Dating A Mob Boss (The Dating Series Book 2)

by Love, B. T.

  “What’s wrong? Is it the deal-breaker situation you’re worried about?”

  “Yeah,” he nodded. “This place is a major money maker for me. I also handle a lot of my other business here . . . It’s kind of the center of my operation.”

  “So why is it such a deal-breaker?”

  “The environment, I guess.”

  “You mean the half-naked women?” He nodded, staying silent. He really did seem nervous. “Well,” I shrugged, “I guess I’ll just have to see it for myself to make that judgement.”

  He nodded again, thrusting his hands in the pockets of his slacks. “Alright then. You ready?”

  “No,” I smiled. “Not quite.”

  “Why? What’s up?”

  I leaned my back against his Bentley. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  “I mean, I’ve been thinking about you non-stop.”

  The corner of his mouth lifted. “That’s also good to know.”

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  “You can ask me anything.”

  I reached out and fingered the inner edge of his suit jacket. He looked down and watched what I was doing, his lips still displaying the handsome smile I was so fond of. “Do you want me, Trent?” I asked heavily, my lips drawing out the question as provocatively as I could muster.

  He looked up at me, his eyes hungrier than I had ever seen them before. “You have no idea how much I want you, Amber.”

  “You’re wrong,” I said, pulling on his coat to bring him closer. “I know exactly how much you want me.”

  He took his hands out of his slacks and wrapped them around my waist. “I’ll give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of.”

  “That’s not what I want,” I told him as I put my arms around his neck.

  “Then tell me what you want.”

  “I want you to kiss me.”

  He leaned in closer. “Are you sure that’s all you want?” he asked, our lips almost touching.

  “I know you’ll give me the world if I ask for it. But for now, right here on this street, I want you to kiss me like you did in your rose garden.”

  “I think I can handle that.”

  He leaned in, closing the tiny space that existed between us. Instantly I was aware of my rapid pulse as parts of my body tingled for him, tingled because of him as his tongue danced with mine. I pulled him closer; I wanted to feel his body weight pressing against me. I wished I could feel all of him, feel the smoothness of his naked, muscular body over me. He was such a powerful man, not only in stance but I could literally feel the power he had surging through his blood as he took charge of our kiss. I knew he was going to be an impressive lover.

  He pulled back and then complimented me with another kiss, this one lingering with gentleness. “How’s that for giving you what you want?”

  “You definitely deliver, that’s for sure.”

  “You have no idea how much I deliver,” he flirted.

  I leaned in and planted another quick kiss on his lips. “You ready to take me inside?”

  “Not really.” He stepped away from me and held out his arm. “Now remember,” he said as I laced my arm in his, “this is a business. I own it and run it in a way that makes me a higher profit, okay?”

  “Well now you have me scared,” I laughed.

  “Nah, you won’t be scared. You’ll be pissed.”

  * * *

  The music was blaring as we stepped in the club. Trent brought me in through the front so I could get the full experience of all the lights and decorations that made the place the spectacular business that it was. The building was huge and it was filled with people dancing wildly to the intense beats that were almost too much to handle.

  “It’s so packed,” I shouted next to his ear. “And you said there’s even more people on Fridays and Saturdays? How do they all fit?”

  “Like sardines,” he laughed.

  Everyone’s eyes were on us as we made our way into the main part of the club where people were flooding the dance floor. Men were approaching us and saying pleasantries to Trent, slapping him on the back while laughing; women were looking me over with bitchy expressions. It was wonderful.

  My eyes focused on a woman dancing topless on a pole in the center of the dance floor. So that was what Trent was talking about.

  Noticing what I saw, he leaned in and said, “It’s just good business, sweetheart. I promise I don’t even look at her.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Oh please.”

  “What, you don’t believe me?”

  “Not really.”

  His mind was reeling. “Hold on a second,” he said while searching the crowd. Spotting an older man with bushy eyebrows and a big nose at a nearby table, he motioned for him to come over.

  The man was up in an instant and came to Trent with a wide smile. “Mr. Falco! Nice to see ya! How’s your grandfather these days?”

  Trent pulled his arm away from mine to shake the man’s hand with both of his. “He’s well, Mark; he’s doing well.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. Tell him I need a face to face with him soon.”

  “I will. Now I want you to meet this amazing woman here,” he told him as he brought his arm behind me, placing his hand on my lower back. “Her name’s Amber. Amber, this is one of my business associates, Mark.”

  I shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise.”

  “Listen, Mark, this beautiful woman right here thinks I look at the topless girls dancing around in my club here. What do you say about that?”

  “What, this guy?” Mark said, pointing a finger at Trent. “No way. The man’s respectful to women even when he’s single.”

  “Is that so?” I humored him.

  “Absolutely. He’s a complete gentleman.”

  My eyebrows lifted. “Really? Well, is it so respectful to exploit women like that? As sexual objects?” I was smiling as I said this, of course. I was just trying to get a rise out of them.

