Chapter 5.

AILANI’S POV.

Have you lost your damn mind?” Daylia reprimanded me, while I folded the remaining of my stuff into my luggage.

“You can't just move in with a man you hardly know, what if he's a serial killer.”

“You watch too many true crime documentaries.” I scoffed.

“I'm just saying if you have to move in with him just to work, it sounds like some nasty shit is going down.” She flopped on my bed, her eyebrows creased.

The conversation from his office kept playing in my mind.

                    

                FLASHBACK

“Architetta.” He leaned over the desk, hands gripping each side while his voice dropped dangerously low. ”Then this job may take more from you than you expect.” 

Architetta?

I squinted my eyes at the nickname, the way the Italian accent rolled off his tongue sounded almost sinful. 

It makes me weak everytime.

“Do you understand?” He tilted his head, angling his lips with mine.

“Crystal.” I let out a heated breath.

He drew back letting more space between us. “Before finalising the contract there are three conditions I'm going to add.”

“What? No you can't just-”

“Number 1, you will report to me every morning after you wake up and every night before you go to bed.” He rudely interjected while finally taking his seat.

This man's arrogance knows no bounds!

“Ok that's just ridiculous.” I folded my arms defiantly. “Via phone call or video call”. I still asked.

He looked at me like I just grew a third head. “That won't be necessary because the second condition requires you to move in with me.” 

My eyes widened. “You can't be serious, I can't move in with you, I-i barely know you.” I stuttered. “My grandma is sick, and I have to be close to take care of her.”  My list of excuses were becoming longer.

“I know all about your grandma's condition , which is why a few of my men and a caretaker will cater for her so that you can move in with no worries.”

I'm not even surprised at how much he knows about me. He probably kept a file of me in his archives. 

“I'm not moving in with you.” I said adamantly.

“You don't have a choice now do you, because breach of contract would cost you this much.” He waved the contract in front of me and I swear I became dizzy from how many zero’s I was seeing on that paper.

“Five million dollars!!! Where the hell am I going to get that kind of money, this is daylight robbery.” I accused him.

The corners of his lips tugged up.”Quite bold of you to assume that I would need a measly five million. I only added it in the contract in case you were thinking of breaking it.”

“It might be nothing to you, but to me it could solve all my problems.”

He gave me a long stare. “Deal with it, you are to move in with me until this project is complete.” He said with finality.

“What happens after?” I asked curiously.

“And after, you get to walk away five million dollars richer.” He landed a KO with that one, knowing I'm game.

If I couldn't back out of this deal, I might as well just go with it.

“What's the last condition?”

“He held up a slender finger in front of me. “You must finish the project within a year.”

I muffled a chuckle with the back of my hand and turned my head sideways. He was sporting a bored expression by the time I looked back at him.

“You're serious?!! That's physically impossible.” I watched as he gave me a copy of the documents.

“Well then, you better get started.” He tapped his watch twice.

“I'll send a car to pick you up later in the evening, it's going to be a long year.” He winked at me.

               END OF FLASHBACK.

“Stop it.” I swatted her with one of my shirts.

“Hey, I'm just trying to look out for you, the streets are dangerous these days with all that's been going down.”

“I know.” Women in their 20's have been going missing for the past two weeks with no explanation. The government suspected an underground cartel specialized in trafficking women.

“And with all the stuff going on with you grandma I dont know if you should be too far away from her.” Concern etched on her features.

“Sometimes I feel like I shouldn't have moved out from grandma's place, she's all I have and I shouldn't have left her alone like that”. Tears welling at the sides of my eyes.

“Hey, shush, it's not your fault.” She cradled me.”There are just some things we have no control over, it doesn't mean that it's your fault.”

A car honk from outside our apartment stopped me from fully spiralling. Men clad in black suits and shades stepped out of the car and knocked on our front door.

I opened the door and they helped me with my luggage.

I said goodbye to Daylia and stepped into the car. It was covered in black leather and surprisingly spacious. It even had a mini bar in the middle. I'm definitely not touching those drinks.

The ride there was silent, it was like these guys were instructed to not speak unless spoken to.

We arrived at the gates of his villa, a long driveway cutting across a large lake before stopping in front of the building.

Staff lined up at the entrance, all bowing in posture.

A woman with black short hair approached me, while the attendants handled my luggage. 

“Welcome to the Romano villa my dear, I'm Margaret but you can call me Maggie.”

I nodded awkwardly, while folding my hands.

I needed to give them something to do now that my luggage has been taken away from me.

“I'll be overseeing your stay here to make you comfortable.” She gave me a bright smile.

“Mr Romano is still at work and won't be back until much later in the evening.” She informed me. “Let me escort you to your room.”

We walked towards the stairwell and ascended.

There were multiple doors we passed by but there was one that stood out.

“What's that room for?” I pointed at the one with large double doors made of gold. The design was a masterpiece.

“That's Mr Romano's private study room, no one is allowed in there.” She whispered in my ears.

I cast one last look at the door before we cornered into another hallway.

What.the.actual.fuck?

I gasped at the sight. This room is bigger than my whole apartment. 

What the hell am I going to do with all this space? 

“This will be your room for as long as you stay here.” She added.

“You'll have your own study where you can work, specially given to you by the Master.”

“Dinner will be ready by 7 sharp so you can come down when you’re done unpacking.”

“Thank you, Margaret, I mean Maggie.”

“My pleasure.” She left the room, closing the door behind her.

About twenty minutes later I was done. The closet had put my clothes to shame and I'm just realising how small they look in there.

I went out and tried to find the kitchen but only succeeded in getting lost.

How did we even get to the stairs before?

That beautiful gold door caught my eyes again. So I went over and inspected it. 

Whoever created this door must have been passionate. Instead of the traditional doorknob. It had a sliding mechanism.

I slid the mechanism to the left curious and the door opened revealing an ordinary study room. Relief washed over me as I let out a shaky breath. I actually thought I would see something like a dungeon and chains.

I walked further inside, the room was neat and well kept, not a single dust in sight.

There was a painting of a man hanging on the wall to my right. The wrinkled lines on his face shows me he's an elder.

He looked more familiar as I went closer, sitting boldly in a golden chair, his eyes carrying no light in them and he looked tired.

“Alejandro Manuel Romano,” were written in bold italics. My hand hovered on the painting.

“What the fuck are you doing in here.” I jumped around, looking at a very angry Mr Romano.