Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

A ugust 1 st

My mother always told me that you could stand firm and not be a pushover, yet try being sweet as syrup until you have to show them your backbone. If you have to show your backbone, Mom reminded me that I grew up chopping down Christmas trees with an ax. One swing of an ax, and I can take a man to his knees. Or just take his knees. Literally. Nikolas and his enforcer probably expected the ax every day in life, which is why, when I now have to show up at Jack’s, I need to stop at Nikolas’s to make peace. I couldn’t live in fear every time I entered the building. So, while I do have a hatchet in my tote bag, I’m trying the sweet first.

Paige took a deep breath, adjusted the basket she was carrying, and waited for the elevator to open. The second the door slid open, she was met with the scarred face of Nikolas’ s enforcer. He’d never given his name and Paige had never asked. Until now.

Paige plastered a smile on her face. “Hello. I have something for you and Nikolas but it occurs to me that I don’t know your name.”

The man stared at her, and then his eyes dropped to her basket. “What do you have?”

“Maple walnut cookies. They’re made from maple syrup harvested on my family’s farm in Vermont. I brought them as a peace offering.” She held his gaze, hoping he got the hint.

“Rocco.”

Paige put on her friendliest smile. “Rocco. Nice to meet you without a gun to my head.”

“The boss is in his office.”

The apartment was larger than Jack’s. The walls were covered with Italian landscapes, and there was a little old Italian woman cooking in the kitchen who narrowed her eyes and glared. She might have put a curse on Paige. She wasn’t sure when the old woman spat in her direction.

“Smells delicious,” Paige called out as she was quickly escorted through to the office.

Nikolas was behind a massive mahogany desk with two men sitting in leather chairs across from him. As soon as Paige entered the room, they stood up and moved to the side of the room with their hands crossed in front of their crotches as they looked curiously at her. She hoped this time they wouldn’t search her. It would be hard to explain the hatchet.

“Little bird. This is a surprise. Decided to suck my cock after all?”

“Hello,” she smiled at Nikolas, ignoring the cock-sucking comment. “Our meeting was rather . . . unique. Jack is my friend and my boss, so I’ll be at the building a lot and wanted to make sure we cleared the elevator and started off on the right foot. So, I brought you a nice to meet you gift . You know, between friends.”

Rocco took the basket and placed it on the desk in front of Nikolas. The man to his right whispered something in Italian and Nikolas grinned. “She’s for real,” he answered in English. “You want to be friends? With me?”

“And Rocco,” Paige said, wearing her bravest smile. “I made the cookies from scratch. I hope you enjoy them.”

Nikolas opened the basket and pulled out a plate of cookies. He handed it to the guy on the left who looked nervous. The man took a bite and everyone stared at him for several long minutes. No one moved.

“Do you want one?” Paige asked finally.

“In a minute,” Nikolas said. “Let’s see if Enzo lives.”

Shock hit her as soon as she figured out what he meant. “You think I poisoned the cookies? Why would—oh, yeah, I guess a man in your position has to worry about that.”

“And what position am I in?” Nikolas asked.

“You’re a mafia boss. I’m sure there are tons of people who want to kill you.”

“Yet, you want to be my friend?”

“Well, I want to not die when I enter the building, so I thought friends would be the way to go,” Paige admitted.

“These are good, boss.” The man who must be Enzo wiped some crumbs from his shirt.

Nikolas shook his head as Rocco stared at her. It was as if he were trying to read the truthfulness of what she said.

“Fly away, little bird. You’re safe here. Oh, and tell Lenora I say hello.”

That made Paige pause. “You know Lenora Hamilton? And you know I know Lenora?” she asked of her sexy actress, who was writing a tell-all about her life that Paige was in charge of publishing.

Nikolas chuckled and grabbed a cookie. “Just know she can’t use my name, but I’d be disappointed if I wasn’t mentioned. I do have a reputation to uphold. See you around . . . friend.”

“Paige,” Jack said, a little tensely from her office door as Paige gathered her things for the weekend. She looked up to see Jack looking worried and Rocco standing behind him. “You have a visitor.”

Rocco stepped forward and set a large tray down in front of her. It was covered in foil and then the entire large rectangular dish was wrapped in plastic. “From Nikolas, to thank you for the cookies. It’s his aunt’s lasagna.”

“Was that the woman who spat at me?”

Rocco’s lip twitched, but he didn’t smile. “Yes.”

Then Rocco turned and left as she eyed the food suspiciously. She was a little worried about trying it. But at the same time, she’d never smelled anything so good before.

“Why the hell did Nikolas Luciano send you a lasagna through the scariest man I’ve ever seen, who delivered me the message to take care of you or he’d take care of me?”

Paige glanced up with surprise and then smiled. “Because we’re friends. I made peace with Nikolas after an incident in the elevator.”

“What is it with you and men in elevators? I don’t want to know.” He held up his hands to stop her when she opened her mouth to tell him it wasn’t the same as when she and Timothy were stuck in the elevator. “What are you doing this weekend?”

“Tomorrow is the Regency Era Ball.”

Jack shook his head. “I should have just screwed you. Dealing with my mother would be less painful than thinking of you losing her virginity to some cosplay dipshit. Do women really want a man like that? Wearing tights and stupid vests?”

“It’s the manners and the chivalry that are so attractive,” Paige told him as she grabbed her things and turned off her office light.

“We’re talking about the early eighteen hundreds, right?” Jack asked, taking the lasagna from her.

“Yup. Candlelight balls. Orchestras. Delicious food. Dancing all night with men who bow over your hand and maybe press a kiss to it.”

“Where women didn’t have any rights. They were considered property, sold off in marriage, and controlled by every man in their lives. Where you had to piss in a chamber pot. Where people smelled because there was no deodorant. That ballroom is going to be ripe. You have fun with that.”

“Well, it’s not the eighteen hundreds now, so I’m sure deodorant will be used. Maybe I can find my own Mr. Darcy,” Paige countered.

Jack just chuckled. “Just be careful with mob bosses and men who seem too good to be true.”

“Yes, sir,” Paige said as if she were a pouty teen. What Jack said made sense, but she didn’t want sense. She wanted the romance book and sometimes romance didn’t make sense. And that was the fun part of books. They didn’t have to be real. To the reader, it was. And that was all that mattered. Tomorrow, she was going to step into the pages of her own real-life Regency romance, and she couldn’t wait.