The Mafia’s Wanted Desires

~ASHLEY~

“Shit!”

I cursed under my breath, a low hostile hiss exiting my lips. I dropped the hair straightener abruptly on my dresser, causing it to sound with a loud thud. I winced, dipping my finger into my mouth, to soothe the burn the straightener had caused on my pinkie.

I’m convinced.

The universe was working against me today because I just didn’t understand how everything was going so wrong this morning. First, I woke up late. Secondly, while I was taking my bath, the water heater stopped working, leaving me with just one option. I had to suck it up and take my bath with the water that felt like it was gotten from the Atlantic Ocean. That aside, my white dress also got stained with my bottle of foundation that broke.

And now, my hair straightener burnt my fingers. I exhaled, brushing my fingers through my wavy hair. I guess I will just have to go with it. I picked up my hairbrush and worked it through my messy hair, tying it atop my head in a ponytail. I dabbed some strawberry gloss on my lips, brushing up my eyelashes with my mascara while being careful enough not to let it drop on my dress. I closed the lid when I was done and threw it on my dresser.

The red dress which I was clad in was skin-tight but I loved how the material was pressed firmly against my skin. It was a long-sleeved midi dress that stopped around my calves. It highlighted my curves and had a tad bit deep neckline that showed a little cleavage. I smiled at my reflection and sprayed my cologne on the sides of my neck and wrists. I strapped on my black pencil heels and picked up my black handbag to match, then the files I was working on and my car keys, ambling out of the room.

I was so late by the time I got to work. I could only hope Genevieve wasn’t going to say anything about my lateness. She has been nothing short of considerate these days and the least I could do was to be punctual to work. I skidded to the elevator in my heels, which was starting to hurt my feet, and I have barely even gotten through the day yet. I entered the elevator and punched in some buttons. It came to a stop when it brought me to my destination. I rushed out and headed to my office, but I halted in my tracks at the sound of the voices that seeped into my ears.

“I heard she lost her baby. That’s why she has been absent from work. Genevieve wouldn’t just give her some days off work. She doesn’t run a charity organization.”

What?!

“That’s not true!” One of the owners of the voices quickly debunked it.

“One of the janitors told me she’s struggling with bipolar disorder.” She uttered with utmost conviction.

Who? Me?

“According to what I heard, her fiance broke off the engagement and she lost it. She’s currently in the hospital.”

What the fuck?!

I heard the clicking of a tongue afterwards.

“Serves her right. She’s always parading the office with an invisible crown that has the inscription “Bow down, I’m Ashley, your Queen.” In her head, she’s better than all of us here. Stupid bitch!” I couldn’t mistake that voice. Heck, I could tell it apart amidst millions of voices.

That bitch, Maxine.

My blood boiled with rage, my jaws clenching and unclenching and my teeth grinding against each other as my hold tightened twice as hard on my handbag. I marched forward, fury consuming me. The clanking of my heels on the tiled floor had them diverting their attention in the direction of the noise. Their gazes settled on me and they turned pale in color, eliciting a scoff from me.

They watched me with horror imprinted on their faces like they didn’t expect me to be standing there and listening to them spit trash about me. I was glad they had the decency not to look me in the face and flash me their disgusting faux smiles.

“Ashley, darling.” Maxine pranced forward on her heels, plastering a sweet smile on her face and sweeping her hair off her shoulder. I let out a loud snort, overly disgusted at the sight of her.

“Bitch, please!” I yelled, and she flinched.

I dumped my bag on the table and took a step forward, glaring daggers at her.

“I do not have a problem with you talking shit about other people in this company, me included. It’s none of my concern. But you spew trash behind me and come to smile right back in my face. It’s utter bullshit, you fucking bitch!” I shouted at her, fury flashing in my eyes.

She was speechless.

“You came here with a single purpose. To work. So, why don’t you do the fucking job you are being paid for and stop butting into people’s business! I’m so sick of you, Maxine Devon! Bitch, you irritate me and if I kept quiet all this while and did not say anything to your face, it’s because I still had a tad bit of respect for you, but right now, I can see you don’t even deserve it. You are just a girl from the slums suffering from a chronic wannabe complex!” I yelled at her. I was so furious and I needed to vent my anger onto something or someone, and she happened to come at the right time.

“And you two,” I turned to her friends, who stared at me, utterly embarrassed.

“In case you haven’t noticed, this is the same thing she has been doing to you two. Grow up and get a damn life.” I spat in their faces and grabbed my bag, storming into my office and slamming the door shut with a loud bang. I plopped down on my seat and threw my bag on the table, sighing. I hit the send button and groaned, spinning around in my swivel chair. I took a sip from the glass of water on my table and got interrupted by my intercom ringing. God, Gen, give me a break. I rolled my eyes and picked up the call.

