Treat Me Read online

  I whispered one last prayer and good-bye to Matt and then left the cemetery. I decided it would be best to pass by the book store and get something to read and get busy with instead of fawning over our photos and posts on social media. I needed to avoid my phone for a while and get my head into something else.

  Chapter Three

  I fucking hate work. I checked my watch and saw there was still an hour before I could ditch this stupid place. I didn’t really have a great job. Yeah, I finished college but it was a degree in communication and there were hardly any jobs for that in this small town. So here I was, working as a sales assistant in a costume store at the mall.

  All I ever do anyway is stand there in skimpy outfits and hope people come in to buy stupid costumes, or girls to walk in wanting to buy sexy outfits for their partners. Sometimes guys would walk in but only to tease their girlfriends. It was quite rare for guys to actually get something like a black shirt with the words “Fuck Me” printed on it and then give it to their girlfriend or wife. Other times they’d just buy a shirt with band logos.

  The only other person in the shop right now was my co-worker Stephanie and our supervisor, David. The former was a nice kid around nineteen years old and the latter was a pervert douchebag who kept on trying to flirt with me and Steph. Fortunately, he spent most of the work hours in his office dealing with legal paperwork and accounting bullshit so me and Steph didn’t really need to deal with him all day long.

  Speaking of Steph, she walked out of our private bathroom and took a moment to fix her Lolita skirt before walking up to me. I smiled at her and to be honest, I did find her a little hot. She was taller than me, had gorgeous red hair and blue eyes. Her skin was really soft and pale and she had a nose piercing along with a few tattoos. She looked like the kind of girl you’d expect working in a shop like this.

  “Hey, shouldn’t you be off already?” she asked as she leaned an arm on top of a rack of shirts. “Didn’t Dave give you like an early out or something?”

  I shook my head, “I wish. He mentioned something about it but never gave it a go.”

  “What a dick,” she cursed aloud. When she did I saw she had a new tongue piercing. That looked absolutely hot. “I thought he’d at least give you a day off, you know?”

  I shrugged it off. “Matt and I weren’t married so I guess there’s no legal means of making it possible. I mean, what would I put on the sheet? ‘Absent because boyfriend died’ doesn’t really sound plausible with management.”

  “Who the fuck cares if you guys weren’t married? You were together and that meant something. He would understand if he was fucking someone other than his right hand.” Stephanie really had no filter. “You know, I do find it surprising that Matt’s dad turns out to be Giovanni Ricci. That’s a big shock.”

  I raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “Giovanni Ricci? I got to talk to him for a bit during the funeral. Is he famous or something?”

  Stephanie looked at me like I was the biggest idiot on the planet. “You don’t even know who Mr. Ricci is? Holy fuck… he’s like the biggest gangster in the East Coast.”

  “Wait, what?”

  She rolled her eyes. “You’ve been with Matt for what, five years, and you never knew who his dad was?”

  I shrugged innocently.

  “What last name did Matt use, anyway?”

  “Hollows,” I answered. “That’s his mom’s last name.”

  Stephanie gave me that “oh” look before she continued to explain. “That explains it. Well, Giovanni Ricci practically owns this town and others too. He has politicians in his pocket, many businesses pay up ‘protection’ money to him and he leads one of the most powerful mobs in existence.”

  “So why isn’t he in jail?”

  Stephanie just frowned at that idea. “Maybe because the police and politicians benefit from him too? I don’t know all the details, really, just from what I see in the news. There was this thing last year where some guys tried to rob one of his hotels and thought they were protected because their uncle or something was a cop. Well, turns out Giovanni had already paid the judge, the jury and the police chief. They all looked up to him. The guys that robbed his place? Nobody’s seen them again.”

  That was fucking scary. What if I accidentally angered Giovanni? What if I say something stupid in front of him, something about Lorie or about Matt? Would he make me disappear too?

  “Well, fuck it,” I told her when I finally figured there was nothing for me to worry about. “I’m pretty sure he’ll take care of me and Matt’s mom. We spent more time with Matt than he did so I guess he’ll respect that, at least.”

  Stephanie nodded, “Yeah, I hope so. You really do need some time to yourself, you know?”

  “That’s sweet of you,” I told her.

  “Well, you’ve been nice to me ever since I started here,” she explained. “Speaking of work, the devil’s here.” She pointed to the door and we saw David come walking out from the office.

  “Hey you two, you shouldn’t be standing around gossiping,” David told us as he approached. I really hated this guy. He was a fat slob with oily, unkempt, dirty blonde hair. “You, Lily, you can go. I need Stephanie though for closing.”

