Falling for an Italian Mobster

Ch 1 - In Which She Finally Catches a Break

"Sierra, mind popping down to my office?" I froze at the sound of my boss' voice echoing from the intercom on my desk. Even though we were best friends outside the office, inside the office he was way above my paygrade. I tried not to let that get in the way of things, tried to remember my place. He made it hard, naturally, because he didn't like 'work-Sierra', as he called my polite and courteous mannerisms while in the office.

"Of course, sir." I hurried down the hall and around the corner, grimacing when I had to pass his secretary, Molly. She flipped her blond hair over her shoulder when I passed, huffing angrily at the sight of me. I'd wanted to slap that ugly expression off her face since the night I'd caught her bent over my ex-fiancée's desk a month ago but had remained professional. That and, knowing I was finally free of him made me kind of sad for her. I was the only person Tony allowed to walk into his office unannounced – even if he was in a meeting – and that irked her more than my polite smirks and 'constructive' criticism because even she, as his secretary of four years, didn't have that luxury.

"Hey, close the door." Tony ordered when I entered his office. I did as I was told and went to take a seat in front of his desk. He seemed relaxed, kind of. "So, here's the dilemma-"

"I'm fired?"

"What? No – why do you always ask that when I tell you there's a dilemma?"

"I always feel like I've done something wrong." I answered with a shrug. "Especially after the last month."

"Thing is, I've seen how stressful it is for you to work with Derek and Molly, after everything that's happened. I know you dread every meeting, every assignment you must share with him. I hate having to see you sit across from him at meetings and act like everything's ok." He set the papers down on his desk and stood, buttoning his jacket. "I've got a cousin who's in need of a secretary who can double as a personal assistant when necessary. Let's go out for lunch and I'll tell you the rest."

I smirked at Molly on our way out. Judging by the look on her face, Tony's hand on the small of my back gave her an idea as we entered the elevator. I could see the calculating look on her face as the elevator doors slid shut.

At the restaurant, Tony went into detail about his cousin, Miguel – he was a tad bit OCD and most people rubbed him the wrong way.

"He's a lawyer, so the pay will be higher than what you make working for me. He's got an office on the third floor, so you'll still be in the building for lunch dates, and I can pop down anytime and visit. Until HR finishes their investigation, there's no way for me to terminate Molly without company blowback. This feels like the best option to protect your mental health, seeing as I can't touch Derek as my Co-Executive. The least I can do is take his favorite toy away and let him lie in the bed he made." He chuckled lightly. "Though I heard he and Molly have already split."

"Probably started putting his hands on her." I realized my mistake the moment I said it because Tony went still.

"He was putting his hands on you?"

"Once, or twice, during an argument." I lied, averting my gaze to the menu. I pretended to be engrossed in it, though we both knew I'd order the same thing I always ordered because I was anything if not predictable. According to Derek, that had been my redeeming quality. Predictable, 'vanilla', boring. A woman who could stand to 'lose some weight to fit in'.

"Look at me." I glanced up and met his gaze. "We've been best friends since high school. I know when you're lying."

"I'm only going to tell you this because I don't have to work with him anymore, thanks to you. He was abusive, both verbally and physically." I finally confessed, feeling the weight lift off my chest. Two years with Derek had been hell, and I'd suffered in silence until now. I'd been too scared to reach out because my family – either side – would have murdered him on the spot. "And a few times, even though he knew I'd been saving my virginity until I was married, he almost forced me." Tony was up from his seat and out of the restaurant before I could even stop him, his phone pressed to his ear as he snarled into it.

When he came back twenty minutes later, he was calm. And that was never a good sign.

"We've been through so much together." He started, tapping his fingers on the table until the waiter brought back the glass of whiskey he ordered. He didn't speak again until he'd downed the whole glass and ordered another. "You were with him for two years, Sierra. When did it start? And when did it end?"

"A few months before we broke up."

"When did it end?" He pressed.

"The night I broke up with him." Our two-year anniversary and he'd told me he had to work late. So I'd gone up to the office to have dinner with him and I'd found them together. Apparently, he'd been sleeping with her for six months before I caught them, which explained a lot. Tony had been leaving and we'd met in the elevator on the first floor so he'd rode back up with me. I'd cooked extra for him, figuring he'd still be working. Together, we'd found them. If not for Tony being there as a witness, Derek would have denied everything, and Molly would have gone along with him.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"Like it would make a difference? If I had, we'd still be sitting right here, having this exact conversation. He's untouchable."

"Not if your cousins find out."

"Tony!" He shrugged, unapologetic. "You can't tell them, any of them-"

"Why not? You said it yourself. I can't touch Derek, but what's to say his ex-fiancée's cousins can't?"

"Who did you call?" I asked, a feeling of dread growing in the pit of my stomach. "Tony-"

"No one important." I frowned but didn't press. I just wanted to enjoy lunch with my best friend. Especially now that I didn't have to go back to the office and sit across from my ex while he tried to make passes at me and get a rise out of me by nitpicking everything I did. Because even though he'd cheated on me, he didn't think he deserved to be dumped because after all, 'I didn't put out'. "So, what else did you hide from me?"

"He's been contacting our competition. Twice in the last month, on a project that I headed, the competition somehow got their hands on our headlines – one's I'd made myself. The only people who had heard it was Derek and my team." He frowned at my words. "That's the only explanation. I've had Lincoln looking into it. He's supposed to report back by tomorrow at the latest with anything he's found."

"I'll have a chat with Lincoln when I get back to the office. If what you're saying is true, that's my foot in the door to get Derek out of the Co-Executive seat. He's costing us clients – clients you brought in – because they refuse to work with him after what he did to you. This company will go downhill if I don't get him out soon. And with everything that's going on now, it shouldn't be too hard to make my case to the board."

"Shouldn't being the key word there. He's poison to everything he touches. The company has been on the top for so long, now that we're starting to lose customers, it won't take long before the competitors are sniffing around." He nodded with a frown. With Derek's father on the board, it made things hard. But even he wouldn't be able to deny cold hard facts. "I hope you burn it to the ground trying."

"After this eye-opening lunch date, rest assured I will not walk away until it's up in flames."