CHAPTER 16 PART 1

C H A P T E R - - - - S I X T E E N - - - - S E L E N A

Selena was at her desk arranging a stack of documents on the gambling link in Atlantic City five minutes before Reidan walked into the office. At that moment, the door opened, and someone entered the room.

"Did that go well?"  Without glancing up from her desk, Selena assumed she was speaking to Reidan when she inquired.

Selena jumped in her seat in shock when Mrs. Bianco responded in an icy tone, "Oh, that went perfectly."

Selena secretly said, "Dammit," and forced a smile onto her face as she turned to address her boss' mother.

"I only wanted to talk to you about some urgent issues for a short while."

Selena answered, even though her fingers had begun to shake, "Sure, go ahead." She maintained a relaxed and unhurried tone in her voice. Despite having worked here for a year, Mrs. Bianco had never recognized her directly and had only ever spoken to her to request a meeting with her son or husband.

Mrs. Bianco looked around the office, perhaps looking for a chair to sit in, but she only raised her upper lip in a half-snarl, expressing her disgust at the mess her husband's death had left behind in the office.

Selena experienced humiliation, which made her cheeks and neck warm. Simply put, things had been very busy. Recently, she hadn't had the time to maintain the order she usually would have. It's not as if she was anticipating a visit from Mama Bianco.

Mrs. Bianco was disgusted with Selena, but she also had other motives. Naturally, none of them were based on fact, but it didn't seem to matter. There was nothing Selena could say or do to make the matriarch of the Bianco family change her mind; it was obvious that Selena had fucked Giovanni before he passed away. She could only straighten her spine, gulp down the bile that slipped up her throat, and continue to be as resilient as she could be under pressure, as she usually was.

“What can I help you with?” Selena asked after an awkward pause in which neither of them spoke, attempting to prompt Mrs. Bianco into airing her grievances already so she could go on with the rest of her day.

After flashing a smile, Mrs. Bianco's brilliant red lips extended so far across her face that it appeared uncomfortable. Selena struggled mightily to control her shivers in response to Mrs. Bianco's gaze, which bore a gaunt, ravenous look. She resembled Matteo, especially the frightening, predatory face he had the night before.

Selena had made a promise to herself up to this point not to dwell on it, to let it go, and to keep her fear from being apparent to Matteo. But now, Mrs. Bianco smirked before speaking as she turned to face her with her hands firmly on her hips.

“Me? Oh, no, ma’am. I don’t need your help. I’m here to offer you mine.”

“Wh - what?” Selena felt completely perplexed. Did she know that her younger son was trying to take over the company against Giovanni's wishes? She might have finally changed her mind.

Mrs. Bianco turned and walked slowly over to Selena’s desk, standing over her and looking down to meet her eyes. “I just want you to know what you’re dealing with. That’s all.”

“What am I dealing with?” Selena asked, feeling another surge of anxiety climb up her spine as she fought to maintain solid eye contact with the woman towering over her.

“More than you know,” Mrs. Bianco replied, shaking her head a little as she chuckled. “Now my son, Reidan, has made it plain to me that you are very crucial to certain… functions of this organization. But I know what my family needs. And it isn’t you.”

“Ma’am, I’m not quite sure you know what’s—” Selena started to say, but Mrs. Bianco cut her off with some deep, throaty laughter.

“Oh, that's really amusing. Hearing you struggle to defend yourself is quite comical. I am aware that you are a miserly little mistress who is completely out of luck now that my husband is deceased and has left you with nothing. Oh, how unfortunate.” Selena's greatest worries were verified when Mrs. Bianco's smile vanished and was replaced by an evil, harsh glare. She didn't come in to assist her. She entered this room to terrify her, and so far it had been successful.

“I didn’t do anything with your husband,” Selena said through gritted teeth, feeling her frustration overcome the fear inside of her. “I’m not a mistress.” With the exception of in the kinky sex sense, she reasoned as she recalled Reidan's servants' description of her at the penthouse. It was tempting to violate the terms of the agreement, if only to let Mrs. Bianco know what was actually going on. If Mrs. Bianco knew the reality, perhaps she would be sufficiently shocked to accept Selena's account of her connection with Giovanni. After example, there would be no logical reason for Selena to lie about having an affair with a more senior man if she were shameless enough to admit to being a sexual submissive.

But she was unable to subject Reidan to it. Despite the fact that they had only ever had one fling, she felt as though she knew him better than any of her previous partners. She also understood that betraying his trust would break him to pieces. The dreadfully dumb, ludicrously amazing fact that they trusted each other enough to let each other in despite all the hazards involved was what the entire situation was about. Selena was unable to conceal that. Even if keeping his secret meant hurting herself in his place, she couldn't harm him.

Selena, who was a few inches shorter than the tall, slender Bianco grandmother, forced herself to get as brave as she could and got up. But she didn't back down; throughout their tense silence, she maintained eye contact with the elder woman. When Selena's nerves finally got the best of her, she spat out while gritting her teeth, “What do you need from me? Spit it out. What's the point of coming in here to insult me with things you don't understand?”

“Just a friendly warning,” Mrs. Bianco replied in a low whisper, her eyes darting back and forth between each of Selena’s. “I don’t like to get my hands dirty, and I’d rather avoid it if possible. That’s how you can help, I suppose.”

“How?” Selena asked, the suspense practically killing her at this point.

“By getting out of the way,” Mrs. Bianco said with a shrug. “We are not going to allow you get in the way because my son and I have work to do and money to make here. Therefore, I advise you to leave before the sun sets because otherwise terrible things could happen.”

“What? You’re going to kill me or something?” Selena tried to scoff as if she wasn’t scared at all, even though her heart had started pounding against her throat like it was trying to escape her body entirely.

Mrs. Bianco smiled again and gave a half-shrug, like she honestly didn’t know the answer. “Who knows? But someone will get hurt, Selena. Maybe even someone close to you.”

“You’re threatening an old man with a weak heart,” Selena said, she recalled how badly her elderly father had been straining to breathe lately. A burst of rage empowered her, forcing her to lift her head higher until her eyes were level with Mrs. Bianco's. She was not about to give in. not so simple.

“Who says I’m just talking about your father?” Mrs. Bianco lifted her eyebrows so high they almost disappeared into her thick, dark hair. “There are other things you care about, things that have just been brought to my attention today, actually.”

Selena was utterly confused for several long seconds, searching Mrs. Bianco’s face for any clue that would tell her what she meant, but then it hit her. Reidan. She’d just spoken with Reidan. Somehow, she’d figured out that they were having a relationship without either of them needing to divulge any information. Maybe Matteo had told her, for all Selena knew. It would make sense, the two of them plotting together to get control of the business.

Selena felt more emboldened than ever, smiling as mean as she could and backing away from Mrs. Bianco, resuming her organization of the papers on her desk. “You showed your hand there,” Selena said, shaking her head. “You’d hurt your own son if it meant fulfilling your ambition. Now I know there’s no point in trying to reason with you. You don’t have a heart. Maybe that’s why Giovanni was so sad all the time.”