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The Mafia's Nanny 138
138Gianna’s POVThe sound of Matteo’s laugh lingered in the air, softer now that the rain had eased up. I wasn’t sure how we’d gone from an awkward check-in mix-up to this—sitting cross-legged on the carpet in a hotel room, laughing over a game of cards like old friends. It felt…unusual. Disarming.I leaned back against the couch, watching as Matteo shuffled the deck with a confidence that bordered on cocky. The guy had been full of surprises this entire trip. He wasn’t just quick on his feet in meetings; he was adaptable in ways I hadn’t expected. That resourcefulness, paired with his natural charisma, made him someone you couldn’t easily ignore. Not that I’d admit that out loud.“Ready for another round?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.“You’ve won the last three. I’m starting to think you rigged this game.”He gasped, clutching his chest like I’d just accused him of a mortal sin. “Rigged? Me? Gianna, you wound me.”“Don’t be so dramatic.”“I’m Italian. Drama is in my blood.”I rolle
Last Updated : 2025-01-20The Mafia's Nanny 139
139Matteo’s POVThe sound of clinking glasses and soft jazz filled the quiet corner of the hotel bar. It had been another long day, but a good one. The deal had gone through smoothly, thanks in no small part to Gianna’s relentless determination. She had been on fire during the meeting, handling every curveball with grace and authority. Watching her work was like watching a maestro conduct an orchestra—it was hard not to be impressed.Now, sitting across from her, I couldn’t help but feel a little lighter. The usual edge in her posture was gone, her shoulders relaxed as she swirled the wine in her glass. She wasn’t smiling exactly, but her expression was softer, almost…peaceful.“To a successful meeting,” I said, raising my glass.Gianna hesitated for a moment before lifting hers. “To teamwork,” she replied, her lips curving into a faint smile.We clinked glasses, and I took a sip, savoring the warmth of the whiskey as it slid down my throat.“You know,” I said, leaning back in my cha
Last Updated : 2025-01-21The Mafia's Nanny 140
140Gianna’s POVThe morning sunlight filtering through the hotel curtains was entirely too bright, and for the first time in years, I regretted not packing an eye mask. My head throbbed faintly, and my body felt heavier than usual, like I hadn’t fully come back to myself yet.I shifted under the covers and froze.The sheets smelled faintly of Matteo’s cologne. My chest tightened as the memories of last night surged forward in a wave I couldn’t stop. The warmth of his hands on my skin. The way his lips had found mine like they’d belonged there all along. The soft rasp of his voice when he’d said my name like it meant something.Oh, God.I sat up quickly, clutching the sheet to my chest even though I was alone in the bed. Matteo wasn’t in the room, but the faint sound of water running told me he was in the shower.I pressed my palms to my face, trying to push away the flood of emotion. This couldn’t have happened. It shouldn’t have happened. Matteo was my employee. A colleague. Younger
Last Updated : 2025-01-21The Mafia's Nanny 141
141Matteo’s POVThe car ride to our next stop was the quietest it had been since we left the city. Usually, Gianna would have her tablet open, firing off quick questions or reminders about the day’s meetings, and I’d be making sarcastic comments just to see how far I could push her before she sighed in frustration.Today, though, she was quiet. Too quiet. She sat rigid in her seat, her focus glued to the tablet in her lap, even though she hadn’t scrolled through it in at least ten minutes.I tried not to take it personally, but I wasn’t an idiot. The icy wall she’d thrown up after that night in the hotel room was impossible to ignore. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. Her face was calm, composed, like nothing could touch her.If only I could get her to look at me the way she had that night. Just once.“So,” I said, breaking the silence, “do you think the clients today will be as charming as yesterday’s?”She didn’t look up. “Unlikely,” she said flatly.I waited for more,
Last Updated : 2025-01-22The Mafia's Nanny 142
