Becca's POV
The sound of the gigantic curtains in my room being pulled back pulls me out of the deep alcohol-induced slumber of last night.
"Wake up young miss" I hear Gloria my caretaker call out.
"In a minute" I mumble into my pillow as I try to calm the drums in my head.
"How are you still sleeping by this time of the morning?" she mutters as she picks up the clothes strewn about my room
"I think the question you're actually asking is how I finally managed to find that insufferable alarm clock you planted in my room three days ago?" I reply with my eyes still closed as I wait for Gloria to get me an Advil like she always does whenever I've been partying or drinking.
"Here," Gloria says as she drops some pills in my hand and proceeds to give me a glass of water. I gulp it down quickly and thank Gloria who then proceeds to ask the question that has probably been in the back of her mind since she woke me up.
"So how exactly did you find the alarm clock?" she asks as she pulls the covers off of my body exposing my body to the cold air coming out of the air conditioner. With a groan, I finally get to my feet and slip my feet into my cute pink fluffy bunny slippers. I head for the bathroom where I pick up my toothbrush which already has toothpaste on it thanks to Gloria and stick it in my mouth.
"Well if you must know..." I say as I rinse out my mouth and peel off my clothes before heading into the shower
"Hiding it at the back of my walk-in closet right in the box of sweaters grandmother gave me that I'm never going to wear was an absolutely smart idea. But I'm much smarter than that thanks to you" I say as the hot water washes over me washing away all the filth of the previous day.
I finish quickly and find underwear and a towel neatly folded on the towel rack just how I like it. I dry off my body and putting on the underwear I head into my walk-in closet to pick a dress but Gloria yanks me right back out and forces me into a seat.
"You know your grandmother hates it when your hair looks unkempt," she says as she fusses over the hair, her hands quickly working some magic that leaves me with a cute professional bun atop my head.
I move for the closet again and after ten minutes I'm sitting in a pile of clothes on the floor with no idea whatsoever on what to wear. Gloria walks in and spots me on the floor; she shakes her head in disappointment before walking over to the other side of the closet and plucking out a very sexy red pantsuit to go with the makeup she applied to my face after she was done with my hair. She quickly finds a pair of black open-toed heels to tie the whole thing together. One handbag, phone, and black coat later she finally ushers me to the elevator after a swift breakfast of bacon and eggs.
"Thanks, Gloria. I don't know what I'd do without you" I say as I hug her before stepping into the elevator.
"Without me, you'd have to finally grow up. 21 isn't the new 4" she says with a chuckle as the doors finally close.
An uncomfortable car ride to my grandma's office and an even more uncomfortable elevator ride later I finally arrive at grandma's office. I raise my hand to knock when the door flies open and an employee runs out crying. I sigh and walk in to see grandma standing by the glass looking out over the city of skyscrapers and currently grandma's smuggling operation.
In 1945 right after World War 1, my great grandfather Giancarlo Esposito who was a smuggler for the Americans moved to New York where he decided to do the only thing he was ever good at and smuggle for the crime families back then. Today that smuggling operation has gone global and my grandmother Marcella Esposito controls it all under the guise of an extremely successful airline. She also owns a couple of private airstrips and a network of smugglers that Interpol and the FBI have never and will never find.
I take a sit as she finally turns around and sits too. "So why exactly are you firing someone at the butt crack of dawn grandma?" I ask her.
"Cause he's incompetent and fucking foolish," she says honestly and truthfully without sugarcoating it.
"And why is that?" I ask as I start to look over a few documents for my meeting later in the day.
"Because one of our most efficient smugglers Frank Gilles codename 'Lorenzo Romanov' was killed yesterday and that idiot was part of his security detail. Frank and his network made 45% of our profits and the minute he died the vultures swept in and poached most of his smugglers and left only the low-level thugs which means we're fucking screwed. " she says as she rubs her head in frustration.
"There must be a way to fix this," I say as I sit back and try to brainstorm some ideas to save the company from incurring a giant loss.
"There's only one way and you're not going to like it," she says as she avoids my gaze.
"What the fuck did you do grandma" I grit out as she begins to look guiltier by the second
"I may have arranged a meeting with some of America's top families and their heirs. I may also be looking for an alliance by marriage so that we don't go completely bankrupt" she says as she twiddles her thumbs idly which I have never seen her do.
"grandma you know you're too old to get married," I say with a chuckle but she looks me dead in the eyes before saying"I'm not the one getting married, you are"
"me? no there must be another way" I ask as the idea of marrying one of the snobbish, obnoxious heirs of the other crime families has me completely nauseated.
"You have to understand that there is no other alternative Becca. I weighed my options and it came down to either forming an alliance by marriage or firing 75% of our workforce" she says.
The thought of all the families that would be ruined if I don't take this deal has me leaning closer and closer to saying yes. After much deliberation, I finally give in and nod my head in agreement to grandmother's plan.
"Thank you so much, Becca, you've just saved the reputation of the family. You're a true Esposito cause you do what must be done." She says as she rounds the table and pulls me into a hug.
"Well, you better get going if you're going to be ready by tonight. Gloria is waiting in the lobby so go wild cause I need you to bring your A-game if we're going to be successful tonight" she says as she pulls away.
With a nod, I stand up and hug her once more before heading out to meet Gloria.
By 7 pm I'm in my room in the Esposito mansion that has been passed down through generations and will become mine when grandma Marcella dies but it's quite unlikely cause that woman is 74 and she still kicks my ass when we spar, I mean how is she that old and still so fit, even worse is her perfect eyesight and extraordinary strength. Gloria knocking on my door pulls me out of my thoughts. She quickly helps me get dressed in a stunning red dinner gown that accentuates curves I never knew I had. By 7:30 I walk down the stairs to find people milling around the foyer while making small talk and exchanging pleasantries. I spot grandma on the other side of the room talking to a well-dressed gentleman that looks to be in his late 40s with his hair already graying on the sides. I make a beeline straight for her and we strike up a conversation. I learn very quickly that he is in fact Giovanni Romano the leader of the Romano crime family which controls and literally owns most of the tri-state area.
We make small talk before I excuse myself to greet the other guests and by the end of it all, I'm very sure that I don't want to marry any of these animals. 40% of them tried to grab my ass when we hugged, 20% couldn't stop staring at my tits or ass, 25% made sex jokes, and the remaining 15% acted so desperately that I was forced to conclude that they needed this alliance as much as we did indicating a possibility that they were also going bankrupt. As I finish talking to the last guy who actually asked me whether I wanted to have sex with him in the bathroom I approach the door and lean against it, I've looked at the menu of men and none of them is my taste but if I want to save my family I have to choose one by the end of the night.
I sigh and start to walk away when someone opens the door and it hits me in the back causing me to tumble to the floor. I hear the click-clack of dress shoes as the newcomer approaches me. I open my eyes to see his hand stretched out toward me. I take it and get to my feet but his hand wrapped around my waist has me immobilized. He looks into my eyes and that's when I finally remember where I've seen the captivating light blue orbs that are his eyes, after all, they were all I could see last night when I was tangled in a hotel room bed with him.
"Oh, shit" I mutter under my breath as his eyes widen in recognition.