The kingpin's obsession: Lena

19

I shifted my weight from one heel to the other, glancing around for any sign of a restroom. The champagne I’d been sipping wasn’t doing me any favors either. I leaned toward Vincenzo, lowering my voice so only he could hear.

“Vince…”

“Hm?” he hummed in response as Ivan and his other associates spoke about some shipping routes.

“I, uh…” I cleared my throat, embarrassed. “I need to pee.”

That got his attention. His dark eyes snapped to mine, as though I’d just admitted to plotting murder.

“You—”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Yes, pee. You know? Bladder? Bathroom?”

For a man who could slit someone’s throat without blinking, he looked absolutely scandalized.

“Lena,” he muttered low, “this isn’t exactly the kind of place you just wander off in.”

“Well, unless you want me to humiliate both of us in front of your friends, I suggest you point me in the direction of the powder room.”

“I’ll come with.”

“No.” I stopped him. “I know you’re worried, but it’s been almost an hour since we got here and nothing necessarily bad has happened, I think I can handle the bathroom.”

“Lena-”

“And! I’ve been surrounded by men all night, I think I need a little break. Please?” I batted my lashes at him. Something that always had him bend to my will.

His jaw ticked. I could practically see the argument forming behind his eyes, but I wasn’t about to beg him for permission to use a bathroom.

Finally, he exhaled through his nose, defeated. “Do not talk to anyone. And if something feels wrong, you yell my name as loud as you can...”

“And you’ll come running,” I nodded softly with a grin. “You got it, boss.”

He didn’t like my tone, but he didn’t say anything to stop me either. His hand tightened briefly around my waist before he let go, gesturing for one of the suited staff nearby. A quick exchange, and a waiter was motioning me toward a hallway off to the side and I excused myself.

“Is there a problem?” Ivan asked Vincenzo who noticed Lena walking off. Vincenzo let out a sigh and shook his head.

“She’s just had one too many glass of wine.” he replied Ivan dryly as they went back to their conversation, but Vincenzo’s mind was not at ease with Lena not by his side.

He knew it was just the bathroom and it should be alright for Lena to step away for at least five minutes, but with the kind of lifestyle Vincenzo and Ivan led they knew five minutes was all it took for s**t to go down.

….

As weaved my way through the crowd I felt a headache begin to raise with how much the bells kept ring.

Lies. Lies. Lies. And even more lies.

“Ugh. Give me a break.” I grumbled in annoyance. At last I reached the server who gave me instructions on how to get to the powered room. He was kind enough to ask if he should accompany me, but I graciously declined his offer and thanked him.

The restroom was much quieter than I expected, tucked away at the end of a long marble hallway. Inside, the light was soft, flattering, bouncing off gilt-framed mirrors that seemed designed for women to fix their lipstick more than actually use the space.

But, it was definetly worth it. I’m just six weeks gone with this pregnancy, but I pee more times than I can count. I don’t want to imagine how the coming months leading to the due date will be. I ran my hand over my flat tummy and smiled.

“I can’t wait to meet you, mini me.”

I think I stayed in the restroom longer than I should have—five minutes, maybe more—trying to gather myself. I splashed cold water on my face, and reapplied my gloss that had smudged earlier from drinking from that glass. With one final long look in the mirror I gave myself a satisfactory nod and picked up my purse that was on the counter.

When I finally stepped back into the hallway, the sound of the party was muffled, distant. I smoothed the emerald silk of my dress, and started back toward the ballroom.

I didn’t get far though.

Halfway down the hall, as I rounded a corner, I collided with someone. Hard. My shoulder smacked against his chest, and I stumbled, heels catching on the slick marble but strong arms caught me and stopped me from taking a fall.

“scusi!” The man’s baritone voice vibrated off his chest and I just had to see who owned such a nice voice. There was an underlying hint of Italian in his accent, but it was mostly American. I met the stranger’s gaze.

And froze.

He was tall—as tall as Vincenzo, maybe—broad-shouldered, with the kind of presence that pressed against you even without a word. His suit was dark red, perfectly tailored, but his face…his face was what made my stomach twist. Not ugly, not striking, just wrong. Like a handsome mask that didn’t quite fit right.

His hair was blonde, and eyes bright red. He had a charming smile on his face, but it just felt off.

“I’m sorry.” I said quickly, trying to brush it off with that polite little smile as I broke free of his hold. My natural instinct told me to just walk away, Lena. Keep moving.

But he didn’t move.

He didn’t even blink.

The man’s eyes dragged down my figure, slow and deliberate, before sliding back up to meet mine again.

Have you ever had that ‘ick’ moment with a stranger. Like Hebijibi kind of feeling from someone you just met? Well, that’s all I could feel right now and my maternal instincts kicked in. This man was bad news for sure.