Talia’s POV“If it pleases you,” I said, trying to hide the disgust in my voice. I couldn’t tell if I was angry at Lorenzo for his show of excessive force or if I was angry at John for lying to me for months about who he was. “John’s first act as the underboss had been to trade in an unrestricted area that belonged to me. And that stupid action had led to the deaths of soldiers on both sides of the mafias. John knew the consequences of this action but he went ahead with it anyway and it was left to me and I to pick up the pieces and try to atone for the deaths of our men. Naturally, I tried to convince his boss to hand him over to face the punishment but he wouldn’t do that and I eventually pieced together the truth that John had been acting on the instructions of his mafia boss. Since I couldn’t stomach such disrespect, we went to war and when I won, I chased them out of the city six months ago and they promised never to return.” It was too much information for me to take in at o
Talia’s POVEveryone paused and stared at us with wide eyes as I reluctantly pulled out of the kiss. I forced myself to look at Lorenzo and I saw an indescribable look on his face. “I didn’t mean—“Lorenzo didn’t give me the chance to explain myself as he pulled me out of the conference room and towards his bedroom which I’d never been to before.He continued to stare at me and I knew we both wanted the same thing right now. I was rather conflicted but my desires were on overdrive. I needed to have sex so badly and it was all I could think about. How I felt towards Lorenzo hadn’t changed but I couldn’t bring myself to curb how much I wanted this. “Come here,” Lorenzo commanded in a hoarse voice and I duly obliged. I pounced on him and kissed him hard and he responded with the same vigor, his hands gripping me as he held me against his chest. I could feel my skin burning, I wanted his hands all over my body and most importantly, I wanted him inside him. “Take off your clothes, T
Talia’s POVThe rays of sunlight seeped through the slightly opened curtains and fell across my face, forcing me to open my eyes.I shielded my eyes with my palm as I turned to the other side of the bed and glanced at the digital clock on the bed stand, it was 9:45 AM. I’d overslept again—if you could say that. For the past couple of hours, before we slept, Lorenzo and I had done nothing but have sex at every given moment. I couldn’t remember the last time we had a proper conversation and for the life of me, I didn’t mind. We would have the time to talk later but our wants had to be satisfied before anything else. I heard the shower running, Lorenzo was taking his bath. He’d probably just woken up as well. We were up for most of the nights taking turns on ourselves—or more like he was taking it out on me. I touched the back of my neck and winced. Lorenzo had grabbed onto it a little too tightly a few hours ago but I didn’t have it in me to complain. He loved his sex rough and whil
Talia’s POVThe past few days have been surreal for me and I had to pinch myself at intervals to remind myself that it was real life and not a dream. I couldn’t pinpoint where or when it happened but I was starting to have an actual relationship with Lorenzo, much to my surprise. We weren’t dating or anything of that sort but we sort of bridged a gap and it’s been amazing. I thought Marissa had been lying when she told me about the secret but it turned out that she’d been telling the truth. Lorenzo had indeed planned a vacation for the two of us. It was mostly business but there was a lot of pleasures attached to it.Now and then, I waited for him to wake up and revert to the man I knew him to be but each day, the same surprise kept on happening and it started with him waking me up with a gift nearly every morning unlike it had been before. “You look like you weigh the world on your shoulders, Talia.” Lorenzo’s voice broke me out of my daydreaming. “I was lost for a moment. It’s
Talia’s POV“There’s something I never did ask beforehand, Lorenzo.” I began as we drove through the city, heading towards one of his favorite places to shop. We were due to fly back home the next day and Lorenzo had decided to take me shopping. “Am I going to regret whatever it is you plan on asking?” Lorenzo inquired not bothering to look at me as he fixed his gaze on the cars and stores we drove past. “You’re making it seem like I’m holding a gun to your head. I’m not a bad person, you know that, right?” I frowned as I glanced at Lorenzo for a moment. “Learn to take a joke, Talia.” Lorenzo chuckled. “You’re too uptight. You need to loosen up.” I drummed my fingers on my lap as Lorenzo maneuvered his way out of traffic. “Well, you should learn to make jokes at the appropriate time.” “So what was it you wanted to ask again?” Lorenzo masterfully steered away from the potential argument. He had been in a good mood all day and it rubbed off on me.“I was going to ask if you plan o
Talia’s POV“I was as well,” I confirmed. “Not frightened in a bad way but shocked to the core. Where do you think you are, Lorenzo? The 1900’s?”“I don’t have a credit card, Talia.”“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” I replied sarcastically. “What’s stopping you from walking into a bank and getting one without any hassle?”“It’s a pointless chore, cash makes everything easier.” Lorenzo shrugged as he entered the car. “Do you always have an answer for everything I say?” I asked as he pulled out of the parking lot. “You plan on bullying me into silence?” Lorenzo asked, making me scoff.“You’re what? Nearly seven feet tall and you’ve got over 150 pounds on me. What do you mean by bullying you into silence?” “That’s not the bone of contention, Talia. You’re diverting and trying to gaslight me again.”“What do you mean by again?” I scowled, my eyes fixed on the road ahead. Lorenzo was simply the most annoying person I had ever met, he knew how to get to me without even breaking a sweat and
