Becoming his Mistress: A Zanetti Famiglia Novel

by Faiman, Hayley

  The apartment is empty, all three bedroom, study, kitchen, dining and living room areas. All empty.

  The apartment is in a U-shape with panoramic windows all the way around. If I were to count, there are at least a dozen and they look out over the city. It’s breathtakingly beautiful.

  The rich brick walls are my favorite part, along with the dark wood built-in bookshelves in the study. I could stay here forever. Except, I’m alone and it’s unfurnished.

  Something white against the dark granite countertops catches my eye in the kitchen. Padding over to it, I see that it’s a folded piece of paper with my name scrawled across it in capital lettering.

  Picking it up, I hear something metal fall out and make a noise against the counter. Glancing down, it’s a key. Picking the small key up, I grip it in my palm as I hold the note open with my other hand.

  LENORA –

  SORRY, HAD TO GO TO WORK. KEY IS YOURS. MEET ME AT THE CASINO TONIGHT. I’LL TEXT YOU THE ADDRESS. PACK A BAG FOR HERE. YOU’RE STAYING THE NIGHT.

  -CARLO

  I bite the corner of my lip, my eyes lifting to the oven to check the time. It’s only six in the morning, why did he have to leave so early? I have a million questions and the more that I get to know him, the more he answers and yet, even more questions start to pop up.

  He’s a mystery. One that I don’t know if I will ever solve. I have a feeling that I’ll have to get used to not knowing him, or leave. The latter makes my stomach churn. I don’t want to go anywhere. I’m falling for him.

  Hurrying, I dress and call for an Uber. I need to get home and get ready for work, beg Chloe to go to this gambling club with me tonight. Then, I need to drown myself in work, so that I don’t stare at my fucking phone all day long and pine over him.

  Once I’m back in my clothes from last night, I shove the note and the key in my purse. Locking up, I make my way outside to wait for my ride. I stare at the street, but I don’t see anything, so lost inside of my own head that I’m surprised when someone bumps into my shoulder.

  Glancing over, I widen my eyes at the man that I recognize from yesterday. “I wondered why he hastily purchased the apartment. An expensive piece of real estate, but I understand now,” he says.

  “Are you following me?” I ask, completely frozen in my spot.

  Vibrant green eyes stare down at me, dancing as his lips twitch. “I’m not, actually. Just happenstance that you’re here. Arlo bought this apartment yesterday. I was curious why since he usually stays in Brooklyn. Now, I understand it.”

  I swallow the lump that’s formed in my throat from his words. He knows Arlo so well that he knew about this purchase. I don’t understand it, and thankfully I don’t have to ask because the man dips his chin then takes a step back before he speaks again.

  “Your ride is here, Elenora,” he murmurs. I glance at the car, then back to him. I somehow expected him to disappear right in front of me but he doesn’t. “Remember, you can trust me,” he says. “I’m Arlo’s boss and friend. I have a feeling you’re the reason my wife and I have been invited to go out for drinks and cards tonight?” he asks.

  I blink. My words having escaped my brain. He thankfully doesn’t allow me to mumble something unintelligible. He turns and walks away from me just as my driver calls out my name. My head whips to the car and I give him a small wave as I walk toward the backseat.

  Frowning, I watch Arlo’s boss’ retreating form and wonder why on earth he was really here and how he knows so damn much about me. A boss usually doesn’t know that much about their employees’ personal lives. Though he said they’re friends as well, but still, something just isn’t right.

  Chloe is sitting exactly where she was when I entered after my walk of shame the day before. She’s at the small table, a bagel and coffee in hand, her workout gear on and her skin glistening from whatever she did at the asscrack of dawn.

  “Figured you went off with him. Everything okay?” she asks, her eyes searching mine.

  My body isn’t quite as achingly sore today as it was yesterday, but I still gingerly make my way over to the table and slowly ease down onto the seat. Swiping half of her bagel, I take a large bite, unsure of what I’m going to respond with.

  “He bought an apartment in the East Village that’s double the size of our place, maybe triple, and he gave me a key,” I blurt out.

