Isabella's POV:

During the meeting, I could sense some stares directed at me. But I had a job to do. While they spoke, sometimes in Italian, other times in English, I scribbled down what I thought was important. I even gave the men little nicknames, like "as handsome as the devil" for Antonio and "a little angel" for Lorenzo. Mazzini was drawn as a beaver-like man in my notebook.

After the meeting, I approached Niccolo with my little notebook filled with my observations. The man from the nightclub, with a scar across his face, was the first to leave the room. I was glad he did because, due to his scar, I felt uneasy seeing him. What had caused it? Was he responsible for more scars across different cities? Did he have it coming? I decided to work on all those stereotypes popping into my mind ever since I had stepped foot in this underground world. I knew he might not even be a bad person, and I just needed to give him a chance, but at the same time, I was there to do a job - to figure out who could be trusted and who couldn't. 

Most of the other men soon followed him out. I could sense some of them didn't want to be in the meeting. Something was tugging at them, making them feel uneasy. Maybe it was Niccolo. Maybe it was his power and the connections he had made on his own, without his dad, that worried them. Being in the mafia wasn't all sunshine and rainbows nor money and power. In situations like this, I saw that it was also about power plays, negotiations and keeping your walls up all the time. 

These people wouldn't trust even their own mothers, so why in hell was Niccolo trusting me with sorting out the people around him? I didn't know, but I hoped that I had done a good job. After all, my life might be on the line. Niccolo hadn't given me a reason to doubt him or a reason to fear him, but I got a feeling he wouldn't hesitate to terminate our contract or terminate me if he deemed me unfit for the position. 

Niccolo waited for the men to leave through the door as I quietly stood next to him, but not all of the men had the intention to leave us. Mazzini was coming closer with a young boy right next to him. I wouldn't guess him to be more than nineteen years old. Later, I found out that it was Lorenzo. I instinctively made myself smaller and stepped a little bit more into Niccolò's shadow. I got a feeling his broad shoulders could represent a great shield for me if anything went askew.

Mazzini wanted to introduce himself to me, and that pulled me out of a seemingly secure spot. I gulped and did what had to be done. I put on a brave face and extended my palm. My body was tense, and every nerve was screaming to get the hell away from that man. It wasn't like it was with Niccolo, where I knew he wouldn't lay a hand on me. Mazzini had something evil in his eyes, something that told me there wasn't a moral bone in his body. I was relieved when Niccolò sidestepped me again, so half my body was shielded.

He did that a lot. He reassured me time and time again in the past couple of weeks, with his body hovering only inches from mine, that I was safe being next to him. In a way, I felt protected in his shadow, in his vicinity. His nearness brought me calmness and confidence when all I wanted to do was to hide somewhere. I was surprised at how well Niccolo read all my signs of discomfort. Or maybe I was just imagining it. Maybe he didn't even notice them. He might have found himself near me just by accident. He might have the same stance towards everybody else in his life. 

But the different sides of Niccolo just kept coming out. I knew Niccolo as a rational work partner and a comfortable friend. After his talk with Lorenzo, I saw Niccolo as a potent superior. The way he talked with Lorenzo made me see him in a new light, not as good as before. Lorenzo seemed so young. He was probably still in high school. Yet here they were, making deals like they were in their mid-thirties. I could see Niccolo doing that, but I couldn't understand why he would drag Lorenzo into it as well.

Lorenzo seemed determined to see this one through like a machine just doing his job. He might have had some concerns when Niccolo told him what to do. But he soon backed down from them once he saw the determination in Niccolo's stance. He gave up, and instead, he took the job with the best outcome for him. I wondered where his parents were that they allowed him to live in this lifestyle. Maybe they were like Niccolo? Maybe they needed money? Or maybe Lorenzo didn't even have a family? 

Once Lorenzo left the room, Niccolo checked his watch. "Let's go. It's time for lunch, and in the meantime, you can debrief me on what you noticed in the meeting," he said while walking towards the elevator door. 

I nodded as I followed him. He didn't speak. I noticed he only spoke when he was sure we were alone. So, instead of trying to fill the silence, I embraced it. I still had trouble figuring him out. The silence was helpful. I could sense his aggravation and the tension that rolled off his shoulders. His whole body was tense. I sensed the air around us was thick with tension and something more sinister. It was like some pent-up anger that had filled him when Mazzini approached us and hadn't subsided until we were in his office all alone.

There, he phoned somewhere, speaking in Italian before turning towards me and asking, "What would you like for lunch?"

I shrugged, "Whatever you're having." I wasn't a picky eater, and I didn't mind him choosing for me. I was interested in him and what he usually ate, drank and said. Where did he go? What did he do? Maybe there was something wrong with me because  I was so captivated by him. I was always intrigued by people, especially different kinds of people - someone you don't meet every day. And Niccolo was one of those. I doubted that I would have another opportunity to talk to and eat lunch with a mafia boss or follow his every move as I did now. 

Even though I knew I wouldn't do anything with the information I would gather during my brief stay with him, I still wanted to know more about him. I was wired that way; I wanted to know more about him for my collection of memories. Nothing more, nothing less.

After he finished placing our order, we sat on the couch, overlooking the city that was bustling under our noses. Being so high up must have done wonders for Niccolo's ego, for his need for control. It would give even me a god complex. Being this high up enabled me to carefully watch over the streets and the busy life on them.

"So?" he asked as he attentively looked at me while I was looking over his shoulder and down to the streets.

