Ugly Ronney: mafia romance [English]

Chapter 4-1

Scheduling events, recruiting housekeeping staff, arranging accounting tasks, managing the week's many bills, organizing schedules...

I had been working like a slave for four days, being woken up in the middle of the night, spending my evenings trying to unravel those damn coded notes from Monday's meeting, and being drowned with calls and emails at all hours of the day and night by Yeraz. He wanted me to break down, to leave, and God knows I wanted to leave, too. I delegated some of my assignments to Timothy and Ashley, but many of them were confidential, and therefore my responsibility.

I arrived that Friday morning at Yeraz's house after picking up his dry cleaning. It was Ashley's day off, so I had to do what she usually did in addition to my own work.

"How did it go?"

Timothy welcomed me with a huge bouquet of white roses and gypsophila. I answered as I walked into the living room.

"I waited almost twenty minutes outside for the person to arrive. I'm late to finish the budget with the landscaper."

I put the stuff down on the couch and pulled out my computer to check Yeraz's new emails.

"Can't he leave me alone!" I grumbled while tapping the keys of my laptop.

Struck by the silence of the room, I looked up at Timothy, who was looking at me with his mouth agape. After a few days with him, I knew what that look meant.

"It's Friday. I beg you, spare me the last-minute changes."

I exhaled. I hadn't realized I was holding my breath. My hands grabbed the roots of my unkempt, overly dry hair.

"I'm sorry, Ronney. Ghita is waiting for you."

"What? But for what?"

"She's inaugurating a new lingerie store today. This bouquet is from Mr. Khan."

In one hand, he gave me the flowers, and in the other, three large cardboard tubes.

"And these are the plans for the new construction project for the architect."

I tilted my head to the side, looking desperate. Timothy shrugged as if to apologize.

"Can you call me a driver?"

"He's already waiting for you out front."

I thanked Timothy with a nod and tried to smile, but couldn't quite manage it.

The sedan went along the forest that surrounded Sheryl Valley below. The immense lake separated the city into two parts. The deep blue waters glistened in the daylight. From here, the town, with its sleepy Wild West atmosphere, looked so peaceful. However, on the country's news channels, this place was referred to as its turbulent popular heart, where all kinds of excesses were multiplied. It was a city known as one of the most corrupt in the world. The inhabitants had been living with the mafia and the wars between neighborhoods for so long that they no longer paid attention.

The vehicle stopped in an alley, just set back from the forest, in front of a sumptuous Victorian residence where Jerusalem stone and light wood were mixed. Not too far from Asylum, this chic neighborhood was perfect to get away from the tumult of Sheryl Valley.

A young woman with tanned skin opened the door and invited me in. Her mouth was smiling, gracefully drawing the thin red line of her lips. Her pretty, rosy cheekbones were hollowed out with two small dimples.

"Hi, I'm Paige, Ghita's assistant. You must be Ronney."

I nodded as I handed her the bulky bouquet of flowers.

"I'm Yeraz's assistant."

The young woman's pupils narrowed. Her brow furrowed and a small look of sympathy crossed her pretty face. She didn't look like an assistant. For that matter, I didn't look like an employee either, with my big, misshapen sweater and my three-sizes-too-big baggy pants. The young woman was dressed in a tight, sleeveless white bustier with shockingly short shorts and endless legs. She moved in her white sneakers with incredible ease and wide hips. Her long, shiny dark brown hair fell to the small of her back.

"Ghita is getting ready upstairs. Follow me."

"I thought I would just bring you the flowers and leave."

There was a tension in my movements that I couldn't hide. Paige turned around at the bottom of the stairs, stood speechless for a few seconds, then said in an unusually soft tone, "Ronney, Ghita wants to meet you. You'll be running into the K sisters regularly. We might as well make the introductions now."