142Gianna’s POVI hated team-building exercises. They always felt like a waste of time—forced fun designed to foster camaraderie between people who would rather just get on with their jobs. Still, our client insisted, so there I was, sitting in a circle of chairs in the middle of a conference room with Matteo beside me, his usual smirk firmly in place.“So, we’re doing trust falls now?” Matteo leaned toward me, his voice low enough that only I could hear. “What’s next, singing campfire songs?”I shot him a look that could’ve withered a plant. “This is important to them,” I hissed. “Try to take it seriously.”He held up his hands in mock surrender, his smirk deepening. “I’m always serious. You just can’t tell because I hide it so well.”I shook my head, fighting the urge to smile. Matteo’s charm was relentless, and lately, I’d found it harder to stay immune to it. But I wasn’t about to let my guard down, not here, not now. Not anymore.The activity leader clapped their hands to get ev
Last Updated : 2025-01-22The Mafia's Nanny 143
143Matteo’s POVThe room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, save for the sound of Mr. Cavanaugh drumming his fingers against the polished conference table. His sour expression matched the tension in the air. The deal was slipping through our fingers, and Gianna was doing her best to salvage it, but even she seemed to be hitting a wall.“This wasn’t what we agreed upon,” Cavanaugh said, his tone clipped. “These terms are a joke, Miss Lorenzo.”Gianna, seated across from him, maintained her composure. “Mr. Cavanaugh, I assure you, the terms haven’t changed. We simply clarified the delivery schedule to ensure you’re not left waiting on product—”“That’s irrelevant,” he snapped, cutting her off. “What’s relevant is that your team didn’t communicate these ‘clarifications’ until now. It feels… slippery.”I glanced at Gianna, whose jaw tightened slightly, like a small crack in her otherwise impenetrable armor.“Mr. Cavanaugh,” I said, leaning forward slightly, “if I may?”Gianna shot m
Last Updated : 2025-01-23The Mafia's Nanny 144
144Gianna’s POV.I didn’t intend to be cold, just distant. The kind of distance that says, I’m over it without having to say it. That’s what I’d been aiming for with Matteo. Professional, cordial, efficient—nothing more.But Matteo has always had this infuriating way of slipping past boundaries every damn time, even when I set them with the precision of an architect. And today, apparently, he’d decided to bulldoze right through them.I eyed the cup of coffee that appeared in front of me. A cappuccino, just how I liked it—extra foam, light sprinkle of cocoa powder. I looked up, startled.Matteo was already settling into the chair across from me, his expression annoyingly unreadable.“Don’t look at me like I poisoned it,” he said, not even glancing my way as he pulled out his laptop.“I wasn’t—”“You were.” He finally looked up, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “It’s coffee, Gianna. Not a bribe. Just… a gesture.”I frowned, unsure whether to thank him or call him out f
Last Updated : 2025-01-23The Mafia's Nanny 145
145Gianna’s POVThe restaurant was nice—too nice for my liking, with its dim lighting, soft jazz, and napkins folded like little works of art. It was the kind of place where the wine list was longer than the menu, and the waitstaff looked like they could model in their spare time.But Mr Clifford loved it, so here we were, basking in the glow of a successful deal. Everyone was in high spirits, glasses clinking, conversation flowing. I sipped my wine sparingly, keeping my smile polite and my guard firmly in place.Matteo, of course, looked completely at ease. He always did in situations like this—charming Mr Clifford, cracking jokes that landed effortlessly. It was infuriating, how natural it all seemed for him.“Enjoying yourself?” His voice pulled me out of my thoughts.I turned to find him watching me, his expression unreadable.“Of course,” I replied, plastering on a smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?”“You just seem a little… tense.”“I’m not tense,” I said quickly, which only made me so
Last Updated : 2025-01-24
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The Mafia's Nanny 270
