Undressed By The Mafia God-Chapter 137: She Kicked Me Out

"Is everything alright? Did I do something wrong?"

"You tell me. I hear you have been flirting with the younger Scalese."

"Uh...I...should I have not?" Ricardo raised a brow.

Luca’s gaze was steady. "What are your intentions?"

Ricardo swallowed.

Intentions.

If only it were that simple.

"Uh...its complicated..."

Complicated didn’t even begin to cover it. His mind flickered back to Valentina’s face the night before—the flash of hurt in her eyes, the fire in her voice.

He deserved it.

"Does she know you are not staying?" Luca asked.

"Yes, I informed her."

"And?"

Ricardo exhaled slowly. "She kicked me out."

Behind him, Marco snickered.

Luca shot him a withering look before turning back to Ricardo. "According to her sister, you make Valentina happy. So I thought, you could stay on in New York, see where this thing with Valentina goes."

Ricardo hadn’t expected that. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

In fact, he had come into this office fully prepared to be told to pack his bags and go back to Vienna with maybe an asisignment or a message to deliver to Don Genovese. Instead, Luca was calmly suggesting he stay.

"Uh...I’m not so sure she wants to see me again."

"Okay."

Ricardo hesitated for half a second before the panic of losing the opportunity entirely kicked in. "But I would still like to stay on, if it would give me the opportunity to get to know her better." he quickly added.

Because he still wanted to try.

"I have had the management spot of the club open for a while now. The former one got greedy and I haven’t had any one to fill the space."

"I’m not working for the familia?" He wasn’t sure if that question sounded relieved or confused. Possibly both.

"No...but you will make just as much money. The club thrives with its classy and elite clientele."

Ricardo nodded slowly. Still, he couldn’t ignore the quiet sense of relief that crept into his chest. A job meant stability. Stability meant staying in New York. Staying in New York meant—

Valentina.

"I have just one rule, Ricardo."

Ricardo straightened instinctively.

"Do not mistreat the girls who work here. Is that understood?" Luca asked.

Ricardo nodded immediately.

More firmly than necessary, perhaps.

Because despite his many flaws—and there were plenty—he had never been that kind of man.

"Of course, of course. Thank you Luciano." Ricardo said.

A chance.

That was all he had hoped for, and somehow, against all odds, he had gotten one. And it had nothing to do with Bianca Genovese.

Luca gave a small smile. "Now go inform your Zia."

Ricardo nodded quickly, pushing his chair back as he rose to his feet. "Thank you." He said again.

He meant it.

As he moved toward the door, he clapped Marco on the back in passing, the gesture friendly and casual. Marco had always been a difficult man to read. Sometimes he seemed amused by Ricardo, sometimes vaguely annoyed by him, and occasionally he looked at him the way a guard dog might look at a stranger who had wandered too close to the gate.

Still, Ricardo gave him an easy grin before stepping out into the hallway.

"You have a problem with him being with Valentina?" Luca asked Marco.

Marco leaned back against the wall, arms folding across his chest as he stared at the closed door for a moment longer than necessary. "Not really."

"You have reservations."

The truth was, he had reservations about a lot of things—most of them involving Ricardo. "I don’t trust him." Marco said simply.

"Because he is chasing a girl you like."

Marco snorted softly at that. "I don’t see Valentina like that, Luca. I just think she can do better than Ricardo."

Valentina deserved someone steady. Someone certain. Someone who didn’t look like he might wake up one morning and decide to disappear halfway across the world.

"Well, Veronica says he makes Valentina happy. When Valentina is happy, Veronica is happy. My life is simpler."

Marco hummed in response.

Still, something about Ricardo’s sudden determination didn’t sit right in Marco’s gut.

Maybe it was the timing.

He wanted to believe Ricardo meant well. He just wasn’t convinced yet.

"Marco, I am not going to ask you this again. Do you have feelings for Valentina?"

Marco looked up. "No."

Valentina was... Valentina. Strong-willed, sharp-tongued, stubborn in a way usually made him his life choices. He respected her. Liked her, even. But whatever he felt for her had never crossed that particular line.

And he knew himself well enough to recognize when it had.

"then case closed." Luca said.

The matter, at least in Luca’s mind, was settled.

Luca’s gaze shifted briefly toward the door Ricardo had exited through. "Make preparations for Ricardo to take over upstairs."

Marco pushed himself away from the wall with a quiet sigh.

Whether he trusted Ricardo or not, the decision had been made. And when Luca made a decision, the rest of them adapted.

"Yes boss."

As he turned toward the door, Marco couldn’t help thinking that this arrangement might either turn out surprisingly well...

Or become an absolute disaster.

*****

Vee adjusted the straps of her dress one last time, the cool metal of her tracker necklace brushing against the curve of her collarbone. She stood in front of the full-length mirror, taking in her reflection. The jet-black lace wrapped around her in delicate floral patterns that seemed almost alive.

The nude panels created the illusion that the lace was crawling along her body, tracing every curve with meticulous intent. She had always appreciated fashion, but this—this was art. Bold, provocative, and utterly impossible to ignore.

Her fingers brushed along the sheer fabric at her thigh, and a shiver ran down her spine. The dress was short, scandalously so, revealing more than modesty would ever allow, and yet she felt powerful wearing it. She wasn’t normally the type to walk into a room and make heads turn, but tonight, she knew she would.

And not just for anyone—this was for Luca.

A week of perfect days and nights flashed through her mind. He had been obsessively attentive. There was a gentleness to his fixation, a tenderness that had her craving more. And she did crave more. Every second away from him felt like a countdown to a delicious inevitability.