Page 28 of Mafia And Maid

I try to school my face into a neutral expression, but I can’t help my brows from shooting up. We’ve been gone around four hours, and it’s midnight now—has she been working that whole entire time?

Marco’s glare at her doesn’t change. In fact, it seems to only worsen. “That’s not what I meant.” His face is contorted into an expression I know only too well.

Rosa blinks, sucking her trembling lip between her teeth. Her brow crinkles. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” she whispers.

He walks forward, and I stride to slip in between them, giving my brother my shoulder as I turn to Rosa. “What he means is why are you still up?”

Again, her face morphs into confusion. “I’m, um, working.”

“That eager to lose your job?” he snarls.

“Marco,” I say in a warning tone as I turn to face him. I can see the flicker in his eyes before he settles them back on Rosa. The expression he wears used to make me flinch, but that was before I learned to read between the lines. Rosa doesn’t have that experience.

“I’m not fucking paying you to work late hours and through the night,” Marco growls.

“I understand, of course, sir.” Her hands twist in front of her. “I don’t expect you to pay me extra…”

She thinks he’s concerned about how many hours she’s doing because of what it will cost us?“I don’t think he’s worried about you charging us more,” I say dryly. “He just doesn’t understand why you’re still up and doing more work after you’ve already spent the whole day working.”

Her brow furrows in puzzlement. But before I can try to explain it any further, she mumbles out another apology and dashes down the hall into her tiny bedroom.

I shake my head.Why the hell did she think just now that she had to apologize?It’s us who are taking advantage of her if she thinks we expect her to work fourteen-hour days.

Marco storms his way to the kitchen, downing his drink, and heading straight to the whiskey kept in there for a second shot of liquor.

“You could be a little nicer to her.”

“Should I? You think you get to tell me how to treat my employees now because you what? Hired her?”

“No. I just—” I pause and look around the kitchen. “She’s been here less than a day and already cleaned most of the place. The kitchen is fucking spotless.” I gesture to the sink, no longer filled with dishes, gleaming under the glow of the lights. There’s even a stand of cupcakes that look heavenly. That’s what the delicious smell is.

I make a beeline for them. I take a sniff—lemon sponge with buttercream. My mouth waters. Sign me the fuck up for this. I’m starving now. I unwrap the cake from its paper cup and take a bite, holding back a moan of pleasure as the flavors explode on my tongue.

“I’m just saying, you weren’t this harsh with the others on their first fucking day.” I swipe a stray crumb from my lips as I talk around another bite of moist cake. “You told me to fix the problem, and she’s the fix. You need to lay off a little.”

Marco raises a brow, impatience flickering across his face. “Don’t talk with your mouth full,” he grits out.Now he wants to talk about fucking table manners?Sometimes, he still acts like the parent that he had to be to me and our youngest siblings when our parents died—it’s like he can’t ever shake that role off entirely.

I swallow, trying not to roll my eyes. He crosses his arms and studies me for a second as I polish off the last bit of cupcake before grabbing another. I’ll work it off in the gym tomorrow. “I’m just saying that you snapping at her like that is the reason it was so fucking hard in the first place to find someone.”

“You finished?”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Why do you care, anyway?” Alessio’s voice sounds from the doorway where he leans with his arms crossed. He’s freshly showered and has come back down to get some water.

“I don’t care,” I say over another mouthful of cupcake. God, if she bakes like this all the time, I’ll have to up my gym reps. “She’s already as scared as a baby kitten. Marco’s just going to make it worse. That’s all I’m saying. Look, not a fucking single agency wants to give us a maid. We’re too terrifying. So, if she leaves or you fire her, then we’re back at fucking square one.”

But even as I say this, Alessio’s words keep echoing in my mind.Do I care? And why...?

CHAPTER 7

ROSA

I purposefully got up at the crack of dawn this morning despite the late night, determined to do better than yesterday. Because I know that it will take just one small thing to make them send me back onto the street.

Things didn’t start off well this morning after I knocked over Marco’s glass of water at breakfast and burned the pancakes.

However, by the time it’s late afternoon, with most of the heavy lifting taken care of, the mansion seems a little less large and overwhelming.