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Is This a Date?
Last Updated:
2025-01-18 08:20:32
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Indebted to the Mafia King In a New York Minute
Eleni“Baba, I have to leave for class in half an hour,” I say as I clear paper plates and cups off one of the high-top tables in the back of The Greek Corner. “I need to change.”My dad huffs a sigh and shoves up from his chair behind the counter. “Yes, chryso mou, I know. But your mama was supposed to be done taking inventory by now to handle customers. Can’t you wait a little?”I bite back a frown and nod. He’s been looking more and more tired since we lost Christos a couple years back. I love the night classes I’ve been taking at the community college a few blocks over, but I’m not going to force my baba to wait tables just so I’m not late. I dump the trash into the garbage can in the back. The bell over the door jingles, and I turn with my customer service smile already plastered on, then freeze.Frank Lombardi, the broad, sneering mobster who’s held my family under his thumb since they came to America, saunters in with a few of his guys. My skin goes cold.“Georgie!” Frank smac
Last Updated : 2024-06-20Indebted to the Mafia King Turf War
EleniI scoot out of the way of Mr. and Mrs. Behrakis as they leave after their usual Wednesday lunch. Both members of the elderly couple smile at me, and I head for their table to pick up their usual generous tip. I haven’t told Mama or Baba about the virginity auction. I know they’d stop me, but I want to contribute to this family too.The bell over the door tinkles, and I turn. My breath catches. The man stepping inside looks like something out of a movie. His warm, tanned skin stretches taut over sharp cheekbones and a square jaw. His black suit is crisp and perfectly tailored over an equally black shirt and tie. The only element of him that doesn’t seem like it was mathematically designed for perfection is his curly hair, which tumbles just a little bit into his night-dark eyes. He looks around as if trying to find something, and his gaze lands on me. His smile is soft and a little cocky, exposing perfect white teeth. Without a word, he sits at the counter attached to the front w
Last Updated : 2024-06-20Indebted to the Mafia King Never Again
EleniI scuttle down the sidewalk after class on Friday night. Professor Whitmore was in rare form, actually seeming to be interested in what people had to say when they raised their hands, but I spent most of the class thinking about my plans for the night. I have to sneak out. I’ve never snuck out before, but I’ve seen movies. My bedroom window lets out onto the fire escape, and I’m certain I can get down from there. I shove my hands in my pockets. The closer I get to the auction, the more ridiculous it seems. Am I really going to sneak out to Staten Island to sell my virginity? Am I really willing to give that to someone who’s willing to buy it?The skin on the back of my neck prickles, and I whip around. A couple makes out on a stoop nearby. An older man with a bottle clasped in a brown paper bag shoos away pigeons collecting in front of him. A few homeless people sleep on benches and blankets. No one seems to be looking at me. I rub my neck under my loose ponytail of brown curl
Last Updated : 2024-06-20Indebted to the Mafia King The Auction
EleniI push the hangers holding my every-day clothes to the side and stare at the few special-occasion dresses I’ve accumulated over the years. I can’t wear my prom dress. The long, glittering baby-pink dress with the lacy sleeves seemed perfect when I picked it out, but I’d stick out like a sore thumb on the ferry. I don’t really want to wear my birthday dress. It stops at my knees, so I might be able to hide it under a long coat, but I picked out the yellow polka-dotted dress because it looked so cheerful, and I don’t want to think of this virginity auction every time we go out to dinner for Mama’s, Baba’s, or my birthday. That leaves me with my funeral dress. I pull the black sheath from the closet and hold it up to my body. It is sleeveless, with just wide straps holding it up, and the skirt doesn’t flare nearly as much as my birthday dress. Every time I wear it to a funeral, I get a little nervous that people might think it’s too sexy because of the fitted top.Perfect.I slide
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EleniI whirl. There, on an even softer looking leather couch, wearing another pitch-black suit, sits Dante. He smiles slightly as he swirls a glass of some dark liquor and looks me up and down.“Um,” I say.He stands and prowls closer. My heart hammers against my ribcage. “You shouldn’t be here,” he murmurs.“What?” I blink. “I have the same right to be here that all those other girls do.”Dante chuckles, low and teasing. I gulp.“You actually don’t.” He circles around behind me. “Piacere is my club, and everyone knows the Calimeris family—including their charming daughter El—belongs to the Lombardis.”The rage that ignited in me when I saw Baba in the kitchen flames back to life. “My family doesn’t belong to anyone. And I didn’t know this was your club. I don’t know anything about you.”He circles back around so I can see him again and opens his arms wide. “I’m an open book. Ask me anything.”I mean to ask him why I’m back here, what he wants from me. But I’ve never been good at co
