The money she earns from me will help pay them off.
Matteo shuts his mouth.
He’s wise to steer the conversation away from whatever he found. “I just worry Olivia might be taking advantage of you.”
I laugh at the absurdity of his suggestion. “I made her the offer. It wasn’t the other way around,” I remind him. She had no clue the offer was coming.
Matteo is getting under my skin.
“And I’m telling you I’m against it, but you’re going to do what you think is best.”
“Why are you so against it?” I ask. The obvious answer would be the potential for a lawsuit. But that’s the least of my concerns.
She’s not looking for a payday or a handout. Olivia needs help.
“The girl wreaks of trouble,” Matteo says.
Tell me something that I don’t know.
I refrain from mentioning that she’s been living in her car. It’s not fair to Olivia to divulge her secret. But I’m sure Matteo has the cogs turning in his head, wondering why I’m letting her stay at one of our properties.
“Trouble isn’t a crime,” I say.
Besides, it’s not like we follow the law.
There’s a world that many don’t know about, the underworld, and I control it.
Being a mafia boss has its perks. My day job offers a front for money laundering and contacts for many of our illegal enterprises.
“Getting too close to the surrogate could bring trouble,” Matteo says. “She could go digging into your past.”
She doesn’t have the resources to find out the truth. If the Feds can’t pin me for murder, then I’m not worried about this girl getting me locked up.
I roll my eyes. “When did you become soft?”
His gaze hardens.
I’ve insulted him.
I’m done talking about Olivia. “You’re dismissed,” I say and gesture for him to leave my office. “Shut the door on your way out.”
“Yes, Sir.” He retreats out of the office, closing the door behind him.
* * *
The lawyer brings the paperwork, and I text Olivia that we’re on the way over with the papers.
Within the hour, we’re sitting at her kitchen table going over the contract, the requirements, the fact that after the first trimester, she’ll be living at my place.
The signing takes quite a while, but Olivia doesn’t have any objections to any of it. She asks a few questions and then signs and initials all the places that are required.
I sign the documents as well before walking the lawyer to the door and bidding goodbye.
“Are you going?” Olivia asks. “I mean, you don’t have to. I haven’t had dinner yet.”
“Have you gone shopping for food?” I know the fridge is empty. No one’s been living in the apartment that I gave her for quite some time. A cousin of mine lived there previously for a few months while in town, but he returned to Italy.
“I picked up a few things at the market across the street, but I haven’t done any major grocery shopping.”