“My office,” She said curtly and hung up. I huffed and stood up from my chair, sauntering out of my office. I knocked gently at the door and heard a faint ‘come in’. I proceeded into the office, my eyes narrowing at the familiar frame of her assistant, Hilary. Gen had her head buried in the papers in front of her and Hilary waited patiently for her to be done.

“Good afternoon, Gen.” I greeted her, sending her a polite smile. Hilary nodded curtly at me, and I returned the gesture.

“You’ll be meeting up with one of our clients. A car is waiting for you downstairs.” She uttered in a tone of dismissal and I furrowed my brows. Meeting? A client? I couldn’t comprehend it.

“Why am I meeting a client?” I queried, and her head shot up from the stack of papers in front of her, a challenging look marrying her face.

“Who’s the boss here?” One of her eyebrows tugged up at me questioningly. I sighed and nodded my head.

“You are,” I answered.

“Good. Now, get out!” She fired at me and I flinched. I threw her one last look and left her office, bemused. I went into my office and took my bag, sauntering out and heading downstairs. When did I start meeting up with clients? What was going on? I have never done this before. What am I to say when I get there? I didn’t even know what I was going there for.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Jumbled thoughts plagued my mind as I made my way out of the building, clutching my handbag in my hands. True to her words, there was a black Range Rover that stood out amidst the cars in the parking lot, and a guy dressed in black clothing stood by the door. My palms suddenly grew sweaty as I took slow steps forward.

I couldn’t see his face due to the black shades he had on. He bowed his head at me and opened the door for me to step in. I stared at him like he had grown two heads, puzzled and unable to understand why he was bowing his head at me. Not wanting to engage him in a conversation, I stepped into the car and he shut the door. The interior of the car was all black, screaming luxury at the sight of it, with just the driver in sight.

“Good afternoon, my lady.” He uttered, and I grew more confused, squinting my eyes at him through the rearview mirror.

“Please, call me Ashley.” I countered. He didn’t say another word. He turned on the engine and drove out of Allure. Throughout the ride, I was overly nervous, tapping my foot away on the floor mat, sweat trickling down my face even though the car was fully conditioned by the air-conditioning system. I couldn’t count the number of times I chewed on my lips, rendering them overly red, and tugging at the hem of the dress.

There was this nagging feeling that niggles at my guts. Terrible, terrible feeling that I just couldn’t seem to shake off. It gnawed at me, scared me and had this ugly feeling overwhelming me. I was so uncomfortable where I sat, craning my neck to see if we had gotten to our destination.

The car slowed down its pace when we stopped in front of a huge black gate that automatically opened as we approached it. He drove into the large compound that was adorned with tarred roads and tall beautiful trees. The scenery screamed nature in its entirety but had this distinct allure that washed over my heightened nerves, leaving a sense of tranquility around me.

I was in awe of the vast area. I felt my jaw drop to the floor at the sight of the circular waterfall in the middle of the compound, sparkling water pouring from the mouth of the lion aesthetically built in the middle. There were cars. A fleet of cars in the garage had me stupefied at the number of cars in this compound.

The driver drove into the garage and pulled over. Before I could say, Jack Robinson, the door was pulled open by a tall guy in black. I stepped out of the car, amazed at how rich this client was. The guy led me into the house that was surrounded by tall pillars.

The first place we set foot in had my breath knocked out of me at the sight of the luxury living room, coated in rich white paint and expensive black furniture to go with it. I couldn’t stop gaping.

“The boss is waiting upstairs, my lady.” His monotonous voice brought me out of my thoughts. I blinked, and sent him a small smile, trailing behind him as we ascended the delicate staircase.

The guy that accompanied me was long gone. He had led me to the rooftop, telling me all I had to do was open the door, and it would lead me right to the rooftop. I took a deep breath, and gave myself a mental pep-talk, then twisted the knob and stepped into the vast surroundings, with the breeze blowing ever so subtly, tickling my skin.

My eyes wandered around, till they stopped on the leanly muscular back that belonged to the tall frame that was leaning on the rails. The client was a man?

I took a step forward and cleared my throat to gain his attention. And then, he spun around, ever so slowly, a dainty glass of champagne in his eyes and those gunmetal green eyes came into view, knocking my breath out of me and leaving me to stagger backwards without being shoved by anything. There he was, right there, my worst nightmare, staring right back at me. My hand gave my bag away and then it dropped to the floor with a soft thud.

His lips curled in a smirk, and then he muttered.

“Hello, Peach.”