The woman was wearing a green dress, so clinging to her skin that Anna compared her to a snake. It was as if the clothes were a kind of second skin. The woman approached her, and Anna realized that they were not the same height. The woman was taller than her. The woman began to walk around Anna, as if Anna were in a circle, as if assessing her, and then sipped her drink, without taking her eyes off Anna's body, which highlighted her red-painted nails, and turned to the two men.
"I think Adam made a good choice. She's pretty. What do you think, Ryan?"
Ryan also approached, but remained with his glass in one hand and the other in his trouser pocket.
"It wasn't my choice. It was Allister." Adam said indignantly.
"I don't see anything special about her. Not enough to justify marriage." Ryan said.
"Don't be mean, Ryan!" The woman said laughing. "Adam is only 22 and has never spent much time with the other..."
"He's spent his entire sex life with the other one, Genevieve!" Ryan said and everyone laughed, except Anna.
The woman looked at Anna, who was glaring at them. They were treating her as if she were an exotic zoo animal or worse, a commodity.
"Yes, but I think this time Adam fell in love."
"Yes. What was his speech again? Oh, I remember!" The man said and put his hand on his chest theatrically. "I'll never love a woman more than myself!" He finished and started laughing with the woman.
"Don't be idiots." Adam's cold voice cut through their amusement.
Ryan approached Adam, pointing at Anna.
"What's so different about her from the others?"
Adam met Anna's furious gaze and then sat down.
"Apart from the fact that she's not as beautiful and attractive as them? Nothing."
"Then why?" The man insisted.
"I don't know what kind of filthy group of people you belong to, but I don't need to lower myself to listening to these strange insults. It's clear that I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't want to. The little I've gotten to know of you now is enough to make me not even want to be under the same roof, and environment, as you!" Anna said and left through the same door she had entered, and the two men who had introduced her to the room stopped in front of her, preventing her from continuing, but also not forcing her back.
As soon as she left, Adam looked proudly at Ryan.
"Do you still think she's the same as the others?"
Ryan smiled.
"I want to prove to you that maybe she's even easier."
"She's the boss's wife, you asshole! She's untouchable." The woman said and dropped into an armchair.
"What do you propose, Ryan?" Adam asked as he let the drink just touch his lips.
Ryan sat down too.
"If I make her fall in love with me and accept my proposal, I'll decide her fate."
"And if she doesn't fall in love with you?"
"Then I'll give you what you so desperately want... Command of my base in Italy."
Adam sipped his drink thoughtfully.
"I also want the Order of Norway."
"You know that I'm only heir to the head of Norway, right?"
"Soon, you'll inherit your grandfather's entire empire."
"I can't promise you that. It's the legacy of a lifetime!"
"Are you afraid of the young woman rejecting you?"
Ryan thought for a few seconds.
"Well... I don't have the charisma and experience needed for this mafia business as much as you do. I'll give you the majority voice in the mafia controlled by my grandfather, but I'll still be the leader, albeit symbolically. But only if you can get her to fall in love with you and accept your marriage proposal before I do."
Adam looked at Genevieve and showed the empty glass to her, who stood up grumbling.
"I'm not your maid, Adam!" She said, but served him anyway, taking the opportunity to serve Ryan and herself.
"What are the rules?"
"Well... She's under your roof. That's a handicap for the fight to be fair. Let's put her in the green house, where we can both visit her as often, and try to win her heart. E... We'll have three months to do it... E... We'll each choose our own way of winning her over..."
Adam frowned.
"I don't need her to fall in love with me. I can convince her to marry me through my own methods, so the bet will come down to whether or not you get her love and acceptance. I already have the documents. She's officially married to me."
"Don't be insensitive, Adam. Let's have fun as if we were teenagers again."
"No. I like women, and I have no patience with girls."
Genevieve got up from her seat and sat on Adam's legs and spoke sensually, her voice deliberately husky.
"Let's make this more interesting, Adam. I'll give you all the deals and addresses of the men who work for my husband, if you can conquer that beast out there."
Adam ran his free hand over Genevieve's slim body.
"I can get that information out of you, in a way that you'll find much more interesting."
Genevieve laughed.
"I know that... Are you going to do it tonight?"
"Please, both of you stop! When I leave, you go to your room, but now tell me your final decision, Adam."
Genevieve stood up laughing and winking at Adam.
"Tonight is ours."
Adam didn't reply and turned his attention to Ryan.
"I have no intention of courting someone whose destiny is to be the delight of the men in my family. That would be redundant, don't you think? But I can get her to agree to marry me. If you want to make that bet, we'll celebrate the agreement with a toast, but if you don't, we'll just have dinner and go back to our lives."