I trusted him for years." I watched as Carson shook his head, taking off his suit jacket allowing me to see the muscles through his button up shirt and the gun strapped to his hip. When he rolled up his sleeves to just under his elbows revealing his tattooed arms I swear I almost lost it.

I was so lucky to call him mine.

Once he was finally done they both turned to face the table noticing me sitting there for the first time. Unlike Grey who just glared at me as he sat down across from me, Carson smiled when he saw me.

"Hey beautiful." I gave him a shy smile as he leaned in close to me to kiss my cheek before he sat down at the head of the table on my left. The moment he laid eyes on the pasta in front of him he shook his head, letting out a sigh.

"She never listens." I couldn't help but smile as I watched him pick up a piece of pasta with his fork watching the cheese melt off it. Still, without complaining he ate the food just like everyone else did.

"How's your day been?"

When it suddenly fell silent around us, after a few moments I lifted my eyes away from my plate looking around to find everyone looking at me. "What?"

"I was talking to you Dani." He didn't say it in an angry way, despite how much I know he hates repeating himself, instead choosing to give me an amused smile. "Oh, sorry. It's been okay, just busy, I guess."

"How much has he taught you so far?"

"Well, we just finished going over different types of guns." I purposely avoided his gaze as I mentioned that, my mind going back to the long list of guns I had to know about, most of which were named with numbers and letters. "And you understood everything?"

"Mhm." I could feel their eyes on me as I nodded, keeping my eyes focused on the pasta in my plate. "Look at me."

When I finally lifted my gaze to look at him, I tried to appear strong but he always could see straight through me. "You don't have a clue, do you?"

"Why do I need to know about guns? I told Grey earlier, I'm an accountant - I love money and numbers, not guns and bullets and magazines and all that crap."

My words caused a few chuckles around the room, but apart from that, it was only Carson who responded to me.

"Because, you work in the mafia, at some point you're going to have to know about the products we sell and buy."

"But I'm not the one buying them or selling them."

Tell me why I thought it was a good idea to debate this with him? Because he always won everything between us and this was no different.

"No, but you're the one who's going to be analysing our costs and revenues, you're the one who's going to need to check our deals for exposure. You're also going to check future predictions and create our forecasts for profit and losses. You can't do any of that without knowing the products and services we buy and offer."

"But-"

"But nothing. Didn't Grey already explain this stuff to you?" When Carson suddenly turned his attention towards his friend on his other side, I let out an irritated sigh. "Of course I did, she told me she understood it."

"Well after what you said to me I wasn't going to tell you the truth, was I?"

"What did he say?" This time it was Aviana who spoke, her eyes moving between me and Grey who was still glaring at me. "Nothing."

When I shook my head, I could still feel the tension in the room as I went back to eating, for a split second wishing I took that stripper job instead of this one. At least I would have known what I was doing at that job.

"Dani, this isn't a conventional accounting job. You don't just read a bunch of graphs and write a few reports before you clock out for the day. If I want to get the best out of you, you need to understand the business and the clients. It won't take long for you to learn it all and then you'll be ready to start-"

"Doing my actual job?" When I rose an eyebrow at him, he held my stare for a moment before he nodded his head. "If you're unsure about all of this come and see me later in my office."

"That's just code for come and screw me in my office."

After the way I had to watch him take off his suit jacket and roll up his sleeves, I wouldn't mind that.

When Fox spoke for the first time since the conversation started, we all turned to look at him while he just smirked back, his eyes meeting mine causing a blush to instantly rise to my cheeks. "It's true."

"Can we not talk about sex while we eat again, please?" In response to Grey's words, Fox only nodded with a laugh while I just sat there uncomfortably, trying to calm my blush. I may have wanted to do it, but that didn't mean I wanted to discuss it with his friends.

After that it fell quiet for a few minutes before the sound of the door to the dining room opening caught our attention.

"Sorry to disturb you boss, but two members of the Hollande family just pulled up to the gates. What are our orders?"

I noticed it was the same man who came into Grey's office to speak to him when I had to leave. Now that I had a chance to look at him properly, I noticed he seemed much younger than Carson, actually probably one of the youngest people I'd seen here. Weirdly though, he didn't even seem scared or nervous that he'd just walked into the dining room while they were all eating.

"Again?" Carson shook his head as he put his fork down, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Let them in, but take them to the smaller meeting room not the living room and don't give them anything to eat or drink. Those idiots are getting too comfortable." 

The young man nodded his head, taking a step towards the door when Grey suddenly spoke up.

"Dallas." Oh so this is Dallas. I'm assuming that was the man's name anyway since he turned around at the sound of it.

Well he's not going to be addressed by the city he was born in, is he? You don't hear people shouting Mansfield at you, do you?

"Watch them very carefully, have extra security posted outside the door and in the room. They're up to something, I just don't know what yet."

Dallas nodded his head before he left the room closing the door behind himself.

"That's the fourth time since they first turned up here over two weeks ago." Grey mumbled the words more to himself than to anybody. "Why would they just keep turning up here?"