  Chloe’s lips part and she stares at me, her mouth agape. “I think I’m going to need you to start at the beginning,” she murmurs.

  I nod, then I tell her everything, including the fact that we’re going out tonight with him and everything about his boss. She frowns, taking a sip of her coffee before filling her mouth with a bite of bagel.

  “Talk to me,” I plead.

  She shrugs. “I honestly don’t know what to say. Maybe after spending the evening with him, I’ll get a better sense about who he is, but I agree, something doesn’t add up.”

  “So, I’m not crazy?”

  She smirks. “I didn’t say that.”

  “Then what?”

  “You like him, a lot. More than you’ve ever liked another man. He’s also unlike any man you’ve dated in the past. He’s dangerous, I can see it in his eyes. I just don’t know if he’s a danger to you or not.”

  I bite the corner of my bottom lip, my eyes lifting and staring past her at the blank wall. My place seems cold compared to the warm rich brick and deep dark wood in Arlo’s new apartment.

  I liked it there, I like the way he was there with me. I like that he made a gesture that seems to be out of the ordinary for him, but the man has secrets a mile long and I don’t like that.

  Leaving Chloe, I tell her that we’ll leave here around nine tonight, after I’ve locked up, come home and changed for the evening. She waves me off and I head toward the bathroom to get ready for work.

  I’m not sure how I feel at the moment, aside from a little lost. Just when I think things are moving in one direction, Arlo turns me around and I’m going somewhere else.

  I need clarification and yet, it’s too early to really ask for it. He’s told me that we’re together and I supposed that’s all that I can ask for right now. Even if I want to demand more. More of him, more time with him and more openness. All things that I only get in snippets at the moment.

  ARLO

  The girl looks at me, a smile on her face, then disappears in the back. Standing at the receptionist desk, I wait for Mia to appear. She manages the casino, a smart move that I implemented a few years ago and Gavino chose to keep, thankfully.

  She’s a bulldog, a temptress and a lion all in one. She runs this place with an iron fist and yet, she’s soft when she needs to be, but doesn’t show her hand—ever.

  “Arlo, not very often you stop at my desk. Usually, you’re already balls deep inside one of my girls,” she purrs.

  Lifting my eyes, I watch her walk out of the door that the girl just slipped through. There are secret tunnels and passages throughout this entire building. They’re for security, anonymity, and escaping all in one.

  Though the law is on our side today, the wheels of fate tend to shift throughout time and if we ever need to disappear from the whores and illegal gambling, we can—a select few of us anyway.

  “No girls tonight, Mia,” I smile. “I have a date meeting me here with a friend, along with Gavino and Luci. Can you set up a private room with a dealer for us, maybe bring a man as a companion for the other girl?”

  Mia’s eyebrow lifts and her lips twitch. “I’m not used to procuring men, Arlo. This is new,” she says, licking her lips as if she’s enjoying thinking about hiring male escorts.

  I tilt my head to the side. “I just meant a soldier, a Capo, one who happens to be off of security for the night. But, is there a need for such a thing?” I ask.

  Mia shrugs. “A man skilled in the act of fucking? There is always a need, Arlo. Especially, if he doesn’t discriminate about who his partners are.” She lifts a brow.

  “You mean someon
e who is bi-sexual?” I ask. She nods. Licking my lips, I start to speak as I think aloud. “Makes sense, all of our women are trained in both sexes, a man would need to be as well. I’m going to talk to Vino about this, I think it could be something to get us an edge on the market.”

  Her lips slowly turn up into a bright and wide smile. “Italian men are known for being lovers, yeah?” she laughs.

  “Apparently.” I wink.

  “Your room and a soldier, of some kind, will be waiting for you. What time?” she asks.

  “Around ten,” I state.

  She nods. “Refreshments for your guests?”

  “Please.”

  Without another word, I turn and leave the casino. My phone rings as soon as I step outside and I slide my thumb across the screen as I lift the device to my ear.

  “Vino,” I rumble.

  “Meeting with Salvatore, my office,” he announces before the line goes dead.

