Totally Alluring

by Wanitta Praks

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll have thirty dollars by the time I finish my shift today. You can have that.”

  Giovanni roared with laughter. “Three million Jay. Three million. What the fuck do I want with a measly thirty dollars.”

  “I’ll pay you back through my coffee and cleaning service then; that is, if you’ll still have me as your maid.”

  Giovanni moved a bit closer, and pulled her onto his lap.

  “Wow, boss. Not again. Let me go. Please keep your hands to yourself.” Jay slapped his arm, but he wouldn’t let go. He held her tight, restraining her on his lap.

  “Sit still, Jay. Or I’ll shove you out of this compartment.”

  That did it. Jay didn’t move an inch. Maybe she was also scared of heights. All the better for him, since he needed her under his thumb.

  “Good girl. Now, let’s talk business. Jay, have you any idea how much three million is?”

  “It’s a lot of money,” she replied simply, without moving an inch of muscle.

  “Damned right it’s a lot of money.” He spun her around, squeezing her face between his palms. He looked straight into her emerald irises. “It’s a fucking shit load of money, Jay. Even if you spent three lifetimes working as my maid, you still wouldn’t be able to pay it off.”

  “Then what do you propose I should do?” Her heart sank in despair. “It’s Pa’s fault that he left me behind to pay for this mess. My life is already ruined because of him. Can’t you just cut me some slack. Give me twenty percent off or something. I make really good coffee.”

  “Jay, Jay, Jay.” He shook his head and laughed devilishly. “Even if I gave you twenty percent off, that would still be two lifetimes for you. And don’t tell me your coffee costs more than a thousand dollar a cup?”

  It was a rhetorical question. He didn’t expect her to answer him. Thank God she was smart enough not to. But under thick eyelashes, she quickly asked, “Then what should I do?”

  Her head was down. Giovanni knew now was the perfect time to strike.

  He gently ran his fingers through her soft brown locks. They were so smooth. They sparkled with a hint of gold under the bright sunlight. He stroked them again then curled the strands around his finger. Jay immediately became suspicious. She snapped her eyes up at him.

  “What are you doing, boss?”

  Giovanni chuckled and closed the distance between their lips. “Jay, Jay, Jay,” he said huskily, with one finger brushing her cheek. “I have a great proposal for you, one where you’re guaranteed to live freely, without having to work hard as my maid ever again.”

  Jay became curious and sat up straighter. “You do, boss?”

  Giovanni smiled roguishly. Caressing her supple cheek with his nose, he slowly said, “Jay, why don’t you be my—”

  And his phone chose that moment to ring, cutting off his proposal. Fucking hell!

  Chapter 6

  Dinner with Dente

  I sat blinking at the old man sitting across the dining table from me. He smiled. I smiled back. He chuckled softly, then took a sip of his two-thousand-dollar bottle of red wine. I chuckled, taking a sip of my twenty-dollar orange juice. The food in front of me was spaghetti Bolognese. Such a normal dish, but why the heck did it cost two-hundred dollars? I could make this dish at home. And even better, too.

  I gazed at my surroundings. Everything in this place resonated money. The beautiful floral table cloth must have been imported from Venice, the gold chandelier from France, and our food, did it contain gold, too?

  I asked myself this; how on earth did I come to be in this high end Italian restaurant, dining on a dish that cost me an arm and a leg—no, my whole life—just to pay for one small meal?

  “Jay, eat your food. You’re too skinny.”

  Oh, right. It’s because of this man here. Or should I say the multibillionaire mafia boss, Giovanni Dente?

  I turned to him, a scowl on my face. “I am, ain’t I?”

  I shoved more food into my mouth, my impersonation of a starved pig, just to prove my point.

  The old man in front of me chuckled again, then dabbed his mouth with a napkin, before turning to Giovanni and asking politely, “She’s a lovely one. Where did you pick her up?”

  I spilled my orange juice at the old man’s words. Some even dribbled down my chin. I quickly wiped my chin clean and gazed at him in disbelief.

  Picked up? What am I? Some call girl?

  But that question wasn’t the tipping point to my boiling mood. No, it was Giovanni’s answer that had my face turning from a pale pink rose to an angry red lobster.

