Scandalous Pledge #3

Alex

My father controlled every move I made, even who I loved.

I've wanted Nadia since we were children, but a maid's daughter isn't fit for a Mafia king.

For nine years, I've protected her from the shadows, secretly dictating her every move--until now.

My father's death has set me free, and I will claim what is mine, even if it costs me an empire.

Nadia

I've loved him my whole life and have hated him for nearly a decade.

I would have given anything for Alex Murphy to make me his, but the day he pushed me aside changed everything.

Now he claims to want me for his wife, but he harbors secrets that could destroy everything.

Secrets that could cost me my life and his.

Will our love set us free or will his secrets keeps us apart?

The rain is sharp. As the sheets of water blow sideways, they hit the asphalt before bouncing back up. I should feel the cold. I should feel the heaviness of the rain. I should be running for cover. But I don’t. I’m smiling; he’s smiling, and at thirteen, I know this feeling I have for Alex Murphy is unstoppable.

He’s what makes me tick. He’s like my batteries. Without him, nothing seems as bright, nothing seems possible, and nothing seems real.

His laughter dances around me, and as he advances closer, I see the shift in his gaze even before his laughter dies down, and he pushes his dark hair out of his eyes.

“You are a very bad influence on me.” His height dwarfs everything around us. My heart does that funny dance that often shifts into when Alex looks at me differently than he normally does. It’s at these moments when I’m at my freest that he looks at me differently. I want to tell him I only do these things, like running out into the rain, for his reaction. I’d jump off a cliff for his reaction.

His hand captures mine, and his warmth alerts the rest of my body to the drop in temperature. I slide closer, seeking his heat.

“If I jumped off a cliff, would you follow me?” I joke.

My mother always said that about me. ‘If Alex Murphy jumped off a cliff, you would jump too.’ I’d roll my eyes and tell her she was wrong.

She wasn’t.

“How high of a cliff are we talking about?” Alex’s dark eyes dance with mischief, and without words, I know he would. He would follow me across the cliff’s edge and into whatever dark abyss lay below, and I know if we did jump into the unknown, we would be okay.

Alex dips his head, and I pucker my lips. I’m ready to taste the wolf. That’s what I call him in my head. The lone wolf. He has brothers, but none of them are like Alex. No one is like Alex. He’s one of a kind.

“Nadia Greenwood.” My name being called smashes the memory. I nod at the man who holds the wooden door open for me. A pen is placed behind both his ears, and several fill his short-sleeved shirt’s breast pocket.

The glossy magazine that had kept me occupied for a few minutes nearly slipped from my knee. I had forgotten about it as my brain decided we needed to revisit a ten-year-old memory over and over and over again.

I place the magazine on the mahogany table and do a quick sweep across the other three female candidates who are applying for the same job as me. I have the skills to be a receptionist, but if I was to base the outcome on all my other job interviews, I wasn’t hopeful.

“Thank you.” I take the door, relieving the man, who starts walking down a narrow hallway. On either side, phones ring in the large call center. Maybe I could work here in the office if I don’t get the front desk. I mean, I’m a quick learner.

If I don't get the job—I want to pause that thought, but there is no pausing it—I would have to return to working for Alex Murphy.

God, I hate him. My feelings for him may still be unstoppable, but they have flipped on their head. Once, I loved him. I loved him so much and he fucking shattered my heart into a million pieces, and at the time, I would have allowed him to do it over and over again just to have a small piece of him.

At first, when he stopped hanging out with me, I couldn’t function. I had a constant darkness that hung over me. It never left, but I found ways to deal with the gaping hole he left in my life.

“Mr. Jordan is waiting for you.” The door is pushed open, and I step into a luxurious office. Mr. Jordan, who’s a lot younger than I expected, stands up from behind a modern stainless steel desk with a wide white smile. He looks like someone I would love to work for. His warmth is immediate, even as his large hand engulfs mine.

“Miss Greenwood. Please take a seat,” he says as he releases my hand.

I sit down and notice a shock of gray hair along the side of his head. Maybe he isn’t as young as I first thought. Forties or early fifties. Either way, he looks friendly. He’s a silver fox—that’s what springs to mind. I spot several pictures on his desk, but I can’t get a clear view of them.

He holds up my resume, and I put on my best smile each time he glances at me over it. My smart pencil skirt and white shirt fit me like a glove and only get worn for interviews. If my clothes could talk, I’d be rightfully screwed. If Mr. Jordan knew this was my twenty-second interview this year, he would give me my marching orders, thinking there was something wrong with me.

The sad part is I’m beginning to think there is something wrong with me. I can never get a job. It doesn’t seem to matter what I go for: receptionist, cleaner, or shop assistant. Each time, I get declined.

“I can work any hours. I have no other commitments. I’m willing to start on a smaller salary, and I learn quickly.” I fire off the same lines I always do.

Mr. Jordan places my resume in the center of his desk. “Have you held a receptionist position before?”

“I work for Alex Murphy, so taking calls is part of my job.” Not the truth, but Sally will verify anything I say. I could claim to be the head chef, and she’d back me up.

“What else do you do for Mr. Murphy?”

