The Mafia Boss Is The Man Of My Dreams

Chapter 10

Knight’s POV

I was already far beyond irritated walking into Saturn Finance, and my annoyance had only deepened into genuine fury the moment I heard that girl utter my name in an open hallway. Like I’d told her directly to her face, whoever couldn’t keep their mouth shut in this building would have a hell of a lot to answer for. I had come here fully prepared to rage at Conan over our missing paperwork, but now the man had added yet another unforgivable offense to his crawling incompetence.

Aria was extraordinarily bold, I’d give her that. But I wasn't in the mood to play whatever reckless game she thought she was running when she boldly claimed she was interested in me. I wasn’t naive. I knew exactly how dangerous a distraction could be in my line of work.

Still, as I walked away from her down the executive corridor, my jaw remained tightly clenched—even though an unwanted smirk tugged relentlessly at the corner of my lips. I genuinely hoped for her own safety that we never crossed paths again. She was trouble, the exact kind of, chaotic trouble I had absolutely no intention of bothering myself with.

I pushed open the door to the CEO's office without a shred of hesitation or a polite knock. The exact second Conan's eyes met mine, he practically jumped out of his skin, scrambling to his feet and offering a rigid, trembling bow.

“Boss,” he muttered, his voice cracking slightly.

I rolled my eyes in pure disgust and motioned coldly for him to step out from behind his desk.

“Are you planning to keep hiding behind that goddamn desk,” I seethed, my voice dropping into a lethal whisper, “or do I actually have to beg you to walk over here as well?”

He hurried forward instantly, his hands clasped as he muttered a frantic string of apologies.

“What… what brings you here completely unannounced, Boss?” he asked as he carefully measured his distance.

I slowly plastered a, tight smile onto my face as I took a deliberate step closer into his personal space.

“Did you happen to talk about me or my business to anyone in this building, Conan?” I asked, generously giving him one final opportunity to come clean.

He shook his head frantically, his eyes wide. “Never! Boss, I swear. I know the rules inside and out—why on earth would I break them?”

“Oh?” I chuckled deeply, the sound low and entirely humorless. “Is that really so?”

Before he could even speak, I raised my leg and kicked him sharply, driving the heel of my shoe directly into his shin.

“f**k!” Conan hissed loudly, staggering backward until his spine hit the wall, his hands flying down to clutch his bruised leg.

“I gave you a fair chance to be honest with me,” I said coldly, stalking toward him. “And you still actively chose to look at me and lie.”

He immediately cast his gaze down toward the floor, unable to hold my stare.

“Look me directly in the eyes when I am talking to you,” I added, letting out another soft, dangerous chuckle.

He straightened his spine instantly.

“The very next time I hear my name come out of the mouth of an employee I do not know,” I warned him, leaning in, “it will not end with a simple warning. Do I make myself perfectly clear, Conan?”

“It will never happen again, Boss. I promise you, I swear on my life,” he said rapidly, nodding until his neck strained.

“Good.”

I exhaled, adjusting the cuffs of my jacket. “Now for the actual, multi-million-dollar reason I am standing in your office. Apparently, you weren’t even smart enough to check the transition documents before you delivered them to my me. The single most critical page of the packet is entirely missing.”

The last remaining bit of color instantly drained from Conan's face.

“Or did you stupidly rip the asset handover deed out yourself, Conan?”

“No—no, never! I swear I didn't!” he panicked, his voice pitching into a choked-out plea. Before I could even tell him to stand still, he dropped straight down to his knees on the office floor. “I’ll check the vault again. I'll search every inch of the server. Please, just give me another chance, Boss!”

I stared down at him, shaking my head in pure, unadulterated disappointment. “You are supposed to be a business partner in this venture, not a servant. Get the hell off the floor.”

“I’m sorry,” he muttered miserably, quickly scrambling back onto his feet and wiping his damp palms on his blazer. “Just give me twenty-four hours to redeem myself.”

I let out a slow sigh, checking my watch. “Fine. I will be highly looking forward to seeing exactly how you manage to redeem your utility to my organization,” I muttered, turning on my heel and walking out without granting him another single glance.

Pathetic. Truly pathetic. For someone born into a family that powerful, the boy folded far too easily under pressure. His parents had truly failed with his upbringing.

