Page 8 of Ruthless Secrets (Alpha Mafia Daddies #6)

Chapter Seven

MARCO

Clara has been here less than an hour, and I’m already starting to regret hiring her. Not because she’s not good, but because my cock has been achingly hard the entire time, and the last thing I need right now is a sexual harassment suit.

When I met with her yesterday, I couldn’t tell whether the connection I was feeling between us was all in my head, considering the fact she could barely look at me.

Then I started to wonder if she was actually pissed off for how I took off in the middle of the night after sleeping with her. But she had literally just broken up with her fiancé, so was I wrong to think she wasn’t looking for anything serious? I sure as hell wasn’t.

I barely slept all last night, replaying the entire interaction over and over in my mind.

I’ve never been so in my head before about anything, let alone whether or not a woman was attracted to me. Normally, it’s pretty damn obvious, but not with Clara.

But it seems my worries were all for nothing.

As I stand over her now, Clara’s breath catches as I lean in, and the way her cheeks turn pink every time she looks at me gives her away.

There is definitely a connection between us. One I hope we can explore further.

The sweet floral scent of her perfume lingers in the air, and I fight the urge to run my nose along the column of her neck as she fills in her employee forms on my computer.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so turned on in my life, and I have no idea how I’m going to get through the rest of today without Clara noticing.

Clara and I spend most of the day in my office going through the basic runnings of the place and having her sign all of the relevant documentation to get her on the payroll. Her salary is significant for a bar manager, but I needed a way to guarantee that she would take the job.

Not that anyone would dare question my choices, except for maybe Andre.

The paperwork is mundane, and I could easily have had one of my other staff members go through all of this with Clara. I definitely have more important things I should be getting on with, but I wanted an excuse to be alone with her.

It’s like I’m trying to punish myself by shutting us both away inside my office.

Somehow, she managed to make a basic black and white uniform look incredibly sexy. At the rate I’m going, I’ll need to dive into the bathroom to quickly take care of myself before I end up spilling in my pants.

“So, I need to make sure to sign off on this at the end of every week?” Clara clicks through the stock take spreadsheet.

I clear my throat and subtly adjust myself as I try not to inhale too deeply .

“Levi will be the one to fill it out, but yes. As manager you’ll need to check it’s been completed.”

“Got it. In terms of the orderin?—”

The door to my office flies open, and Clara jumps in her seat as Andre appears in the doorway.

He looks pissed off.

When he clocks Clara sitting at my desk, his eyes narrow.

He glances at me. “Sorry to interrupt.”

I know damn well he’s not in the least bit sorry.

“Can I help you?”

Andre nods. “We have a problem.”

Of course, we do.

“Clara, you’re free to go.”

“But I thought you wanted me to stay until five?” She looks up at me with those big, green eyes.

Her cheeks turn pink when my gaze flicks to her mouth, and I have to ball my hands into fists to stop myself from reaching out and stroking her cheek.

“There’s been a lot to take in today, so you can finish early. But you’ll be paid for the full day, don’t worry.”

“Oh, okay.” She gets to her feet.

I do my best not to look at her ass as she walks across my office toward the door, if only to avoid being reprimanded by my brother.

I wish she didn’t have to go, but at least I know that I’m guaranteed to see her tomorrow.

Andre dips his chin at Clara as she passes him before shutting the door behind her.

“Care to explain that?” he asks once the sound of her footsteps have disappeared down the hall.

I stalk over to the drinks cart and pull the crystal stopper out of the bourbon decanter. “Nothing to explain. She’s my new manager.”

“You’re lying. ”

“Why would I be lying?”

“I distinctly remember you saying that you don’t need help running this business because you don’t trust anyone to do the job as well as you.”

He is right. I did say that.

“Things change.” I pour the amber liquid into two glasses before returning the stopper.

“They do…”

I hand Andre his drink and go sit on the couch.

My collar feels tight, so I undo another button and stretch my arm out along the back of the couch.

My back is murdering me from leaning over my desk for most of the day, but it was worth it just to be close to Clara.

Andre sits in one of the leather armchairs and crosses an ankle over a knee. “If you were anyone else, I’d say you were into her. But that makes no sense since you never date. At least not since?—”

“Are you here to discuss my love life or is there something else?”

