FALLING FOR MAFIA BOSS

CHAPTER 2

The next morning, Marianna walked down the sidewalk toward her diner with a heavy heart, fully expecting to spend her day cleaning up shattered glass, broken tables, and ruined floorboards.

When she reached, she stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide in complete disbelief.

The glass door was spotless. The diner showed no signs of damage, and when she unlocked the door and stepped inside, her breath caught. The smashed tables had been replaced with identical, beautifully polished hardwood. The deep dent in her counter was completely gone, restored so flawlessly that it looked like it had never been touched. The entire restaurant smelled faintly of fresh varnish and beeswax. There wasn't a single scratch left behind.

"Morning, Marianna!" a warm, gravelly voice called out.

George, an elderly man who had been a loyal customer since her father ran the place, was sitting at his usual window table, reading the morning paper over a hot cup of tea.

"George?" Marianna asked, walking over, still looking around the room. "What... how?"

"I heard there was some noise down this block last night," George said, peering over his glasses with a concerned look. "A few young punks causing trouble near the alley. I came by early to make sure you were alright, my dear, but the shop looked so peaceful I figured the rumors were wrong."

Before Marianna could answer, the front door burst open with a loud clash.

"Marianna Rossi!"

Sarah, her best friend, stormed into the dining room, her jacket half unbuttoned and her hair a wild mess from rushing down the street. She marched straight up to Marianna, slamming her purse onto the counter and placing her hands on her hips, scolding her at the top of her lungs.

"Are you completely insane?!" Sarah yelled, her face red with worry. "Word on the street is that a gang tried to shake down shops on this avenue last night! Why were you open so late by yourself?! Do you have a literal brain injury, or do you just enjoy giving me a heart attack?!"

Marianna stood in the middle of her miraculously repaired restaurant, listening to Sarah's frantic lecture, but her mind drifted back to the silver-haired man who had stood in the dark last night had actually fulfilled his promise.

"They did," Marianna said, sitting down. "Attack the diner last night. There was a gang of them. I genuinely thought the place was getting torn apart."

A couple at the counter turned to look. Someone stopped mid-sip.

"Wait, what?" Sarah's arms dropped to her sides. "And you're telling me this now?"

"But it looks brand new and clean. It's like it never happened."

George squinted at the window, tapping his cane like he was checking it was actually real. "How'd that even happen?"

"This guy showed up," Marianna said. "Kai, I think his name was. Took care of all of them himself. And then he fixed the whole place up before I even got here this morning."

The reaction was immediate. A couple of regulars went stiff. Someone near the back set their fork down.

Sarah's face drained, then hardened. "Kai. Just... Kai. Did he say a last name? What'd he look like?"

"I don't know, Sarah, it was dark and I was a little busy being terrified. Why? Do you know him?"

"Everyone knows him, Marianna, you're the only one who's apparently been living under a rock." Sarah dropped into the nearest booth like her legs had given out. "He runs half this city. People don't talk about him because they're scared to."

"...Oh." Marianna blinked. "He seemed nice, though."

"He seemed—" Sarah pressed her fingers to her temples. "That's not the point."

"He didn't have to help me. He didn't have to fix anything either. He just did." Marianna was already grabbing her coat. "So I'm gonna go find him and thank him properly."

"Marianna, you're crazy. You've lost your mind," Sarah said, pacing up and down the living room later that afternoon. "We're talking about a real mob boss! He isn't a hero in a movie. You don't go look for a guy like that just to say thank you!"

"He saved my place, Sarah," Marianna said softly. "I just want to say thank you to his face. Once I do that, I'll leave it alone."

"So where do I even find him?" Marianna asked.

Sarah stared at her. "Find him. You want to find him."

"I want to say thank you. That's it."

"You don't 'find' Kai, Marianna, that's not how this works. People who want to find him usually end up wishing they hadn't." Sarah. Just leave it. Send flowers or something. Better yet, send nothing and forget his name."

"I'm not sending flowers to the supposed Mafia King, Sarah."

"Then don't do anything!"

One of the regulars, an older guy who'd been quiet at the end of the counter, cleared his throat. "There's a place called Vesper," he said. "Downtown, off 6th. He owns it. Goes there most nights with his friends."

Sarah rounded on him so fast he nearly knocked over his own coffee. "Are you kidding me? Are you actually giving her directions right now?"

"I'm just saying—"

"Nobody asked you! You don't tell a woman where to go looking for the most dangerous man in the city like you're giving her a bus schedule!"

