The Mafia Boss Is The Man Of My Dreams

Chapter 2

I slipped into our department, my thoughts still hopelessly wrapped around this rumor of a dangerously attractive, soon-to-be boss. The sheer curiosity was stirring something reckless in me. Yes, I was naturally curious—and even more so when it came to men who looked like they belonged on a billboard and acted like they owned the world.

Taking my seat, I plastered on my million-dollar, well-practiced, corporate smile. The one that screamed: Yes, I’m a highly responsible adult who definitely didn’t come to work with a racing pulse because of a faceless stranger in my bed sheets.

“Good morning, everyone,” I called out, keeping the facade perfectly intact.

“Nice of you to actually join us, Miss Aria,” my manager, Mr. Frank, spoke up. He leveled a look at me that suggested my tardiness was a personal, offensive assault on his lineage. “Any later and I would’ve assumed you resigned.”

“Would’ve saved you the trouble of staring at me all day,” I muttered entirely under my breath before flashing another flawless smile. “Good morning once again, Mr. Frank.”

I felt his lingering gaze as I turned away. As usual, it lasted a beat or two longer than it ever should have. He looked at me the way an exhausted, starving dog looks at a prime steak. It was pathetic, really. Too bad he was married—and an utterly draining human being in general. Shame—if I wasn’t so sexually frustrated from my morning, I might’ve actually welcomed a normal distraction.

The moment he finally slunk back into his private office, I let out a long sigh and grabbed a pen.

Focus, Aria. Corporate finance now, sinful delusions later.

With that thought, I turned to the lady working at the desk beside me. “Agnes, can you pass me the TrueHeart Insurance files?”

“I simplified the data layout for you already, ma’am,” she said, stretching the thick document toward me with a polite smile.

“Thank you, Agnes.” I gave her a grateful look. If only the higher-ups could clone her twenty times over. We were basically the youngest on this entire team.

By the time I finished the data entry, walked documents across three different hostile departments, nearly tripped over my own heels at least four times in the hallways, and severely contemplated my life choices, lunch time finally arrived—the ultimate saving grace of a Monday morning.

Jean was probably already waiting for me in the lobby, and I was ready to bolt out of my chair when Frank’s voice suddenly boomed across the floor:

“MEETING!”

A collective, entirely well-deserved chorus of groans echoed through the office. Damn it.

We gathered around the main desk anyway, and Frank clapped his hands together with unnecessary drama.

“I’m not going to take much of your break, but it’s vital you all hear this,” he started. “I’m sure you’ve heard the frantic rumors about the overnight acquisition and the new management. If you haven’t, I’m here to officially confirm it. The board sold. The rumors are completely true.”

My eyes widened slightly. So the elevator gossip hadn't been an exaggeration.

“The new CEO will be introducing himself before the end of the day, and I want absolutely everyone on their best behavior.” Frank’s eyes locked dead onto me, narrowing. I frowned deeply.

“Wow. Thanks for singling me out,” I said, my tone dripping with dry sarcasm.

He completely ignored me. “The new CEO will be working directly with our specific team during the transition, and he’ll be operating out of that office.” He pointed a rigid finger toward the expansive glass corner office that had sat completely dark and empty for months. “Please keep your personal comments to yourselves and try not to lose your livelihoods. This man is a rich guy heavily backed by powerful parents, so don’t do a single thing to get yourselves noticed by him.”

I rolled my eyes. Like I’d willingly throw away a steady paycheck right before the holidays. I wasn’t that reckless. But still… the warning only made my curiosity flare into something hotter than it had been that morning.

The moment Frank dismissed us, I gave a lazy salute and fished out my phone as I sprinted toward the door.

Shit. I’ve only got twenty minutes of my lunch break left.

I cursed under my breath, breaking into a fast stride toward the elevators. Frank was rapidly cementing his role as the ultimate villain of my day.

“Yes, open!” I nearly cheered aloud as I saw the metal doors of an arriving elevator slide apart from down the corridor.

I broke into a light run, my hands outstretched to catch the sensor—and just when my fingers were about to slip between the closing metal

BAM!

Something slammed into me hard enough to nearly knock the wind completely out of my lungs. I stumbled back, my heels skidding on the polished floor, as the elevator doors shut firmly in my face.

Fuck.

Now I’d have to wait another five minutes for the next one. Whoever had just blind-sided me better have a spectacular excuse.

I spun around on my heel, my hands fiercely clenching into fists, fully prepared to tear into the culprit—but the words died a violent death in my throat the exact moment my eyes landed on him.

And thankfully, I wasn’t the only one staring; a few heads turned in our direction.

He stood there in an impeccably tailored, custom-made suit that looked like it had been stitched onto his broad shoulders by God Himself. He was undeniably striking, with a confident, high-society aura that practically screamed he owned something. Anything. Everything.

His eyes slowly scanned me from head to toe, lingering on my chest a beat too long before settling back on my face.

“You can stop staring now,” he said, his voice smooth and annoyingly self-assured. “I know I’m hot. You don’t have to stare. Though, you don't look too bad yourself,” he added, checking me out yet again.

My temporary awe instantly fell into a heavy frown. Who the hell did this arrogant man think he was?

“Aren’t you planning to apologize?” I snapped, crossing my arms.

His lips curved into a smirk—a deeply irritating, oily one.

“I don’t apologize, love,” he said, confidence dripping from every syllable. “But for you…” He took a deliberate step closer, encroaching on my personal space. “I think I can make a rare exception. You look a hell of a lot like my exact type.”

“Your type?” I blinked, completely unable to comprehend how this conversation had degenerated so quickly.

His eyes lingered on my chest again before he leaned in slightly, a smooth but unsettling smile on his face. “I know a few ways to make you happy. I don’t mind getting on my knees for you.”

I took a firm step back, letting out a dry, incredulous chuckle as I ran a hand through my hair. “Motherfucker,” I muttered under my breath.

“I don’t think this is how you start a civil conversation with a stranger, you absolute pervert,” I said, glaring directly into his calm, smug face. How was he so completely unbothered by his own audacity? Curse my luck.

“I’d refrain from talking to me that way, Miss Aria,” he called out smoothly, sliding his hands into his trouser pockets like he already ran the place.

I froze, my mind catching on his words. Miss Aria?How did this stranger already know my name?

“And I’d refrain from talking to me that way, too,” I shot back, masking my sudden unease with anger. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

He took another step toward me, his smile widening. “You looked like you were submissive at first glance,” he started, his voice dropping. “But you’ve got a bit of bite to you.” He chuckled, a sound that made the hairs on my arms stand up. “I love them that way.”

“What the f**k are you blabbing about?” I muttered just as the second elevator chimed and opened behind me.

I slipped inside it immediately, and he just stood out in the corridor like he’d won a prize.

“Pervert,” I spat out just as the metal doors shut firmly in his face.

Of course. Of course I had to meet an attractive but psychopathic stranger on a Monday morning. I was definitely going to find out what department he belonged to... because who the hell hired a person that socially unhinged?

God clearly had jokes today. Big ones.