Dating A Mob Boss (The Dating Series Book 2)

by Love, B. T.

  His eyes were on fire as we watched each other, the hot tension rising between us. We hadn’t talked about what our kiss from the day before had meant, but we knew. I wanted him bad and he knew it without me needing to tell him. He knew I had made up my mind just by my body language. And he was completely floored.

  “Hey why don’t you two get a room,” one of the other men said, prompting laughter from the group.

  Trent’s eyes still hadn’t left mine. He took another draw from his cigar. “Sounds good to me,” he agreed while blowing out a trail of smoke.

  God he was cocky. God I wanted him. He had a tendency to say certain things to me in front of his friends which beforehand had pissed me off. But now I found his words irresistible. I wanted him to say more; I wanted him to anger me so I could take it out on him in more ways than one.

  “You wish,” I said as I broke our stare and passed out the drinks to the rest of the table.

  “I do,” he agreed. “And you know what happens when I make a wish in this restaurant. I mean, I don’t want to have to call Vin in here and tell him you’re not giving me what I ask.”

  I chuckled and held the empty tray to my chest. “Well, technically I’m not supposed to be here, so, I think I can decline anything you ask of me. For tonight, at least.”

  He smiled and leaned forward, placing his cigar in the ashtray in front of him. “Can I take you home tonight?”

  “I can,” Mikey cut in. “Just let me say somethin’ else outta line to her and then it’ll be my punishment.”

  The table laughed and so did Trent. “You disrespect my woman again and you’ll be doing a lot worse than driving her home.”

  Mikey took a sip from his clear glass. “Just don’t make me move anymore couches; that was a bitch.”

  Trent turned his attention back to me. “So,” he asked again, “can I take you home tonight?”

  “We’ll see.”

  His eyes sparkled. “I guess I’ll have to be okay with that answer.”

  With a satisfied smile I flipped around and left the room of smoke. I really enjoyed toying with that man, even more so knowing that it turned him on. And quite honestly, turning Trent on was something I wanted to do more and more.

  When I came back a few minutes later to take their order they were putting the cards away. They never did seem to play for very long; maybe it was something they did just to break the ice of their meeting. I often wondered what they discussed during these private powwows. Trent morphed into a serious man after I took their order and collected their menus. He was ready for his privacy.

  Back out in the main room of the restaurant things were quieting down except for the big annoying man who wasn’t happy with anything. Natalie caught my attention and held her hands up in a pleading gesture, begging me to go over to the table and see to anything they needed.

  I nodded and went over to the man who was sitting at the front of the table like he was the head of the household. “How is everything?” I asked.

  He scoffed before wiping his mouth with his cloth napkin. “You’re lucky the food is so good. The service here is terrible. Our waitress won’t be getting a tip from me tonight.”

  “Oh, okay, well I’m sure she will be willing to do whatever you feel is needed to make your dining experience more enjoyable.”

  “Can she go jump off a cliff?” he said, roaring with laughter at his own joke. The members of his table chuckled with him, a few of them looking mildly embarrassed.

  “Stevie, how’s it going?”

  I turned to see Trent approaching the table. The large man, apparently named Stevie, sat up straighter in his chair. “Mr. Falco,” he said happily. “What a pleasure to see ya!”

  They shook hands pleasantly. “And you as well,” Trent said. “I see you’ve met my friend Amber here,” he said, motioning at me.

  Stevie’s eyes darted quickly to my face. “Who, this lady here? She just got us our drinks; she’s doing a fine job.”

  “Oh good. ‘Cause I came out here to take a piss and I could hear you complainin’ all the way across the whole restaurant.”

  Stevie laughed nervously. “Oh, yeah, the other waitress, she uh, was taking a while bringing us our food.”

  “Well I would think so; they’ve got to make enough to feed your fat ass over here.” They both laughed, Stevie with more of an unsureness than anything. Trent slapped him jokingly on the shoulder. “Ah, you know I’m just playin’ with you. But seriously, give these girls a break. It’s a busy night.”