  Trent caught on instantly. “Oh Jesus,” he said with a grin. “See what I have to put up with, Mark?”

  “Oh really?” I teased him. “You should be on the other end of this relationship. Now I have to put up with a lot.”

  “That’s very true,” Trent agreed.

  Mark chuckled before his face fell serious. “Hey, uh, Trent, do you think I can talk to you upstairs about a few things?”

  Trent’s expression mirrored his friend’s. “Business now when I’m out with my girl here?”

  “I know, I know,” he said, raising his hands in defense. “But you know I wouldn’t ask unless it was important.”

  Trent looked to me. “Do you mind?” he asked.

  “Not at all.”

  He kissed my cheek and then left my side, walking next to Mark to a dark corner of the club. On his way over a busty blonde in a see-through bra met him with a tray held high in her hand with what looked to be Trent’s favorite drink resting solely on its surface. Trent held his hand up and kindly dismissed her, not taking a second look at her gigantic basically-naked breasts. That made me happy, because even I couldn’t stop staring at them; they were pretty impressive. Maybe Trent really was a gentleman. I was still pissed those girls were in there, though. I mean, come on.

  I went over to the crowded bar and found a spot to lean against. I noticed Trent and Mark were climbing a staircase that disappeared into the ceiling in that corner, which must have led up to some type of conference room.

  Someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned around to see a young attractive dark-skinned man smiling brightly at me. “Hi,” he said. He was one of many good-looking bartenders that Trent employed.

  “Hello,” I replied with a smile.

  “I saw you come in with Trent. You must be Amber.”

  His knowledge of my name surprised me. “Um, yeah, I am.”

  “Trent told the staff that when you’re here you get anything you want. So
if there’s anything I can get for you just let me know.”

  I smiled, feeling flattered that Trent had spoken about me to so many people. “I will. Thank you.”

  The man nodded and went back to work while I spun back around and watched the darkened staircase. After a few minutes Trent and Mark descended the steps, their faces stern from the discussion they were still having. When they were done Mark wandered off to another part of the club and Trent came back over.

  “I’m very sorry about that,” he said as he slid his arm around my waist. “There was something important I needed to take care of.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Business. Just business.”

  “Something you’ll never discuss with me, huh?”

  “It’s better that way baby; believe me.”

  I nodded with disappointment. I didn’t like having things kept from me; it made me feel like our relationship wasn’t honest. I mean, I understood why he didn’t discuss certain things with me, being that they were most likely illegal, but it still kind of hurt. That was another thing I had to consider if I would be able to handle in regards to being in a serious relationship with Trent. That and his half-naked beautiful employees.

  His chest rose with a heavy sigh as he noticed the expression that must have been so obviously displayed on my face. “You’re not happy; I don’t like that.”

  “No, I am.”

  “You’re lying. And that’s okay; I know you’re just tryin’ to be sweet right now.”

  “We can discuss it later, Trent. Right now I just want to see your club and have fun with you.”

  He nodded and smiled, although he didn’t look happy. “Okay then.”

  “Why don’t you dance with me?” I asked.

  “Dance?” he laughed. “Nah, I don’t dance at work.” He nodded at the stripper pole that was in close proximity to where we were standing. “But you can dance for me, if you know what I mean,” he said, giving me a wink.

  I smacked his arm. “In your dreams.”

  “You’re absolutely right.”

  I smiled and looked up at the corner of the club. “Is that like a conference room up there or something?”

  “Yeah. It’s my office.”

  “Really? Can I see it?”

  “Of course.”

  He took my hand and led me through the crowd to the stairs. As we climbed them I looked out at the impressive number of people in the building and thought about how wonderfully successful Trent was. And then I saw a pair of boobs and I thought about how irritating Trent was. It was just so typical for a man to employ topless women to bring in more money. And sure, he didn’t ogle them, but they were still there and quite frankly I wasn’t happy about it.

  We reached the top of the stairs and he pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the door. He pushed it open and I followed him in to the large room. In the corner was a nice L-shaped desk that had a few stacks of paper on it. There was a pool table in the center of the room with a low hanging light over it. To the right of that were two leather chairs that looked very comfortable and expensive. By the back wall was a long conference table with many chairs pushed in around it, the place where Trent most likely held business meetings.

  I nodded with approval. “It’s nice up here.”

  “Thanks.”

  I went over to the chairs and sat down in one, confirming that it was comfortable. Trent joined me, planting himself in the other one.

  “So what now?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, tell me what you do up here.”

  He leaned back and crossed his ankle over his opposite knee. “Business.”

  “What kind of business?”

  “All of it.”

  “All of it? But what about your meetings at the restaurant?”

  “Yeah, I do business there as well, but, it’s different.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He uncrossed his leg and leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “Listen Amber, I don’t really want to discuss my business with you, as I’ve repeatedly told you.”

  “But why? Do you not think you can trust me yet?”

