by Anna Widzisz
Was he seriously thinking of making a move on her the first day on the job? Was he that forward? And it wasn’t even the same kind of forwardness that Noah had. With the Capo, she at least didn’t feel the need to run as far away as possible. At least not always.
She nodded, hoping it would not be as bad as she expected. "Sure, but I promised Amanda to help her before her performance with something. Would you mind if I came a little bit later?" she asked, remembering that an hour later Amanda was supposed to dance on the main stage. If asked, the woman probably wouldn’t deny her story. She was smart enough to quickly catch on to what was happening. After all, she was the one who’d warned her about Gastone earlier.
Was it really for the best to actually ask Elio for help?
That was the only thing crossing her mind. However, she didn’t know any of the twins at all, so why would they bother helping her? It might have just been Amanda’s idea. The attraction wasn’t enough to make any Made Man want to help anyone. She had learnt as much during her short period of being a member of the Famiglia.
Gastone moved closer to her, stroking her cheek. As if she caught on fire, she stepped back, letting his hand fall. She knew that she shouldn’t have done it. Noah wanted his Capodecina to be interested and even needed her to get close to him. But the revulsion was too strong. Amanda thought of her as fragile, but she wasn’t. What she was, however, was scared.
Anger surged through her. Towards Gastone, her Capo, and even Lynette for disappearing.
To her relief, Fabro came up to his father, ignoring her. He started saying something about a shipment, which gave Inéz the opportunity to slip away as fast as possible. She could have hugged the twin for interrupting. That had already been too much interaction with the Capodecina for her taste.
Her work wasn’t actually that bad. Inéz quickly learned how to turn a blind eye to unwanted attention from the audience. She liked dancing and doing it on a platform wasn’t that bad. The worst part would be performing on stage, with a pole. And it was inevitable.
She was the second one to dance this night. At least that meant she could get it over with quickly. That’s what she thought. Ignoring people wouldn’t be that hard as well. All that gave her hope.
Until she saw from behind the stage the Falcone brothers with Isaac and Drew sitting in one of the booths with the twins. What were they doing there? She had no clue but most certainly didn’t care for their justifications. She remembered damn well that none of them could be anywhere near her in public, and even their mandatory meetings were supposed to be carefully secured. To train with Nicodemo, she actually had to go into a building down the road and take one of Noah’s cars to get inside the penthouse building. That was how careful they had to be. So what could have possibly made them come to the Gastone’s nightclub on her first day?
Now, there was no way that she would be able to ignore everyone while dancing. The thought of her Capo so close, watching her was something she couldn’t easily overcome. She might as well forget the whole choreography just by imagining his gaze roaming her body. Not even Drew and Isaac affected her as much as Noah did. She could already see the whole performance going down the drain in a matter of seconds.
She made a face, her hands closing into fists.
"You’re going to do great." Amanda showed up right beside her, giving her a reassuring hug. But Inéz didn’t acknowledge her, as she was too occupied looking at the men in the booth.
"That’s something rare," began the blonde, following her gaze. "The older Falcone rarely shows up here anymore."
"Who is that?" asked Inéz still playing her role for some reason. Even though for all she knew, the men could already be ruining everything.
Amanda chuckled. "The hottest one. The blond guy who is drinking from his beer right now. The one who looks kind of pissed," she explained and the girl looked closer. She was right. Noah looked as if he was about to go berserk any minute.
Perfect. Because a rampage act is exactly what’s needed right now.
With another glance, she regarded him more carefully. He was dressed in a white dress shirt with rolled-up sleeves and black slacks. His blond hair were left messy, adding to the overall attraction. His words about being attracted to him filled her mind. It was hard at this point not to agree with him when she couldn't look away.
"It’s Noah Falcone. The boss of all these men. Including Gastone."
"And why did you say that he rarely shows up here?"
She shrugged. "Because it’s true. Unless he’s on business, he usually doesn’t party here. At least he hasn’t for as long as I’ve worked here. From what I know, he used to a few years ago. Flavio, his younger brother, is close friends with the twins so he is here from time to time. And I don’t know the other two guys."
Well, Inéz most certainly did as they were her best friends.
"Alright, I have to go back to work. You’re up in fifteen minutes. Stretch a little more before. Break a leg, girl." she drawled, smiling widely and made her way towards the men’s booth.
She felt as if she was going to throw up. Hearing the music pass, song after song, her performance was looming closer. As the lights went down she slowly walked up the stage, swallowing the anxiety coming from what she was wearing, how much makeup she had on and whether or not she would be able to pull off the choreography. Instead of allowing her mind to keep venturing down those dangerous paths, she decided to simply shut down everything around her for the next ten minutes.
Two deep breaths.
Two red strings of a laser shone from the downside of the stage on her. It outlined her figure perfectly, as she was standing by the pole with her high-heels on. Her legs were a little shaky and she promised herself to perform without heels the next time if all it did was make her even more stressed.
The first notes played.