“I’m his personal assistant. So errands, booking appointments, even getting his coffee.” I smile at that, but I hate doing that particular job. The rest doesn’t require me to be in his presence. With emails, my life has become somewhat easier, but bringing him his morning and evening coffee is a task I detest. Most times, he doesn’t even notice me, but that’s what’s so messed up. I notice him. It sounds so stupid, but my soul recognizes him as the boy who brought me to life.

Then he dumped me without an explanation.

“Miss Greenwood?” Mr. Jordan speaks.

I curse myself. I zoned out again. “I do apologize. I’m a bit nervous.” I rub my palms along my thighs like the action will make my lie believable. Like it might cover up the fact that my brain refuses to let Alex Murphy go.

“We will be in touch.” Mr. Jordan’s tone doesn’t hold any enthusiasm. It’s like words are just rolling off his tongue on autopilot.

He tugs at his silver tie as he looks at his screen. I’m dismissed.

“That’s it?” I ask.

He glances at me and nods. “That’s it, Miss Greenwood.”

I messed up again.

“I’ll do a trial run. Two weeks free of charge.” I sound desperate. But I am. I need to get away from Alex Murphy. I refuse to live like this any longer. And lately, he wants me to join him at functions so I can be his slave and get his drinks and coffee.

I just can’t anymore. The armor I wore to protect me is cracked and battered, and I need space from the Murphys. I need to start somewhere fresh. I can’t exactly go far, or I’d have skipped the country. My mother’s health keeps me here and in a job, as her medicines aren’t cheap.

“I’ll be in touch.” Is that pity I see in his eyes?

“I didn’t get the job?” I haven’t left the chair. I’m drowning in dark waters, and I just feel like I’m seriously screwed.

“Miss Greenwood. I have other people to interview. We will be in touch.”

I rise, and I want to tell him not to bother, that I already know the answer, but instead, I just need something more. “Why? Just please tell me. Am I not qualified enough? Did I come across as needy?”

The door behind me opens, and the man that led me here looks at Mr. Jordan, who holds up a hand. “Just a minute, Fredrick.”

Fredrick leaves, and my heart races. Will someone finally answer me and explain what it is I’m lacking?

“Your resume is impressive. Working for the Murphys is impressive. Especially lasting over seven years. Your eagerness is also to be admired. You appear well dressed and professional, Miss Greenwood.” He pauses.

“So…” I got the job? My heart triples in speed.

He opens his mouth to speak but closes it just as quickly. “So, we will be in touch.” When he says the words, they sound like an afterthought. That’s not what he was going to say. But I need to leave or else I’m sure I’ll be escorted out by security.

***

The honks of horns and the smell of the city infiltrate my senses, but they don’t disturb the overwhelming truth of defeat. Again and again.

I close my eyes and tilt my head back to breathe a lungful of air when a shoulder slams into me, nearly sending me to the ground. The guy with a brown briefcase mumbles a sorry but keeps walking. My phone buzzes in my jacket pocket, and I answer it as I start to walk.

“Boss is looking for you,” Sally says.

I worm through the crowd before turning down an alleyway where I illegally parked my car. It hasn’t been towed. I’m lucky like that. I never get tickets even though I break so many parking laws in the city.

“Do you know what he wants?” I ask as I get into my car. The sound of the city disappears. Rock music blares to life as I turn the ignition, cutting off Sally’s response.

I quickly turn the volume down. “I didn’t hear that, Sally. What did you say?”

“He didn’t say what he wanted you for, but he only just sent down the request.”

I glance at the clock in the dash of the car. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. If he asks again, say I went to pick up his favorite coffee.”

Sally snorts. “I would have used that excuse if he had asked.”

I grin as I start to back out of the alleyway. “I’ll see you soon.”

I had ten bags of his favorite coffee beans in my trunk just in case he ever called me out on my lie. I disappeared sometimes once a week for interviews, and Sally was a gem, always covering for me, but at rare times like this, when he asked for me while I wasn’t there, he never questioned my late appearance.

I arrive back at Alex’s mansion, and my shoulders droop. If I could, I’d turn the car around and leave. The thought of never seeing Alex or his home again makes my stomach squirm.

I park my car with the rest of the staff. I won’t have time to change, but it wouldn't matter if I entered Alex’s office on stilts naked; he wouldn’t notice me.

As I race through the back porch area, I nearly slam into Aidan, Alex's younger brother.

He reaches out and stops me from smacking into him. “What’s the panic?” He smiles, but like all the Murphy brothers, their smiles never reach their eyes, yet Aidan is one of the kindest of them all. His brown eyes just seem softer than the rest. They aren’t as hard as Alex’s stare. I never clicked with Aidan like I did Alex, but we hung out sometimes when I was a kid. I mean, I practically lived in their home while I was growing up. My Mother was the staff manager, and she brought me to work with her. Instead of helping, I got to know the boys, and we had some great times.

“I took a long lunch break,” I confess as Aidan releases me.

“You look very smart.” He runs both his hands through his hair.

My cheeks heat, and I wrinkle my nose. “This old thing?” I say.

He grins. “You look like you could be coming from an interview.”

My heart halts in my chest. I’m shaking my head. “Why would I do that? I already have a job.” I’m babbling.

Aidan smiles again. “I’m just saying you look good, Nadia.”

My cheeks burn. I’m such a fool. “Thank you.”

Aidan departs, and I glance at the gold watch on my wrist. Shit. He’s going to be pissed.