The Mafia's Hired Wife.

Notivas.

Florette's POV.

My insides twist in a knot the moment I step into Notivas. I have only heard about this place, never been. From what I heard, only influential people come here. The Mayor of the state holds interviews in this place, to tell you how high-class it is.

I smooth my dress that may have wrinkled from sitting in the cab and fix my hair, running my hand through the long ponytail that reaches the middle of my back. I never knew a dress could make me feel so expensive but that is exactly how I feel in this one. I kinda like it because although it makes me feel like a fake, it also means that my money did not go to waste.

I walk to the counter that is immediately in front of the entrance door and greet the woman behind it.

"I'm here for Mr Zavian Dorian" I tell her and she looks into a tab.

"Your name please"

"Florette. Florette Autenbry"

She looks up at me and smiles, then excuses herself and walks away. Seconds later, I see her coming back with a man in her tow and they both approach me. The woman steps behind the counter, reclaiming her former position while the man stops in front of me with a smile.

"Miss Florette. Welcome to Notivas, I'm Alex Notiva" He stretches out his hand and I grip it in a soft handshake. "Mr Zavian is waiting for you. This way please" He motions with his hands and walks in front of me in the direction of what I assume to be the private rooms.

Mr Zavian is waiting for you.

My breath hitches in my throat as I recall his words. I count my steps as my heels clink against the hardwood floor of the place, my mind drifting to how angry Mr Zavian would probably be right now. Mr Alex slows his steps as we approach a hallway, several rooms on either side of the hall. There are hushed voices that can be heard from some rooms, letting me know that they are probably occupied by other rich people.

Alex suddenly stops in front of a room and steps inside. I walk in after him and come face to face with Mr Zavian himself, sitting on a nude leather couch and staring back at me.

"Miss Florette Autenbry is here sir" Alex says beside me, although it is not necessary because we have already seen each other.

He gives me a bold but passive once over, the ghost of a smile on his face. He nods to Alex and he walks out, leaving me alone with the most terrifying man I have ever met. Another young man directs me to seat on the chair directly in front of Mr Dorian and I take my seat after mumbling a small thank you to him.

"Mr Dorian" I greet him with a nod.

"Florette. I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up" He says.

"I ran a little late. Sorry about that" I smooth out my dress. He hums lowly and motions to the bottle of wine in the ice bucket.

"Shall we?" He asks and I nod. He grabs a glass from the tray and pours some wine into it, stretching it towards me. I grab it and instinctively bring the glass to my nose, sniffing the scent. I widen my eyes when I register the look he is giving me and take a sip from the glass, so I can hide the redness of my cheeks. The wine is sweet, but it slaps slightly, making me shut my eyes as I swallow it.

"Its Rosé wine" He says, pouring himself a glass before dropping the bottle back on the table. "I figured I should bring something you are already familiar with"

I am about to tell him that I have never tasted it before but I decide against it and just settle with a nod. He sips from his own glass then drops it on the table and leans forward in his seat, his clasped hands on his spread thighs. My eyes drift to his hands and I almost begin to count out loud how many rings I see on his fingers. As I look more closely, I realize that his white dress shirt is thin and slightly transparent, so the black lines of permanent ink on his arms are visible through it.

"About our contract" He begins “Have you thought about it?”

I tilt my head slightly. What he probably means to ask is if I have signed it because me thinking about it would mean I have a choice, which I don't. I try to picture what would happen right now if I were to open my mouth and say that I did think about it and my answer is no. That would be dangerous but it would be quite amusing to mess with him like that, although the consequences would definitely be dire.

"I have" I say instead.

"And? What are your terms?"

My eyes snap up to him immediately, my brows furrowed. He is willing to hear that? I didn't think he even took my words seriously back then.

"Uhh... My terms..."

Shit! I didn't think about it like I said I would, and now my mind is blank. How am I supposed to give terms when I don't fully understand what I am getting into? My eyes flicker between his and the glass on the table. He raises a brow and chuckles.

"You need more time?" He asks, sarcasm in his voice "Maybe I should ask again next month?"

I almost want to roll my eyes but I know better than to act defiant in front of him. He would ruin me.

"If you could... explain what you will need me to be doing then maybe I can come up with terms from there. I'm not quite sure what this contract entails" I admit.

He leans back against the couch with a hum and I look up at him to see him studying me curiously. He always does that, he hums lowly then stares at me like a predator that has just found his prey. It intimidates me all the time but I have a feeling it is meant for that.