"Yeah?" I breathed, feeling weirdly enclosed with him. Our knees were brushing against each other, and my elbow, propped on the headrest, touched his shoulder. His head rolled back with his eyes trailing on my collarbones, making the scene feel even more intimate. I could feel the heat spreading to my cheeks, so I decided to turn my gaze away. It landed on the pavement in front of his building. 

He chuckled, "I know you're taken by the view; believe me, so am I, but now it's time for business. I would like to know what your keen eyes noticed in the meeting."

I peeled my gaze from the woman getting into a car on the pavement to turn to him. His words and eyes, with their glint, made me believe he had a different view in mind than I did. He spoke sometimes with a double meaning lacing through his voice, giving me something to think about when it came to our relationship. Ever since I first saw him, I felt an attraction towards him. And when he kissed me, I could see that the feelings were mutual. But still... We were worlds apart. 

The only thing I hoped to gain from our alliance was some money and new experiences, not a fling. So, I shook all the thoughts about our tension out of my head and focused on the task at hand. I opened my notes and handed them to him before I started explaining my code names for his associates. 

He laughed at them, and his shoulders relaxed. It made me happy. It threw me off guard how his demeanour changed. He was so warm towards me, but he could be someone so guarded towards others. I did and didn't understand that. 

Before I could start explaining what else I jotted down, his office doors opened and in came Beatrice with our lunch.  Her fixated glares told me she wasn't impressed by my connections to Niccolo. I just hoped she wouldn't stand in my way by giving me drama in the workplace. When she closed the door behind her, I relaxed. Every interaction I had with her, I felt like I was in a staredown. Who would back away first? I didn't want to spend the next month like that. 

We ate while I continued to break down the important pieces I noticed. I pointed out who I thought was trustworthy and who I deemed too sketchy to keep around. He nodded at some of my observations while he wanted explanations for the others. I gave them gladly. I liked explaining why I saw the people as I saw them. 

After our lunch, he showed me to my desk. A laptop was already waiting for me there. He gave me the password while quietly speaking, "This laptop does not under any circumstance leave the premises. In it, there are dozens of files on every person I come into contact with daily. From the people you just met in the board room to the janitor who cleans after everyone. Their whole background is on here. I would like a report on the people you just met, your observation combined with the information in here. After you're done, you can come up and leave the laptop in my office."

"Okay, anything else for today?" I asked, knowing that this would mean I could kiss my afternoon plans goodbye. The work he gave me was important, and every hour I would spend doing this for him meant that I was closer to getting my apartment in London. It would be worth it.  Besides, I didn't have anything to complain about; I was actually doing things that I liked. I liked getting to know people. 

He looked at me quizzically before answering, "I don't expect you to write me all the profiles of the twenty men you've met by the end of today. Take your time. I want the profiles to be detailed, from their hour of birth to their lost great-aunt, if you think that it's important. I trust your judgment on this matter. I want longer and shorter profiles about them, something I could just skim through to know what I have to be cautious about when it comes to them."

I nodded before he continued, "Giovanni will pick you up at four so you won't be late for your last seminar. After that, you can pack your belongings, and he'll move them to the apartment I have nearby. Tomorrow, Giovanni will pick you up at the same time as today, and you'll continue working on this here. After this, I'll need you to dive a little bit deeper into the five families with whom I need to come to an agreement by the end of the summer. But I'll give you more information about them later, once you finish with the profiles."

Before I could say anything, he had already been swept into another conversation about something related to the security breach in one of his other buildings. That was my cue to start on the assignment. I logged in and started compiling a list of names from the meeting. I started reading through their personal lives like they were soap operas, some of them had plot twists worthy of the big screen.

Once I saw Giovanni approaching my table, I looked at the clock. It was four, but I barely even noticed the time pass. I was swept up by the files of information and my personal opinions of people. I managed to write three full and three minor reports for Niccolò before I returned his laptop to his office.

He smiled at me and told me not to wait for him tonight. The last seminar I had went by quickly. It was just a conclusion about our time here. During it, my mind drifted to something or someone else - Niccolo and his life. I wasn't the same person I had been when I landed here. I came here to learn, not to go around playing at something that might not even be for me. But after the first day, I was beginning to wonder if this lifestyle was really that bad. From the outside looking in, it might have seemed that way. But as the first day on the job was approaching its end, I wasn't so sure anymore. 

When I finally got back to the apartment, I found my belongings already neatly placed in the living room. The apartment was modern and minimalistic, with a view that could rival Niccolo's office. I felt a strange comfort knowing I was close to where he worked, though I couldn't fully explain why. Maybe it was the sense of security his presence gave me, or maybe it was just that he made everything seem like it was under control.

I set my things down and walked to the window. The city lights were starting to come alive as the sun dipped below the horizon. I thought about Niccolo's words earlier—about trust, caution, and my role in all of this. It was a strange place to be, knowing I was in the middle of something so big yet so secretive. I was part of his world now, for better or worse.

After a quick shower, I sat down with my notebook. My mind wandered back to the meeting and the faces I had seen. Antonio, Lorenzo, Mazzini—all their quirks, their gestures, their guarded words. I needed to remember everything and analyse every detail. Trust wasn't something that came easily in this world, and Niccolo was putting his faith in my ability to spot the cracks.

A soft knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. I opened it to find Giovanni standing there, holding a small box.

"From Mr. Niccolo," he said simply, handing it to me before disappearing back into the night. Inside the box was a sleek fountain pen and a note that read: "Your observations matter. Keep writing."

I couldn't help but smile. It was such a small gesture, yet it carried weight. It reminded me that Niccolo saw something in me—someone he trusted. For the first time in a long while, I felt like I belonged somewhere, even if that place was as precarious as his world.