“What if the guys see us,” I whispered as if they could hear our conversation.
The thought of them seeing me in an intimate position with the boss was embarrassing enough, but for them to witness me sitting on Giovanni’s lap, now that would be pure mortification.
“At least I didn’t ask to fuck you on the chair,” Giovanni said loud and clear. “Now sit!”
Was I a dog or what? But I did as he commanded. I gingerly crawled onto his lap, positioning my butt to make myself feel as comfortable as possible, then folded my dirty hands together so as not to touch his immaculate clothing. I waited patiently.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long. Giovanni drew out a small rectangular box from his drawer and placed it on the table in front of me. Gently and ever so lightly, he planted feathery kisses on my cheek. My face warmed up at that intimate contact, and I shyly turned to him.
“It’s yours,” he said. They were only two words. but my heart melted.
I peeked at him under my lashes, then flicked my gaze back at the box. It was wrapped in white sparkling paper, with a nice blue bow to complement it. It was too beautifully decorated; I didn’t want to spoil it by touching it with my dirty hands.
“Go on,” he prompted me when he saw me sitting there and staring at the box like I was possessed. “What are you waiting for? Open it.”
“I don’t want to touch it. My hands are dirty.”
“Open it, Jay. I don’t care if the box gets dirty. Unless you want to see me pissed.”
True. I hated seeing him pissed. He went berserk and swore at his underlings all the time. It was just not funny.
But what made me dislike his bad mood even more was his devilishly good looks and my reaction to him. He exuded elegance and an intoxicating drug that just sucked my essence out of me. I went all boneless and defenseless. And I didn’t like that. Especially not at this moment, when I was sitting on his lap. I was already defenseless. Physically and emotionally.
In order to prevent this ailment, I did as he suggested and carefully unwrapped the box, my dirty hands smudging the wrapping. But Giovanni really didn’t care. All his focus was on me.
He was watching me, watching my facial expression as the item inside that box was finally revealed. And I gasped. In surprise, in shock, and in delight.
“Boss, wow, it’s a mobile phone,” I exclaimed. “You know how much this gadget costs? I’d have had to sell my arm and a leg if I wanted one. But how did you get a hold of it? It’s not even in the stores yet?”
“I have my ways.” Giovanni practically beamed from ear to ear. His eyes sparkled with amusement at my reaction to his present.
In all my life, I’ve never held anything this expensive before. Only the wealthiest and the richest could get their hands on the latest edition that’s not even out in stores yet.
“Go on. Turn it on,” Giovanni prompted me, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “I’ve input my number already. Just dial one.”
“How thoughtful of you.” I was very surprised by Giovanni’s generosity. First Singapore, and now this gift.
Giovanni caressed my cheek and then kissed the living hell out of my lips. I was sucked into a vortex, my whole body melting into him. I sucked back at those lips, and literally took up all the spaces in his body, meshing our limbs together. My moan spilled out in between kisses. After satisfying myself with his taste, I drew up for some fresh air.
“Thank you, Boss. I really appreciate your kind offer. I’ll make sure to use it to its full potential.”
“Now there’s no excuse for not picking up your phone. Got that?” I heard Giovanni say somewhere in the background.
“Aye, aye, Boss,” I mumbled back, my attention caught on my new phone.
I checked out the new apps and even found a camera, too. The definition was definitely beyond HD. It’s 4K. I got a feeling I would be starting a new hobby soon. And Giovanni would be my first model.
Jenny Stone. Student. Maid. Lover. Barista. And now, photographer. I grinned at the thought.
“Jay, are you happy?” His voice resonated in my ear, making my heart thump dramatically, and I almost dropped my phone. Apparently, I was so busy playing with my phone, I didn’t realize Giovanni was making a move on me.
How could I have forgotten that Giovanni was beside me? I gently put the phone down on his desk and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“I’m very happy, Boss. Truly, one hundred percent happy.” Flashing him a smile, he returned one to me with his pearly white teeth on display.
God, he looked magnificent when he smiled. His eyes crested a bit, like wee little crescent moons. He really should smile more often.
