*Bianca*
I happily hopped into my car, excited to take a break at ho after a long morning of classes. I let the purr of my car’s engine lull as I pulled out of the parking lot and turned onto the busy street.
It was a battle to convince Leo to let drive myself around town but he relented after I put my foot down hard enough. I appreciated the fact that Leo just wanted to keep safe and while I did find his protectiveness sexy a hell, I just couldn’t stand not being able to take myself places.
Since the new year started, I decided that I was going to be more proactive with my life. I sat down with Leo and I went over so boundaries I had regarding my bodyguards and other restrictions that were in place to keep safe.
It was a tough evening. Leo was almost as stubborn as I was but he told that he wanted to be happy too. After what felt like hours, we were finally able to reach a compromise that didn’t leave feeling as suffocated.
Leo insisted on an escort car that would follow around to ensure my safety and I could tell he wouldn’t let drive without it so I agreed.
I looked in my rearview mirror, spotting the sleek black car as it tailed . I did my best to ignore it and as long as I was listening to music, I could generally forget that it was there.
As soon as I stepped into the house, I dropped my book bag on a nearby chair and wandered into the kitchen. Taylor was off for the afternoon so it was just , which was the start of another compromise. I didn’t want my guards around twenty four seven. I needed so ti to myself to breathe.
That being said, I still missed Leo when he was gone. I decided to chat with him while I was at lunch. I frowned when his phone rang several tis before going to voicemail. After a quick call to Franky, I learned that Leo was still at the real estate office.
I tried calling him again before deciding to go down there and surprise him. He was working so hard to try and get the business ready before the baby arrived. I wanted to make him smile while he worked.
My heart raced as I pulled into the parking lot of the office. It was still hard for to wrap my head around the fact that I was going to be a wife and a mother. Leo was going to make both of those things possible.
I loved him so much.
I pushed the door open and smiled shyly at the receptionist, realizing that I would have to tell her that I was Leo’s fiancee since she would probably think I was there for an appointnt. For so reason, imagining saying the word fiancee outloud embarrassed .
“Good afternoon,” I said. “My na is Bianca. I’m here to-”
She smiled brightly at . “Ahh yes, I was told to send you straight up to Mr. Leo’s office. You’re good to go, Ms. Bianca.”
I thanked her politely, trying not to blush before making my way to the elevator.
When the elevator doors opened on the top floor, I saw Leo imdiately through the glass doors, looking completely lost in thought as he rifled through papers on his desk. He was so focused that he didn’t even hear the loud ding of the elevator as it dropped off.
I tilted my head with amusent as I approached his office, pushing the door open. His head shot up, his eyes rounding in surprise as he saw standing there. He jumped up and rushed over to .
“Bianca,” he breathed, taking my face in his hands, his thumbs sweeping over my cheekbones. “You startled . I didn’t know you were coming. Are you alright?”
I shook my head with a light giggle, gently taking his hand off of my face so that I could kiss the palm of his hand. “I should be asking you that,” I quipped. “Soone has been so busy it seems that he couldn’t even pick up his phone for his fiancee.”
He blinked a couple of tis at before looking around the room, finally locating his phone under a pile of papers. He looked up from the screen to give a sheepish look. “Sorry about that,” he said. “I just have a lot on my mind is all.”
I frowned with concern. This wasn’t like him. Leo was normally so put together but he looked lost right now. I ca over and rubbed his back through his dark button-up. “What’s going on?” I asked. “Is there anything I can do?”
Leo shook his head, his expression darkening with frustration. “Not unless you can find another guy to take over for , ideally one with so respect and humility.”
I should have known that this had sothing to do with Darion. That made feel a little guilty since he was trying to leave the mafia and was having to suffer because of it. I reminded myself that this was going to be good for our entire family and that this was what Leo wanted as well.
“I’ll let you know as soon as I find soone,” I said in a teasing voice since I doubted I could find anyone who was willing to have their life on the line every single day of their existence.
My attempt at joking went completely unnoticed. Leo’s jaw clenched as he went back to his desk and started to move papers around. His movents were angry and jerky.
