Exposed to the CEO Behind the Mafia Mask

Gemma’s POV

My coffee meeting with Lila had been a pleasant respite from the constant tension that came with working within the Thorne family’s legitimate operations. But returning to the Zenith Trust offices brought an unexpected interruption that made my blood run cold. Late afternoon, as I was reviewing money transfer reports for overseas accounts, the front desk called through the secure line. Someone was waiting in the lobby, demanding to speak with me despite having no appointment and no clearance to enter the building.

I exhaled slowly, wondering what fresh hell had decided to visit me today. Recent months had brought enough unwanted attention from Dominic’s enemies and my own past mistakes. Better to handle this directly before it escalated into something that required the family’s more violent intervention methods. I informed security I would handle the situation personally, making it crystal clear this visitor was not to be allowed past the lobby under any circumstances.

When I stepped into the marble-floored reception area, I immediately spotted her lounging in one of the leather armchairs positioned near the bulletproof windows. Nancy. Even from across the room, everything about her screamed dangerous opportunist. She wore a white dress made of material so thin it left nothing to the imagination, cut scandalously short with a neckline that plunged practically to her navel. The woman looked like she belonged in some mob boss’s private club, not in our carefully maintained legitimate business front.

"I’m wondering what you could possibly have to say to me, Nancy?" I asked, not bothering to mask my irritation as I approached her position.

She looked me up and down with obvious disdain, her calculating eyes taking inventory like I was merchandise. "Gemma! You really are quite exotic, aren’t you?"

I maintained my composure, flashing a cold smile that would have made any professional proud. "Did you come here just to look at me? Oh, sweetheart, looking is free, but touching will cost you more than you can afford to pay."

"You think you’re untouchable now, don’t you, Gemma! But I came here to give you some friendly advice," she replied with the kind of confidence that only came from backing by dangerous people.

"Advice? I don’t recall asking for any," I shot back with a mocking glance. "You know what they say about advice from vipers, honey, it usually comes with poison attached."

"Hmm," she responded with a malicious smile that sent warning bells through my head. "But I’ll share it anyway. I heard that Marcus has taken an interest in you, so why don’t you go for him instead? He’s not completely worthless, he’ll do well enough for someone like you. But Dominic, sweetie, he belongs with his own kind. He’s going to be mine again."

I nearly laughed at the sheer delusion. Marcus Frost was exiled scum who had betrayed his own family, and this woman thought I should settle for Dominic’s disgraced father? "Wow! We have a fortune teller here! Why don’t you predict when the Feds will finally catch up with your current sugar daddy while you’re at it? In what parallel universe do you think Dominic will ever look at you again? Please, enlighten me."

"Oh, dear little Gemma!" she purred with false sweetness.

That form of address made my skin crawl. Only one person had ever called me that, and hearing it from this poisonous creature’s mouth made my trigger finger itch for the weapon I had learned to carry.

"Don’t call me that!" I snapped, my professional mask slipping for just a moment, something she clearly noticed and savored. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"I’m warning you because I still have some mercy left in me. Dominic, darling, has always been obsessed with me, completely devoted. He was absolutely destroyed when I chose to explore other opportunities, cried like a child, and never seriously involved himself with anyone else until you crawled out of whatever gutter you came from. I understand the appeal, you’re quite different from our usual circle, and he got curious about slumming it. But now I’m back in town, and he’ll return to where he belongs, it’s simply inevitable. So make this easier on yourself and step aside now, you’ll suffer considerably less that way."

The conviction in her voice was almost impressive, if it wasn’t so completely divorced from reality. I had to give her credit for one thing: the woman had unshakeable self-delusion, even when facing someone protected by the most dangerous family in the city.

"Listen here, you parasite, don’t be so delusional! When you abandoned Dominic in the past, yes, he suffered, after all, you left his household in ruins and his reputation damaged. But now, sweetheart, he doesn’t even waste energy despising you. You generate absolutely no emotion in him whatsoever. You’re like a disease, we only remember you exist when you show up to infect something, and when we see you, we just feel disgusted."

Her eyes flashed with genuine anger, the mask of sweetness finally cracking. "You have no idea who you’re crossing, little Gemma. There are consequences in this world for people who forget their place."

"Neither do you, Little Parasite!" I replied with the kind of cynical smile I had learned from experience. I turned and signaled to Hunter, our head of security, a former military man who had found profitable employment with the family. "Hunter, please escort this pest from the premises. I don’t want to waste the energy required to deal with her myself. And make sure everyone knows she’s permanently banned from this building and all associated properties."

"Yes, Miss Valance," Hunter responded with professional efficiency, approaching Nancy with the kind of measured movement that suggested he was perfectly prepared to use force if necessary.

"Don’t you dare touch me! I can walk myself out, keep your hands off me!" she hissed, yanking away from his reach. She stormed toward the exit, her heels clicking against the marble with such fury I thought she might actually break an ankle. Her attempts to maintain dignity while navigating in those clearly uncomfortable stilettos were almost pathetic to watch.

I observed her unsteady departure with undisguised amusement. The woman could barely walk straight in those weapons she called shoes, it was actually painful to witness such desperation.

"Dominic, I must say your taste in enemies has certainly improved, because that one, not even the devil himself could fix!" I muttered to myself. One of our senior clients who had overheard the entire exchange, gave me a knowing smile of female solidarity as she passed by.