  “At the amusement park next door. I brought her along. Afraid she might hop away again,” Giovanni said casually, popping a piece of his neatly cut lasagna into his mouth.

  I gritted my teeth and wanted to shove that damned fork right down his throat, so he could choke to death.

  The ego of this man. He not only dragged me into the Ferris wheel compartment, freaking the soul out of me since I have acrophobia, but then he had to drag me to this fancy restaurant in my bunny suit, forcing me to have lunch here with this nice old man, and I still hadn’t a clue what his name was.

  Maybe if Giovanni had been kind enough to introduce him to me instead of just dropping me off in my seat and proceeding to order the food for me, without even asking my opinion, then I would’ve stopped calling the nice old man, old man . But what choice did I have? I was only a poor student who’d been dragged here against my will.

  I really didn’t mind dining with the old man, though, even when he was on another level altogether. The concept of wealth poured out of his ears, mouth and nose. His clothes, hands, and nails were carefully looked after and trimmed. His hair was grey, parted at the side in the latest style. I knew, since I kept up to date with the fashion trends.

  This man was rich and kind. That much I also knew, since his eyes were really smiling at me, not just his mouth. He seemed kind of warm, and I couldn’t help responding back with my bright grin.

  But what got me most annoyed about this whole situation was that I didn’t get to tell Crispin where I was, or more like, Giovanni didn’t give me the chance to pass on this message to him.

  Thinking of Crispin made me worried. He must be raving mad by now, phoning the cops, or worse yet, rounding up the whole circus squad, as he liked to call it, with sharp combat knives and swords, just to find me.

  Oh, Giovanni, you mafia boss. You’re really causing me distress.

  “Stop thinking. Start chewing,” Giovanni prompted me to eat more when I was lost in my thought. I turned my heated gaze at him.

  “Can’t you see I’m stuffing my face like a pig here,” I pronounced, shoving more food into my mouth.

  “You’re not fat enough. You’re just skin and bones. How are you to entertain me at night if you’re that skinny? Eat, Jay. You’ll need the energy.”

  I slammed my fork down and gave him my opinion. “You think I don’t have the strength to wake up in the middle of the night to make you coffee? I’ve been doing that since I became your maid. If I could wake up at midnight before and stay this thin, then I’m sure there’ll be no problem in the future.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” he said casually.

  “Then what do you mean?” I emphasized.

  “Never mind. You’re too dense, anyway.” He brushed aside the subject and resumed with his meal.

  I stared at Giovanni in disbelief, eyes opening wide at his accusation. “Excuse me, boss. Me? Dense? Let me tell you something, boss.”

  I was riled up, pulling up my sleeves to reveal my slim arms as an act of intimidation, even though I knew no one at this dining table was either intimidated or scared at my small mousy form. But I had to act brave somehow. If I couldn’t stand up for my own rights and defend my honor, then who would fend for me?

  “I’m smart, boss. I got all A’s in all my subjects. So please tell me how you came to the conclusion that I’m dense?”

  There,
now let’s see how he responds to that?

  And Giovanni’s response was to turn to me, his eyes running up and down my face, as if scrutinizing something. I could feel my skin heating up again. But I sure didn’t act timid. I stared right back at him, straight in the eyes.

  A second later, he smirked, casually saying, “Then what do you think I was doing in that Ferris wheel compartment with you sitting on my lap, Jay?”

  I blinked, and swallowed; somewhat nervous over my thoughts. “Oh... I...”

  I was slightly taken aback by his question. How do I go about explaining this to him? I knew Giovanni was hot under his collar. He must have been sexually repressed, and he needed to let it out. Perhaps one of his mistresses or whatever hadn’t given him any. That’s why he came hounding me. But surely he couldn’t have gotten hard because of me. I was his maid, a person he wouldn’t give a second glance to.

  “Well, have you worked out what my intentions were, Miss Smarty Jay?” he asked sarcastically.

  “Yes.” I nodded. Turning to Giovanni, I gave him my verdict. “I say you’re a dog in heat!”