Inéz gripped the pole and rounded it slowly. It prompted the first whistles from the men watching. Then she wrapped one leg around the pole, pulling up on it, arched her back and whirled around. As the music got a little louder, building up to the climax when it was supposed to switch to a faster beat, she climbed up, hanging upside down. She risked sneaking a peek at Noah. His hungry eyes were watching her every move and they clashed with hers. Inéz felt a wave of confidence that surely was the result of knowing her Capo’s way of being. It was impossible not to connect to that part of his character. Especially now when she so desperately needed it. The music died down for a second, and then with a strong sound, she quickly slid down the pole catching her weight with her calves still attached to the metal. She was only millimeters above the floor. Now she had everything she needed to make this performance happen. With a smile, she continued.
CHAPTER 22
"That was amazing!" shouted Amanda once Inéz walked off the stage.
Loud whistles saw her off, making her roll her eyes, disgust written all over her face. She was pleased with her performance; however, it wasn’t something she would ever get used to doing. Not her place, not her dream, not her life. But her task was still there hiding behind the curtains, waiting for her to get it over with.
She was to see Gastone soon and there were a million other things, she could come up with that were remotely more interesting. Even going back on stage and giving another performance was on that list, and frankly, high up there for that matter.
Biting her lip, she looked at Amanda who was still talking about her choreography, more excited than anyone she had ever met in her life. You could see that she worked in this club because she was truly passionate about pole dancing. Money played no role in it. The way she talked about the details and the moves was admirable.
Inéz always loved people who had some kind of passion. Even if she didn’t know much about it, or cared at all, she loved listening to them blab. To see their faces light up at the mere thought of their hobby was satisfying. Such people automatically became more interesting for her then.
She smiled slightly. "Gracias."
This was the part of her history that hadn’t changed, although Noah believed it should have been. People could easily connect the dots when they found out about Drew and Isaac joining the Famiglia. There were, after all, twins in their circle of friends back in Seattle. For someone who knew that it could seem suspicious that those two had agreed to become part of the mafia and Falcone had let the other two go somehow. However, it wasn’t that easy to just change her nationality. She looked Spanish with her dusky complexion. Maybe people could buy Italian or Portuguese, or even Greek judging by her appearance. The problem was that she didn’t speak any of those languages. Moreover, Inéz sometimes inserted Spanish words while talking to people because she was used to doing it. Years of living in the United States hadn’t changed that.
"Gastone wants me to go to his office," she changed the topic. After what Amanda had told her, she was even more scared to interact with the man. What could she possibly offer him other than sex that would make him lower his guard? Was there even something? "Any advice?"
Amanda sighed. "Yes, let me talk to Elio."
"No," she shook her head. That wasn’t an option. She couldn’t be sure that any of the twins wasn’t just as informed of their father’s illicit affairs as Gastone himself. It could be a huge mistake.
"Just don’t be too innocent in front of him. Act as if you’re one of many girls he meets. Then maybe he won’t be that eager to do anything."
That was her only way out. Inéz couldn’t improvise well but she had nothing else to do than try to come up with something, anything, that would get Gastone off her back without ruining her task at hand.
Standing in front of the office doors, she took one last deep breath, praying to God that it wouldn’t be as bad as she imagined. Knocking quietly, she heard a low voice that invited her in. Stepping over the threshold she spotted Gastone sitting by his desk with Alberto looking at some papers. Their heads moved up towards the girl and the owner smirked, dismissing his soldier, saying that he didn’t want any interruptions. Suffice it to say, that didn’t sound too good for the girl.
As Alberto left, giving her one last infuriated look, Gastone got up from his chair and walked around the desk. He pointed at the table where a whiskey bottle lay. ”Do you fancy a drink?” he asked but before she could answer, he had already poured alcohol into two glasses and was holding one out towards her.
She hesitantly looked at it. Would it be easier if she just drank a little? But then again, how much would she actually have to drink to be ok with what her boss had it mind? There wasn’t enough whiskey in this world for that. Or any other type of alcohol. It was just completely wrong.
Gastone zeroed in on her, his smirk widening. "Ahh yes, Elio mentioned something about you not drinking," he said. "You are old enough, sweetheart. So I don’t understand your aversion."
She wasn’t yet. But he didn’t need to know that.
Inéz bit her lower lip. Should she lie, or for once tell the truth? Never before had she thought someone would ask her, so she hadn’t gone over this with Noah. And she didn’t want her Capo to know either.
"I just hate the taste," she settled for a lie. He didn’t deserve the truth.
"Then maybe you want something else? A cocktail perhaps?" he walked closer to her, but since Inéz hadn’t moved from her spot near the door, she didn’t have room to back away.
Mierda.
She shook her head. "No, thank you."
Gastone shrugged, downing the whole glass at once. "Suit yourself."
Inéz stood there waiting for the man to say something that had nothing to do with alcohol. She most certainly hadn’t come there so he would try to persuade her into drinking. It wouldn’t happen even if he was to torture her.
He sat down on the couch and pulled the girl by the hand to do the same. With his strong grip, her body couldn’t resist and fell down right next to the man. She could smell his breath and knew immediately that he was already tipsy. Not drunk yet, but not far from it either. The second bad sign.