  Stevie put his hand up and nodded. “Absolutely. And I’ll even be sure to give our waitress a nice tip.”

  “Atta boy,” Trent said, stepping behind me. He placed a warm hand on each of my shoulders. “And this woman right here is a good friend of mine. Treat her with respect. You got that?”

  “I understand completely.”

  “Good man.” Trent squeezed my shoulders gently before letting go. “I need a refill on scotch when you get the chance, sweetheart,” he said quietly before casually strolling off.

  The corner of my mouth pulled back with a smile. What an assertive man he was. It was unbelievably sexy.

  Stevie raised his glass of vodka to his lips and sipped it while watching me over the rim. When he put it back down on the table in front of him he twisted it back and forth, keeping his eyes on it. “So,” he stated, “you’re the woman Trent Falco has his eyes set on, huh? I’ve heard about you.”

  “Is that so?” I asked, crossing my arms in front of me.

  “Word’s been he has some fine thing he’s been droolin’ over. It’s gotta be you.”

  “And how do you know it’s me?”

  “Because you’re pretty,” a young boy at the end of his table shouted. The man next to him nudged him with a smile.

  I grinned at his compliment; he was cute for a ten year-old. “Well that deserves a slice of cake on the house,” I told the kid. “I’ll have your waitress bring it over.” The boy smiled, his face a little red with embarrassment.

  “Can I offer you a word of advice?” Stevie said, finally making eye contact with me again.

  “I’m assuming it’s about Trent, right?”

  His large head nodded. “He’s a good man; his grandpa’s a good man. They both are very important people with whom I do a lot of business with. Without saying it in so many words, don’t go messin’ with that man’s heart. It’s bad for business.”

  “You mean don’t break his heart?”

  “Exactly.”

  “I’m assuming you guys are closer then, if you don’t want to see him get hurt.”

  He shook his head. “Not at all. Look, it’s no secret that Trent wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to women; that’s why he doesn’t get involved with too many women. It’s just, Trent has a tendency to get really pissed off when he has relationship issues. He doesn’t take it out on his women, he takes it out on us men he does business with instead. The last thing I need is some girl coming in and disrupting the pleasant working environment I’m currently involved in with him. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  I nodded slowly. “So what you’re telling me is that I should make sure to never piss Trent off, because if I do he’ll make your business relationship a living hell?”

  “Pretty much,” he agreed. “But you understand, right? I mean, we men have to keep our business clean to continue to profit the way that we do. When his last relationship ended, Jesus, it was so hard to make that man happy. I lost a lot of money that year.”

  “So you two are in business together? As partners?”

  “Not exactly. I work for him. But, ya know, that’s really none of your concern. Just keep the man happy so my business doesn’t go under, okay?”

  “What business are you in exactly?”

  “Again, that’s none of your concern.”

  “I see,” I said with a frown. “Well, I’m not exactly sure how you expect me to never piss Trent off. But I tell you what, you treat these emp
loyees in here with more respect and if there’s ever a problem between me and Trent I’ll remind him not to take it out on his business relationship with you.” That was actually a load of crap I had just told him, I just wanted him to leave my friends alone.

  His head bobbed from side to side while he mulled around the thought. “I think that’s fair,” he agreed.

  I nodded and bowed out, going back to the kitchen. Jeez, the people Trent was involved with were such losers. I didn’t understand how he could be so closely connected with them and not be a loser himself.

  Natalie came to the kitchen and grabbed an order for one of her tables. “So how was the fat jerk over there? I saw Trent talking to him.”

  “Fine, I guess. But I need a piece of cake to go to the kid at the table, on the house.”

  “On the house, huh?”

  “Yeah. Don’t worry, I’ll pay for it. And Trent talked to the loser so he should be treating you better.”

  “Really? Wow, that was nice of him.”

  “Yeah.”

  She nodded toward the cook’s line. “Their order’s ready, by the way.”