  Giovanni choked on his wine the second those words left my lips. A chuckle resonated from the old man.

  “See, I am smart,” I grinned, gaining confidence when the old man continued to smile at me, his eyes were glowing warmly at my intellectual ability to ruffle Giovanni’s feathers. I turned to watch Giovanni, whose face was still glowing red. “That was the correct answer, right?” I teased him on top.

  “Jay, you—”

  “That’s enough, Giovanni.” The old man intercepted before him before he could lash back at me. “Let’s get down to business.”

  Giovanni cleared his throat and politely apologized to the old man. I almost swallowed my own tongue. I’d lived with this mafia boss for a total of two months, and never in my life had I heard him apologize to anyone. Oh, hell must have frozen over.

  While they were talking business, I went back to my meal, nibbling on my meatballs and slurping my expensive orange juice.

  My mind went back to the subject of how to pass the message to Crispin that I’d be returning to live with Giovanni again. I knew Giovanni would never let me go to Crispin, even if I asked him politely. We were almost joined at the hips since our fateful meeting near the restroom in the amusement park, not to mention I couldn’t even get out of his eyesight. For example... right now. Once or twice he would glance in my direction, to make sure I was still his obedient maid, nibbling away like a little bunny eating her dinner beside him. I would have liked to text Crispin about my new situation, but I ran out of credit on my phone a long time ago, and with money being in shortage, that was a lesser priority.

  A proverbial light bulb lit above my head. Maybe if I excused myself to go to the ladies’s room, I’d make a head start and scram out of this place to tell Crispin before Giovanni even found out I’d disappeared from his side. Yes, that sounded like the perfect plan.

  I waited patiently for the perfect opportunity to interrupt them.

  “Read through this document. I’ve asked Maxwell to redraft some special clauses. If you want to add anything else, let Maxwell know. The meeting with Rocco is next week in Milan. If he wants to borrow money from us, he follows our orders. Rocco is conniving, Giovanni. Be careful how you deal with him.”

  “Thanks for the heads up, sir. I know.”

  That sounded like the perfect closure to their conversation. I put my voice through. “Um, boss. May I please be excused to the ladies’s room?”

  His head instantly jerked in my direction. “What, do you need to piss again?”

  I was floored. This mafia boss had no sense of politeness at all, even in front of this lovely old man.

  My gaze flipped to the old man, but he only chuckled softly. This triggered my curiosity. What was their relationship? Why was he always so calm with Giovanni?

  “Sorry, boss, yes. I do need to go. Been drinking a lot of juice. Urgently need to go.”

  “God damn, Jay. Just go. And be quick about it,” he snapped.

  “Of course, boss. Thank you, boss. You’re so kind. May you live up to a hundred years,” I smiled slyly, inching myself backward, then hightailed straight to the bathroom.

  As soon as I was out of sight, I bolted the door, counted to three, unlocked the door again, and snuck out.

  I was already close to the door, tiptoeing my way to that red exit sign, but as soon as I got within three feet of it, I collided with a massive wall of steel chest, again, for the third time today.

  “Have you been to the bathroom already?”

  My body went rigid at that thick baritone, and I glanced up to see the mafia boss in full form.

  Snap! It was Giovanni.

  “Umm. Yes.” I nodded meekly.

  “Good. Now, let’s go home.”

  He snatched my arm and flew me outside the restaurant at full speed; I couldn’t even catch my breath. I still hadn’t gotten to spout a single word before he shoved me in his Maserati and off we went, driving straight to Cory Mansion.

  I glanced miserably at the sight of the amusement park drifting away from view.

  Goodbye, Crispin. Goodbye, freedom. Welcome to the life of the mafia’s maid once again.

  Or that was what I thought. Little did I know I was to become more than the mafia’s maid.

  Chapter 7

  More than a Mafia’s Maid

  As soon as I set foot inside Cory Mansion, I was met with a cluster of hugs, shoulder rubs, and patting on my head.

  “Jenny, welcome back.” That was Finnie. Still as affectionate as ever.

  “Oh, thanks, Finnie.” I launched into his hug.

  “I missed you, Jenny.” That was Jonny, rubbing my shoulder.

