Protecting The Principessa (Complete)

~ Chapter 12 ~

The following night, the warning still held rang in Izzy's ears as she worked at the bar. Her eyes strayed to the staircase and up to the VIP area, but she never left her post. And when Chuck came up to tell her it was time for her break, she took the long way around to avoid the staircase and walk outside. For some odd reason, the place was stifling her tonight and she wasn't sure if was because of those men or just in general. But she needed a breather and badly.

"Gorgeous out, isn't it?" Izzy turned around and glanced at Mike who was leaning against the wall, smoking.

"I didn't think you had to go outside to smoke," she told him, turning her back on him. Maybe that wasn't smart given that he was a mafia man, but she didn't think he would hurt her, certainly not outside of Adriano's building.

"I don't. But I needed to get away from in there, so I thought I'd come out here. What about you?"

"Break time, and it was just too loud for me tonight." She heard as he threw the butt on the ground and then ground it out before stepping up to her.

"How do you know Adriano?" She glanced at him from the side and smiled.

"Why do you want to know?" she countered, causing him to smirk.

"You're brave to be strong against me. I'm only curious. Adriano doesn't know his staff here, trust me." Mentally, she snorted at that because he actually did. In fact, she'd even take it a step further and say that much probably didn't escape his notice in general; especially if it was his business.

"So, what does that mean for me?"

"How does he know you? What are you to him?" Mike stepped closer and she tilted her head slightly back to look up at him. She wasn't sure if Adriano said anything the night before, but she figured she better keep it as vague as possible.

"A friend of a friend," was her simple response.

"Odd." He tilted his head as he looked her over and her curiosity got the better of her.

"What's so odd about that, Mike?"

"Adriano's friends are usually tall, skinny, and stunning. I would go out on a limb and assume their friends would look much the same." Izzy gritted her teeth, fighting the urge to smack him. Honestly, she was tired of her weight being brought up. She got it, she wasn't a fucking size two, she would never be. But she wasn't ugly, and most people liked her curves. She never had a problem with the way she looked, but it sure seemed everyone else had one. "Don't get me wrong, I like what I'm seeing. And I think it's wrong of Adriano to place you in the back where you can't be admired."

"¿Crees que eres un conversador tan suave? (Do you think you're such a smooth talker)?" she questioned him in Spanish and he frowned at the different language.

"That's not Italian," he said, smiling now.

"Nope, it's Spanish."

"How many languages do you speak?"

"Three, including English," she said, shrugging as it wasn't a big deal to her.

"Ignazia?" She glanced over her shoulder, sensing that Mike had done the same. She didn't need to ask Adriano what the problem was, his look spoke volumes. "Please come inside."

"Sure," she muttered. She turned on her heel, not bothering to look at Mike, and followed Adriano in. He grabbed her arm and lead her to a back room that was for the employees only. "How long had you been watching me out there?"