Andre regards me with curiosity as he takes a sip of his drink, but it seems the scowl on my face is enough to deter him from pestering me further about Clara.

“Fine. We need to talk about Rossi.”

“Which one?”

“Well, considering the fact that we killed Lorenzo, the only logical answer to your question is Alfonzo, dumbass.”

I roll my eyes. “Alfonzo’s been quiet for a while. Has he decided to finally show his face?”

“Seems like it. He’s been forming new alliances ever since he took over from Lorenzo.”

I take a sip and let the liquid burn all the way down to my stomach. “Let me guess. He wants payback for what we did to his cousin.”

The past always has a way of catching up with you, so my brother and I have been careful over the years not to make powerful enemies for this very reason. Though it seems our efforts might have been in vain.

“That’s my guess, yes.”

“Who is going to be stupid enough to join forces with a man, who is noticeably lacking in resources, on a personal vengeance mission?”

Andre downs the rest of his bourbon before getting to his feet to refill it. “While we have been careful, our father was not.”

I hand him my now empty glass as he passes by me.

“He was a ruthless man who enjoyed causing chaos. There would be many crime organizations that would enjoy seeing the De Lucas crash and burn.”

“I think that list is pretty short, brother.”

“Perhaps, but Tommaso Costa is at the top of that list.”

I can’t help but suck in a breath at the mention of Tommaso. He is not someone you want to make an enemy out of, so the fact that Andre is bringing him up has me on edge.

“What the hell did our father do?”

Andre finishes pouring the drinks and hands me back my glass. “Drink this first.”

I don’t need to be told twice. I down the alcohol in one gulp and hiss through my teeth as it burns my throat.

Andre takes a seat once more and empties his glass in one go also.

Whatever my brother is about to tell me, I have a feeling it’s not going to be good. “Well?”

“He brutally murdered Tommaso’s brother and twin sons.”

Suddenly, I’m extremely grateful for the alcohol in my system.

“You’re joking. ”

“I wish I was.” The devastation on my brother’s face is not something I see often.

Our father died a long time ago, and as much as we would love to remember nothing but fond memories, the man had a dark past that likes to make itself known from time to time.

It seems that now is one of those times.

“How am I only finding out about this now? I didn’t think we kept secrets from each other.”

“Because it’s not exactly Sunday night dinner conversation. Our father did a lot of horrible things. If I had to list them all, we’d be here forever.”

“Fuck,” I groan as I run my fingers through my hair. “This is not good.”

“No, which is why I came to tell you to keep your eyes open. While there’s no evidence to suggest that Tommaso has joined forces with Alfonzo, I have a feeling it’s only a matter of time. We need to remain alert?—”

A door closes in the hall nearby.

I’m on my feet in an instant.

Andre looks behind him at my closed office door. “What was that?”

I open it and peer out into the corridor just in time to catch a head of blonde hair disappearing out of sight.

Was Clara listening in on our conversation? If she was, it’s likely I’ll have her letter of resignation in my inbox within the hour.

Fuck, this is not good.

“Marco?”

“Everything’s fine, it was just Levi coming out of one of the storage rooms.”

My brother frowns. “I didn’t realize Levi was here.”

“Yeah, he was organizing some deliveries.” I shut the door .

I can barely concentrate on anything else that Andre says during the rest of our impromptu meeting.

Clara is likely aware of a few things about my family, considering the fact it’s not uncommon for my brother and I to make a few headlines, but it’s normally only regarding superficial stuff. It clearly wasn’t enough to put her off accepting the job here.

But what she just overheard might be enough to make her walk away.

Clara has left by the time I head out into the main bar area with Andre.

I’m pissed that she was listening in to a conversation that was none of her business. But as much as I want to reprimand her for not leaving when I told her to, I also don’t want to lose her. Not when I’ve barely gotten a chance to get her back.

After I see Andre out, I head back into my office to load up Clara’s employee documents which lists her home address and contact details. I quickly add her to my contacts as well as program her address into my map before heading out.

It seems my business with Clara Peterson is not over for today, after all.

Clara’s apartment is all the way in Midtown, which is a fairly decent commute on foot from Nox.

It makes me wonder why she even took this job. Her previous job was closer to where she lives, though I guess not as well-paying.

Is money her only reason to take it, or could it have something to do with me?

I’m curious to know the answer.