Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I quietly turned my resignation in and tried my best to ignore the judgmental looks I got from people in the office. Little did they know, they were judging me for the wrong reasons. I didn't know what it was about Rio that made me believe in a future of crime. I had never had such a fire inside of me before him. He awakened something in me, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it yet.

Once I was done sending my law career down the toilet, I decided to head back to my apartment and start packing. When I got there, a couple of movers were moving my stuff. They informed me that it was paid for and going to one of their luxury storage units. I decided to start packing stuff I didn't want going into storage. I packed most of my wardrobe and toiletries. My makeup bags were a little ridiculous, but I didn't care. Once my bags were packed, I sat against the kitchen counter, looking around. I wasn't in this apartment very long at all, but I had grown to like it. I was a little bummed I was leaving it. I suddenly started to think about what Rio's place was like. I had imagined it was probably some ridiculous bachelor pad. I didn't know much about Rio and his living habits, so I guess it would be a surprise.

Just then, Mick and Tony came walking in.

"What's up?" I said, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"Nothin' much. Here to take your stuff to Rio's if that's cool." Mick said. I nodded.

"Yeah, if you don't mind," I said, showing them the several suitcases I had.

"No problem," Tony said as he easily lifted the heaviest two of the bunch.

"Here is a key to his place. I gotta say, other than his ex-wife Rhea, I have never seen a boss man invite a girlfriend to live with him. He must really be into you." Mick said, picking up a suitcase while I picked one up as well.

"Really? Wow. I feel kinda special." I said, trying to hide my smile. Mick smirked when he inevitably saw it. We had made our way to Rio's, and I was shocked when I walked in. Everything was decorated artistically with an industrial flow. It was gorgeous. It was a loft set up like my old one, except there was a second level with the main bedroom and master bathroom. The master bathroom was huge and had a giant walk-in shower. I walked back downstairs.

"Rio is in meetings all night. He said not to wait up." Mick said.

"Cool. Should I be in on those?" I asked.

"Nah, he said he'd got it," Mick said, leaving the apartment. Wow, was Rio trying to squeeze me out? I was head of his logistics team. Why the fuck was I not included in these meetings? The only thing I could think of was that it was not related to the logistics aspect of what we did. I tried not to dwell on it. It was on a night like tonight that I wish I had friends. I put all of my stuff away and was amazed at how organized Rio was. He even left empty spots for my stuff in his giant walk-in closet. I decided to text Rio.

Me: Bored as fuck. Please give me something to do.

Rio: Nothing to do right now, darlin'. You can check operations if it would make your sweet ass feel better. Beth and her girls should be printing tonight.

I smiled and quickly got dressed for the evening. I shrugged on my tightest pair of skinny jeans and put on a tight, low-cut black long sleeve shirt. I shoved on my faux leather high heel knee-high boots and left my long hair wavy and down. I didn't put much makeup on except for a little mascara. I changed my nose ring to a silver hoop and grabbed my wallet and keys. I got into my car and headed towards the Paper Porcupine. When I knocked on the door, Annie answered the door looking exhausted. I went to the back and saw Ruby leaning her head on Beth's shoulder, also looking beat.

"Evening, ladies. You guys look beat." I said, trying to be nice.

"We are. He is making us push so much." Beth said, rubbing her temples.

"Yeah, he can get like that sometimes. You guys are done, though?" I asked.

"Yeah, finally," Annie answered.

These poor ladies looked defeated. I knew how Rio could get. I also know he has threatened to kill all three of them more times than any normal thug. They needed a break. They were still his employees, and unhappy employees got nowhere.

"Hey, let's go get some drinks. On me. You guys have earned it." I said with my hands in the air. They looked at each other confused.

"Um, sure," Annie said, Beth and Ruby, eyeing her. She shrugged.

"Look, I know. I get it. But he is my boss too... more or less." I said, smirking. "So we're in the same boat! C'mon. Ladies' night, let's go!" I said. I walked outside and waited. Eventually, all three came out.