"You would have to see some of them for yourself. But here's a little into it, you would go with me to a ton of events and in those events, you would do exactly as you are told, although not much" He shrugs. "You would only wear what I buy for you. Luckily though, I have great taste so you don't have to worry about looking boring"

I don't know if I'm imagining it, but I sense genuine amusement in his voice, like he is finding this whole thing humorous and honestly, I wonder why.

"Is there anything I need to know about you then?" I ask, sipping on my drink again.

"You don't have to bother yourself with that. You won't be asked any questions about me" I can't help but notice how he shut down the topic immediately. "And I don't need to know anything about you either so we can just skip that part"

"Okay" I shrug and he nods in satisfaction.

"You will be paid some money before the commencement of the contract and the rest would come later. How do you see that?"

"Uhh. Cool"

"Great. Oh and one more thing, I'm sure you must have suspected it but you would have to move into my house till the contract is over"

I did suspect it, but I was desperately hoping that I would not have to do that. It makes the whole thing even worse, but I can do it.

"I'm aware" I nod "When is the contract commencing?"

"Monday" He says shortly.

"Mond... Wait, Monday?!" My eyes are wide as I register his words. Monday, that is two days from now. How am I supposed to get ready for a two year contract as a hired wife with just two days.

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"Ye... Well... I need to p-pack and you know..." I stumble on my words as I take in the passiveness of his face and words.

"Oh you are not required to pack anything as you would not be needing them"

"Oh..."

I'm going into this empty handed? This is more serious than I thought.

"Do you have questions?" He suddenly asks, catching me off guard.

"You said the time for the contract could be reduced if I want..."

"Do you wish to reduce it? Bear in mind that your payment would also reduce".

"I'm considering it"

"You should make up your mind as soon as possible, then"

Honestly, I don't think I am ready for this. Saying no is not an option but I can at least reduce the time. I don't know if I should do that just yet though, I feel like I should wait for a bit and see how everything goes.

"Would I be allowed to go out?" I ask him and he nods.

"Of course. You would not be restricted, given that you make your destination known to me or the guards before leaving the house. I am not hiring you to be a prisoner to me, Florette"

Again. That feeling that comes whenever he calls my name is back again, that feeling of wonder. It gives me butterflies but also makes my chest tighten with anxiety.

"Okay. I would like to pay visits to my friend and grandma"

"That is totally allowed. They are allowed to visit you too, but only on days where we don't have an event planned out"

I nod and pick up my glass, bringing it to my lips and taking another sip. I drop the glass and stand up, smoothing my dress as I excuse myself to the restroom. As I step out of the room, I realize that I don't even know where I'm going. Where are the restrooms? I meet a woman in a cleaners uniform who is also walking along the hallway and ask her. She directs me to the females restroom at the other end of the hall.

As I expected, the bathroom is bigger than my room and parlor combined, with a large mirror on the wall. I immediately do my business in the toilet and walk out, fixing my hair and makeup in the mirror before walking out of the bathroom.

On getting back to the private room, I find Mr Dorian in a hushed conversation with the young man from earlier, but they immediately stop the moment I walk in and the young man leaves the room again.

"Sorry if I took too long" I say coyly and sit down.

"You didn't" He checks his watch "Unfortunately, I have to leave now to handle other business but my men would drop you off at your home. Be ready by Monday morning, I will be at your home to pick you up"

With that, he stands up and grabs his coat that was draped over the back of the couch. Looking down at me, he gives me a small charming smile.

"It was indeed a pleasure, Miss Autenbry"

With that, he walks to the door and out of the room, leaving me with two other men. One of them comes to stand in front of me, then motions with his hand to the door. I walk after them and they lead the way as we walk out of the restaurant and into the sleek black car waiting outside.

Minutes later, they are pulling up to the street of my house and although I initially find it quite suspicious how they know where I live, I immediately remember that it is Mr Dorian I am dealing with and he probably already knows all there is to know about me by now. I shake the thought from my mind and walk out of the car, waiting for them to drive off before walking to the front door.

I am halfway through the terrace of my home when I realize that they didn't drive off, they just drove forward and stopped and were watching me walk into my house. I don't have it in me to care, so I just shrug it off and walk in, locking the door behind me.

It has been a long day and I am honestly glad I get to have some sleep.