Indecent Pawn: What price is too high to pay for another person’s debt? (7 page)

“Oh my God. I am so embarrassed.”

“You should be. Rude much?”

“That was rude of me and I apologize.”

“You have no reason to apologize. Ignore her.” Gio spoke up out of nowhere.

“Excuse me?”

“You should probably excuse yourself to a seat since we will be landing soon.” Gio remarked.

No one uttered another word after the incident. Everyone was in their own little world. Allison knew why her outburst happened she just didn’t realized until it was too late that she said it aloud. Gio’s reaction to the incident however was another story all together. In so many words he had taken up for her. Roberto had just laughed like it was the best comedy hour he had been privy to. Mr. Mucciono on the other hand had been all too quiet. She was only his collecting debt, some collateral damage intervention for her stupid husband, so for her to speak out like that way probably pissed him off. That’s one thing she hadn’t set out to do. That was the reason she apologized to the woman, not because she felt she was wrong.

“Dio mio! You have a situation, il mio amico.” Gio exclaimed. Allison was stuck on the accent only picking up on the words said in English. Of course she knew they were Italian but had never heard anyone speak it directly in front of her. Hopefully if she didn’t die from this experience she would learn something.

“Che cosa è, Gio?”

“La signorina Mucciono è fuori in attesa.” Now she wasn’t a rocket scientist but she figured signorina stood for Mrs. or something similar. The fact that Mr. Mucciono was married made her feel sullied but why was the question she had?

“Merda!” Mr. Mucciono straightened out his tie and adjusted his suit jacket. Everyone had taken off their seat belts getting situated to leave the plane. All Allison could think was how would his wife feel about her accompanying him on a business trip. That entire situation sounds truly awkward. Will she have to deal with a snobby bitch? If that was the case, he may as well treat her like a common prisoner.

“Anybody home?” Allison was snapped out of her revere to see Roberto standing in the isle way trying to get her attention. Looking around she saw they were the only two left on the plane. ‘When had the others got off?’

“Sorry.” Timidly she started to move forward to get the scrutiny over with. Walking up to the group she couldn’t get a good look at the woman for the men had her surrounded. Gio and Mr. Mucciono were in conversation with the woman but the other men were standing guard like the secret service. It was another intimidating situation.

“Oh mio, che cosa abbiamo qui?” She heard the woman ask before getting a good look at her. The woman was beautiful, elegant, and although physically flawless a bit older than Mr. Mucciono.

“Mamma, this is Mrs. Myers. She will be working with me on a few business ventures.” Allison felt stupid for not picking up on the resemblance. Here she was getting jealous over this man’s mother. The problem she was faced with was why? He was nothing more than her captor and she was finding herself swooning over him. She needed to get a grip on reality and fast. This was going to be an interesting experience for sure.

“Mrs. Myers, this is my mother Miss Carlina Mucciono.” Allison was floored that this was his mother. She was breathtaking.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Mucciono.”

“Likewise caro. You are a very beautiful woman.”

“Thank you Miss Mucciono.”

“Please caro, call me Carlina. Miss Mucciono is so formal.”

“This is somewhat a business matter mamma.”

“Antonio, please mind your tongue.” His mother scolded without removing the graceful smile from her face. “Now Mrs. Myers. I want to formally welcome you to our country.”

“Thank you and please call me Allison.”

“A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” Carlina’s smile was contagious. Allison quickly found herself following suit. “Is this your first time here?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“So polite but you are making me feel so old.”

“My apologies.”

“I’m just teasing caro. Come let us get you settled in. I know that flight must have been hideous.”

There wasn’t a doubt in Allison’s mind that Carlina got her way in every situation she saw the need. All of the men just allowed her to dote on Allison like a new pet for her to play with. The ride to the estate was breath-taking. Nothing short of marvelous. The country-side view was remarkably and surreal. If she made it out of this alive she would definitely want to return here to visit. Maybe even live here. How wonderful would that be? She thought about being free like her ancestors probably dreamed of from the slavery days. After all she was a modern day slave sort of. She was made to work for her husband, waiting on him hand and foot, and now she was sold to another man to cover his debt.

Her saddened thoughts evaporated as the limo pulled through a large set of wrought-iron gates. The wall connected to the gates were made of pure stone that even the best rock-climber would have trouble scaling. The long driveway was surrounded by well-manicured grass and shrubbery. Stopping in front a massive estate that could fit ten of the homes she once called her own, the group descended the car. This family was obviously more than well-off, they could afford to feed the world and then some. Once they exited the car, she could hear water off in the distance. This was like a fortress or a dream getaway. Places like this were only viewed by the public in magazines, television shows, and movies. Here she stood in a real rich person’s driveway.

