FALLING FOR THE DON: A DANGEROUS AFFAIR

In trouble

LILLY'S POV

Juggling work and school was a challenge but I needed the extra cash. I was kind of grateful that Max had chosen to leave in the morning because I knew that if he hadn’t left, he would have tried to convince me to stay at home with him. I would have probably agreed to stay home because I had no self-control and I was too weak to resist him.

Ever since I had met him I had missed a considerable amount of my classes and I had a lot of work to catch up on. One thing that I never missed no matter what the circumstance was, was work. Without my job, I wouldn’t be able to pay for my apartment. My scholarship didn’t cover it because it was off campus. But of course that was something that a rich man like Max would never understand.

After he left me, I woke up and got ready for class. I had received an email that I was expected to meet up with the school Dean that morning and I feared he would either suspend me for the days that I had missed or pull me out of the scholarship. Max had already offered to pay for my school fees but I could never let him do that for me, I prided myself in doing things myself, and allowing him to do this for me would make me feel like I was giving my freedom away.

I got to school very early so that I wouldn’t be late for my appointment and waited anxiously for the dean to arrive. He arrived a few minutes after me and motioned for me to follow him inside as soon as he saw me. I was so nervous I had even decided that I would start begging him for a second chance before he kicked me out.

“good morning,” I said to the dean who had a serious look on his gave making me believe that I was in trouble.

“Lilly, thank you for coming to see me today,” he said as he closed his laptop and took off his glasses.

“what do you this place is?” he asked me

“Uhh …a school’ I said, I wasn’t sure why he was asking me such a dumb question but I figured this was a build-up to something

“then why does it suddenly feel like we are an aftercare program or a club where some gang member can in and change his employee's schedule if he wants?” he asked me and I was so confused. What was he trying to say to me? Why couldn’t he just get to the point?

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked him nervously and he shook his head. I should have been relieved by that but I still couldn’t help feeling like there was more to this and it had everything to do with me.

“It's not something you did…’ he said and I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled nervously. I was relieved that this wasn’t about something I did but I still wondered what it had to do with me.

“Oh thank goodness because I-“ he cut me off

“What I don’t appreciate is being threatened into doing things a certain way. This is a prestige university and I don’t appreciate my office being visited by gang members” he said and he had officially lost me

“I don’t understand what you mean and I don’t understand why you are telling me this. I don’t know of any gang members neither am I associated with any gang’ I said and he sighed.

“someone named Luca came to my house this morning and that is why I was late today, he told me or more like forced me to allow you to take your classes online.” He said and I was shocked and confused by the words that were coming out of his mouth.

“I don’t know anyone named Luca,” I said and he sighed showing signs of both irritation and anger.

“He was sent here by his boss, some guy named Michael,” he said and I frowned, I didn’t know any Michael but I did know Max and this sounded like something that he was most likely to do. I couldn’t figure out why he would do this but I knew that he was no gang member.

“you mean Max?” I asked him and he nodded.

“now I told him that I would expect you to make things easier for you but that wasn’t good enough for him and he insisted on me doing what he wanted else he would make things difficult for me. So you will get your online lessons. It will take a few days to organize your study material but you got what you wanted. You don’t even have to attend tour classes today” he said and dismissed me after that.

“But why would he do that and when? I don’t understand anything” I said trying hard to process the information that I had been given but it just didn’t make any sense.

“He came to my house okay. He came to the place where I stay with my wife and kids and for all I know he was carrying a gun “ he said and I felt like he was exaggerating now.

“I am sure he didn’t have a gun…” I whispered and he took off his glasses as if to see me. I wondered if he saw the contradiction in that.

“How would you know that?’ he asked me

“Because Max doesn’t carry guns” I snapped annoyed and frustrated by the Dean and Max for putting me in this situation in the first place.

“did you not hear what I just said to you? He is not the one who visited me but his clown named Luca. Get out of my office right now. Seeing you here is giving me flashbacks and anxiety” he kicked me out.

Max was a prestigious businessman even though he owned clubs but he never carried a gun. He didn’t even have bodyguards so there was no way that this was true. But what if it was true? What if this was what he had been hiding from me this whole time? It was no secret that the city was run by one notorious family but I had always heard that the head of that family was the one who was in charge of everything. Max just didn’t strike me as the kind of you who would be involved in these kinds of things.

I didn’t know what to think, but what I knew for certain was that my dean didn’t dream all this up. He seemed genuinely upset and I was inclined to believe that something did happen.

Saying I was fuming right now would be an understatement. How date Max think that he has the right to force me into doing what he wants? Was this the reason why he had left me in such a rush this morning? Was this something that he had been planning without even letting me know? Who the f**k did he think he was to make such important decisions for me?

After storming out of the dean's office I went back home and called Max to come to my place so that he could explain himself to me and why he thought pulling me out of school was a great idea.

“what the f**k were you thinking Max?” I asked him.

“what do you mean? You should be thanking me, I am going to take you on a free holiday to a place you have probably never dreamed of going to” he said with a smirk and I rolled my eyes.

“I don’t want to go anywhere with you, I want to attend my classes in peace” snapped

“well it’s already done and I know the dean has started the process of your online classes,” he said with a smirk

“It's not like he will re-enroll you if you refuse to go” he added and I felt myself boiling with frustration.

“What part of I don’t want to study online don’t you understand? You are not my dad and you have no say in how I live my life” I snapped

“damn it Lilly will you just do as you are told. Do you really f*****g think that I would do anything to hurt you?” he asked me and I scoffed.

“I mean I am only doing this for you” he added

"I have already told the pilot to prepare because we are leaving tonight and midnight” he informed me as if he had the final say on what happened in my life

“I am not going’ I announced and he paused for a second before saying anything but I could see a vein pop up on his forehead. He was mad at me but he had no right to be. He was the one who had made decisions about my life without even consulting me.

“oh yes you are,” he said as he reached for my hand to grab me but I managed to get away before he could.

“you can’t make me go with you,” I said as I continued evading him. He stood still and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“It's not like you can kidnap me,” I said and he scoffed

“Who says I can’t, that would be a very easy thing for me to do wouldn’t it?” he asked me

“Someone will come looking for me and they will know something is wrong,” I said but he wasn’t taking me seriously.

“No they won’t and you know that is true,” he said moving closer to me but I backed away realizing that I had told this man everything about me and that was how he knew no one was coming for me. I had cut my family off and he knew that. The only person that could ever come to check on me was my best friend but even she wouldn’t come because she knew I was with Max.

It was only at this moment that I remembered that the Dean had called Max a gangster and that was because he was acting like one right now. It was my first time since meeting him I was looking at every tattoo that was covering his arms as if I could decipher what they meant.