“Because somewhere between you following me home and my brother calling you ‘the billionaire mafia guy,’ this stopped feeling like a normal job.”
“It was never a normal job.”
“Exactly.”
Elias stood.
Adeline looked at him.
The first time she had seen him outside her apartment, he had frightened her.
Now she noticed different things.
The exhaustion behind his eyes.
The scar near his jaw.
The tattoo curling above his collar.
The way he deliberately kept several feet between them whenever conversations became personal.
“What if I don't accept your resignation?” he asked.
“That isn't how resignations work.”
“I could increase your salary.”
“No.”
“Change your hours.”
“No.”
“Promote you.”
“To what?”
Elias considered.
“Executive Director of Preventing Elias Baron From Making Stupid Decisions.”
She laughed.
“That sounds exhausting.”
“Excellent benefits.”
“Still no.”
His smile faded.
“What do you want, Adeline?”
She looked at him for a long moment.
“To stop being your employee.”
Something shifted in his expression.
“And after that?”
“Maybe you could ask me to dinner.”
Elias froze.
Adeline raised an eyebrow.
“The terrifying Elias Baron has no response?”
“I’m considering whether this is a trap.”
“It is.”
“Dangerous?”
“Extremely.”
“What time?”
“Seven.”
“Tonight?”
“No. Three years from Thursday.”
He narrowed his eyes.
She smiled.
“Yes, tonight.”
Elias picked up her resignation.
He signed it.
“Seven.”
Adeline reached the doorway.
“Elias?”
“Yes?”
“Don't send a driver.”
“Why?”
“You followed me across Boston in a beat-up sedan. You can drive yourself to dinner.”
The door closed.
Bruno immediately appeared from the adjoining office.
“How much did you hear?” Elias asked.
“All of it.”
“Get out.”
Bruno grinned.
“Seven o’clock, boss.”
“Bruno.”
“I’m leaving.”
THE MAFIA KING WHO HID IN A FUNERAL HEARSE
EVERY ALPHA FAILED TO SUMMON THE MOON GODDESS—THEN SHE CALLED AN OMEGA M...
EVERYONE SAID THE OLD DRAGON WAS TOO WEAK TO STAND—UNTIL A STABLE GIRL F...
For once, Elias Baron was smiling when he told someone to get out of his office.
---
CHAPTER 6
Six months later, apartment 4C no longer had a broken hinge.
Adeline insisted on paying for the repair herself.
Ben’s treatment was progressing well enough that he had returned to school part-time.
And Elias had learned something extraordinary.
He could knock.
Adeline opened the door one Sunday morning.
“You’re early.”
“You said nine.”
“It’s eight fifty-seven.”
“That’s early?”
“For normal people.”
“I’ll come back.”
She caught his sleeve.
“Get inside.”
Elias entered carrying groceries.
Ben looked up from the couch.
“Please tell me you didn't bring another twelve-pound roast.”
“I brought chicken.”
“How much?”
“Normal amount.”
Adeline inspected the bags.
“Four chickens.”
Elias frowned.
“You said normal.”
“For a restaurant.”
Ben laughed.