I felt the frown on my face deepen even further and I approached him, putting my hands on his shoulders and digging my thumbs into the stiff knots in his back. Leo beca even more tense before he relaxed slightly. “Want to take a little break and talk about it?” I asked.
“I’ll be fine,” he said tersely but then made his voice a bit gentler as he leaned into my touch. “I just have so thinking to do. That little brat is costing a lot of paperwork. He might be intelligent but I don’t know if that’s going to make up for his inflated head.”
I pursed my lips in surprise. “That bad, huh?” I asked rhetorically. “What did he do?”
“The guys are already set on treating him like he’s already taken over,” he told bitterly. He sounded like he was biting back a growl that wanted to erupt from his throat. “And instead of using it to better the operation, the little asshole is taking complete advantage.”
This didn’t co as a surprise at all. I only t the guy once but it was easy to tell that he loved power and was going to exploit it as soon as it was given to him. I figured it was a trait that would prove useful in the line of work but I could also see how it could potentially cause problems too.
“He’s only been there for a few days,” I pointed out in dismay.
“And in that short amount of ti he convinced essentially off of the n to stop working and to turn one of the safe rooms into a night club,” Leo inford , his jaw clenching at the mory.
I couldn’t help but giggle, the image just a bit too ridiculous for not to find it a little amusing.
Leo looked over his shoulder at , his eyes narrowing. “It’s not funny,” he intoned but one corner of his mouth twitched.
“It’s a little funny,” I said, smirking and giving him a light kiss on the cheek.
He smiled a bit but then his face turned sour again a quick second later. “I might agree with you if that was the only thing that I was dealing with,” he said. He gestured angrily at the papers behind him. “I just went through our reports and we’re way behind with our real estate business because of the lull in the fucking LA housing market.”
My heart dropped at that news. The real estate business wasn’t just our cover but our only clean source of inco. We couldn’t afford for it to fail.
I let my hands fall from Leo’s shoulders so that I could look through the docunts he had laid out. I looked through so of the data packets, my mind racing as an idea struck .
“What if we create a smaller branch specifically for selling lower priced zip-code houses to flippers,” I suggested, thinking the words as I said them. “That would cut our costs imnsely since we wouldn’t have to pay renovations costs before we sell.”
Leo was silent as he processed my words. His eyes widened as he jumped up and looked over the forms with . “Bianca,” he said slowly, shaking his head in wonder. A mont later, he turned so that he could beam at . “That is absolutely genius!”
I blushed with pleasure, excited that I ca up with a solution and that I was able to make Leo smile despite all of his current stresses.
Leo was writing furiously on a notepad and one quick glance revealed that he was writing down so kind of formula. He scribbled for another minute before nodding. “If we started next month, we could get back on track by Spring!”
“That’s great!” I said, beaming right back at him.
Leo dropped the pad and pen and then grabbed around the waist, spinning in a circle. “You are brilliant, Bianca,” he said before setting down and pressing a kiss to my forehead. “How did you co up with that idea?”
My cheeks were still pink with embarrassnt. “I thought about going into business when it ca ti for to choose a major,” I said, amazed that the topic never ca up between us. “I even took a couple of courses when I was studying in Italy.”
Leo’s eyes rounded. “You should pursue it,” he told seriously. “You would be really good at it and you could help out with this business if you wanted to.”
I laughed lightly and then gestured down to the tiny bump beneath my hips. “I doubt I’ll have ti once this little one arrives,” I told him. “But I’ll think about it.”
“Maybe when our child is older,” Leo said with a shrug. He smirked at then. “Even with children, I just can’t see you being content to be a housewife.” He waggled his eyebrows at though and dropped his arms so he could wind them around my waist. “I wouldn’t mind keeping you safe at ho to myself though.”
I laughed and shoved him away playfully. “I know you wouldn’t,” I said, rolling my eyes. He was so protective that he would probably pay to stay at ho if that was ever an option.
I leaned against Leo’s chest, his suggestion that I pursue a career in business causing to think about the future. Lately, all I could think about was the baby and how I would be ho with them once they were born. It didn’t even occur to to think about what would happen when they were older.
I thought about helping Leo run the business and realized that it didn’t sound like such a bad idea.
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