His face moved to her ear. Gastone was breaking all the limits of her comfort zone and she couldn’t do anything to stop it. "You danced perfectly. Who would have guessed that you could move like that?" he whispered, lightly biting her ear lobe. His rough palm settled on her naked thigh. Inéz regretted not getting dressed before coming here. She was still in her one piece. However, she was supposed to work for a few more hours and couldn’t do it in her everyday clothes.
There was a knock on the door and Inéz drew back at once. She was glad that someone decided to interrupt after all. Gastone grunted, clearly furious. Alberto came into the office.
"We have a problem."
"Then handle it, I’m busy. I’m fucking paying you for something, am I not?" Alberto shook his head. "It requires your presence, Gastone," he insisted.
The Capodecina got up, glancing at the girl desire still written all over his face. "Don’t move," he ordered and headed towards the door.
"Actually, it won’t be that easy to sort this out. I don’t think you will be back anytime soon. Layla’d better get to work," Alberto advised. She didn’t need to be told twice and shot up immediately, running off to the main dance floor. She looked around for Amanda but couldn’t find her. Instead, she walked to the bar where Julian was talking to two girls. They didn’t really look old enough to be there, let alone drink alcohol.
As the man saw her, he smiled and excused himself to talk to her. "Water?" he asked.
"Yes, please."
"You were great out there. Even better than the other day," He praised setting a big glass of water in front of her on the bar. Inéz took a big gulp.
"Thank you. It was really stressful," she commented, however, she was almost certain that people had been able to see her legs shaking at the very beginning.
Julian laughed, waving it off. "It’s natural. You’ve just started. You’ll get used to it sooner rather than later."
Inéz really hoped so, because this feeling before getting on stage wasn’t pleasant. Standing in front of the whole school and welcoming everyone at the beginning of a new year, announcing prom king and queen, and even reading out loud the rules for the annual fundraiser weren’t a problem. Showing off too much skin and pole dancing with so many strangers watching was a whole different thing. Going from one extreme to the other wasn’t easy for her at all. It was challenging and disconcerting.
"Have you seen Amanda?"
"As usual, she’s probably somewhere close to the twins," Julian drawled. Inéz regarded him, noticing his anger. There were several reasons that she could think of. One was jealousy, however, from what Inéz had read in the files, Julian had a girlfriend, so it was unlikely. Amanda was quite privileged which was probably because of her friendship with the twins, so she felt at home while working. Simply because she wasn’t doing it a lot. Maybe the bartender felt the same and it irritated him. But it wasn’t Inéz's place to say anything, so she just nodded, drank the rest of the water and moved through the dance floor to get to the booth.
Noah was still there with Isaac, Drew and the twins, while Flavio was nowhere to be found. As she shouldn’t acknowledge the men, she waited for Amanda who was standing by their table, talking to them. It wasn’t, however, allowed for her to just stand in the background as Elio spotted and summoned her with a breezy wave and a wide smile. Everyone caught his gesture and turned their heads to her.
Her head immediately bowed with the embarrassment of being in the center of attention. She felt Noah’s eyes on her but tried really hard not to look his way. With her luck, she would give something away. Sighing deeply, she came up to them. Amanda glanced at her.
"Layla, meet my friends," Elio began, introducing everyone one by one.
She went with that and greeted them shyly. Her eyes lingered a little bit longer on Noah. She couldn’t help herself when the man wasn’t lowering his gaze for a second and
if not for Drew, the twins would have surely caught up on it.
"That was a great performance. How long have you been dancing?" he asked taking the attention off the Capo.
Inéz smiled, knowing her best friend very well and realizing that this need to intervene exasperated him greatly. There could be only two reasons behind this. Either he saw the spark between the two, or he hated being the one to rescue a mission that he wasn’t even particularly in favor of. Perhaps both at the same time.
He was a wonderful friend to Inéz. Always so respectful and protective of any woman, especially his younger sister Sophie, and her. He cared so much it was hard to believe that such men still existed. It seemed impossible to find someone like him. That was why Inéz was happy that he and Isaac were there for her. They made everything better, and every day a little brighter.
In high school, people always thought that they were mostly Francisco’s friends and she was just an addition to the group, but not as close to them as her twin. They were completely wrong. Inéz was just as much of a best friend to them as her brother, if not more. Especially to Drew. Their conversations had the tendency to become very deep and he was the only one she could talk to like that.
"A few years," she answered.
"How was it?" It was Amanda’s turn to ask. However, she meant the meeting with Gastone, rather than dancing. "Was he..." she started.
"I’m fine." Inéz didn’t want to talk about it, so she didn’t let her finish. She shut down the topic, considering it done. The girl could think whatever she wanted.
Fabro stood up from his seat and left the booth, phone in his hand. "Have to go. Got a job to do," he said before disappearing from view.
Elio smirked and tapped the empty seat next to him, looking at Inéz. "Come, sit."
"I should go back to work."
The twin laughed. "Well, since I’m the last one left from my family in the club, I am your boss for now so you don’t have to go back to work right away."