"Stupido," Dante snapped under his breath as he read the texts from Louis," How could I have hired someone so incompetent to be my assistant." He couldn't believe he had managed to fumble such a simple task. All the guy had to do was make sure that the items were delivered on time. Was it really that hard? He was handling tasks of higher priority than this before he could even drive. He tapped away at his phone and texted him back:
Louis: The pickup is just taking longer than expected. I have it covered
Dante: You were supposed to do the pickup 2 hours ago
Louis: It's just a delay. I have everything under control
Dante: GET THE PICKUP NOW!!!
Louis: I'm handling it. You don't have to get so angry. When have I ever let you down?
Dante: I swear to you now, if you don't do the pickup by the time you meet me tonight, you'll lose your job!
Louis: Boss, calm down. I have it covered.
Dante: Do NOT talk to your boss that way! Remember, I could technically kill you for this, so I'm doing you a favor.
Louis: It will be handled by tonight, Boss
I was going to have to fire that guy sooner or later if he didn't get his act together, but at least I knew I had his loyalty. Loyalty was worth its weight in gold in an employee when it came to his line of work, and lately, loyalty was something he was running low on. Enemies had always followed him everywhere being his father's son, but ever since his father had recently turned power over to him, he had even more. It was getting harder and harder to distinguish who was a friend and who was a spy. Even last week, someone as normal-looking as a guy next to him on the bus had tried to pull a weapon on him.
Life was hard when you had nobody to trust. In the end, being the new boss would be worth it. Among the majority of his double-dealing family, he was truly the only one who should be in a position of power anyway. He needed to weed out the vermin who preferred more underhanded methods to work their way up. To him, this position was always a way of cleaning things out, but it was taking a lot more work than he anticipated.
"I could really use just one win today," he sighed and finally took a break from his phone and looked up at the usual gray sky. It was time to break from all the work for 5 seconds at least.
Something caught his eye that was out of place for the neighborhood, something unexpected. Everything here had to be monitored constantly by those who worked for him, and there was something that hadn't been reported, a new neighbor. Especially one who happened to move into the house right across from him. The woman was carrying boxes out of her car and seemed to have no problem balancing them perfectly even in one arm. He didn't recognize her whatsoever. Not in his life could he recall a girl who fit her features, auburn hair, medium height, and a confident step. Could she be someone sent to take him out? A suspicious feeling was growing in the pit of his stomach. Her arrival was unexpected, and Dante made sure to expect everything. The house she was moving into was also the crappiest house in the neighborhood. Nobody would move into it unless they were there for other motives.
How could he have missed this? How could he have overlooked her when she was someone he would definitely never overlook? How had she managed to slip under his radar?
Oh no, she was turning around and making eye contact with him. He had been spotted for sure. Where was Antonio when he needed him? Instinctively, he reached for the weapon in his pocket as he waited for her next move. Not to his expectation, she smiled at him and waved enthusiastically in a friendly gesture. At that moment, it was like a light sparked within Dante he had never felt his entire life. A feeling right down to his core welled up inside of him making him feel something like a bright, burning blaze that made him feel as if something that had been missing for a long time was there.
His thoughts raced, but he managed to pull himself together enough to wave back and crack a smile. Yeah, that was the decent thing to do, at least for now. Hopefully, it was friendly enough since Dante wasn't used to being friendly.
She gave a slight nod, and he noticed how her auburn hair seemed to somehow catch light despite the gloomy day. Her whole demeanor was still as confident as when he first saw her. The slight smile she gave before walking back off to put up her boxes seemed to be enough light to brighten up the gray skies - to Dante anyway.
His eyes followed her every move closely as she continued to bring boxes into the old house one by one. His gaze never wavered as he took in every detail he could get on her. This wasn't the usual way he observed others out of pure suspicion. It was pure interest, and not in a business way for once. Somehow, he had to know everything about her, and as soon as possible. How could he have ever considered her to be a threat? Obviously, she was just a normal woman who had no clue who he was or what his job was and had somehow managed to slip past his observations. The light that danced behind her eyes and brightened her smile was enough proof for him that she was a good person and was of no concern for him.
Not once in his life had someone taken a moment just to do something for the sake of being nice. Her smile and wave were genuine, and her demeanor showed she was honest and unafraid. His entire life had been backstabbing, deceit, struggles for power, and a target on his back at all times. Everybody he had ever known had either been for him or against him, but either side had the same motive, to get a chance to hold some of his power. Fear, anger, suspicion, and pain were the only emotions he had ever had since that's the only emotions anyone had ever given him, until now. For once, he had the chance to feel something else, and it was all because of her.
He texted Louis:
Dante: Did you get the pickup yet?
Louis: Just picked it up, boss. It will be delivered on time this evening
Dante: Good, because I have a new project for you
Louis: I can handle it. What kind of project?
Dante: I need you to get me some information on a person. ALL the information you can find.
Dante was now more interested than ever. No, not interested. Addicted. Captivated. Enthralled.
He didn't even realize it yet, for now he only thought it was a passing interest in someone who had managed to slip past his watchful eye. A smile and a friendly gesture weren't enough to deter him from suspicion. He would have to take an interest in her, from a professional stance of course. At least that's all he saw it as right now, but he didn't realize what was stirring within the most hollow, darkest corner of his heart.
He felt like he had drunk a poison and now he just wanted its sweet taste to slowly take over every single part of him until he could be intoxicated no more. He was Obsessed. He was obsessed and didn't even realize it. The sweet poison he had felt from her was only a taste, and he practically wanted to drown in it.
Unknowingly to him, Ashley Rossi was his new obsession, and that was the most dangerous thing he could have ever done.
YOU ARE READING
The Neighbor
Romance(This is my first ever novel posted on here, so please be kind and ignore any mistakes.) Ashley has just moved to the most boring house in the most boring town for the most boring job of her life. After becoming the sole provider for...