When Fox asked the question Carson let out a sigh, pushing his mostly full plate away from himself.

"They're playing a game. They think we're weak, every one of our allies, rivals and clients knows I was gone for five weeks. They're trying to exploit it as a weakness."

"What, so they think somethings going on with us?" My eyes shifted towards Aviana when her words came out a lot colder than I was used to.

She was usually the nicest one out of the lot.

"Probably. It's not often that the leader disappears for over a month and the underboss takes over. Not without a good reason." I watched Carson as he took a breath, his eyes focused on the wood of the dining table as his brow furrowed in thought.

When no one said a word for a while, I offered up the only suggestion I had as I took a bite of my food. I was actually the only one still eating. "Maybe they're going to attack you."

When the words left my mouth, Carson along with everyone else turned to look at me. They didn't react - whether that be a laugh, a glare or to tell me to shut up. Instead they just stared at me until Carson let out a laugh.

But it wasn't a humorous laugh, it was a cold, dark laugh that sent shivers down my spine.

"It's a possibility, why else would they only send a few members at a time instead of the whole family? We should-" Before Fox could finish his sentence Carson suddenly stood up, pushing his chair back causing it to scrape against the floor. "Tell Dallas to get our best men ready."

"What? Carson what are you doing?" When Grey stood up with a frown, I watched the scene unfold as I took another bite of my food. That pasta was so good.

"Sending a message. I don't give a damn what their games are, I'm finished with people thinking they can underestimate me. I want them killed and I want it done on our property - today."

"Woah, Carson no, you're not thinking straight. If they're going to attack we need to formulate a plan properly, you don't want to do this."

"Why the hell not?" Carson turned to glare at Grey as he picked up his suit jacket as if he was getting ready to leave. "Because for one - their men will attack us today, right now if you try anything. Don't you think they have this place surrounded?"

"Let them try. I have men everywhere, they won't stand a chance. This is my freaking base."

"Then what about later? Because this is a declaration for war Carson. You can't just kill two members of a family and expect it to fly. They'll retaliate."

Grey's words hung in the air as Carson stood there, glaring at the floor as he thought for a moment. It was only when I put my fork down in my empty plate causing it to clink against the ceramic that he lifted his head to look at me. When I stupidly gave him a small smile as I leaned back into my chair feeling very full from my food, his anger seemed to falter for a moment as his eyes lit up in amusement.

After that a few more moments passed by in silence before he eventually gave his orders to Grey.

"Find out what they want, don't let them stay too long. If they're planning to attack then these random visits and the business proposals they keep sending are distractions."

"Where are you going?" When Carson started walking towards the door clutching his suit jacket in his hand, he didn't even glance back at Grey as he responded. "To get a freaking drink."

When he finally left the room, Grey picked up his phone calling someone before he left the room going in a different direction to Carson. When Aviana and Fox began talking about something I didn't understand, or care to understand, my eyes landed on Carson's food that looked pretty much untouched.

Standing to my feet, I picked my empty plate along with his as I walked back to the kitchen where Giana looked to be baking something since she was rolling dough onto the counter which was covered in flour.

"Oh no, who didn't like their food?" When her eyes landed on Carson's plate, her eyes filled with sadness as she stared at it. "It's Carson's, he did like it but something came up and they kind of had a fight."

"Oh." She nodded her head, her frown never disappearing as she went back to rolling her dough. "Is it okay if I reheat it for him? It's gone a bit cold."

"Sure cara." She didn't look at me as I took the plate to the microwave to reheat it. "Are you going to take it to him?"

Just as I began to walk towards the door with the now hot plate of pasta, I turned to look at her nodding my head. Without a word she wiped her hands of the flour before she headed over to the oven, grabbing some oven gloves.

I watched as she took out a tray of pastries, putting two onto a plate which she handed to me.

"This is sfogliatella, Mr Agnello's favourite to cheer him up. I give one for you too." She gave me a small smile before she went back to her dough, clearly upset at the fact Carson hadn't finished his food.

The fact she gave me his favourite pastry told me it was more because she cared for him, not because she wanted everyone to love her dishes.

Taking both plates and a napkin too, I started the walk to his office which was much harder when I had to climb the stairs in heels without holding onto the bannister for support. But nonetheless, I ended up outside Carson's office moments later, suddenly realising I couldn't knock on the door.

Taking a breath, I said a quick prayer to whoever was watching over me praying that he wasn't busy as I awkwardly opened the door, stepping into his office. Looking around, I was confused to find it empty with no sign of him at all.

Just as I was about to leave to go and find him, a light breeze entered the room causing me to turn my head in the direction of his balcony door. Letting out a nervous breath, I carried the plates over stepping out into the September air.

The balcony wasn't huge, but there was a bench to sit on and a table next to it too where a bottle of scotch was waiting.