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EleniI slip out of the front door of Piacere without looking at the stage, where the auction is still going on, or the line of people outside. People—men—from both groups jeer at me, but I ignore them. The envelope of money weighs down the inside pocket of my jacket. Fifty thousand dollars. I hurry through the streets. I have to get home before Baba and Mama wake. The last thing I want is to worry them.Only when I’m already on the ferry back to the city proper do I think about Dante. My face heats. I threw myself at him, and he basically refused. I bite my lower lip, still tingling from the heat and pressure of his kiss. I really thought he wanted me. Stupid. Men like him only ever want me for my body, but I could tell he wanted someone with more to them than that. He just didn’t see more in me.Tears bead in my eyes, and I shake my head. Sure, I sold more to Dante than I ever wanted to, but I have the money. Mama can stop cleaning up Baba’s blood, at least. When I arrive home, I l
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DanteI drop into my leather desk chair and cradle the hot mug of coffee I picked up in the kitchen to my chest. The virginity auction at the club is usually a great way to make some money and pull new eyes. I show up every year, but I’ve never bid before. I’m no saint, but women who’ve never had any kind of sex before tend not to be as…flexible in bed as I prefer. But goddamn Eleni Calimeris. El, as she called herself, one of the worst fake names I’ve ever heard. I can’t get her out of my head. When I went to The Greek Corner the other day, I was just hoping to rile Frank Lombardi. The dickhead gets reckless when he’s mad, so pissing him off is almost always good business. I didn’t expect Eleni. I take a sip of the coffee and allow myself a minute to think about her before I have to do some work. The bun she’d worn to the auction last night made it impossible to think about anything but tasting the skin of her neck. When I asked her what the gyro tasted like to her, her soft blue e
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EleniI blink awake and discover someone removed the bag from my head. I lie on a scratchy couch in what looks like someone’s wood-paneled basement, still wearing my sweatshirt and nightgown. A single lightbulb battles against the dark, but it barely reaches the walls. I suck in a breath, and the musty scent of underground combines with just a hint of the metallic stench I remember from the apartment.The apartment. Where I left Baba dead. Mama isn’t here, so at least they haven’t caught her yet. Or they killed her too. Tears fill my eyes, and I lift a hand to swipe them away.Both of my hands move, accompanied by the sharp bite of plastic. I look down. Someone zip-tied my wrists together. And my ankles.
Last Updated : 2024-06-22
Latest chapter
Indebted to the Mafia King Is This a Date?
*Heidi*Needless to say, I barely closed my eyes last night. I don’t know why I feel so anxious to have dinner with Cal. He never once mentioned this was a date. Not officially, at least. Would I be wrong to assume it is if he didn’t expressly say the word ‘date’? In my experience, if a man wants to spend New Year’s Eve with a woman, he probably has romantic intentions.No matter how polite and respectful Cal is, I don’t believe for a second that this is strictly a business meeting. Or, maybe I’m just thinking about it too deeply.I’m probably not the type of woman he’s used to dating. I imagine him with someone who has tattoos, piercings, and isn’t afraid to hop on a bar and dance… But the way he looked at me the past few times we came into contact makes me wonder if he might be interested in me, the way he’s constantly orbiting around me, wanting to know more about me…. There’s no way I’m imagining it.I shake my head and look around. I’ve finished unpacking my things and organize
Indebted to the Mafia King Is This a Date?
*Heidi*Needless to say, I barely closed my eyes last night. I don’t know why I feel so anxious to have dinner with Cal tonight. He never once mentioned this was a date. Not officially at least. Would I be wrong to assume it is if he didn’t expressly say the word ‘date’? In my experience, if a man wants to spend New Year’s Eve with a woman, he probably has romantic intentions.No matter how polite and respectful Cal is, I don’t believe for a second that this is strictly a business meeting. Maybe I’m just thinking about it too hard.I’m probably not the type of woman he’s used to dating, but the way he’s looked at me ever since we met, the way he’s constantly orbiting around me, wanting to know more about me…. There’s no way I’m imagining it.I shake my head and look around. I’ve finished unpacking my only luggage and organized everything in the closet in my bedroom. I also organized the groceries I bought this morning and cleaned the entire apartment, so it feels like I’m finally re
Indebted to the Mafia King Invitation
*Heidi*I lug my only suitcase inside the new apartment. It’s stuffed with new clothes that I bought over the week.Since nothing was salvaged from the fire, I had to make a list of priorities of what to buy. My computer is gone, and I’ve yet to replace it. I spent an entire day at City Hall getting a new social security card, then the DMV for my driver’s license despite the fact I never use it to drive. Getting a transit card for the subway was easy, at least, but I had no clothes to wear that didn’t smell like smoke, and I also had to do grocery shopping so I’ll have something to eat at home.Since I left the hospital, I’ve been eating only fast food–quick slices of pizza and hot-ham-and-cheese from the corner bodega. Sometimes my aunt would offer to cook something for us, but I knew she was only doing it because I was there. She’s not very fond of the kitchen, and if I weren’t at her house, I’m sure she would be eating out, too, and I didn’t want to be any trouble. I grunt as I pu
Indebted to the Mafia King A New Direction