  I shove my phone in my pocket, but not before I send Lenora the time and address of where to meet me tonight. She responds immediately, as if she had been waiting for my text. The idea of her anxious to hear from me, causes my lips to twitch into a smile.

  Lenora: SEE YOU THEN!

  Shaking my head, I run my fingers through my hair. I shouldn’t want her waiting by the phone for me, waiting at home for me, or at the new apartment for me—but I do.

  I want her readily available any time that I can have her. I’m a selfish fucking asshole because I can’t be readily available to her and I never will be.

  Sliding into the driver’s seat of my car, I start the engine and shift into gear before I head toward the office. I’m not sure what Vino needs to talk about, assuredly it’s something to do with the famiglia.

  It always is.

  However, they’re no longer at the forefront of my mind these days. Lenora has taken residence there, and that’s dangerous as fuck. She is already my weakness and if an enemy finds out, even gets a hint that she’s more important than anything else, that makes her vulnerable and a liability.

  Just like Luciana is vulnerable. Which is why Gavino was such a goddamn dick to her in the beginning. Hopefully, the world thinks that Wynter is mine, maybe they’ll rid me of my problem. I chuckle to myself, shaking my head, I could never be so fucking lucky. But the way an enemy would treat her, I wouldn’t wish it on her, not even at her absolute fucking worst.

  Parking in my spot at the office, I turn the engine of my car off before gripping my steering wheel tightly. Staring out at nothing, I think about the shit that I’ve just gotten myself into and wonder why the fuck I’ve done it to Lenora. My cock knows why, but my head, it should know better.

  I should have stuck with fucking whores for the fun of it, never even attempting to enter a relationship when I can’t give her all of me, when I can’t even give her a goddamn piece of me.

  Fuck.

  In a few day’s time, I’ll be a married man. A married man with a comáre. Goddamn, I’m a terrible fucking person. The thing is? I don’t even feel guilty, that’s what’s really fucking bad in this whole situation.

  I’ll ask for forgiveness in confession, but I don’t feel guilty.

  Chapter Eight

  ARLO

  Salvatore and Gavino are waiting for me in Gavino’s office by the time that I arrive. They both look slightly grim and it makes me pause at the entrance, not walking completely inside of the room.

  Salvatore is the famiglia’s Consigliere, usually we need him for legal things like contracts and such. I’m a bit confused as to why he’s here, but kind of glad, so that I can talk to him about how to procure male escorts for our stable.

  “What’s this?” I ask as I take a step into the room, then make my way over to a chair.

  I sink down in the chair across from Gavino and next to Salvatore. I extend my legs out straight in front of me crossing my feet at the ankles and let my head fall back against the back of the chair slightly.

  My eyes find Gavino’s and I watch him, waiting for a response to my question. He clears his throat, his eyes meeting mine, and it’s this moment that I know he is going to say something that I don’t like or agree with.

  “She needs to sign an NDA,” he states.

  Frowning, I decide it would be futile to play dumb in this moment. “Why?” I ask.

  Salvatore decides to answer the questions. “It’s come to our attention that she’s more than just a one-time thing, Arlo. You’ll be married in a week’s time. The repercussions of her going public with your relationship, because of who your future wife is, would be detrimental to the famiglia,” he explains.

  I open my mouth but Gavino speaks before I can even get a word out. “You may not think that she would go to the paparazzi, but a woman scorned will shock the shit out of you, Arlo. She doesn’t know that she’s a comáre, does she?” he asks.

  Letting out a puff of air, I groan then lift my hand to my face, scrubbing roughly. “She doesn’t,” I admit. “I never want her to know, either.”

  “But she will, inevitably, she will,” Salvatore states, his voice smooth and almost gentle.

  “If you want me to figure out a way to get out of the marriage, just say the words, cugino,” Vino offers, again.

  Shaking my head, I run my fingers through my hair, gripping the strands and tugging slightly. “We’re not discussing it again. Guests are beginning to arrive,” I state firmly.

  “And yet we’re going on a double date with a woman who is not your intended?” he asks, arching a brow.