“You look really handsome when you smile, Boss,” I complimented him. “You should smile more to the guys, too. They are scared of you, you know that? They need to know this kind side of you, too.”
“That’s the face I show to everyone who works for me. And this face right here, it’s reserved only for you.”
My heart swelled up at those simple words.
“I’m so lucky.” I squeezed those words out through my smile.
“Yes, you are, my little bunny. A very lucky pet.” He patted my head and stroked my hair.
Once again, I was reduced to a pet. But I didn’t comment on it, just smiled at him, then turned back to explore my phone.
“It’s about time I introduce you to my friends,” he decided.
“You have friends, Boss?” I shifted my focus to him, my interest piqued.
“You think I’m a lone tree with no friends, Jay?” He pinched my chin as if he disliked my answer, so he was punishing me. But I thought it was more of a cute love gesture.
“Well, it’s just that I always see you holed up here in Cory Mansion. Never seen you outside of here.” Tilting my head, his fingers let my chin go, and I went back to playing with my new phone, his conversation becoming disinteresting again.
“Well, Jay, you’re in for a big awakening.” He pinched my chin again, drawing my attention back to him. “I’m going to drag you down to my world; are you ready?”
And this time, he didn’t let go. But I laughed, throwing my head back until I couldn’t laugh anymore. I was going crazy, just like Giovanni was. Giving him the best beaming smile I could muster, I said, “Are you kidding, Boss? I was ready since yesterday.”
His eyes sparkled with mirth, matching mine. This was going to be an interesting adventure. Going to Singapore and having my own phone, too... I was so ready for this. But first, I truly hoped I could pass my last exam.
Chapter 10
My Beloved
Fuck that mobile phone. Giovanni had thought that by giving his lover the latest and greatest mobile phone, it could bridge the gap between their relationship. They could become closer. Not just physically, but on an emotional level. He wanted to be closer to her, connected with her. But this...
What the fuck was happening here? These past few days, Jay was on her fucking phone twenty-four seven. Did girls her age become obsessed with these kinds of gadgets? Or was he just too fucking old to appreciate them? Fucking hell, he was only twenty-seven. Technology was something to be used and maybe appreciated, but it shouldn’t rule one’s life. He didn’t depend on it. But Jay...
Fuck!
This issue was doing his head in. He needed advice. Out of his four underlings, Bobby seemed the most likely candidate to offer sound advice.
Giovanni dialed his phone and barked into the line. “Come to my office. I have important matters to discuss.”
Three heartbeats later, Bobby appeared at his door.
“Come in and shut the door. I don’t want the others to hear about this.”
“Am I getting a pay raise, Boss?” Bobby whispered his question in excitement.
“No!”
“Then why can’t the others hear?”
Giovanni was having second thoughts as to whether Bobby was the best person to consult in his dilemma.
“Because it
’s about something else.”
“Is this about Jenny?”
A light appeared in Giovanni’s eyes. Maybe he’d made the right choice after all. Bobby really was perceptive in these things.
“Bobby, what am I doing wrong?” he complained to his underling, his body going slack all of a sudden. He had no energy to even think straight. How must he go about solving this problem?
He could throw that phone away, but that would be fucking mean. He’d already given that phone to her. He couldn’t possibly take it back. Those ideas swirled round and round like uncooked soup in his mind, and now he was back to square one.
“What did ya do, Boss?” Bobby asked for more information, sitting down comfortably on the settee, a good distance from him. A safe distance, in fact, since he might not know when he would explode when it came to Bobby. That one underling of his always managed to rub him the wrong way, but Bobby was a good source of information.
Exactly how much information should he disclose to Bobby, though? He didn’t want to look like a fool in front of his underling. Being a mafia boss, he had to uphold a certain reputation. No acting like a fucking teen with raging hormones just because his lover paid more attention to her phone than him. But this reputation of his got fucking exhausting sometimes. He just wanted to sulk, for once.