I headed down the stairs toward the parking lot, surprisingly feeling far more amused than when I had originally arrived. Pulling my phone from my pocket, a dark, satisfied smile spread across my face when I saw the flashing text message from Rowan:

Mr. Saturn has been securely captured and moved to the compound.

Finally. The old man was in our custody. It was officially time to have some fun and extract what belonged to me.

I turned the corner and immediately caught sight of a familiar silhouette—Aria.

Instead of confronting her right away, I kept walking at a measured pace, genuinely curious now. I took a sharp turn down a row of cars, and like clockwork, she followed my exact path.

So her intense interest has officially turned her into a little stalker now, hm? Interesting.

I reached the middle of the VIP parking deck and came to a halt, pulling out my phone as if I were checking something .

Don’t bring the car around to the front exit yet,* I texted Rowan quickly. I’m currently catching a beautiful little rat.

I waited a few beats, deliberately giving her time to close the distance, before spinning around toward the pillar where I knew she was hiding. I couldn’t help but smile when I heard her faintly curse under her breath while frantically flipping through her photo gallery.

So that was her master endgame—taking unauthorized pictures of me.

Her sheer, unmitigated audacity was… undeniably cute.

I stood perfectly still, waiting until she abruptly turned the corner—and walked straight into my chest.

I almost laughed out loud as she hissed in pain, frantically rubbing her forehead. The girl certainly did curse a lot for someone working in a high-end finance firm.

I instantly schooled my features back into total, chilly indifference as she nervously stuttered out, “I—well, we meet again.”

My dark gaze dropped significantly to the phone clutched tightly in her small hands. Before she could react or tuck it away, I grabbed her wrists, lifting them slightly above her head, and easily pulled the device free from her grip.

“So,” I said calmly, my voice smooth but laced with a quiet danger. “You’re an official stalker now, Aria? Taking pictures of me without my explicit permission?”

I let the silent, heavy threat of smashing her phone onto the concrete hang heavily in the air between us, watching the frantic conflict flash through her wide, expressive eyes.

“Why exactly did you take my picture?” I demanded again, making my tone deliberately harder, pressing her against the pillar.

She tightly shut her eyes, her chest rising and falling rapidly against mine—then she snapped them open with a look of pure, reckless defiance.

“Because I think you look incredibly hot!”

The sheer, panicked pitch of her voice rang loudly through the empty parking garage. I froze for a split second, completely stunned by her bluntness, before I completely lost my grip on my composure. I burst out laughing, stepping back a pace as the tension shattered.

“What exactly did you just say to me?” I asked, shaking my head between deep laughs.

“I said I took your pictures because you look hot,” she repeated, her eyes sparkling with a mix of embarrassment and absolute pride.

I laughed again, the sound echoing off the concrete walls. I couldn't remember the last time someone had genuinely made me laugh like this.

“You look even hotter right now,” she added boldly, pressing her luck. “Your real laugh is ridiculously hot.”

Who the hell was this girl? She had absolutely no survival instincts, and yet, she was utterly mesmerizing.

“You don’t look too bad yourself, Aria,” I muttered, my laughter finally fading into a low, gravelly rumble as I stepped back into her space.

I glanced down at the screen of her phone, swiftly deleting the string of blurry back-shots she had taken of me before gently placing the device back into her palm. She took it slowly, her fingers brushing against mine, before instantly tucking it safely into her blazer pocket.

“Thanks for making my day a little brighter,” I added, my eyes locking onto hers. “I actually really needed that.”

“See you later, Aria,” I muttered, turning around and walking away before she could say another word.

I strode toward the car where Rowan was already waiting, slipping smoothly into the backseat.

“We can go,” I ordered, and he immediately shifted the engine into drive.

As we swept past a still completely frozen, wide-eyed Aria standing by the concrete pillar, Rowan caught my eye through the rearview mirror.

“I heard your laugh all the way from the car, Boss. That's a rare occurrence.”

I chuckled again, resting my head back against the seat as the image of her flushed, defiant face flashed through my mind.

“I think I might have just met someone incredibly interesting, Rowan,” I said with a slow smile as we drove off into the city.