“Welcome to our home.” Carlina whispered to a speechless Allison.

“Oh my…this is absolutely beautiful.”

“Thank you caro. Come. Let me show you to your sleeping quarters. After you have rested, I would love to take you on a tour of the estate.”

“I would love that.”

“Magnifico!”

Upon walking through the huge doors that she was sure took some serious back muscles to open, they were greeted by a staff of individuals. All of them dressed alike and greeted everyone with a smile. The language spoken around her was a mix of Italian and some English with Italian dialect. Several times she saw how the staff gave her curious stares. Probably all wondering why this black woman was in their presence. No one, so far, seemed to be uncomfortable or bothered with her presence as they were shocked. The inside was just as magnificent as the exterior.

“This will be your room during your stay. You have your own sitting area and restroom. Your luggage should be brought to your room shortly. How long will you be here with us?”

“I’m not sure as of yet. Mr. Mucciono has not informed me of my time frame.”

“No matter. We must take you for a tour of Naples. It is so wonderful to have another woman in the house besides the staff.”

“I would love that.” Allison couldn’t find the words to express her concerns on spending time with Carlina. Mr. Mucciono may not be too fund of that idea. Especially with her being nothing more than a piece of property currently.

“I will let you rest now. Dinner will be served at seven. I hope that is an adequate time frame to get settled in.”

“Yes of course.”

“Wonderful.” Without warning Carlina leaned in kissing her on both cheeks and left. Looking around the luxurious room she couldn’t help but admire the rich feel of it all.

From the huge canopy bed to the spa-like bathroom with a soaking tub. Unfortunately for her, the bag that arrived for her contained nothing more than a few things that was obviously retrieved from the only home she was accustomed to. Had Lamont packed the bag or did the person that went to retrieve her belongings packed it? The thought of someone else looking at and touching her underwear was sort of creepy. No matter, there was nothing she could do about it now or ever it seems. The things they packed were unappealing but it was all she owned. Derek preferred for her to be conservative and reserved at all times.

Taking in the opportunity to relax a bit, Allison took advantage of the soaking tub. Using the bath salts that were provided in the guest box on the sleek counter top. The view out of the window next to the tub was phenomenal. If this is what being held against your will feels like under the Mucciono watch, she would much rather be here than back in Illinois. Of course she hadn’t done anything for them to be harsh to her either. He did say she was a business associate while here. She wondered would he apply her work done for him to her husband’s debt. If she were honest, she really hoped not.

Sleep would not come to her. For some reason she was extremely restless. After dressing in a comfortable dress and flats, Allison decided to take a mini tour of her own. Walking down the long hallway proved pointless because she obviously took a right when she should have taken a left. So many doors and no stairs in site. Turning in the opposite direction she was even more confused about which room was hers. Finally finding the stairs proved even more pointless for she didn’t know which way to go from there. The front door wasn’t even visible from where she stood.

“Lost?”

“Shit!” She nearly jumped ten feet in the air and whirled around to see an amused Mr. Mucciono standing directly behind her. “You scared me to death.” Allison was sure she lost ten years off of her life at that moment. The man was massive compared to her size but he moved light as a feather.

“My apologies.” His facial expression never changed to show any other emotion besides unmoved. “My mother said that you were resting until dinner.”

“I couldn’t sleep being distracted by the beautiful view.”

“Well since you are alert, I want to discuss some business with you.”

“Alright.”

“Follow me.” They ended up in an office fit for a king. Definitely a ruler’s domain. “I have been made aware of your desire to become an accountant.”

“Uh, yes sir.” Allison was sure she heard her heart stop beating an entire millisecond. If he was aware, was Derek made aware as well?

“You’ve been secretly taking classes at the local college. Is that correct?”

“That’s correct.”

“As I have been updated, your progress has been exceptional. Here is what I need from you while you are in my presence.” He stopped for a brief moment to get comfortable at his desk. This position Allison preferred more because standing over her was chilling as hell. “I have some books I would like you to look over. You have a total of three days to complete this task. Of course I expect everything that comes across your eyes, you will use discretion in pretending to have not seen anything.”

“Of course sir. Just point me in the direction and I will get to it. However I am not certified as of yet so I don’t know how efficient my work will be. Being that I don’t know all there is to know but I give you my word I will give it my best effort.”

“I was thinking you would start bright and early tomorrow. That way you would start with a clear and fresh mind, ready to tackle this major endeavor. We wouldn’t want you to make a mistake being tired.” Allison gulped at the underlining threat but cleared her throat putting on her best brave front. This could be an opportunity to get on the stern man’s good side.

