Page 8 of Grumpy Mafia Boss and the Cleaner
Chapter Three
Enzo took her to a fancy café, complete with white tablecloths and small little plates and cups filled with tea. Harper felt so out of place. She was the only woman in the place that wore a pair of jeans. Other women wore skirts or dresses, and it all clearly looked designer. She sat, feeling like everyone was staring at her, judging her for not quite measuring up to what everyone else was wearing.
This was a nightmare.
She looked down at the menu, but even though she kept reading the titles of the food, there was absolutely nothing registering in her head. There were sandwiches, snacks, and pastries, and they all sounded wonderful, if she could figure out what they were. It was like she suddenly lost her ability to read.
“Stop panicking,” Enzo said.
“It’s kind of hard not to.” She didn’t want to point out the obvious.
Enzo lowered his menu, and she held hers so she was able to see him.
“Do I look like I give a fuck?” he asked.
She stared at him. “No.” She shrugged, and it made her feel even more childish.
“Exactly. You’re with me, and it is my opinion that should matter to you. No one else’s. Do you think this is the first time I’ve been here?”
“I don’t know.”
“I had brought another woman here, who dressed the part, and trust me when I say this, she acted the part, but underneath, she was a real monster,” he said. “I’d rather be here with you, in jeans, not looking the part, than with one of them.”
Okay, that made her feel slightly warm inside.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Stop worrying what they think of you. They had already made their minds up about you the moment you walked through the door. They’re a bunch of vultures.”
She already knew she’d been seen and passed off as not important. She was not part of Enzo’s world. She was nothing more than his cleaner, and it would seem his companion, or perhaps his friend. She wasn’t sure exactly which.
The waiter came, and Enzo ordered some food for himself, and she just closed the menu and asked for the same. She was not comfortable at this table.
“Relax,” Enzo said.
“It’s easy for you to say. You’re used to this, aren’t you? I’m not.”
“You’re with me, so no one is going to say anything, no one would dare.”
She clasped her fingers together and leaned forward. “Are you as terrifying as I imagine?” she asked.
“It depends, what do you imagine?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Just what I’ve heard. That you’re one of the most feared men within the Villa Mafia, and no one would dare defy you.”
“Men have defied me. They’ve betrayed me. Women too. To be where I am, you don’t play nice, and you’re never a saint.”
“I get that.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. I also understand it.” She took a deep breath. “My dad and my family never ran in ... normal circles. They were always looking for easy ways to make quick money.”
“Does it bother you?”
“It’s not something I really think about. They’re my family, and it’s what they do. They don’t like working too hard.”
Their conversation was cut short by their food coming in, which consisted of two steaks and some potatoes.
