Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 146107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 731(@200wpm)___ 584(@250wpm)___ 487(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 731(@200wpm)___ 584(@250wpm)___ 487(@300wpm)
This must’ve been the middle deck, as the woman led them to a staircase in the back. One half went upstairs, and the other half led down.
The woman motioned her hand toward a staircase that went upstairs. “Mr. Caruso.”
Dante simply nodded his head as he started to disappear up the steps.
“Ms. Brooks, you may continue to follow me,” the woman said as she began to descend below.
“Right, sorry.” Nadia quickly fell back in step … after she removed her gaze from the mob boss.
She didn’t know what was upstairs exactly, but down below held extravagant cabins, and as they passed each room, she could see a suitcase sitting beside the foot of each bed.
Nadia’s room came last. It appeared to be one of the more feminine rooms, decorated in a royal purple rather than a beautiful shade of blue. Unfortunately, her room didn’t hold a suitcase that was going to be magically filled with her stuff from home.
“I believe we have plenty of clothes for you here, ma’am. We typically get a lot of late arrivals of the female variety.” She winked before opening the small closet to reveal it jammed full of brightly colored clothing that appeared to be mostly skimpy dresses and cover-ups. “Boss likes us to keep anything that has been left behind.” She tried not to chuckle. Then, getting a hold of herself, she pointed toward the chest. “You will find plenty of bathing suits there, and any other items you might need will be in the head.” She now pointed toward a door. “Bathroom,” she explained the boating term when Nadia seemed confused.
Nadia tried her best to give the woman a friendly smile. “Thank you …”
“Lila.”
“Thanks, Lila,” she repeated the helpful woman’s name. Then Lila finally left her to it with a smile.
Nadia headed to the “head” first, needing a nice, warm shower after today’s events. First, she took off her jacket that had become plastered to her when she suddenly remembered …
The check!
Pulling out the now extremely wet rectangle piece of paper, she carefully placed it on the counter. The ink had bled a little, but it was still legible, right? She would let it air dry and find out later. If it wasn’t, she’d get Dante to write her another one. Hell, he might even add another zero after this disastrous meeting that had turned into a weekend.
She quickly undressed then showered in the small but luxurious bathroom before throwing on a bathrobe. She managed to find a blow dryer and a round brush to give herself her usual sleek blowout. It didn’t take long until her shiny, black hair was placed perfectly in her long bob that barely grazed her shoulders.
Shockingly, there was even makeup, but she decided against her usual cat eyeliner and nude lipstick, only putting on a tinted SPF she found to protect her skin from the harsh Florida sun. She supposed the perfect business look she always displayed could take a break for a few days while she was forced to be here.
Finally leaving the bathroom, she headed toward the dreaded closet. She gingerly looked through the brightly colored clothes to find them all of the skimpy variety. Hell, she was better off wearing her robe than those.
Deciding there was no way in hell, she went to the chest, praying for something that would cover her big ass around the man who had just given her a hundred thousand dollars for her charity, but when she opened the top drawer, then the next, then the next, she practically screamed when she opened the last.
Slamming the drawer closed, it was decided …
She would stay in her fucking room all weekend.
* * *
Dante sat with his son and Amo in the outdoor living area, catching the last few sunrays left in the day. They had all already changed into their vacation attire and had been resting, waiting for Nadia to join them. It wasn’t until the sun was beginning to set that worry started to set in.
“I’m going to go check on Nadia.”
“Good idea,” Amo told him, picking up an hors d’oeuvre from the plate Lila held. “I thought I heard her scream.”
“What?” Dante quickly got to his feet. “When?”
Amo plopped the little dish in his mouth. “When I went to go change.”
“That was hours ago!” It was everything he could do not to slap Amo on his big-ass head. “And you didn’t fucking think to check on her?”
“It wasn’t like a screech of terror,” Amo explained dumbly for him to calm down. “It was like one of those screams a girl makes when you get them white chocolate instead of dark chocolate when they’re on their periods.”
Leo, who looked like he might’ve been asleep, raised his sunglasses, revealing his bandaged eye underneath to give Amo a speculative look.
“Is that so?” Dante asked through gritted fucking teeth. It was no fucking wonder Amo was one of his last men who was still happily single.