Talia’s POVI couldn’t stop thinking about everything that transpired on the way home. Lorenzo had changed my number as soon as I crossed the gates of his home on my first night and I wondered how John had managed to get that number. A small part of me regretted ever trying to save his life. Maybe I wouldn’t be bothered by my past. After learning the truth about who he truly was, I was wary about being in the same space with him. I had zero knowledge about things involving the mafia world but if John hadn’t fled from the city yet, it meant he had something he was doing here, and knowing John, he was definitely up to no good. “We’re here, miss.” The driver said. I’d been lost in thought that I didn’t realize we were in the driveway of the mansion. “Thank you,” I managed to give him a small smile before making my way out of the car and into the building. I heard hushed voices speaking as I made my way up the stairs. There was no sign of Lorenzo and I figured he hadn’t returned hom
Talia’s POVIt didn’t take long for Marissa’s spirit to lift as we talked and laughed over a bottle of champagne. There were moments where I felt she was ready to tell me about her run-ins with Matteo but she decided against it and I couldn’t fault her for that. Everyone had secrets they’d rather take to the grave and as long as she could take care of herself, I wouldn’t need to bother too much. “Did you have a good time in Paris, Talia?” Marissa asked as she took a sip from the glass cup in her hand. “I did. It was my first time outside the country and it was a splendid experience. I knew your brother was wealthy and well connected but seeing him amongst foreign dignitaries, I understood I had been limiting the scope to how influential he was.” I gushed. “You haven’t seen half of it,” Marissa laughed. “The longer you stay, the more you’ll see a lot of things and that reminds me, we need to talk.” I groaned internally as Marissa fixed me with a stare. I knew that face and I knew
Talia’s POV“I’m trying to save you, Talia! Why can't you believe that?” I said, raising my voice. “When I wanted you to do that several months ago, you discarded me to the side despite everything I did to make up for what happened!” Talia yelled back. “I couldn’t forgive you then, Talia. It was a different story back then.” “Oh, yeah? So what has magically changed since then? The old you I know wouldn’t give a fuck about what happens to me.” Talia argued. “Everything has changed, Talia,” I said in a clipped tone. “You’re driving me crazy, Lorenzo!” Talia yelled, pulling at her hair. “Why are you acting like you want me when your body language is saying something entirely different? I’m tired of playing these games with you, you’re messing with my emotions.”“And you think you’re not doing the same thing to me, Talia? I can’t go a day without thinking about you and that’s why I’m here and not buried in the mountain of work I have on my desk!” “You don’t love me, Lorenzo. You don
Lorenzo’s POV“Did he talk to you about the prenup?” Talia asked excitedly. “Is that why you’ve been wound up since you arrived here, you think it’s too early, isn’t it? Well, I’m not going to—““There’s no prenup, Talia.” I cut in, pouring the contents of his glass cup down my throat, welcoming the burning feeling as he tried to douse my rising anger. I was starting to drink a lot these days and it wasn’t wasn’t a good thing. For the past month, I've constantly deluded myself that Talia was going to be better off without me and that Asher was going to be the one for her, the answer to all of her relationship and love issues if she gave him the chance.I put her in this position and right now, I was disgusted with myself above anything else. “What are you talking about, Lorenzo?” Talia was confused now. “What do you mean by there’s no prenup? I just saw it in his room a couple of hours ago.”“You saw a draft with no name, placed carelessly by Asher of all people, you haven’t figure
Lorenzo’s POVI climbed up the stairs and knocked twice on the door, waiting for Talia to open. A couple of minutes later, she was standing in front of the door, glaring at me. “What do you want this time, Lorenzo?” “Can you give me five minutes of your time and then I'll leave?” I asked. “Lorenzo, I don’t—““Just five minutes. I know Asher isn’t home and I intend to leave before he’s back.”She stared at me for a moment before pushing the door open and inviting me in. “Tell me something, Talia. How has this been for you?” I asked as soon as we sat down. “What are you talking about?” Talia asked. “You mean being with Asher?”“Yes, that’s what I meant,” I confirmed. “Has there been any need for worry at any point in time?”“Asher has been good to me, Lorenzo.” Talia began. “He’s treated me and spoiled me better than I could imagine. I won’t lie to you, Lorenzo. I’ve been waiting for him to make a mistake or step out of line so I can hold it against him and put him in the same cat