*Cal*“What is it, Boss?” Sam asks, but his voice sounds distant and muffled.When he moves to stand in front of me, his eyes studying me cautiously, I realize I was so angry, I wasn’t paying any attention to him at all.“Who is it? What happened?” he insists, his gaze darting to my phone and back to my face.I turn the screen for him to see the picture, but by the way his brows crease, I can tell he doesn’t understand what it means.“This is Heidi leaving the bar,” I explain expressionlessly, my mind numb with a type of fury I’ve never felt before..I’m doing everything in my power to suppress the outrage threatening to overcome me.I shouldn’t have reason to be afraid for Heidi. If someone’s watching her, which is evident by this photo, I could, in theory, shrug it off as someone trying to bait me by thinking the hottest girl to ever set foot in my bar is someone attached to me. A girlfriend, perhaps. A mistress. It wouldn’t be the first time another group has pulled a stunt like t
Indebted to the Mafia King Work it Out
*Cal*Having Heidi in the same room as me this entire time has proven to be nothing but a bad idea. Even though she’s left, her scent lingers in the air, which makes it almost impossible for me to focus on anything other than her right now.I’m glad she accepted my help. Giving her a new apartment isn’t the only thing I wanted to do for her, but it does lessen my guilt to know she’ll be safe and able to get back on her feet with a roof over her head.I wish things hadn’t gone bad for her in the first place, but since I have no control over the past, I might as well accept this is all I can do for her–for now.Sure, I can give her way more than just an apartment, but considering how hard it was for her to accept that, I doubt she will even listen to any other offers. I think I can get her to open up to me eventually, although I have to be patient and careful.She doesn’t seem to trust people easily, and I can’t pretend I didn’t notice how skeptical and suspicious she was around me the
Indebted to the Mafia King Do We Have a Deal?
*Heidi*Cal takes me to his office, and I find myself slightly suspicious while at the same time, an anticipation builds within me that has everything to do with the fact that he’s taking me somewhere private to have a conversation.While we were talking at the bar, his barkeep pretended he wasn’t listening to us, but I’m sure he was.Now, we’ll be alone in his office, and that seems… weird. I’m not supposed to be feeling like this. Cal is everything I should keep myself away from in a man. He’s handsome, intimidating, sexy, flirtatious, not to mention he’s mysterious in a way that keeps me wanting to know more about him. If the novels I read have taught me anything, I should know better than to want to have any kind of relationship with Call. I know I came after him for help, but in my defense, I had no idea who he was. After I was already here and made a scene out of myself, demanding to talk to him, well… I couldn’t back down.I’m waiting in his office, admiring his decor and the
Indebted to the Mafia King Making Arrangements
*Cal*Heidi follows me as I take her to my office. We stroll across the hallway, heading for the last door on our right. Our footsteps are the only thing I can hear as I guide her, her tiny frame following me closely.I’m trying hard to ignore how good she smells. Her sweet perfume inebriates my senses and makes it hard for me to think clearly.And I have to figure out what I can do for her now that she finally seems willing to accept my help.Seeing how defensive Heidi can get has turned me on more than I’d like to admit, but I can’t say I don’t like it. Ever since she crossed the doorway of my bar, she’s done nothing but surprise me.She yelled, cried, stood defensively and suspiciously before me, showing multiple sides of her in less than an hour. Teasing and flirting with her felt good, but considering how different Heidi is from the women I’m used to dating, I need to be cautious. And more respectful than ever. The last thing I want is to scare her away.Her retorts only added fu
Indebted to the Mafia King Hitting a Dead End
*Heidi*I would never imagine Cal to be the type of man who is attentive and kind while looking so intimidating and cold on the outside. If anything, I imagined him as a grumpy, arrogant, stupid man who thinks he runs the world and that everything needs to be done according to his rules and demands.But barging into his bar and crying in front of him–even though it almost made me die of embarrassment–has proven to be somewhat worth it. I’ve never been the type of woman who was the object of desire for any man. I did have some boyfriends here and there while I was in college, but none of them ended up forming a serious relationship. And all of them eventually cheated on me. Good thing was that I was never in love with any of them, so I can’t say I suffered immensely. But it did some damage to my self-esteem. No man has piqued my interest after I graduated, and it’s been like that for years. But something in Cal makes me feel different. The way his eyes drink me in makes me feel like
Indebted to the Mafia King Unexpected Feelings
*Cal*I have never been good with people crying.Let alone women.To have Heidi sobbing in front of me was not something I was expecting to have to deal with after seeing how fiery and determined she looked a minute ago.I don’t know how to react. I don’t know what to do to make her feel better.The way the tears are pooling in her beautiful eyes is enough to make me want to go after whoever did that to her store and just make them disappear from the earth once and for all.It’s absurd how simply watching her cry is making me visit emotions I’ve never felt before.She is trying to be strong, wiping the tears from her eyes aggressively, but one more look at me, and all her walls break down.I glance at Ian, who is now pretending he isn’t even here, and I consider what to do. I don’t want to invade her privacy or do something she might find disrespectful, but I feel like she needs comfort right now.And if I can do that for her, it might be worth a try.“Come on, let’s have a seat,” I s
