Page 5 of Grumpy Mafia Boss and the Cleaner
“Why do you wear a uniform?” he asked.
Harper frowned and glanced down at herself. “This is what was provided for me on the day I started here.”
He wrinkled his nose. “You don’t have to wear it. You’re the only one working here, so wear what you want.”
Harper didn’t know what to say. The uniform was the easiest thing to choose every morning. She had three of them, giving her one to wash, one to wear, and one for spare in case of emergencies. This worked for her. Besides, she didn’t have a lot of clothes. A couple of pairs of jeans, a few shirts, and a couple of dresses. She didn’t need anything else.
“It’s fine. I like wearing it. How’s the pain today?” she asked, looking at his arm.
“Fine. There is no pain.”
He refused to take pain medication, even though she did offer it to him. She knew Kent had also offered him pain medication, but the man was stubborn and refused. She wasn’t going to question him. He was the boss.
“What’s the plan for today?” she asked. She hoped he’d tell her he was going to be out most of the day. This meant she could catch up on work, not have to worry about cooking him lunch, and perhaps just worry about dinner.
“You’re coming to the gym with me,” he said.
Any hope she had of having a day far away from him evaporated right before her eyes.
****
Enzo knew she was trying to get rid of him. He wasn’t going to make it easy for her.
She stayed in the servants’ quarters of the house, in a small room. He’d already checked over all of her stuff and knew she didn’t have a lot of possessions. The wardrobe was sparse, and the clothes she did possess were well-worn. Something wasn’t right here.
He paid her a fortune and had done so for the past two years, yet she didn’t spend any money. All she had were the notebooks, which she had gotten one of the other staff members, when they were employed by him, to get them for her. Harper hadn’t left the house in two years, but he wasn’t keeping her prisoner here.
Changing into his gym equipment, he made his way to the basement to find Harper already there, cleaning. She had a polishing cloth in her hand, and he saw her sideways look. Did she even realize that both of them were constantly sharing looks between each other?
He knew a lot about her—everything a file could garner. He’d read high school accounts from teachers. She’d been a bright young woman, and college should have been in her future. Instead, there were no applications. Some teachers were disappointed.
Again, this wasn’t stuff he could get from simple files about her. Her father had said she didn’t want to go to college, that she wanted to start working and making an honest living. He didn’t trust Bradley.
“Tell me about yourself, Harper,” he said, going toward the treadmill. He turned it on to start a speed walk.
Harper moved toward him. “What do you want to know?”
“You’re twenty years old, right?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you go to college? I’ve seen you in the library. You’re obsessed with learning.”
“Is the library off limits?”
“No, answer my question.” He was happy to use a firmer voice to get what he wanted.
“I wasn’t allowed.”
This made him look at her, but she stared at him. “Allowed?”
“My father forbade me to go. He told me a woman didn’t need to learn, and then he got me a job here.”
Enzo gripped the sides of the machine, holding it tightly. “Did you want to go to college?”
“Yes, I even came up with a plan that meant I could work my way through. I had everything organized and planned, but he refused.”
Enzo had a feeling the father used fear to keep her in line.