270Rosa’s POVI threw my phone onto the hotel bed and let out a dramatic groan. “Emilia, I swear to God, if I see another text about business, I’m throwing this damn thing in the ocean.”Emilia, lounging in her fluffy white robe, sipped her cocktail and smirked. “Do it. I dare you.”I narrowed my eyes. “You just want to see me suffer when I have to explain to my father why I’m unreachable.”“Absolutely,” she said, raising her glass. “That’s what best friends are for.”I rolled my eyes but grabbed my drink from the nightstand and clinked it against hers. “To escaping the insanity, at least for a few days.”“To bad decisions,” Emilia added with a grin.I sighed dramatically. “As long as none of them involve work, I’m in.”We spent the next hour getting ready, blasting music as we did our hair and makeup. For once, I wasn’t thinking about threats, alliances, or negotiations—I was just Rosa, a woman on vacation with her best friend.As we stepped out onto the balcony, overlooking the oce
The Mafia's Nanny 269
269Rosa’s POVThe day had started off like any other, or at least it was supposed to. I had spent the morning in the garden, tending to my flowers, letting my mind wander. I loved the peace that came with it, the way the world slowed down, even if just for a few minutes. But that afternoon, things didn’t feel as peaceful as usual. Something was off. And I could feel it in the air, thick and heavy, like the storm was about to break.I tried to brush it off, but as soon as I spotted Allesio across the courtyard, my heart skipped a beat. He was walking toward me, but his steps were slower than usual, his head hanging low. It wasn’t his usual confident stride. There was hesitation in the way he moved, amd it was hard to ignore.“Allesio,” I called softly. He looked up at me, and for a moment, I saw a flash of something—guilt, maybe?—pass through his eyes before it was gone, replaced by his usual guarded expression.“Rosa,” he said. He didn’t sound like he was excited to see me and that b
The Mafia's Nanny 268
268Allesio’s POVI stood there, frozen in place, as Alaric’s anger washed over me like a tidal wave. His words hit hard, each one sinking deeper than the last. I had been trying so hard to keep my head above water, but now everything I had been avoiding came crashing down.He didn’t say anything right now, just stood there, his jaw clenched, eyes dark with frustration. He was waiting for me to speak, but I couldn’t. My mind was spinning, tangled in the web of lies and omissions I had spun.Finally, he broke the silence, his voice low but lethal. “So this whole time, you’ve been holding back? You’ve known what happened to Dominic, and you didn’t say a word?”I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “Alaric, I—”“Don’t,” he cut me off sharply. “Don’t give me some excuse. I asked you to get close to Rosa and get information. You promised me you’d find the truth. And now you’re telling me you knew it all along and kept it from me?”I opened my mouth again, but the words caught in my throat. Ther
The Mafia's Nanny 267
267Allesio’s POVThe buzz of the conversation around me faded as I stared blankly ahead, the voices becoming a dull hum. Alaric was talking about something—some issue with the Cruz family, I think—but it didn’t matter. His words blurred into the background. My mind was somewhere else entirely, a place I didn’t want to go but couldn’t stop myself from falling into.I clenched my fists under the table, the memory creeping in like an unwelcome guest.“You’re awfully quiet,” Alaric said, glancing at me as he tried to balance Francesca on his lap. She was squirming, reaching for the pen he’d set down on the table a moment earlier.“I’m listening,” I replied, my voice rough as I dragged myself back to the present.“You don’t look like you are,” Alaric muttered, handing Francesca the pen in defeat. She giggled, immediately starting to scribble nonsense on the notepad in front of her.“Sorry,” I said, exhaling sharply. “What were you saying?”“The Cruz family,” Alaric said, his tone sharp, t
The Mafia's Nanny 266
266Allesio’s POVIt had been a week since I made that promise to Rosa. Since I promised her that I won’t tell Alaric. And each day felt like a weight pressing down harder on my chest. The guilt of keeping the secret, the guilt of betraying Alaric, was gnawing at me, and I couldn’t escape it. The promise I’d made to her—I won’t tell Alaric, I won’t tell anyone—had started to feel less like a vow and more like a cage I couldn’t break out of.I spent more time at the mansion than her condo now, hoping to bury my thoughts under the grind of work. I told myself that keeping my focus on Alaric, on what I owed him, would keep my head straight. But every time I looked at him, every time I saw his face, the guilt flared up again. It didn’t matter that Rosa was the one I loved. I had a duty to Alaric that I couldn’t ignore, no matter how much my heart pulled me in the other direction.This war with myself—loyalty versus love—was eating away at me.I had just stepped off the elevator when I bum