  “I’ve become like all the other men in the famiglia. So, I keep a comáre? Who the fuck cares?”

  “You do,” Salvatore chimes in. “I know that you do because your father has never had one. It wasn’t how you were raised and yet…”

  “Yes, and yet,” I snap.

  “I made the document very vague as to her place in the relationship. I just made it clear that she was not to divulge anything about your life to any members of the press, or any other entity.”

  Shifting my gaze from Salvatore, I look over to Gavino. The look of pity that crosses his face causes anger to immediately fill my body. I don’t want him to pity me, him or anyone else. Fuck that. Standing, I shift my gaze back to Salvatore. Holding my hand out, I wait for him to slip me the document. He does.

  “She’ll sign it,” I growl.

  “Sit your fuckin’ ass down, we aren’t done here,” Vino growls.

  My ass finds the seat almost immediately on its own volition. “She needs protection. I found her with just an inkling of who she could have been. Work on that, yeah?”

  “You’ve met her?” I breathe, my heart pounding inside of my chest at the idea of her possibly being in danger in the future and found so fucking easily.

  He nods. “I have. I understand your attraction. She’s beautiful, soft and seemingly sweet,” he says. He’s right, Lenora is all of those fucking things and more. “She’s vulnerable and fucking clueless as to who you are.”

  I snort. “She is,” I admit.

  He nods his head. “Protect her. When your wife finds out about her, she will be more ruthless than any enemy could ever be.”

  My head automatically nods in agreement. I know this, because I’ve been thinking about it more and more with each passing day.

  “Now, anything else we need to discuss before we go our separate ways?” Vino asks as he claps his hands together.

  “Actually,” I call out, lifting my finger.

  “That smile concerns me,” Vino grunts.

  My lips twitch into a grin. “It fucking should. Have you ever thought about male escorts?”

  Salvatore clears his throat nervously. Vino just stares at me with a blank expression on his face. Then he chuckles. “You’ve been talking with Mia?”

  “I think that it could be a good addition to the stable,” I say.

  Salvatore leans forward with his elbows on his knees and covers his mouth with his palm. “If we do this, it could piss som
e clients off,” he warns.

  I shrug. “I think that with the kinks we have on people, a little man-on-man action is the least of their worries. Why not offer a full range of services? We’re all different and our tastes all vary,” I explain.

  “He’s not wrong,” Vino chimes in. “Sal isn’t wrong either, it could alienate some clientele, but I really don’t give a fuck about that. I give a fuck about my brand, about being the best in the states, and this, this could give us an edge.”

  My lips turn up into a smile. “Exactly what I was thinking. Now, how do we get them?” I ask, arching a brow.

  Vino clears his throat. “Let me make some phone calls, see what we can find. Training will be different as well, though Carmella does know how to pleasure women and men, so maybe not so different.” He laughs.

  “We’re all good here? Your girl will sign that document before the wedding takes place?” Vino asks, changing the subject back to me and Lenora.

  “She will,” I vow.

  He nods once letting out a breath. “Now that it’s done, I need to get home to Ciana. I promised dinner before we meet for cards.”

  He stands and smooths out his jacket. I do the same followed by Salvatore. The Consigliere leaves before me and Vino. When we’re alone, I take a step toward him.

  “See you tonight. Keep everything hush,” I remind.

  Vino nods his head, a small smile playing his lips. “Yeah, yeah. You know?” he asks, pausing for a moment. “If you want Renzo to take care of the bitch you marry after the wedding day, I could arrange it.”

  I blink, thinking about the Button Man, the hitman, and glance to my shoes. It would make my life easier, but it would be cowardice. Wynter has no reason to die. I agreed to the marriage as much as she did. It wouldn’t be right, then again, neither is fucking someone else.

  “Not yet,” I say, turning around to walk out of the room.

  Gavino reaches out, wrapping his fingers around my shoulder and stopping me from continuing. “Do you think that you could fall in love with her, or at least tolerate her, one day?” he asks. He looks sincere and sincerely worried for me—for my future.