My eyes then landed on his figure, his shirt sleeves stilled rolled up to his elbows as he gripped a glass of scotch in his hands, resting his forearms on the railing. He didn't move from his spot staring out at the huge backyard that I once walked in with Aviana, but I'm sure he heard me thanks to my heels when I stepped towards him.

"Giana sent this for you, she said it was your favourite - sfeglia...sfeglati..." When I frowned, struggling to remember the name let alone pronounce it, Carson finally spoke for the first time still without looking at me.

"Sfogliatella."

I don't think it was the right time but just hearing the word roll off his tongue in Italian sent shivers  straight through my body.

Oh what that tongue could do.

"But you have to finish your pasta first, that was always the rule in my house. No dessert until you'd finished your main."

Finally he turned around to face me, allowing me to see the angry expression on his face although I didn't think it was directed at me.

"She knows I didn't finish it?" I let out an awkward laugh as I put the plate of sfogli...pastries, down onto the table next to me. "Well when I went to reheat it she was in the kitchen but she knows it was yours, yes."

"That's freaking great."  I couldn't help but frown when he shook his head, throwing back the rest of the liquor in his glass. "Sorry."

When I mumbled my apology, I put the plate of pasta down too, turning to leave with the intention of leaving him alone to let him calm down.

"Don't go." His voice stopped me as I slowly turned to face him again, watching as he sat down on the bench next to the table. "Sit with me."

He mumbled the words as he picked up his plate, taking a bite of the pasta while I reluctantly went and sat down next to him. A moment passed as he ate before he finally spoke to me.

"I didn't mean to snap at you, it's just...Gi means a lot to me and I don't like upsetting her. When I don't finish my food, she gets upset."

"She really cares about you." He glanced over at me before he spoke, nodding his head. "She does. She's like my second mother when I'm here. My mother hardly ever comes here, she doesn't really like the mafia so I can easily go for a while not seeing her if I'm busy. Somehow Gi fills that void, just through her food."

I nodded my head, resting my hand on his leg to comfort him in anyway that I could while he ate in silence for the next few minutes.

"Apart from her, no one's ever done this for me."

"Done what?" I questioned him as I kept my eyes on my hand that was gently rubbing his leg over the expensive material of his suit.

"Brought my food to my office for me because they care. It's different calling someone who works for me to do it, they don't actually care."

I could feel his eyes on me for a moment before I finally lifted my gaze to meet his.

"I don't just care about you Carson, I love you." I watched as he finally put his empty plate down, placing his hand over my mine on his leg. "I love you too my beautiful."

I gave him a small smile before I reached out to grab the napkin off the table, using it to wipe the pasta sauce away from his lips while he watched me. When I made the mistake to look up into his captivating eyes, I held his stare getting lost in his brown orbs.

I've lost count of how many times we did that.

He kept his eyes on mine as he slowly leaned in, pressing his lips to mine in a kiss. My grip on his leg tightened slightly as he brought his hand up to the back of my neck pulling me in closer to him. When I felt his other hand slip down to my hip, his fingers slipping into the belt loop of my jeans as he slid me across on the bench closer to him, I broke the kiss.

"Why would you do that? I was just getting into it." When he pouted his now slightly swollen lips I let out a laugh, moving away from him. "I haven't had my dessert yet."

He rose an eyebrow at me in amusement as I picked up one of the pastries. "Who said you could have one? What if I want both?"

"She did, actually." When he heard my childish response he let out a laugh, moving some hair away from my face when the wind picked up around us just as I lifted the pastry to my mouth. It was those simple little gestures that he did for me that made me fall so much harder in love with him.

The moment I took a bite, a moan left my mouth as I chewed the light pastry savouring the lemony flavour of the filling. When he leaned in closer to me as I chewed, I turned my head to look at him.

"Why are you doing this to me?" His words caused me to smile as I leaned in pressing my lips to his, allowing him to taste the sweetness of the dessert before he licked his lips amusement shining in his eyes when I pulled away.

"Sorry, but you're going to have to wait."

"Haven't you finished yet? How long do they freaking last?" When he referred back to my period I let out a laugh, taking another bite of the pastry, responding once I'd finished chewing. "It finished last night, I think, maybe this morning."

"And you didn't tell me?" When I heard the anger in his tone I cracked a smile, taking another bite of the heavenly dessert while shaking my head. "No, you're still being punished I told you that yesterday morning."

All he did was shake his head, moving my hair so that he could nuzzle his face into my neck, pressing a kiss to my skin.

"I'm going to get what I want later tonight."

"Sure baby, sure."

Speaking in a sarcastic tone, I nodded my head letting out a laugh. Placing my hand on his chest I tried to push him away from me but of course, it didn't do any good because he just tightened his grip on me.

Leaning into me, he used one hand to wrap my hair in his fist, tugging gently on my hair to turn my face in his direction. My eyes locked with his brown ones as a smirk tugged up at his lips before he leaned in closer to me, speaking in a low, husky tone.

"If I were you I'd be careful Miss O'Brien, that's now how you should be speaking to your boss."

Oh dear Lord help me now.

I love them 😍

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