The Mafia's Nanny 265
265Rosa’s POVIt was late when Allesio finally came back into to the condo. The air between us wasn’t just tense—it felt fragile, like a glass already cracked and on the verge of shattering. But this time, it wasn’t about the Cruz family or Dominic’s death. Something else weighed on him.“Allesio?” I called softly, setting my book down on the nightstand. He paused in the doorway, his hand resting on the frame like it was the only thing holding him up.“Rosa.” His voice was low, almost hoarse, and I knew whatever he was carrying wasn’t just another argument waiting to happen.I stood, crossing the room until I was close enough to see the faint lines of worry etched on his face. “What is it?”He hesitated, his eyes searching mine. “There’s trouble at the docks.”My stomach clenched. “Again?” I breathed out.“Yes. Again,” he murmured in reply.“What happened?” I asked.“Alaric got word that a shipment went missing. Weapons, high-grade. Some of the guys think it’s a setup.” His jaw tight
The Mafia's Nanny 264
264Allesio’s POV.“You’re lying to yourself, Allesio. And it’s going to destroy you.”Rosa’s voice cut through the heavy silence like a blade, sharp and deliberate. I looked up from the glass in my hand, the amber liquid trembling slightly as I set it down. Her words hung in the air, daring me to respond, but for a moment, I didn’t. I couldn’t.Instead, I leaned back against the chair, exhaling slowly. “What am I supposed to say to that?” I muttered, my tone edged with exhaustion. “You want me to admit you’re right? That I’m falling apart? That I don’t have the first clue how to fix any of this?”“I want you to stop pretending you can carry all of it alone.” Rosa crossed her arms, her gaze piercing. “Because you can’t. And if you don’t realize that soon, it’ll cost us everything.”I ran a hand through my hair, the frustration boiling over. “And what exactly do you suggest, huh? Just tell Alaric the truth and hope he doesn’t tear the world apart looking for revenge? Because that’s exa
The Mafia's Nanny 263
263Allesio’s POVI felt like I was losing my grip on reality. Every time I saw Rosa, it was like the walls were closing in. Her confession still hung over me like a storm cloud, and no matter how much I tried to shake it, the weight wouldn’t lift. The guilt wasn’t just about keeping secrets from Alaric—it was the deeper betrayal I couldn’t even admit to myself. The tangled mess of Dominic’s death, the Cruz family, and Rosa’s insistence on her and her family’s innocence had my head spinning.The worst part? I wasn’t sure if Alaric had picked up on it yet. If he hadn’t picked up on it that I already knew and I was hiding it. He wasn’t blind, and he definitely wasn’t stupid. The man could read me like a book on my best day, and I wasn’t even pretending well anymore.I couldn’t avoid him forever, though. I was in his office, and the air felt even more suffocating than usual. He was flipping through some papers at the scattered on the table, his focus seemingly on anything but me.Meanwhi
The Mafia's Nanny 262
262Allesio’s POV“Do you ever think about how things might’ve been if Dominic were still alive?” I asked, my tone casual, though my heart thudded heavily in my chest. I was at Rosa’s condo today too. It was where I was spending most of my free time now. And I decided that I wanted to know everything today. Maybe, just maybe she doesn’t know anything and I don’t have to choose between her and Alaric.She raised a brow, giving me a somewhat confused look. “Dominic?”“Alaric’s brother. Do you think if Dominic was still alive, Alaric would have been a better man than he is now?” I asked her, observing her intently. “Do you ever think about how things might have been I’d Dominic were still alive?”Rosa froze for a moment, her glass hovering mid-air. “That’s a loaded question, Allesio.”I shrugged, keeping my gaze steady. “Is it? Alaric does. A lot. He doesn’t say it, but I know he’s still haunted by it.”Her eyes flicked to mine, wide and uncertain. “Haunted how?”“Like he’s carrying some