Lorenzo’s POVI was struggling to keep my temper in check as I stormed out of the golf clubhouse while trying to maintain a calm demeanor on the outside before someone figured something had gone wrong and started trying to rile me further by asking questions. In the end, I wasn’t paranoid and I hadn’t been sounding like a lunatic. I knew something wasn’t right from the first time I saw Asher and Talia together after Marissa confirmed to me that they were involved and trying to sort their feet in their budding relationship. I knew men like Asher. I’ve always known men like Asher. They were everywhere, in the mafia, in the corporate world, in politics, everywhere and they all treated women that had no class in the same way. They see them like a piece of clothing that catches their fancy for a limited period of time and then, they discard them when they get tired.I know this because I was once like them and I once treated Talia like this and I couldn’t stand to see her go through the
Lorenzo’s POV “I’ve been looking for a chance to get away from this group of people I’m with and you might just be my saving grace,” Asher replied.He didn’t quite give me an answer and I didn’t quite understand if he was going to indulge me or not. “Do you mean that as a yes?” I asked, wanting to be certain about what I was going into. “Yes, Lorenzo,” Asher confirmed. “We can talk about whatever it is you want to talk about.”“Is there a private space around here?” I asked, looking around as I tried to pick out a spot far away from people’s hearing. I didn’t want anyone interfering in my private matters or better still, Talia’s private matters with Asher. This was a lot easier than I thought it would and it was starting along nicely. “Yes, there’s a spot behind that tent. It’s restricted and it’s the best place we can talk around here,” Asher pointed out. “You’re sure people won’t listen in on our conversations, Asher?” I asked. “I’ll secure the area. I don’t need people liste
Lorenzo’s POVIt didn’t take long after that for me to find Asher with the steward’s help. I didn’t particularly have a plan on how I was going to approach the subject so I decided that I would go with whatever my guts say. That was the best plan I could come up with and I was going to stick with it. It was unlike me to confront any situation without having a solid plan but this was one of those rare moments where I had to make the best of what I was given. But I wasn’t given anything or rather, I came unprepared. I was merely facing things head on without giving a second thought to if it would end well or not. Marissa had said that I was in need of an adventure and that was why I was here. Deep down, I knew what she wanted to say and it wasn’t this. A large part of me didn’t want to admit it but I cared about Talia, I always have, more than I was ever willing to admit.One of the perks of being bigger than everyone in here was that it was pretty easy for you to stand out from e
“You should’ve considered a career as an investigative journalist, Marissa.” I frowned over the phone. She took after our mother in that aspect. They always had an answer for everything whether right or wrong and she was proving it here. “Maybe I just might, if I ever get bored of working for you at any point.”“If I remember correctly, you said you wanted me to turn your temporary post into a permanent one and I did just that. Are you bored already?”“No, I love my job. I just said it for the dramatic effect it would give and I guess it worked.”“You’re crazy.” “That’s a story for another day. But seriously, where would you go when you leave Paris? I don’t need you back here if your head isn’t in the game so go somewhere else. Probably not Greece, you’ve always had a disdain towards the people there.”“I was thinking about going to Zanzibar this time around but I don’t know. Maybe I just might change my mind when the time comes.”“Somewhere new wouldn’t hurt, you know? You need to
Lorenzo’s POVEverything had gone as smoothly as I could’ve wanted it to be.I’ve been watching Talia and Asher for several days before I decided to meet her in person and from what I had observed she was very happy. I couldn’t have been more impressed with how I had handled everything concerning this situation but I still had one more case for worry. No matter how hard I had tried to disregard the warning signs I couldn’t bring myself to. Naturally, I shouldn’t be here. I was supposed to be back in New York, behind my mahogany table discussing with a number of prospective clients or trying to close a couple of deals that have been pending on my desk for the past week but here I was, trying to play the knight in shining armor. Ever since I pardoned Talia and allowed her to be Marissa's mentee, we’ve barely talked except for a handful of occasions where we had to act courteous towards each other. Marissa had tried and failed to set us up as a couple until she decided she would let
Talia’s POV“Asher’s right, Talia,” Lucas began, seated behind the mahogany table in the private study, his eyes glued to the computer screen in front of him. “The honeymoon period is over. We need to get to work before we get caught flat-footed once again.”I sat with my mouth closed. I was unsure of what to say as I had zero clue about what they were talking about but it sounded serious.Lucas was Asher’s best friend and he was also the co-managing Director of the company I worked for. He was rarely around, he preferred to handle the businesses that needed their attention around the world while Asher focused on steadying the ship from the headquarters. I had a cordial relationship with Lucas and we barely spoke to each other except on rare occasions like this. Asher was talking to a couple of investors on the screen in front of him while I waited for him to finish. He had suddenly lost interest in the conversation midway. He often did that a lot and I wondered how short his attent