The Maid: Mafia Romance (Series)

Linger

I had a sleepless night. I dreamed of Giovanni and me kissing again. It was weird. Why did I dream of him; when he didn’t see me as anything more than his coffee machine?

I knew I should leave. That was what he’d told me. I could leave, so why was it when I woke up that morning, I lingered in bed.

My phone vibrated. I swiped it on. It was a text from Crispin.

Crispin: Where are you? Class about to start.

Jenny: Sorry, Cris. Sick. Won’t be at school today.

Crispin: What’s your address? I’ll visit you. Want me to take you to the hospital? Is it really bad?

Jenny: I’m all right. Just small headache. Gonna sleep a bit.

Crispin: Your symptoms aren’t coming back, are they?

I thought about that time I was in the hospital after that car crash that killed Ma and put me in critical condition. I stayed in the hospital for a total of three months. I must have crashed my head into something because all my memories from my childhood up until I turned six had been forgotten.

Not a lot of people knew about that accident that almost took my life. Only Crispin and my family. No, I didn’t have that headache. I hadn’t since I came to live here.

Jenny: No. I’m fine.

Crispin: Ok. You sleep well, then.

Jenny: I will. Take care.

Crispin: You take care, Jenny. I worry about you. And remember, text if you need anything. I want to help.

Jenny: Thanks, friend.

I dropped onto my pillow and cried. Why was I crying? I should be happy Giovanni was so kind to let me off. I should rejoice in this opportunity.

But I felt so lonely. So very lonely. And so lost. I felt I was a little lost child with no home to return to. Pa had run away with Amelia, leaving me behind. Only Crispin was there for me.

He was a good friend. He worried about me. But I couldn’t rely on him all the time. It was already good enough that he chose me as his best friend. I had to learn to rely on myself.

I forced a smile and pulled open the curtains. The sun shone bright and the sky was cloudless blue. It was a beautiful day outside. I shouldn’t feel so downhearted. So I got up, determined today was going to be a good day. I’d say hello to Giovanni when I saw him. Pretend everything from last night hadn’t happened. Act like our relationship was fine. Yes, everything would be fine.

After preparing myself for the day, I went downstairs to make some coffee for Giovanni. But he was nowhere to be found. I searched everywhere for him, but he wasn’t there.

“Guys, have you seen the boss?” I asked, when I saw the guys in the lounge.

They didn’t hear me. Or more likely they didn’t want to hear me. Their eyes were consumed elsewhere.

I walked sluggishly to them. They were grouped together in front of the flat-screen, commenting about something. I hadn’t a clue what they were on about. I caught a few words like hot and Ryan Reynolds from The Proposal.

“Hey, what are you guys on about?” I shoved my way slowly to stand in front of the TV, unlike my usual hyperactive self.

The minute my eyes landed on that screen, my heart started skipping again. And I trembled, feeling cold.

“Our boss is hot, right? Look at his eyes. So black, as if they could suck your soul out of heaven.” Bobby had to mention Giovanni’s perfect eyes. I couldn’t take my eyes off his black pupils then. It was like I was entranced by that face, just like last night.

“More like a black hole that sucks your life force out,” I commented quickly, just for something to say so the guys wouldn’t detect my abnormal behavior.

Yeah. He did suck out my life force. I have no energy today.

Bobby looked horrified at my answer, though. “But check out that body. Boss has such perfect genes. You can’t find a body that hot.”

“He works out at 3:00 a. m. every morning, Bobby. Trust me. I’m the one who makes his coffee.”

“Seriously. Is that why you’re always yawning every morning?”

“Yes. No man is capable of looking good without having to work out. Look at him. He’s too tall,” I said without any emotion.

“Jesus, Jenny. What’s gotten into you? Where’s your spirit? You look like you woke up on the wrong side of bed,” Bobby commented.

“I’m fine, Bobby. I’m fine.” I waved him off.

“But to get back to the subject of tall men, though. My niece’s friends say girls and women are into them,” Finnie added.

“I kind of agree. Girls these days dig tall men. They don’t like shorties, like us,” Jonny said sadly.

“Hey, Jonny, no talking about your height now.” I turned to console the man who was, in actual fact, about an inch taller than me. “You know, tall girls at my college are into short men, too.”

