Emiliana Exhaustion consumed me like a heavy blanket by the end of the day. I had been staring at figures, meeting with each department and talking to managers all day. My feet ached, my throat was raw and scratched and my head pounded. I slumped down on the couch in my office, racking my brain for some kind of resolution to my problem. A light knock on the door startled me and before I had time to respond Giovanni had opened the door. His emerald gaze held mine for a moment, it was a look I knew too well. It was time to go home. I didn’t even have the energy to comment on Giovanni’s attempted joke that morning as we stepped out onto the New York streets. The whirling cold air whipped and lashed at my face as I struggled to walk through the impending storm approaching. 

Emiliana The sound of Dolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5’ played loudly in the background as I sat with a loaded plate of toast and sipped my coffee. I was feeling one hundred times better after the last few days, resigning to the fact that I needed a break.The last few months were a collision course of paperwork, meetings and overwhelming stress. I had been so consumed with everything that I hadn’t taken a moment for myself and being thrown into this world had taken its effect on me.Giovanni smiled briefly at me, stepping into the kitchen with my belongings in his grasp. “Is it time to go already?” I asked brightly and rhetorically. Giovanni had returned to providing me with his silent company. His complexity was confusing m

Emiliana   Nerves wracked through me as Luciano tangled his fingers with mine. We waltzed through the foyer, giving a brief amicable nod to the desk clerk who was examining the security screens in front of him.  The elevator doors opened with a loud ping and I swiped my card against the keypad, before punching in the floor number and pin code for the penthouse.  We were standing in the elevator, travelling towards my apartment. My stomach somersaulted with butterflies, a mixture of nervousness and apprehension lashed at me as we approached it.   Luciano slung his suit jacket over his shoulder, an air of subtle confidence and arrogance enveloped him as we stepped out of the elevator. While his striking looks and mouth watering tan w

Emiliana I stared down at the city below me, we whizzed past the skyscrapers, almost touching the clouds above. The loud sound of the helicopter’s engines made talking almost impossible. While I had been in private jets more times than I could count, the helicopter ride that Luciano had organised was exhilarating and left me a jittering mess.Luciano had wined and dined me for the past month, staying at mine more times than I could count. This was the first time I would be visiting his own place and I was in absolute awe.The aircraft landed with a soft thud on the grass below us and when I finally looked out of the window, we were situated outside a large mansion. From the outside, it looked like an extended version of the White House. Complete

Giovanni   The hollow darkness of my room had kept me awake the whole weekend. To say I was tired was an understatement. I lay on my back, staring at the drapes above me. The whole place reeked of bad money, if there was ever such a thing.  A soft tapping on my door broke me from my sleepless slumber.  “Gio,” the gentle voice called out to me before I heard the gentle sniff. I stepped carefully towards the door, my hand poised on my gun that was holstered inside my coat hanging beside it.  The soft tapping echoed again, this time more urgent. I pulled it open smoothly, the stream of light from the hallway blinding me momentarily.  Emiliana pushed her way into the room pacing back and fort