“Jay’s not paying attention to me. She spends more time on her phone than with me.” Yep! He sounded like some poor jealous kid who just lost his delicious candy to another man.
It’s a fucking phone for fucking sake, he had to remind himself. Keep your cool, you loser.
“Her last mid-year exam is coming up. She might be using the phone to do research,” Bobby suggested, getting up from his seat and moving toward him.
Still, this didn’t help solve his problem one bit.
“She could come to me for research. I know shitloads of shit,” he boasted.
“Do you know anything about what she’s studying?”
His mind came up blank.
Fuck! Did he really know so little about his lover? He remembered a conversation from way back when she first came to live with him. “Something to do with numbers.”
“Not just numbers. Accounting, Boss.” Bobby shot him down. “That’s why, sir, Giuseppe has his own accountant.”
“Bloody fucking accounting,” Giovanni spat out. He knew numbers. If he were this bad, he wouldn’t have gotten this far.
“And have you even gotten a University degree, Boss?”
“I don’t need some fucking University degree to make a living. I’m already living the high life.” Damned shit, he was pissed. Bobby was kicking too close to home. He knew he didn’t have some University degree to make Giuseppe proud. But he had a good sound mind in his head. Plus, he wasn’t one to dwell on the past. He was a man of the future. And if Bobby was smarter, he should move farther away from him, because any closer and he would kick the shit out of him. “And if you don’t stop spouting shit about me, in front of me, I’ll kick your ass.”
“Sorry, Boss. I was only stating my honest opinion.” Bobby moved swiftly back to his seat.
“Keep your honest opinion to yourself. It’s not needed.” And now he was fucking annoyed. Fuck this feeling! How could he feel jealous of a damned phone? He was disgusted with himself. Jay was doing things to him he wasn’t aware of. And he fucking hated it. This stupid feeling that he’d never felt before. But she’d intoxicated him, and he couldn’t help feeling stupid when he was around her. “And why the fuck are we talking about my lack of tertiary education? We’re swaying from the main topic here. It’s Jay. Jay and that bloody phone.” Giovanni put emphasis on the main culprit, the mobile phone.
Giovanni went quiet, carefully watching Bobby process the information. He sure hoped Bobby was processing that information and perhaps was already thinking of ways to help him deal with this problem. And he was pleased when, after a small moment, Bobby’s head shot up.
“Boss, I got it.” Bobby rushed to his side.
Giovanni moved in closer to his underling, hoping to hear a good solution. “Let’s hear it.”
“The root of the problem is you.”
Giovanni blinked and swore three times. “That’s your conclusion, after sitting there scratching your head for five minutes?”
“Yep.”
“Conclusion, my ass.” Giovanni swatted his underling’s head. “Just blame me, go on. Bring it all out. Let me hear it all.”
“If you promise not to hit me again, then I’ll say it.”
“Just fucking say it. I don’t have all day,” he whined, folding his arms and crashing into his chair.
Since he had given Bobby the all clear, Bobby poised himself against his desk and kicked off his narration with a bang to his gut. “The whole problem stems from you because you’re the one who gave her that phone. So, don’t go blaming the phone or Jenny. Blame yourself. Plus, Boss, you’ve got to admit, it’s a really cool phone. You can’t beat that. The latest edition and all. Who wouldn’t go goo-goo-ga-ga over that? If you gifted me that phone, I’d play with it twenty-four seven, too.”
“Twenty-four seven, my ass. Are you saying I’m not as cool as the phone?” His eyes twitched. He didn’t like where this conversation was heading.
“You are cool, Boss. Super cool.”
“There’s a ‘but;’ I sense it.”
“It’s your behavior.”
“What the bloody hell is wrong with my behavior?” Giovanni gasped out, perplexed at his underling’s words. “I’ve been your boss for over a decade now, and you’ve never had the guts to tell me this until now.”
“I’m used to your moods, Boss, but Jenny, she’s a sweet little thing. And you know, all that name-calling, that ain’t cool.”
“Look who’s a relationship expert.”