“You’re joking. Do you have any hot friends? Introduce some to us.” Jonny cheered up as soon as I told him this.

If only I could have his spirit today, too.

“Sure. Sure.” I patted his shoulder, remembering to never ever touch on this topic again. There was no way I was letting any of my friends know about this side of my life.

“Well, he’s a Ryan Reynolds to me.” Bobby had to direct our conversation back to Giovanni’s good looks.

“I say he’s more like that actor who played Christian Grey from Fifty Shades,” I commented, eyes still fixed on Giovanni’s image on TV. “Don’t you remember, he’s into whacking and slapping?”

“Jenny, don’t you find our boss hot at all?” Bobby turned to me, questioning my capability to rate hot guys. “I’m a guy here, and I still get the shivers every time he walks into the room. It’s like he’s a movie star. He has this charisma about him that captivates people.”

“I agree. Boss has the looks of a movie star. And the body of a male model. I’m just like Bobby. We shiver when we’re near him. How about you, Jenny? You’re a girl. What’s your reaction when he walks into the room?” Finnie put me on the spot.

I felt my face flush and my palms sweat. I cleared my throat, blinked, and said with a casual voice, trying my best not to show them my true feelings, “Yeah right, like I would be totally captivated by him, guys. He’s just a normal guy to me. Nothing special.”

Bobby gasped. “You’re a lesbian, Jenny. That’s what you are. He kissed you last night, and you still didn’t feel any sort of attraction for him.”

Why did Bobby have to remind me of last night or the kiss in the early hours this morning? I was trying to forget it already.

My heart thumped as I turned to the TV screen again. Giovanni was being interviewed on a program called Close and Personal with the Hottest Male Billionaire.

Billionaire? And here I’d thought he was only a millionaire. Must be all that illegal business of his. Did they even know he was mafia and not a legit businessman?

The TV presenter was a female. She was literally gushing over Giovanni, hand busy flicking her blond hair back like it was all over her face or something.

And what was wrong with her eyes? Why was she blinking nonstop?

Go to the optometrist if you have an eye problem, lady.

And Giovanni wasn’t helping my mood either, when he responded to the signals she was sending. He flashed a bright smile, a smile I’d never before seen on his face.

I chewed my bottom lip, watching him answer her questions. I wished he would smile like that to me sometime.

“So, Mr. Dente, do you have a special someone in your heart?”

Giovanni laughed, flicking his black hair back. His eyes were shining bright, and he grinned at the screen.

“Well, I do, actually.” He turned his face until his eyes were looking directly at whoever was staring at the screen. In this case, it was me and the guys.

My heart thumped as soon as he made eye contact with me, and at that moment, everything ceased to exist. I held my breath and waited for his answer.

“I’ve known her for a while now. And I want to tell her this.” Giovanni smiled and paused, slowly sending out some sort of invisible wave signal that had my heart thumping mad. “Jennifer, if you’re watching this, then you should know I’m waiting for you. I’ll wait for you to come back to me so I can fulfil our promise we made.”

“Oh, it sounds like a love confession,” the hostess commented.

“You could say that.” Giovanni smiled.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

I couldn’t see anything else. Nor could I hear anything. All I could think about was Giovanni in love with his Jennifer, waiting for his Jennifer to come back to him and fulfilling whatever promise they’d made.

My heart felt something akin to pain. I clutched at my chest. Tears spilled from my eyes again.

“Jenny, what’s wrong with you? Why are you crying?” Bobby asked, seeing my teary face.

“What? Nothing.” I wiped my eyes quickly to remove the evidence. “Something’s just in my eyes. I’m just going to pop upstairs for a minute.”

I rushed to my bedroom, ignoring their calls. I closed the door and took out my phone, rereading the last text Crispin sent to me.

Crispin: You take care Jenny. I worry about you. And remember, text if you need anything. I want to help.

Without another thought, I texted him with my new message.

Jenny: Meet me in front of school café at noon. I want your help.

I dropped the phone and slid to the floor, sobbing painfully into my hands. I knew why I’d cried when Giovanni said he wanted to find Jennifer. I knew why I’d cried when he said I kissed like a dog. I knew why I’d cried all of last night when he said he no longer wanted to see my face. I’d now found the reason.

Giovanni Dente, the mafia boss, had totally captivated me. And for that, I had to leave here.