Chapter 4

They arrived at the dining area, and Daphnée had to hold herself in from screaming. The dining area was so huge and there were so many people, the majority being men here!

They looked at her, who was marvelling at their home, and found it amusing. Lorenzo lead them to the kitchen that was busy, and he yelled, “Everyone, listen up!”

They all stopped what they were doing and looked at them, mostly at Daphnée. He turned to Daphnée and said, “Everyone, this is Daphnée. She will be one of our family members from today. Please introduce yourselves to her when you have the time before she leaves tomorrow.”

And just like that, they went back to what they were doing. Lorenzo smirked at her disappointed expression and said, “Let’s head into the dining area. Rush hour will begin in five minutes.”

Daphnée nodded her head and followed them. She was shown to a seat beside them and she asked, “Why aren’t you introducing me to everyone sitting here?”

“Everyone just got back from working, so just give them space and in the mafia. It’s better to make friends when you are well acquainted with the business first,” he explained.

She nodded her head and turned to Tommaso and asked, “Are you married?”

He looked at her in almost like glare and shook his head. “No, but I have a girlfriend. Why?”

“You never smile,” she huffed and sat back. She looked around at everyone, smiling at them because she had manners. Her eyes landed on Lorenzo, who was staring at her, and she asked, “Are you single?”

He shook his head. “No, I am seeing someone.”

“Oh…” she mumbled and nodded her head.

“And you Miss Daphnée?” He questioned.

“Never met the right man,” she answered, followed by a yawn. Her eyes trailed over to the servers walking in with the food and asked, “Does this place work like a restaurant?”

“Something like that. We can choose what we want to eat but not during lunchtime and dinner. If you dislike the chef’s food, you can always eat out,” he explained.

They were served seafood pasta and each server who walked past them kissed Daphnée on her cheek after they introduced themselves. After some time, the workers came over to introduce themselves and even gave her gifts, welcoming her to the family, which was very confusing.

Daphnée was stuffed when she made it back to the room and Lorenzo said, “The boss will be here at ten, so be ready by nine. Breakfast is from six to eleven and you will be having breakfast with the boss.”

“Then why should I be ready by nine if he comes at ten?” she questioned.

“He might be here by eight, we are not sure, so at nine to be safe,” he answered. 

She said goodnight to him, then rushed to the toilet to empty her stomach as she complained, “The fucking water here is not agreeing with me. I might get an infection.”

*The next morning*

Daphnée was up early because of her stomach running continuously and wasn’t feeling too good. She couldn’t tell what the time was, but got dressed and made her way to the dining area.

She found out it was just after seven and went to the kitchen. “Daphnée, my dear, you do not look too well?” The chef Alonzo said, concerned.

She shook her head, “Not at all Alonzo. As much as I enjoyed your food last night, my stomach refused to accept it and I eat Italian dishes every day back home.”

His brows knitted, “How about we just drink bottled water because it’s clean and I’ll tell Lorenzo to get you some medication. For now, I can offer you a cup of tea and oatmeal.”

“Thank you, Alonzo,” she said. He took her to the tables and went to prepare the tea and oatmeal. She rested her head on her left arm while she hugged her stomach with her right, which was cramping.

She ended up falling asleep, and it was only when Lorenzo and Tommaso sat down beside her she woke up.

“You look like crap,” Lorenzo said, amused.

“You’re not funny,” she threw at him.

He placed a bottle of tablets down in front of her and said, “That will help with your homesickness. Eat your oatmeal and let’s head up to the office. The boss is here, and he is waiting for us.”

“Really? What time is it?” She asked him as she started eating.

He slipped a blue box over to her and said, “Maybe now you’ll stop asking me what the time is.”

She opened the box, and it had a diamond-encrusted silver watch in it. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw all the diamonds, then her eyes caught the time and she saw it was almost ten. She looked at Lorenzo and said, “Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?”

“Because we had to go get you medicine,” he said sarcastically.

“Thank you,” she said and put the watch on her left wrist. She quickly ate, drank the tea, and took the tablets.

They made it to the office and Daphnée shuddered when she saw the man sitting behind the desk having breakfast. He stopped eating and smiled at her. “Miss Daphnée, please, have a seat.”

Daphnée walked over cautiously and noticed that her two sidekicks did not follow her in. She sat opposite him in the visitor’s chair and just could not take her eyes off of his that were emerald in colour.

He smirked and said, “I’m sorry to have started eating without you, but I was informed that you were not feeling well and passed out. Since you are not feeling well, we did not prepare breakfast for you, or do you want something?”

She shook her head quickly and said, “No thank you, I had something to eat.”

“Okay, let me get to the point. You are here to repay a debt and I have found you the perfect job. I just acquired a business venture of a nightclub in Milan and you will be the face of that club and run it for me. Your payment will be fifty thousand euros and I will deduct half of it monthly to pay your debt,” he explained to her.

Daphnée licked her tongue across her bottom lip and pulled it into her mouth and bit on it as she was processing his words.

The cup in his hand faltered as he watched her do this action, and he just did not like it. He tried to grab her attention, but her eyes were unfocused. He cleared his throat and asked, “Do you understand me?”

She snapped out of it and said, “I understand, but I do not have a business degree or know how to run a club.”

“But you have people skills. I’ve watched you over the past few weeks and you know how to handle situations. This club is under the mafia so expect drugs going in and out of it and when a situation arises, Alessandro will handle it,” he stated.

“Who is that?” She asked him, annoyed.

“The bodyguard who will be at your side and teaching you Italian. He is skilled in many fields and is my right-hand man. For now, I am lending him to you until you can handle yourself,” he explained to her and continued eating.

“If I get this straight, I owe you seven and a half million and I earn fifty thousand and you take half of it away. I am basically working for you for the rest of my life?” She questioned him.

He nodded his head, and she stood up, surprising him. “Is that all?” Daphnée asked.

“Alessandro will be at your door in an hour with your new phone, laptop and family bank card. You will head to Milan with him and there you will go shopping and make yourself presentable for your clients. I will check up on you at the end of the week and Miss Daphnée. Please do not disappoint me or I will send you to visit your mother,” he said with a smile on his face.

Daphnée stood and forced a smile, “May I ask what my employer’s name is?”

He stared at her for a moment, then answered, “Dante Bardi.”