Page 39 of His Assistant

This is excessive.

So I take it you got in the car. Also, good morning.

The blush creeps across my face before I can stop it. There’s nothing flirtatious about a “good morning.” If anything, he was being a sarcastic prick. Still, my stomach flips in a way that has nothing to do with nausea, and I have to squeeze my legs together to stop the tingling.

I feel like I’m lacking in self-respect. I just screwed my boss for a second time, and now I’m getting driven around to work like I’m trading sexual favors. It’s all so ridiculous. The worst part is, though, I’m excited to see Dominic.

The first time we had sex, I freaked out and had to decide whether I still wanted to work there. Now I can’t wait to see him again. Not for the sex. Just to see him. Shit, I’m in trouble. I think I might actually be catching feelings for him.

No, it’s gotta just be the pregnancy hormones. That’s it. They make me extra horny and extra sensitive. I absolutely do not have feelings for Dominic.

Then my phone buzzes again and I look down at it, heart racing.

A text from my dad.

What’s this I hear about a town car picking you up from work?

I roll my eyes. Mrs. Alvarez works fast. Half of Queens probably knows I got picked up for work now.

It’s no biggie. Just a perk of the job.

Which isn’t true, and I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but I’m not telling my dad that. He was pissed enough when I went to Vegas. He’s been telling me to quit every day since. He says Dominic doesn’t respect my time, but it’s got to be deeper than that.

I sink back in my seat and start turning it over. Dad’s been weird about Dominic ever since those thugs came to the garage. Then Dominic paid off all his debt, and Dad’s been an ass about it ever since. I know why it made me mad, but I’d have expected him to be grateful.

All he ever does now is try to tell me that Dominic is a lowlife and I need to quit. When I really start to think about it, he’s not completely off-base.

I remember when Dominic punched Kevin Armand. He looked so angry, and Kevin looked so afraid. There was definitely something unspoken there, like a fear or respect. I didn’t think about it at the time, because I was so embarrassed and flustered.

Then there was Vegas. Who the hell gets a penthouse suite at the top of a Vegas casino and that kind of VIP treatment? Dominic is rich, obviously, but there was something deeper there. The same fear and respect, wrapped into one.

I sit up straighter and look out the window, my heart suddenly pounding. There was the town car outside of my building a few days ago. Maya said it was Dominic’s men. I laughed it off at the time because that sounded ridiculous.

“Excuse me,” I say to the driver. “Why exactly did Dominic have you pick me up this morning?”

The driver looks at me through the rearview mirror, and I see his shoulders raise in a shrug.

“I don’t question Mr. Vieri’s orders, ma’am,” the guy says. “He told me to come get you, so I came.”

I see it in his eyes, though. Fear. Respect.

It dawns on me slowly, then all at once. Dominic is a dangerous man. I sort of knew. I caught hints of it, but now it’s slapping me in the face. He’s dangerous, and he’s got me under his thumb.

That should scare me, but strangely, it changes nothing. In fact, I smile to myself now that I’m finally putting the pieces together. It’s like the whole of who Dominic is, is finally revealing itself to me, and it makes perfect sense. He’s dangerous, but not to me. He protects me.

Should I quit? Maybe. It would certainly be easier, wouldn’t it? But I need money if I’m going to raise this baby. And I genuinely like my job. And my father is safe now because of Dominic. Truthfully, though, all of that pales next to my newly realized feelings for him.

Damn if I’m not in over my head.

Work becomes a strange dance between the two of us. Nothing really changes on the surface, but there starts to be more lingering looks and brushing of hands that last longer than they should. We’re hardly ever alone together, though, except when we’re rushing between meetings. Neither of us brings up the sex again, but the heat is always there between us, just under the surface.

Two weeks go by, and eventually, I know I have to make an appointment with a gynecologist. I have to make decisions about what I’m going to do. Now that I know that Dominic is keeping an eye on me, though, I try to be more discreet.

I book an appointment with Dr. Amelia Greco, who just happens to work in the building next to Vieri Holdings. There are lots of medical offices there, so when I tell Dominic I’ve got a doctor’s appointment next door one Tuesday, it’s not weird and it doesn’t raise any red flags. It’s too short for a town car.

“Be safe,” he says, and sends me on my way.

The medical building is pristine and beautiful. I can only afford to come here because the insurance at Vieri Holdings is insane. I take the elevator up to the GYN offices. When the doors open, I’m greeted by flowing fountains and a waiting room that looks like it should be for a day spa. I have to double check the floor number just to make sure I’m in the right place.