  “No no, it’s not that. It’s just safer for you to not know the inner workings of how I do things. I’ve told you some of what I do is illegal. Now if something were to happen I want you to be able to say in clear conscience that you know absolutely nothing. It’s for your protection.” I crossed my arms, heaving out a heavy breath. “What?” he asked. “You don’t like that answer?”

  “No. I don’t.”

  “Well I’m sorry sweetheart, but that’s just how things are going to have to be.”

  My eyes narrowed with a glare. “Don’t talk down to me like that.”

  “What? I’m not talkin’ down to you. I just want to be sure you understand.”

  “Oh I understand completely.” I stood up and hurried to the door.

  Trent jumped up from his chair. “Where are you going?”

  “Home.” I opened the door and stomped down the darkened steps.

  “Just come back here already,” he shouted down at me over the loud music.

  Ignoring him, I made it to the sweaty crowd and pushed my way through them toward the exit. When I got about halfway through, a strong hand grabbed my arm and stopped me. It was Trent.

  “Just leave me alone,” I shouted.

  “No. I want to know what I did wrong.”

  “Everything. Everything is just wrong.”

  His worried expression softened to one of regret. “I, I don’t think everything is wrong between us.”

  “Well of course you don’t. You don’t have to deal with the crap I have to deal with when it comes to dating you. Like, like you don’t even tell me things . . . I can never be with someone who isn’t honest with me.”

  “But I’m not lying to you, I’m just choosing not to tell you certain things.” He looked away at the crowd for a moment and then back to me. “Is it the women? Because I’ll fire them. I’ll fire them all right now.”

  “No. I mean, yes and no. They’re a part of it but not the main part.”

  He scanned the crowd again and met eyes with another man I didn’t recognize, nodding his head for him to come over. The man obeyed immediately.

  “Yes, Mr. Falco?” he shouted over the music.

  “See her up there?” Trent said, pointing to the topless woman on the stripper pole in the center of the dance floor.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Fire her.”

  The man gave him an unsure nod. “Yes, Sir.”

  “And fire the other one, too,” he said, pointing to the other half-naked dancer in the corner of the room.

  The man nodded and quickly darted off through the crowd.

  “There,” Trent said. “Problem solved.”

  “Well you didn’t have to fire them.”

  “What the hell woman?” he shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. “Can I not do anything right?”

  “No, you can’t.”

  His broad shoulders seemed to slump beneath his suit jacket. “You know, you seem to be the only person on this earth that feels that way about me.” He folded his arms and looked down at them, shaking his head from side to side. “I do no wrong in everyone else’s eyes but when it comes to you I’m just no good I guess.”

  Here’s where my eyes began to water. I placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. “Trent, you’re an amazing man; you really are. But I need honesty in my life. I mean, there’s even questions I want to ask you that I’m afraid to ask.”

  He looked up at me and unfolded one of his arms, bringing it over to his shoulder to rest his hand on top of mine. “You know you can ask my anything.”

  “But that’s not the truth. Yeah, I can ask you, but you won’t tell me.”

  He nodded, knowing I was right. “If anything ever happened to you I don’t know what I would do with myself. I so vividly picture being in a relationship with
you, and that’s something that rarely happens with me. I’m very picky when it comes to my women.”

  “I know you are. And I have to be pickier from now on when it comes to the men in my life. I’ve been hurt too much. And you know, I really think you could be someone who hurts me in the end.”

  If there was ever a look of devastation to cross his face, that was it. “You really think that, Amber?”

  I didn’t exactly know what I was thinking at that point. I was just so pissed off at the hidden business meetings, the illegal activity, the half-naked women he employed . . . I just wanted to be alone. At that point nothing sounded better than to go home to my smelly couch, my hooker’s mattress, and my nice white cup filled with warm coffee.

  “I’m sorry, Trent,” was all I decided to say as I took my hand away from him.

  His eyebrows pressed together as he nodded. “Okay then. I, I don’t really know what to say, but, at least let me take you home.”

  “No, it’s okay. But you can get me a cab if that makes you feel better.”

  “If that’s what you wish.”

  I nodded and crossed my arms, feeling emotionally naked from our conversation.

  He stared at me for a long moment before scanning the crowd. He signaled for someone to come over and I noticed it was the same man from before. “Go out and get Amber a cab, please,” he ordered him.

  “Yes, Sir,” he said before scurrying off.

  I brought my hand to Trent’s smooth cheek. “Thank you for everything.” His eyes bored into me like he was dying to say something, but he stayed silent, choosing instead to take my hand in his and bring it to his lips. He kissed the top of my knuckles and then gently lowered it back to my side. I looked down at the ground, my eyes too emotional to let him see. “Um, one last thing before I go.”

  “What?” he remarked over the loud music. “I can’t hear you.”

  I lifted my head and he saw my broken-hearted face, his own expression seeming to instantly mirror mine. “I said there’s one more thing I want to say before I go. Hire those women back. Just use them for something else in here, okay? I’m sure they really need their jobs.”

  He watched me with his own type of pain from whatever was happening between us at that moment. After a second or two he nodded. I knew he would honor my request.