Bobby positively relished his moment. “I’m not really one to toot my own horn, Boss, but I’ve gone through my fair share of relationships, enough to give sound advice.”
And this was precisely why he’d chosen Bobby. “All right, then. Let’s hear it, loud and clear, since you are such a relationship expert.”
“For one, maybe you should stop calling her your coffee machine .” Bobby offered his two cents. “Her name is Jenny, after all. If I have a boyfriend, I wouldn’t want anyone calling me coffee machine all the time. That’s just degrading. That’s why she turned her attention to the mobile phone.”
“Look who’s lecturing me.” Giovanni clicked his tongue in distaste. “To be named my coffee machine is a privilege, in my book. You know how I’m obsessed with coffee.”
“In your book, Boss, but no one else’s,” Bobby muttered under his breath.
“You wanna say that louder, Bobby?” Giovanni warned.
“Just saying, Boss, that’s when she was your maid. Now she’s your lover. Shouldn’t you call her something endearing?”
“Get yourself a fucking boyfriend, Bobby, and stop bugging me with your suggestive undertones of sound advice. But on second thought...” Bobby paused at the door, waiting for him to elaborate. “You really think I should call her some sort of endearment? It doesn’t sound too cheesy, does it, if I called her like...?”
Bobby opened his eyes wide, waiting for him to finish his sentence.
“I don’t fucking know. What do you call your lover when you care for them?” Giovanni was totally fizzled. He’d never had to think about these things before.
“How about darling, honey, or, this one is my personal favorite. Pumpkin.”
“Pumpkin!” Giovanni gasped in distaste. “I ain’t fucking calling Jay, pumpkin. She ain’t some piece of vegetable.”
If anything, Jay was more like a piece of something sweet, but he still couldn’t fathom calling her ‘Sugar.’ That just sounded lame as shit.
“You just have to sit down and think it through. What name would be suitable for Jenny? I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”
“You sure it doesn’t sound lame, if I say it?” Giovanni ask
ed for reassurance.
“No, Boss. It’ll be totally cool.”
“All right. You can go.” Giovanni dismissed Bobby with a wave of his hand and thought about his current dilemma.
Maybe Bobby was right. Who would appreciate having a lover calling them coffee machine all the time? Jay was more than a coffee machine to him. She was his...
Beloved.
Giovanni grinned. He’d found the perfect endearment for Jay. And he couldn’t wait to call her by that name.
Something woke me. And by now I knew who it was. “Boss, is that you?” I muttered in my hazy state.
“You’re sleeping, Jay?” came his husky voice next to my ear.
I was aware of him lifting the bedsheet and nestling beside me, but I was just so exhausted I couldn’t move an inch. My legs and arms were dead. It only seemed like a second ago that I’d fallen asleep with a text book in hand.
“I’m sleepy, Boss,” I mumbled again, my eyes peeking open to check the time on my new mobile phone—eleven p.m. “Ahhh,” I moaned, shoving my head into the pillow. “Too tired. Going back to bed.” And my body grew slack.
A rough growl resonated in my ear. “Wake up, my beloved.”
Beloved?
My eyes flashed open, and I bolted upright, smashing my head against Giovanni’s.
“Ahhh, fuck!” he swore, rubbing his sore forehead. “You hit my head.”
“Sorry, Boss, sorry.” I bounced out of bed and soothed his forehead. “I didn’t mean to smash into you. You surprised me with that statement.”
How did Giovanni progress from calling me coffee machine to his beloved in less than a week? I only became his lover a few days ago.
Could our relationship progress that fast? Amelia wasn’t here to offer advice, and I didn’t have any girlfriends I could consult on this topic. Crispin was my friend, but he’s a guy. I couldn’t talk to him about sensitive and personal topics like these. Plus, he didn’t know I was in a relationship with the mafia boss.
“What, me calling you my beloved?”
“Yes. It shocked me.” I told him the truth.
“Why? Want me to call you coffee machine instead?” He brought his face directly in front of mine, so all I could focus on now was his face, his damned beautiful captivating face. My mind was hazy before, but now I was fully alert.
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