Page 33 of His Assistant

Her eyes are wide in terror. I’d bet my entire fortune she’s praying there isn’t anything else.

“That’s all for now,” I say. “And, Nina? I promise I’m not as scary as you’ve built up in your head.”

She blushes and nods before scurrying out of the office. Five minutes later, Sofia’s calendar lands in my inbox. I add it to mine immediately. I need to know where she is and whether she’s alone. Somehow, I’ll have to discreetly make sure she never walks to the subway by herself.

Scratch that, the subway is now out of the question. There are way too many unknown and unpredictable variables there. I’ll start insisting she take a town car home, especially on nights she works late. I’ll tell her it’s a new company policy.

I run my hands through my hair as I look over her schedule. It’s absolutely possible I’m overreacting, but I just can’t take that risk. Sofia is too important.

My intercom buzzes a few minutes later.

“Mr. Vieri,” comes Nina’s small voice. “There’s a Mr. Bellini here to see you. He isn’t on your calendar. Should I send him away?”

Mr. Bellini? I’m too curious to say no, so instead I tell her to escort him in. She walks in nervously, followed by a much more confident, much angrier-looking Marco Bellini.

I see the resemblance immediately. He and Sofia have the same nose and same eye shape. His are darker than hers though. The wrinkles around them portray a difficult life.

I stand to greet him and stretch out my arm for a handshake. He looks at it like it’s a venomous snake and goes to stand behind one of my chairs.

“Nina, please shut the door,” I instruct. I can tell by Marco’s face, this isn’t a conversation that should be overheard.

“I assume you know why I’m here,” Marco says darkly the moment the latch clicks.

“Honestly,” I say, sitting back down. “I can’t even begin to imagine.”

He huffs and glares at me. “I want you to fire Sofia,” he tells me. “Immediately. Give her a month’s severance and one of those bonuses I hear you’re famous for.”

I stare at him in confusion. “Sofia is the best assistant I’ve ever had,” I tell him honestly. “Why would I fire her?”

“Because I know who you are,” he says haughtily. “I’ve looked into you, and I know all about your nefarious business practices. I don’t want my girl anywhere near it. She’s too good for that world, and too good for you.”

I cock my head to the side and assess him. I realize he’s clutching the back of the chair, probably to stop his hands from shaking. He’s come in here with false bravado and plenty of anger, but he’s afraid of me. Not too afraid to warn me off of his daughter, though.

“Sofia isn’t in any danger,” I promise him. “She only takes care of my legitimate businesses, and I can assure you there’s nothing untoward happening.”

“Is that why you swept her away to Vegas for two days?” he asks, his eyebrows knitting together. “Why she works such late nights? I want to make one thing clear, Mr. Vieri. I don’t trust you, and I don’t think you have good intentions for her.”

Now I stand, walking over so I can look him in the eye. It’s a show of power, but what I mostly want to convey is my self-restraint.

“Mr. Bellini, if you know as much as you think you do, then it was brave of you to come here and speak to me like this. Very brave.”

He shrinks underneath me, but doesn’t flinch or back down.

“In fact, I’m surprised you chose to talk to me about this instead of telling Sofia to quit.”

“I think you and I both know how stubborn my daughter is,” he says calmly, though I see his throat bob with nerves. “There’s nothing that I could say or do to convince her to leave this job.”

“I don’t think she should,” I tell him. “And I don’t think you should want her to. She’s safer working for me than being the daughter of a debtor.”

His eyes widen just a fraction.

“Oh, yes,” I say. “I’ve looked into you, too, Mr. Bellini. I know all about your bad investments and the loan sharks you’ve visited to take care of your debts. I’m the reason those debts have been cleared out. From what I hear, two men came to your garage while Sofia was there and were planning to hurt both of you. My name was the only thing that prevented that from happening. If anything, it’s her association with me that’s keeping her safe. So, if I were you, I would just say thank you and leave it be.”

The last part is a bluff, but I know he won’t call me on it. He’s too angry and too proud.

“This isn’t over,” he says, his face growing redder. “I’m not going to rest until my Sofia is far away from this place.”

I nod. I recognize his love under the anger. He’s just a concerned father who wants the best for his daughter. Still, there’s no way in hell I’m going to agree to his demands. I’m in too deep. I couldn’t if I wanted to.