Chapter 4 - The Boss's Eyes
|
The tray in Nora’s left hand felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. The sheer terror of Vanessa’s threat echoed in her skull. Leo. She knows about Leo.
Nora took a shaky step backward, desperate to retreat to the kitchen, but her foot caught the edge of the thick Persian rug.
Because she couldn't use her right hand to steady herself, the tray tilted.
A single crystal champagne flute slid off the edge.
It hit the marble floor with a sharp, explosive shatter that silenced the entire drawing room.
Nora froze, her breath caught in her throat. The golden liquid pooled around the glittering shards of glass at her cheap black shoes.
“I am so sorry,” Nora whispered automatically, dropping to her knees.
She reached out with her left hand to gather the broken glass, terrified to expose her crushed right hand.
From across the room, the conversation halted.
Nora felt the heavy, undeniable weight of someone watching her. She didn't look up, but she knew who it was.
Luca Moretti stepped away from the fireplace. His leather shoes clicked rhythmically against the marble as he crossed the room, stopping just inches from where Nora knelt.
“Leave it,” Luca’s voice was a low, gravelly command.
Nora kept her head down. “I can clean it, sir. I’m sorry.”
“I said leave it.”
Nora slowly pulled her hand back.
Luca looked down at her. He didn't look at the broken glass. His dark, calculating eyes were fixed entirely on the strange, awkward way she was holding her right arm tight against her stomach, buried in the fabric of her apron.
He then looked across the room at Vanessa.
Vanessa’s smile was strained, her eyes darting nervously between Luca and the maid on the floor.
Luca was a man who had survived the mafia underworld by noticing the things other people ignored. He noticed the sweat beading on Nora’s forehead. He noticed the faint smear of blood on her apron pocket. And he noticed the absolute, naked fear in his fiancée's eyes.
“Mrs. Kessler,” Luca called out without breaking his gaze from Nora.
The housekeeper materialized instantly. “Yes, Mr. Moretti?”
May you like
“Have someone else clean this up,” Luca ordered softly. “And tell this girl to go to the kitchen and wrap her hand. She’s bleeding on my floor.”
Nora scrambled to her feet, bowing her head, and practically ran for the service doors, feeling the mafia king’s intense eyes burning into her back the entire way.