“If you don’t mind sir, I would at least like to gather the work so that I can organize it to give me a better advantage.”

“Ambitious.” He nodded his head as if he were somewhat impressed. She didn’t bank too much on that though. “This way.” Mr. Mucciono rose from his office chair with grace. He moved so fluently to be such a large man in a suit. She compared him to a ninja in her head. In the far corner of the office there was a door that she wondered about since walking in.

“This is the office you will be using. Everything that you need is here. These are the books that I need you to look over.” He pointed to a stack of binders. “In these boxes are the receipts and other paperwork to double check the figures already listed.”

“All of these boxes?”

“Yes. Do you see this as a problem?”

“Yes.” At the disappointed look on his face she chose to rearrange her answer. “No. I only mean, how could anyone work with such disorganization?” Looking around at the number of boxes stacked against the wall and near the desk she knew it would take her about the time allotted for her to organize it. She needed to organize it in order to begin to work accurately.

“What do you need to make it happen?”

“The organization?” She questioned and he nodded. “Are these file cabinets accessible?”

“They’re empty.”

“May I?” She asked before opening the first box she stopped at. Mr. Mucciono only nodded his head with his hands in his pockets. Allison just wanted to get a general idea of what kind of information she was dealing with. “Is this pretty much the gist of what the boxes entail?”

“Pretty much.”

“What time is it?”

“Six.”

“That leaves me an hour to get a head start.”

“Suit yourself. I will be in my office if you need anything. I assume you won’t get lost from here to there, correct?”

“…” Allison only blushed at his cynical joke. Instead of engaging him in conversation any further she got busy with arranging the files inside of the boxes. This was going to be a tedious task but she was happy to do it. It was better than being worried about what would happen next. Whether or not her life would be spared after everything is said and done, she couldn’t focus on that at the moment. There was always the big possibility she won’t walk away from this unscathed after being allowed to look into some serious paperwork of this mafia’s business. Just a small inkling of hope helped her to not panic too much. From what she knew about mafia families they lived by loyalty. She had to gain theirs.

“Whoa.” Allison was so deep into her work she didn’t realize she wasn’t alone any longer.

“You’ve been busy.” Gio remarked at her progress. She had emptied eight boxes thus far. That was a good portion of the overall count of boxes. She counted a total of twenty boxes of bills, receipts of large and small purchases, business dealings with money, bank statements, and countless other accounts tied into the one large one.

“Just a little. What time is it?”

“It’s a little after seven.”

“Oh my, Carlina must be miffed that I was late to dinner.”

“Nah, she is fine. She sent me to get you.”

“I figured Mr. Mucciono would have alerted me it was dinner time.”

“She sent me to get him as well.”

“Oh. Well alrighty then, lead the way.”

“My pleasure.” Gio was a very attractive man as well but he had nothing on Mr. Mucciono. It was evident that these Italian men were very eye-catching and built remarkably. They moved with poise and confidence. Women probably fawned all over them all of the time. She wondered were there any special women in their lives. Even Roberto was easy on the eyes. He seemed like the one out of the bunch that had any playfulness about himself. This was the first time she’d been in a carefree conversation with Gio. He didn’t seem as hard as his boss.

“Is there a powder room close by where I can clean up a bit?”

“Yes, right through that door.” Allison got all cleaned up while still running over so many thoughts. No matter how afraid she should be, she has been focusing on these dangerous men’s looks. An outsider would call her straight coo-coo for cocoa puffs. After living with Derek for so long being his punching bag, maybe she was crazy as a road lizard.

Leaving the powder room she found that Gio was no longer alone. Mr. Mucciono had joined them. They were in what seemed to be a deep discussion when she emerged but quieted almost immediately. Where Gio wore a smirk on his face, the boss wore a bored look. Allison just shook her head at the observation and averted her eyes to the walls around. Gio slightly chuckled and started to lead the way again. Allison followed suit trying to rid the uncomfortable tension she was feeling. She didn’t know if it was stemming from her or whatever they were discussing. Either way it was laid out, it was awkward.

“There you all are. I was about to send out a search party.” Carlina exclaimed when they finally walked into the dining room. The intricate details to the table setting was fresh out of a hosh-posh magazine article. All of the sit-down dinners that resembled this were only witnessed on television, she was officially apart of one.

“My apologies mamma.”

“Is Antonio over-working you caro? He can be a bit of a workaholic and then expects everyone to do the same.” Carlina fussed.