"I was trying to be helpful—"

"Well, don't be! Be less helpful! Be unhelpful, specifically to her, for the rest of your life!"

"Vesper, off 6th. Got it. Thanks."

"Marianna! It's never that simple with people like him!" Sarah groaned, throwing her hands in the air. But when she saw the stubborn look on Marianna's face, she sighed. "Fine. If you're going, I'm coming with you. I can't let you wander into a place like that by yourself."

*************************************

Later that evening, the two girls pulled up to Vesper, Kai’s private nightclub.

Right away, Marianna felt out of place. The building was huge, with bright golden lights, dark glass, and huge bouncers in black suits standing at the doors with their arms crossed. Sarah grabbed Marianna's arm, her hands shaking as they walked past the line of people outside.

Inside, the club was loud, packed, and wild. The music was so heavy Marianna could feel the floor vibrating under her shoes. Expensive perfume, smoke, and cold air filled the room. Women in fancy silk dresses and men in expensive suits were everywhere, laughing, drinking, and dancing.

Marianna adjusted her simple cotton dress. In a room full of glitz and glamour, she looked like she had walked into the wrong party.

As they pushed deeper into the crowd, two guys in slick button-up shirts stepped right in front of them, grinning.

"Hey there, beautiful," one of them said, leaning in with a drink in his hand. "You two look lost. How about you come join our table and get a drink with us?"

"No thanks, we're good," Sarah said quickly, trying to pull Marianna away.

"Aw, come on, don't be like that! Just one dance," the other guy insisted, reaching out toward Marianna's wrist.

"She said no," Marianna said politely but firmly, stepping back.

She looked around the main floor, hoping to spot Kai somewhere in the crowd, but there was no sign of him. She assumed he would just be hanging out near the bar or the main floor, but this wasn't an ordinary club it was an exclusive place, and the main floor was just for regular guests.

To get away from the pushy guys, Marianna found a quiet side couch near the edge of the room and sat down. Sarah slumped down beside her, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Mari, this was a mistake. Let's just go home. He's not down here!"

Marianna didn't answer right away. She kept scanning the room, her curiosity keeping her glued to the seat.

What Marianna didn't know was that Kai wasn't on the main floor at all. High above the crowd, behind a row of tinted glass and velvet ropes, was the VIP section.

Up there, sitting around a low black table, were four men.

Three of them, Leo, Julian, and Mateo were unbelievably handsome, the kind of guys who made every woman in the room turn her head to look. But Kai, sitting right in the middle, was on an entirely different level. With his light silver hair, sharp jawline, pale skin, and pitch-black eyes, he looked almost otherworldly.

His three friends were laughing and drinking, but Kai just sat back against the leather sofa in his dark suit, completely quiet. He looked bored out of his mind.

"Look at you, boss," Mateo teased, leaning back with a glass in his hand. "Every girl on the floor below is trying to get a glance up here, and you look like you're at a funeral."

"Seriously," Julian added with a laugh. "You're single, you own the biggest club in the city, and you act like women don't exist. You could at least pretend to enjoy yourself."

"Or maybe just smile once," Leo chimed in, cracking his knuckles. "Just once, so people stop thinking you're made of stone."

Kai didn't even blink. He just stared ahead, his face totally blank, completely ignoring their teasing. He didn't care about the drinks, the music, or the girls looking up at the VIP area.

Mateo laughed, turning his eyes casually toward the main floor and then he paused.

Down near the side couch, he spotted a girl in a plain cotton dress looking around with wide, curious eyes.

"Well, well," Mateo murmured, raising his eyebrows. "Check that out."

Julian glanced down. "What?"

"Look down there," Mateo said, pointing casually. "Isn't that the girl from the diner yesterday? The one whose shop got smashed up?"

Kai's dark eyes flicked toward Mateo at the mention of the diner, though his face remained still.

Mateo looked at Kai, then looked back down at Marianna. He saw how out of place she was, sitting quietly while everyone else partied around her. A sly smile spread across Mateo's face. He knew nobody ever came looking for Kai voluntarily, especially not an innocent girl from a small diner.

"You know what?" Mateo said, standing up and fixing his suit jacket. "I'm going to bring her up."

"Mateo, don't mess with him," Julian warned, but Mateo was already walking down the stairs.

Down on the main floor, Marianna was just about to give up and leave with Sarah when Mateo walked over. He smiled smoothly, stepping into her line of sight.

"Hey there, small fry," Mateo said in a friendly tone. "You look like you're looking for someone."

Marianna blinked,"Do I know you?"

"Something like that..."

"I'm looking for Kai."