Sold to the Mafia Boss

CHAPTER FOUR

I stared at myself in the mirror. The sun is starting to set already, casting warm glow inside the cabin of Lorenzo’s enormous jet. It’s already been six hours since we left New York and Santa Barbara is still nowhere in sight.

I’m getting bored playing cards and board games with that lunatic. It wasn’t helping that he’s being an ass, too.

I crouched down on the sink and turned the water on, washing my face. I thought being in a huge private plane would be much more enjoyable than being in economy. But I guess nothing really is perfect.

It’s boring here.

I put my hair up into a messy bun and wiped my face dry with the facial tissues I found in his drawer. Why he has all kinds of cosmetic products down here, I have no idea. Maybe he’s gay?

The thought clicked in my head and my eyes widened.

Of course. Why else would a handsome guy with wealth like that not have a wife? He’s gay! And he needs a girl that he could easily dispose of once he’s gotten what he needs.

A fist started pounding at the door and I nearly jumped. “Are you done? What the hell is taking you so long?” It was Lorenzo and his impatient ass.

I opened the door and sneered at him. “Missed me that fast?”

“You wish,” he snapped back and followed me back to our seats where the poker game was still going on.

“By the way, how does it feel losing to a girl?” I taunted as I slid into my chair.

He just scoffed and looked me up and down. “You know, you should really look in a mirror before you call yourself that.”

I rolled my eyes at his insult. “I’ll have you know, even if I’m barefaced, people still say I’m pretty.”

“I never said you weren’t.” He grabbed the deck of cards from the middle and started shuffling it strategically. He then distributed the cards to everyone around the table.

I opened another bag of flaming hot Doritos and started munching on it, licking my fingers as I rearranged all my cards.

He looked down at the bag of chips and grimaced. “You like that stuff?”

“You don’t?”

“It’s like going to hell and licking the floor.”

I chuckled, putting some more of the red chips into my mouth. “For a mob boss, you’re quite a scaredy cat.”

“I never said I was scared.”

I looked up at his face. I can tell that he’s bluffing. He’s way too easy to read. I slid the bag towards him and bit back a smile. “Go on, then.”

“I don’t like the taste.”

“Oh, please.”

He narrowed his eyes at me and slapped the bag to one of his men who caught it efficiently. “I’m not eating that shit.”

I laughed. “So, that’s your weakness?”

He scoffed. “Don’t flatter yourself. Or the chips.”

“Your face said otherwise.”

“My face is fine.”

“Your face looked offended.”

“It looked normal.”

“One of your eyes twitched.”

“It did not.”

“It did,” one of his men muttered.

Lorenzo shot him a look that could turn a living person into ashes. Both capos adjusted in their seats, eyeing each other uncomfortably.

I hid a smile and tapped the table. “You calling or what?”

He pushed in a stack of chips. “Call. And raise.”

“Ooh, you’re quite confident,” I said, laughing under my breath. “Dangerous in men like you.” I slid my next card into position, pretending to think about it even though I already knew I had him beat.

He stopped fiddling with his cards and looked up at us, signaling for us to start throwing.

I grinned. “So if I wanted to take you down, I just bring a pack of flaming hots?”

He stared at me like I personally wronged him. “You think that intimidates me?”

“No,” I said, popping another one of the chips into my mouth. “It humiliates you.”

His jaw tightened. “Play the card.”

I placed my bet without looking up. “Don’t worry, boss. I’ll go easy on you.”

“You can try,” he said. “But don’t cry when you lose.”

And I chuckled, because I knew I already had the whole table won. “Flush,” I said, like it was nothing.

Lorenzo rolled his eyes and threw his cards on the table. I then started laughing as I gathered all of the chips that I won.

Easy money. Maybe I should make a living out of this.

Nah. That’s how my father lost it all. Too bad he wasn’t as good as me.

I counted the last of my chips and grinned triumphantly when I reached fifty grand. Lorenzo was just sitting in front of me, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his arms flexed.

“What are you planning to do with your wins?” he asked and without a moment’s hesitation, I shoved all of the chips toward him.

“That’s fifty grand. I’ve already paid $500 earlier so that means I’m…”

“Dumb?”

I sighed at his words and slumped back on my chair. All of a sudden, I’m exhausted. Who am I kidding? My dad owes him billions. It’ll take a whole ass miracle for me to get him that kind of money in this lifetime.