  “I missed you too, Jonny.” I beamed up at him.

  “It’s good to have you back, Jenny.” That was Heath, patting my head.

  “It’s good to be back, Heath.” I craned my neck to smile at his six-foot-plus stature.

  “Give me a hug, Jay.” Bobby snatched me from the other guys and launched into a hugging attack, squeezing me until I almost couldn’t breathe. “And make me some coffee,” he kindly teased. “I’m dying here without your—ouch! What was that for, boss?” Bobby rubbed his head when a smack landed on his skull, delivered by none other than the mafia boss, Giovanni Dente.

  “I’m allergic to you guys fawning over each other,” he remarked sourly. “It makes me gag. Now get the fuck out of here.”

  “Sheesh, something is riling boss up,” Bobby said, and they all disappeared out the door.

  I was about to follow, too, when Giovanni stopped me. “Jay, you stay.”

  “What? Um... I…”

  “Stay!” he roared.

  “Okay. No need to burst a vein.”

  I stood there idly, waiting in the large lounge room, and still Giovanni hadn’t instructed me on what to do. Wasn’t that the reason why he’d asked me to stay? Yet he only stared at me, with his eyes running up and down my body so that I was becoming a bit nervous. Those eyes held some sort of secret and I couldn’t figure out what.

  “Jay,” Giovanni said suddenly, his voice purring like a panther. His long legs strode toward me, slowly closing the gap between us. “I’m hot. Really hot. My clothes are melting off me. I need a cold bath. A really cold one. To cool me down. Go run me a bath, in the spa pool.”

  I stared, mouth gaping open like a Venus fly trap. Giovanni was stripping himself, slowly unbuttoning his crispy white shirt, revealing his masculine chest, making my mouth salivate again and my heart rocket at maximum speed.

  What was he doing to me? Was he trying to kill me on the spot, by using his seductive charm? Why must I be his target if he had the hots for some other woman?

  Again, I ran like lightning had struck me. I bolted into his bedroom, and hid myself in his bathroom. The faster I got this job done, the faster I could get out of here.

  Running the water to make sure it was icy cold, I stepped back, co
ngratulating myself on another job well done, when a warm hand landed on my shoulder. I spun around and—

  Holy macaroni cheese! Giovanni was naked. And he was standing right in front of me, with his banana hanging in full swing.

  I startled and jumped back. Only to land in the massive spa pool behind me. I floundered and coughed. He only jumped in. But instead of rescuing me from my coughing fit, his hands and knees pinned me against the wall. I was trapped. And as soon as I saw a slow grin appear on Giovanni’s captivating face, I knew I was in big trouble, really big trouble.

  Giovanni licked his lips, his eyes deliciously running up and down his maid’s wet body. She was hot. He wanted to rip off that wet clothing that clung to her skin so she could be as naked as he, then he’d show her what fun two consenting adults could do.

  But he must restrain himself. To get a good result, he must create a web so intricate his victim, Jay, couldn’t break through.

  “Jay. Be a good maid and help me bathe,” he issued his order; smirking, his lips tilted upward in a devilish grin.

  “No, boss, no,” she said too quickly, eyes not looking in his direction. “I’m your maid, boss. I’m not your lover. This job should only be reserved for her. So, I think I’ll just scram out of here.”

  “Not so fast, Jay.” He reined her back in, clamping her in his embrace. Cuddling her until her back hit his chest, he whispered next to her ear, “To me, you’re more than a maid, Jay. Plus, you’re dirty. Let me help you wash.”

  “See. See,” Jay nodded her head vigorously, as if trying to prove her point to him. “You’re right, boss. I’m dirty. Even you mentioned it. And I know how you hate being dirty. So, I think it’s better if you bathe by yourself.”

  Jay was about to leap out again when he dragged her back in, sloshing almost three liters of water onto the bathroom floor.

  Giovanni didn’t care. He only roared with laughter. It made him sound like a predator, with his prey between his jaws.

  Actually, that was what the situation was. Jay was his prey. And he wanted it to stay that way. The prey he would never let go again, the prey he would cherish with all his life. But first, he’d play this game to his full contentment.