Chapter Two: Not What I Expected

Blue POV

I woke in my tiny room, the mansion’s soft hum pulling me from a dream about Dad’s fists. My cheek still ached from Vincent’s last hit, his voice sharp in my head:

“You’re useless, Blue. Just a debt.” I shook it off and sat up on the stiff bed.

That day was my first work for Leo Greg, the mafia boss who owns me now. I’d pictured him as Dad—old, mean, probably yelling at everyone. Whatever. I’d handled Vincent my whole life. I could deal with another jerk. I pulled on the gray uniform Madam Bam had left—a scratchy dress that felt wrong—and tied my hair back. My ribs throbbed from Dad’s belt, but I moved quickly. I wasn’t going to screw up on day one.

Breakfast was in the staff dining room, a long table crowded with servants. Maids whispered, guards downed coffee, and a cook slammed plates like he hated them. I grabbed a piece of toast and sat beside Rosa, the maid who’d dropped a glass the day before. She was quiet, picking at her eggs, her hands shaky.

“Rough morning?” I asked, keeping my voice low. She looked up, nervous.

“Just… gotta be perfect here. The master doesn’t like mistakes.”

“Yeah, Madam Bam told me,” I said, biting into my toast.

“He sounds like a real charmer.” I rolled my eyes, imagining some sixty-year-old grump like Vincent, all cigars and bad temper. Rosa didn’t laugh, just shrugged and ate faster, like someone might yell at her.

Madam Bam appeared at seven sharp, her gray bun tight as ever. “Blue, let’s go,” she said.

I followed her through the mansion, passing servants scrubbing floors and guards checking radios. The place was alive, everyone moving like they were scared to stop. My sneakers squeaked on the marble, and I felt eyes on me— the new girl, Vincent’s debt. I kept my head up, ignoring the pain in my ribs. We stopped at the double doors with those lion carvings, the inner chamber. Madam Bam swiped her card, and the lock clicked.

“You’re cleaning here today,” she said.

“But first, the master wants to meet you. "He’s inside."

My stomach twisted. Meeting Leo Greg already? I swallowed hard and smoothed my dress.

“Okay,” I said, but my voice shook a little. I was ready for some old boss, another Vincent, nothing I couldn’t handle. She pushed the doors open, and I stepped inside, blinking in the room.

It was huge—black leather couch, a bed with silky sheets that shimmered in the light, fancy rugs soft under my feet. But my eyes locked on the far corner, and I froze.

A guy, young, maybe in his thirties, leaned against a desk, his shirt half-unbuttoned, showing hard muscle. A girl was on her knees in front of him, her head moving, and—God, she was giving him a blowjob. His hand gripped her hair, guiding her, low groans slipping from his throat. His dark hair fell onto his face, and his eyes were half-closed, like he was lost in it. My face burned, and I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. He was… hot. Stupidly, dangerously hot.

Madam Bam cleared her throat, loud and sharp. The guy’s eyes snapped open, and he saw us.

“Out,” he said to the girl, his voice firm but smooth, like dark liquor.

She scrambled up, wiped her mouth, and hurried past us, head down. He buttoned his shirt, slow and unbothered, like we hadn’t just walked in on him. His eyes landed on me, gray and piercing, like a storm cloud. My heart pounded, and I didn’t know why.

“Master, this is Blue Moore,” Madam Bam said, her tone flat, like she’d seen this a hundred times.

“She’s starting today.”

I was still stuck on master. This was Leo Greg? Not some old guy, but… him?

He was tall, built, with a jaw that could cut glass. He had to be the hottest guy I’d ever seen, and I hated how my body reacted, all warm and fluttery.

“Blue,” he said, my name sliding off his tongue like he was tasting it. His voice was low, dangerous, and it sent a shiver through me.

“You’re Vincent’s girl.”

“His daughter,” I corrected, finding my voice.

“Not his girl.” I lifted my chin, ignoring the heat in my cheeks. I wasn’t some scared kid, even if he was nothing like I’d expected.

He smirked, just a little, and it was sexy in a way that made my knees weak.

“Right,” he said. “Do your job, Blue. "Don’t disappoint me.”

He grabbed a jacket from the couch and walked out, brushing past me. His cologne hit me—sandalwood, maybe—and I felt dizzy for a second.

Madam Bam shut the doors behind him and shook her head. “

"Start cleaning,” she said, handing me a cloth and bucket. Floor first, then the furniture. "Don’t touch the desk.”

I nodded and dropped to my knees, but my head was spinning. Leo Greg wasn’t old. He was young, gorgeous, and… God, that scene. I scrubbed the marble, my hands moving on their own, but I kept picturing him—his hand in that girl’s hair, the way his shirt clung to his chest. I shouldn’t have been thinking about it. He was a mafia boss, like Dad, probably just as cruel. But he didn’t look cruel. He looked like trouble, the kind that pulled you in and didn’t let go.

“Focus,” Madam Bam snapped, her eyes on me.

“The master’s particular. "This room’s got to be perfect.”

“Yeah, sorry,” I said, scrubbing harder. I glanced at the bed, those silky sheets catching the light. Had he brought that girl here? My face heated again, and I hated it. I wasn’t some silly girl crushing on a guy. I was here to work, to survive. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw him—his smirk, those gray eyes.

“Is he always like that?” I asked, keeping my voice light. “With… girls, I mean?” Madam Bam raised an eyebrow.

“The master does what he wants. "Your job’s cleaning, not gossiping.”

“Not gossiping,” I said quickly. “Just… didn’t expect him to be so…” I trailed off, not sure what to say. Hot? Young? Dangerous?

“Young?” she finished, her lips twitching as though she was amused.

“He’s not your father, Blue.

"Don’t assume you know him.

”I nodded and focused on the floor. She was right. Leo wasn’t Vincent, but he was still a boss, still trouble. I scrubbed in circles, the marble gleaming under my hands. The room smelled like him now, that cologne lingering in the air. I tried to push it out of my head, but it stayed, like his voice, his eyes. I wasn’t here for this. I was here to work, to get through this debt. But as I cleaned, I couldn’t stop wondering what else Leo Greg was hiding behind that sexy smirk.