The Mafia Don’s little Con Artist

11 - Loose Ends

Aleks POV:

Being the boss has its obvious advantages, but there’s definitely more cons than pros when it comes to leading an entire organization. For example, having to walk away from a beautiful woman in order to take care of unexpected problems. I wanted to spend the evening with Sophia. Share a car back to the apartment, and shower her with attention until she was sick of me.

Instead, I have to fix the damage caused by a screw up delivery crew. From what Andre described, it’ll take all night to correct, and even longer to get back on schedule with the deliveries.

Three men in navy blue jump suits stand shaking in the middle of my warehouse. My men surround them, each heavily armed.

“Explain!!” I demand. But I know that there’s nothing that they can say that will soften my anger. These men have robbed me. Their mistakes tonight have cost me my time, energy and perhaps even customers!

And yet none of that is truly the cause of my irritation. The drugs, the customers, and the energy can all be replaced.

But their carelessness forced me to abandon Sophia, with whom I have limited opportunities already. I have plans, separate from my obligations as the boss, plans to make that woman mine, but because of these idiots I’m now set back an evening!

The men mumble excuses in both Russian and English, prayers and pleads. After 10 seconds, and no clear reasonings, I remove the gun from my side and shoot each of the three men in the head. Their bodies thump to the ground one by one.

“Clean this mess up!” I ordered. “Bring me the shipping schedule, the stock logs and time stamps. I want to get things back on track TONIGHT!”

“Yes boss!” The room collectively responds.

The sooner I get shít back under control, the sooner I can get back to her.

-

Sophia POV:

It’s nearly 11:30pm when Ivan and I arrive back to the penthouse apartment. We didn’t speak much on the drive, and I hadn’t thought much about that fact until Ivan finally broke the silence.

“Is all part of the job Miss Sophia.”

“Huh?”

“The boss..he is always going to be pulled away by the business. The business comes first.” He adds.

“Oh.” I say, “That makes sense.”

It was then that I realized how pathetically I had failed to hide my disappointment. It wasn’t like I had really expected anything else to happen tonight..aside from the frivolous fantasies I found myself daydreaming about my new boss.

We haven’t really gone into detail of what these next 8 weeks are going to look like, or what I should expect for that matter. So tonight was a good reminder.

This is just business.

I am just his employee.

So tonight I’ll be taking care of myself..alone, but imagining that it’s his hands that are on my body. The way he manages to be so gentle while being so aggressive.

I’ll be thinking of those emerald eyes burning deep into my own, as he takes from me what I so badly want him to take. The way that my skin shivered in response to his lips at my ear and his breath on my neck.

The way he praised me for my ‘performance’.

I knew that feeling would become addicting. Pleasing him. Being praised by him. By this terrifyingly dangerous man.

It was such a stupid, small trickle of approval, but it triggered my body in a way I hadn’t expected it would. And I wanted more of that feeling. Craved it. It made me eager to receive my next fake-fiancé assignment from him, just to show him how well I could do.

My fingers trace my needy body until I find that bundle of nerves and worked it until the room is filled with my desperate moans, and finally I call out his name.

-

Something pulls me from my sleep abruptly around 2am and I’m not sure if it was a bad dream, or an instinct.

I throw the covers from my body, sending goose bumps all over my skin, and swing my legs over the bed’s edge. It’s not considered brave to check in the apartment if I know for certain that it’s being guarded by massive mafia thugs.. right?

A quick scan outside my door has me confident enough to venture out further. Kitchen: clear. Other bedroom: clear. Living room, laundry, bathrooms: clear.

I exhale in relief and turn back towards my room when I bump into a brick wall that wasn’t there before.

No. Not a brick wall. A man.

My reflex was to throw a punch as hard as I could, and my right hook connected with his jaw just as he’d flicked on the hallway light.

Both of my hands flew to my face as I covered my mouth in attempt not to scream in horror.

I just punched my boss!

He didn’t seem fazed by me hitting him, not even in the slightest. In fact, he almost looked amused!

Jerk.

“I am..soooo sorry!”

“Don’t be.” Morozov said, turning away from me and stalking towards the kitchen. “Why were you stumbling around in the dark to begin with?”

“I thought..” I trailed off.

“You thought…?”

“I’m not sure.” I said honestly. “I woke up suddenly and felt like there was someone in the apartment..” I realize how absolutely stupid I must sound right now, and immediately wish I could take my words back. “Sorry, it’s probably just-“

“I’ll have my men look into it.” Morozov added quickly. “Aside from that, how did you sleep?”

“Oh..um I slept fine.” I admittedly was taken aback by his response. I guess I had expected an immediate dismissal or even for him to have been insulted. Instead, he validated my concerns without even hesitating.

“Did you figure everything out? At work, I mean.”

There was a long pregnant pause before he responded to me.

“For now.” Frustration and irritation was clear in his voice.

I guess I should’ve known that there was more he couldn’t tell me about his job, that he was able to. Or perhaps, than he cared to.

“Well there’s no one better to talk about it with, than someone who has zero understanding about what you really do.” I offered with a smile.

He glanced at me as he headed to the mini bar in the large sitting area. “It is not for you to worry about.”

His cold reply sent a clear message. We weren’t talking about it now, or ever and I was clearly bothering him.

“Alright.. well I’m going back to bed. Goodnight Aleks.”

There’s a deep sigh behind me.

“You must forgive me..”

“For what?” I wonder.

“This night is not how I wanted for..”

“It’s okay. I understand.” I assure him. “Ivan already explained.”

“And what did Ivan explain exactly?”

“That the business always comes first, and basically that I shouldn’t take it to heart. Besides..I’ve got a job to do, right?”

He just..stared at me. With a look and stance that I couldn’t read, and the tension was making my skin itch so I repeated myself again. “Goodnight.”

This time, he didn’t stop me, or say anything else to make me turn around, and it took all of my willpower not to look back at him. I made it back to my room with some sense of dignity intact.