  “Oh, okay thanks.” I grabbed a few hot plates and balanced them on my arms, moving carefully out to the private room. When I pushed through the door I saw Trent leaned back in his chair with his hand to his forehead and his cigar between his fingers. He looked deep in thought. I sat his plate in front of him and he cut his eyes up at me, shooting me a downturned smile. The rest of the men were silent. When I brought in the rest of the plates they were chatting quietly between each other, the mood in the room heavy and serious. They stopped their chatter when I reached the table. Feeling the tension, I left the room, deciding to refrain from engaging anyone in conversation.

  “Shoot,” I said to myself as I stepped back into the main part of the restaurant. “He needs a refill.” I hesitantly made my way over to the bar. “Hi Manny,” I greeted him once more, bracing myself for the uncomfortable conversation that would most likely happen. He kept his back to me, ignoring my greeting. I rolled my eyes. “I need the good scotch, please.”

  “You mean for your boyfriend?”

  “He’s not my boyfriend.”

  “He had his hands on you earlier. You looked pretty comfortable with that.”

  “Look, Manny,” I huffed, “you can’t treat me like this. We’re friends.”

  He turned around to face me. “I want to be more than that.”

  “What, where is this even coming from?”

  “I’ve liked you since you started working here; you know that.”

  “No, I didn’t know that. And besides, I like you as a friend.”

  “It’s because I don’t have money, isn’t it? Like your little boy toy Trent.”

  I shook my head and looked down at the bar in disbelief. Where was his rotten attitude coming from? My eyes began to mist over with emotion. It was all coming to the surface: the move, missing my mom, being in a scary neighborhood in an empty apartment, falling for a man who was probably no good for me, handling the attitude of a bartender who acts like I led him on when I didn’t . . . I just wanted to run away from it all, run back to California where I belonged.

  Manny slammed the drink down on the bar in front of me, making some of the amber liquid hop over the side. “Here’s your boyfriend’s drink. The guy blows more money on alcohol and cigars in one night than I make in an entire two weeks of work.”

  I kept my head down and took the drink, moving away from the bar and taking it to the back room. I pushed through the door and entered quietly, still walking head down to hide the emotion on my face. I sat the glass down in front of Trent and turned away, only to be stopped by the gentle grasp of his hand on my wrist.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked softly, concern filling his voice.

  “Nothing. I’m just really busy.”

  “Look at me, please.” I sniffed before obeying his request, lifting my head and meeting his gaze. His expression didn’t change but his eyes did. The beautiful hazel orbs sparkled with worry, or more so, an angry worry. “What’s wrong?” he asked again.

  I shook my head. “Let’s talk after your business is done being discussed, okay?”

  “Well how can I focus on business when I know you’re upset?”

  “It’s okay, really.”

  “Who made you cry?”

  “No one, Trent. It’s fine.”

  “Was it Stevie?”

  “No. Listen,” I said, resting my other hand on his that was securing my wrist, “I’m just a little overwhelmed right now. It happens sometimes; it’s no big deal. We’ll talk when you take me home.”

  He didn’t seem to like my answer, but he nodded and dropped his hand, allowing me to leave the room. And that I did, and quickly, because the hot streams of tears wouldn’t hold back any longer.

  * * *

  The restaurant was clearing out, and so did the men who were back in the room with Trent. He came out a few minutes behind them, his face riddled with concern as he joined me back by the kitchen.

  “I’ve been worried about you,” he said, reaching up and stroking my cheek with his hand.

  “I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

  He dropped his arm and slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “Why were you crying?”

  “I was just a little overwhelmed, that’s all.”

  “By what?” Trent followed my gaze over to Manny, who was wiping down the bar. “Was it him? What did he do?”

  “He’s mad that I’m, you know, talking to you. I guess he thinks I was leading him on or something. He said he’s liked me since I started working here and that the reason I like you and not him is because you have money.”