"We'll meet you?" Beth said. I smiled and nodded.

I wanted them to feel comfortable around me. Maybe if I could be somewhat friends with them, they would stop trying to piss Rio off all of the time. We headed to a bar called "Q," and I ordered the first round of drinks when we sat down. We talked about them, their kids, and where I came from. They started to loosen up.

"So, are you and Rio like a thing now?" Annie asked, taking a drink of her beer. Beth scolded her.

"No, it's okay. Um, honestly, I don't know what we are. I like him a lot. But he is my boss. I just moved into his place today because I needed a place." I said. Beth's eyes widened. "Shit, sorry. I forgot you two had a thing." I said.

"Oh no, please. It's really okay. That is history. I am married, I have kids. I was unhappily married at one point, which is the point when I started up with him. But Dean and I are working on it." Beth said, smiling.

"I get that. Really I do. Listen, I am going to try and keep him off of your backs. I know he can be a bit much. I will do my best." I said, taking a drink.

"Girl, that would seriously help. I want to be able to sleep at night." Ruby said.

"I got you," I said, smiling. We had a blast, and I laughed harder than I had in a while. Was I making friends with Rio's employees? The woman who almost killed him, no less? That was more mind-boggling than her fucking him at one point.

I got home that night at about two a.m., and it was odd putting the key into the door. It didn't feel like home yet. I walked in, and Rio was in the living room with Mick and a couple of other guys I had never seen before. He looked up from the tv that the other two guys were playing video games on and smiled.

"Hey, baby," Rio said. I could hear him say to his friends, "Yo, put the controller down a minute. Want you to meet my girl." Rio said. The two guys looked over at me and shook my hand. They were Johnny and Kyle, in charge of washing operations. Then I remembered them. I saw them the night of the shootout with the Australian. I sat on the arm of Rio's chair, his arm around my waist.

"Where you been, girl? Did they take their time printin'? Rio asked. I looked down at him and smiled.

"No, they got it done. I took em' out for a drink." I said. Rio eyed me. Clearly, he wasn't happy. "Alright, fellas, I am gonna turn in. You guys have fun." I said, smiling. I got upstairs and sat on the edge of the bed to take my boots off. I unzipped them, put them neatly with my other shoes that were lined up in the closet. I took my socks, jeans, and shirt off. I opened the dresser drawer in the closet to grab a pair of shorts and a tank. I turned around and saw Rio leaning against the door frame of the closet, smirking. He's in a plain black t-shirt tonight and jeans. He looked so damn good. He stopped me before I exited and wrapped his arms around me. He pressed his lips to mine and groaned into the kiss as I snaked my arms around his neck. I had dropped the clothes I had in my hand, and I was in my bra and panties. His tongue slid over my lip, and I playfully bit down on it.

"So? How was girls' night?" He said but in a menacing tone.

"Fine. I just thought I should maybe get on their good side, so they calm down a little. If one of us can get in good with them, it might benefit us down the road." I said, light scratching at his back through his shirt. He nodded as he pursed his lips together.

"Yeah, I feel you." He said as he lightly pulled my hair back, so my neck was exposed further. "But you might want to run something like that by me first next time. Okay, baby?" He said as he lightly bit down on the flesh below my ear. I broke out in goosebumps and nodded. He looked down at the pj's I had dropped on the floor, then back up at me. "Put that shit away. You won't be needing em'." He said, smirking. "Now I'm gonna go chill for a bit longer. Get that fine ass in bed, and I will meet you in there soon." He said as I smirked and headed towards the big king-size bed. He smacked my ass hard, and I jumped in the bed. He gave me one more glance over before winking at me and headed back downstairs. I smiled. Once I had settled under the covers, something hit me. What the hell was I thinking? Now that I wasn't conflicted about my career of choice anymore, I thought about my life decisions. What on earth made me think it was safe to move in with a criminal gangster after only a few weeks? What made me think this would last? Honestly, I had no idea, but somehow I didn't feel as worried as I should have been. Did that make me crazy? Or just stupid...