He noticed the shift in my expression. Shaking his head, he shoved the chips back to me. “Get yourself a bag or something with that. I don’t need your money.”

I pouted. “How much did my dad owe you anyway?”

“Even if I tell you, you wouldn’t be able to pay it back.”

“You don’t know that.”

He looked at me seriously.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Fine. But after I give you kids, then what? You’ll kill me?”

“Who said I just need kids from you?” He reached for the cards on the table again and started shuffling them.

I blinked. “So, after we get married and I give you kids…”

“You’ll be my wife,” he finished for me, and my eyebrows shot up so high I was scared it’d disappear through my hair.

“I thought you were gay.”

His eyes flew towards me in an instant. “What?!”

I shrugged. “I just figured you were gay.”

“Why would you even think that?!”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged again, retracing all of my past theories about why he’d be in need of a wife.

His face turned a slight shade of red when I didn’t talk any further. But he decided to just drop it and shake his head instead.

“I’m not gay, okay?” he started, fiddling with the cards in his hands, shuffling them back and forth. “I just don’t… I guess I just don’t have anyone.”

“You have no girlfriend?”

He shook his head.

My eyes widened and I leaned closer to him. “You’re a virgin?!”

“What, NO!!”

If his face was already red before, it was now an alarming shade of crimson. He almost looked like a tomato with his expression.

“I’ve had ex-girlfriends before. And I’ve had experiences, too. Lots of it, in fact.”

“Oh.” I leaned back on my chair, letting my back sink into the plush couch.

He chuckled. “Are you jealous?”

“No. Why would I be?”

He gave me a crooked smile and c****d his head to the side. “So, you aren’t?”

“Do you want me to be?”

He bit back a smile. “Are you flirting with me, Adrienne?”

For some reason, something weird stirred inside of me when he said my name out loud. I swallowed a lump in my throat and tried my best to act casual.

I scoffed. “You wish.”

But I guess I was way too obvious because his face was now split with a huge mocking grin. He winked at me. “If you say so.”

I held my breath to stop myself from whimpering and slid further down into my seat, forcing myself to look outside instead.

This is stupid. So stupid. Why am I even feeling like this over a dumb mob boss? He’s in the mafia for Pete’s sake. He probably kills people when he’s bored. He tortures his enemies and he bribes politicians.

That’s what mobsters do, don’t they?

So, why the hell is this dumbass so charming?

Geez. I need to get away from him before it’s too late.

For the rest of the flight, I did just that. Get away from him and not talk to him or even look at him. But it was extra hard especially when he hovers his face over mine every time he’s talking to catch my eyes.

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you looking at me?”

I continued pressing on the remote, browsing for a good movie. In just several minutes, we’d land in Santa Barbara already. I won’t have to be in such closed quarters with the dominion of hell.

Maybe then I wouldn’t be too concerned with falling for him.

His face appeared in front of me again, smirking at me, and I just snapped. “If you don’t move out of my way, I’m gonna shove my foot so far up your ass, you’re gonna have toes for teeth.”

“Feisty,” he commented tauntingly. “I like that.”

I groaned at his words and sighed dramatically. “Where’s a cliff when you need one?”

The overhead lights dinged red and a cabin crew started making an announcement. It seems we’ve arrived at our destination. I buckled my seatbelt and looked out at the view through the window.

The coast of Santa Barbara stretched out below us like a long golden ribbon, its honey colored sand bathed in the sunshine. There were red-tile rooftops everywhere and in between all of that are long stretches of vineyards and ranch land.

I can’t believe this is still in the US. What I can’t believe even more was that I never thought to visit this place before. Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco on the other hand, I’ve already visited one too many times.

When our plane landed, a dark-tinted Aston Martin was chauffeured to where we are and Lorenzo caught the key that the valet tossed in his direction. Looks like he’ll be driving this one.

He opened the car door for me. “Let’s go.”

I just shrugged and did as he said. It’s not like I can just be stubborn with him anyway. If he leaves me out here on my own, there’s no way I’d find my way back home.

“So, do you also have a penthouse here or…”

“A house.”

I nodded, fairly sure that this house wasn’t just going to be a ‘house’. After all, he’s a billionaire. Billionaires don’t live in houses.