  “Well we both know that’s not true; I try to buy you stuff all the time and you still don’t like me.”

  I smiled lightly and rolled my eyes at him. “I like you; you know that.”

  “There’s that eye roll again. You know you’re the only one I let get away with that, right?”

  “Yeah, Mr. big shot, I know.”

  He looked over at Manny once again. “Well I guess I should go pay that little bartender a visit then.”

  “Oh, no, that’s okay. Just leave him alone. He’ll get over it eventually.”

  Trent kept his eyes on him. Manny looked up from wiping the counter and stared back at Trent for a few moments before averting his gaze. He was smart not to challenge Trent; he knew how powerful he was. After all, Manny was the one who told me about Trent in the first place.

  Trent looked back at me. “You do realize it’s taking everything in my power to listen to you and not go over there. I mean, no one makes my woman cry.”

  My eyes darted around his face. “Your woman?”

  He pulled his hands from his pockets and crossed his arms in front of him. “Well, I know we’re not official or anything, but, I was hoping you’ve warmed up to me a bit more. I’ve been thinking about you nonstop and I came to the conclusion that I just have to have you in my life.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah,” he smiled. “But you knew that already. It’s you who has to make the decision about us. If it were up to me I’d start dating you exclusively right this second.”

  “Dating me exclusively, huh?” I sassed him, bringing my hand to my hip. “You don’t ever date anyone else anyway.”

  “Yeah,” he laughed sweetly, “I guess you’re right. It would be more on your part I guess, dating me exclusively.”

  “Oh stop it, I don’t date a bunch of people either.”

  “But you clearly have your pick.”

  “And I pick you.” The words surprised me. Not the fact that they were truthful, but the fact that they spilled out of me so quickly, like I wanted him to know the truth. Or more so, I needed him to know the truth; I needed him to know I wanted to be with him.

  He cocked his head to the side. “You think you’re ready, huh?”

  “What, are you trying to talk me out of it now?” />
  “Not in the least,” he smiled. “I just want you to be sure you know what you’re really getting yourself into.”

  “I don’t really know what I’m getting myself into,” I said with a shrug. “But maybe you can show me more.”

  “I would love to.” He held his arm out for me to take. “Why don’t I show you something now? It may be the deal-breaker.”

  “Deal-breaker? Now you’ve got my interest.”

  “Oh, I’ve had your interest since the beginning.”

  “You’re so sure of yourself, aren’t you?” I said as I laced my arm in his.

  “Yes, I am. I’m sure of myself, and I’m sure of you.”

  I smiled at his words. “Oh, hold on a sec.” I pulled away from his arm and went back to the kitchen, grabbing my bags of fabric. When I came back I held them high in the air. “Here’s my new couch!”

  “New couch, huh? That’s right, you owe me twenty bucks,” he joked.

  “Oh, shut up,” I replied happily. “You just want my company.”

  “You’re right about that. Can I get twenty dollars- worth of your company?”

  My smiling mouth dropped open. “Well Mr. Falco, I assure you I am no prostitute. And besides, if I were I would charge you much more than twenty dollars.”

  He laughed and took my bags from me. “What you do to me is worth more than money anyway. I couldn’t put a price on it.”

  I smiled and laced my arm in his. “You’re sweet. Now take me to the place that might break our relationship apart.”

  “My pleasure.”

  * * *

  “Illusion?” I read the neon sign out loud. “Is this your nightclub?”

  “Yep.”

  I shifted in my seat to see him. “Trent, this is so awesome! You actually own a nightclub . . .”

  “Yep. And a successful one at that.”

  “I can tell; look at all the people.”

  “Yeah it stays pretty busy on Sundays. You should see it on Friday and Saturday nights.” He unbuckled his seatbelt. “You ready to go inside?”

  “Yeah, I’m excited!”

  He seemed pleased by my elation as he got out and came around to open my door. “I’m glad you’re excited,” he said as I hopped out of the car. He shut the door and stood there, looking a little uneasy.