[Juliette’s POV]‘Absolutely not.’ The Don’s glare was like a gun at my head, warning me to stop suggesting stupid stuff and quit taunting danger. ‘But, Ralph, you know that it’ll help!’ I grabbed his hand on the dining table and held it to my lips, begging like I was to papa for that pink Barbie school bag. The ex-Mafia King yanked his hand away and stood angrily, his chair pushed back with a sharp drag. ‘Jesus Christ, Juliette, who the fuck do you think you are? Why doesn’t it get into your thick skull that you’re gonna get killed? Do I really mean nothing to you?’ He roared, his voice pounding the high walls of the dining area, shaking any glassware. Despite the fearful looks of the staff and Margaret, I couldn’t stay down. I bolted to a stand, gripping the edge of the table to muster the strength, and blasted out my thoughts. ‘You mean everything to me, you dumbass! That’s why I want to do this!’ He shook his head with a dry chuckle. ‘Oh no, you don’t. Not this time, Juliett
[Ralph’s POV]I watched her chew with a cheery face and felt curious—and a little jealous. Who made her smile like this? Have I ever made her smile this way? The masticated meat in my mouth slid smoothly down my throat and I laid down the knife and fork to fetch my glass of wine. Swirling the contents, I asked, trying a casual tone, ‘What’s the good news?’ Those purple eyes looked up with a beautiful sparkle that deepened the sour feeling in my chest and lit the fire in my heart at the same time, and her sexy lips curved up in her enchanting smile. ‘I was just thinking about Filipo—.’‘Jesus Christ….’ I picked up the glass to my lips and took an extra sip. That again? She wouldn’t stop talking about it on the way here, blabbering on about the kid and his PA, and how she felt that something good was going to happen between them. Is she a fucking matchmaker now? And when was Filipo ever interested in girls and romance? That purple gaze turned mischievous ‘Aww… jealous are we? Cut
[Juliette’s POV] Two days later… I entered my office at the Virtus HQ building and on my desk, in front of the keyboard, was a box of chocolates with a ribbon slapped in the middle. It startled me. Given my popularity here, the chocolates must be laced with poison. I sat on my chair and stared at the innocent looking balls of dark brown sweetness, planning my next move—keep or eat? Then, I glanced at the dustbin beside my desk. ‘It’s not poisoned, damn it.’ I jumped up with a fright then saw Filipo at the door with both hands tucked in his pockets. His face had its usual frown but it somehow felt less hostile. ‘Why?’ I had to ask. ‘What does it look like?’ Filipo’s face turned grouchy. My gaze bounced between the gift and him, and then I said, ‘A bribe?’ He shot a surprised and annoyed look at me then stepped into my office and snapped, ‘Christ—it’s a thank you gift!’ Oh… I mouthed and looked down at the neat rows of chocolates. This signified a huge step. This mean
[Jewel’s POV]‘What the fuck is this shit?’ The director, the princess of the ex-Second in command of the Virtus clan, stared in disbelief at the page of fainted words, slanted by the old cursive style. We started the feud… she thought in dismay. The old ledger clearly says so. Numbers may not be the Virtus’s game, but that doesn’t mean she’s dumb in it. She’s as good as that Lux whore. And smarter. She slammed the book shut and threw it on the carpeted floor of her bedroom with a huge disappointed ‘humph!’So what if they were the ones who started the feud? The feud has happened and it’s still rooted deeply in many members of the Virtus clan, especially the younger ones who adore and look up to the older ones. ‘I can twist things around. Easy peasy.’ She snickered and lifted the corners of her mouth. ‘All I need is a token to start the machine rolling.’ Her pretty lashes fluttered as she glanced at the phone lying quietly on her bed. That dumbass Marco is taking too long. Donk
[Juliette's POV] His hand slammed over my tied wrists and grabbed it as an anchor to ram in another, stronger and deeper than the one just before. A hard moan of extreme pleasure screamed from my throat. 'Deeper, Juliette?' His husky voice sounded in my left ear, the darkness amplifying his sexiness and the thrill of his promise. Oh, fuck yes… I want it. But will it tear? He's larger than usual, for some reason, and it feels even better, I'm not gonna lie… 'Deeper it is,' he grunted and slammed in another, striking the same spot twice as harder. Burst. His name tore from my throat as I was seized and everything shook like a 10.0 earthquake. 'Fuck, kitten,' he grunted and plunged in another one—and another wave of intense euphoria gripped me. 'Ralph!' I sobbed. He stiffened, his own pleasure spilling in low, sexy groans, and then relaxed again. And then a caress across my forehead and then the binds came off. Followed by the blindfold. I winced from the glare as hot
[Juliette’s POV]I wiped the smile off my face and straightened my back. 'Right now, I'm the HR Manager of this place. You're fighting the battles, I'm just doing my part to help you win.' The large guy shifted in his seat with pride in his hard gaze. 'I respect that.''And I respect you.' I leaned back slightly and asked, 'So where do I search?' The hesitation was reasonable: should a Virtus let a Lux search through his things? Can he trust a Lux?But it also revealed his desperation for his claims to be approved, just like an average member of an organisation. He sighed in relent and shrugged. 'My folder. It's in the intranet. I'll give you the password.'I beamed with relief. 'I'll let you know once I'm done and you can make a new password.''Yeah, whatever.' He stood and was out of the conference room. That actually went well! I can't wait to tell Ralph! *****[Marco’s POV]It was sheer luck that he came upon the piece of news. He spoke to so many people, sent his private i
[Juliette’s POV]I should be happy. But I can’t smile. Even his knitted brows of concern couldn’t take my mind off what happened after lunch. It was going so well. What happened? Why was he hostile again? It was like the discussion we had this morning never happened—like I had been in a different dimension, or time zone, and I just got back from it. Something rough but warm covered my hand on the restaurant table and I looked down at it. The large hand securing over mine, shielding me from harm, from everything. ‘Do you need details about the emergency? Will that make you feel better?’ Ralph asked in his deep, calm voice of masculine sexiness. A voice that makes me want to crawl into him and wrap him around me and complain and whine. But if I did, he’d remember about the deal we had and take over. I don’t want the Virtus family members to accept me out of the Don’s orders; I want them to accept me for me, and because they want to. I turned to my left and gazed into those handsome
[Juliette’s POV] ‘I gave you the receipts, didn’t I?’ That look of disgust was hard to miss. The descendant of the command sergeant, Calum Virtus, Director of the Virtus Retails, was known to be the better—and prettier—version of Marco. And he was a clean freak. Arms crossed, the pretty guy snorted. ‘Ezio warned us all. So I sent them all to you yesterday. After working hours, of course. After all the real work was done.’ So my work is useless to the company, huh? My fingers tightened around the iPad pen. I sighed inwardly and maintained a cordial smile. ‘I really appreciate it, Mr. Calum.’ The sound of a formal address raised his brows, and suddenly he looked embarrassed. But only for a split second. ‘So why are we here?’ The fine chin tilted away haughtily. ‘I just told you I’ve got lots of stuff to catch up on. And you’ve got the nerve to call a Director in for this.’ ‘I have no choice. This can only be discussed with the Director of Virtus Retails.’ The proud gr