  I gave Stephanie a worried look. She mouthed “don’t worry” back to me.

  I looked back at David and saw he had his eyes on my chest. Ugh… he’s such a disgusting pervert. I wanted to shove his face in my tits then choke him. He’s just lucky that I needed a job so much that I never tried fighting back at him.

  “Thanks Dave,” I told him. “You guys okay here?”

  Stephanie nodded and Dave gave my ass a playful slap as he said, “Yeah, go on. You deserve some time off. Tomorrow, though, no time for grief. Back to work and everything.”

  That really ticked me off. Even Matt didn’t touch me like that. I grit my teeth and just stormed out of the shop and headed to our back office. I headed straight to the locker and got my clothes and changed in the bathroom. I gave Stephanie one last wave and then headed back home.

  ***

  By the time I got home I was so exhausted that I was tempted to just crash on my bed and take a nap. However, my mind was still wandering and I couldn’t get Giovanni Ricci out of my head.

  I just dropped my bag and took off all my clothes except for my panties. When I passed by the mirror I couldn’t help but marvel at my own breasts; I loved how they looked. I loved how my whole body looked. Maybe I should have been a model. I could probably get a career as a porn star too. Then again, I’ve never had sex so I had no idea if I was good or if I sucked in bed.

  When I was done admiring myself I headed to the bedroom, took my phone, and started looking through my apps for a movie I could watch or a series to binge on.

  “Giovanni Ricci,” I whispered mindlessly to myself. Stephanie’s story really got to me, I guess. I decided to skip watching and got to searching up Giovanni’s name online.

  Turns out a lot of the things she said were true. According to some websites, he was the current head or “Godfather” of the Ricci crime family and the CEO of an international consolidation corporation. Maybe it was for these reasons that Matt never really talked to me about him. Maybe he wanted to distance himself from his father’s crimes? I don’t know… Giovanni seemed very nice when we met.

  I wondered if he was still in town.

  That got some gears going in my head. I headed back to the living room, looked for the coat I wore to the funeral a few days back and scrambled to find the calling card. Fortunately it was still there.

  With the card in hand I sat on the couch and fumbled with what to type. I wondered if he would even take the time to respond. I bit down on my lip and just decided to wing it and hope he’d reply.

  “Hi, Lily here,” I started to type. “I was wondering if you’re still in town. Free tomorrow?”

  I sent the text message before I could hesitate and stop myself from pushing through with it.

  Now it was just a matter
of waiting. Giovanni was an older man - sure, he was freaking hot as hell he might as well be one of those gorgeous-looking vampires from the movies - so I suspected it would be a bit before he got to reply. While waiting, I headed quickly to the kitchen and made myself some coffee.

  When I returned to the living room I was shocked to find that he had already responded. I nearly spilled my coffee when I saw he had sent not just one but two texts. I quickly set my phone down and opened the messages.

  “Hey, so good to hear from you,” his first message read. I then opened the second one. “Sure, let’s meet tomorrow at the Blue Valley restaurant, around six. It’s my treat. You’re done with work by then, right?”

  I smacked my lips and replied hastily. I felt a beat of excitement and said “Yep. All right, see you tomorrow!” I made sure to add a cute smiley with the message.

  That got me in a good mood. All I’ve done for the past few days was cry my heart out and I felt relieved I could hang out with someone who I could talk to. Kevin and Tom were avoiding me, Melanie was too busy and Stephanie was more of a co-worker than a real friend I’d hang out with. Maybe I could befriend Giovanni and in that way feel like I’m closer to Matt even now that he’s gone.

  Satisfied, I finished my coffee and got to finally picking a movie for the night.

  Chapter Four

  Ah fuck. The doors nearly tore my dress. I looked behind me and was thankful that the train was already leaving. That was a horrendous ride. I didn’t have a car so the train and the bus were the only means I had of going around but this time… ugh! This time, the doors closed early and my dress got caught. I thought I was going to get dragged or something. Fortunately, the fabric slid out and I was fine.

  I really liked this dress too. It was a really body-fitting, pink, sleeveless mini-dress and it paired well with the white sandals I had on. It was a little revealing, especially if I bent too low, so I had to take care or else someone might take a peek at my ass. I was wearing a black, lacy thong too but not to be slutty or anything, I just felt comfortable with them on.

  The one thing I did make sure was to change in the mall’s public bathroom and not the one in the store. I didn’t want David to see me in this outfit or he’d get a free boner just looking at me.

  From the station it was a brisk walk to the restaurant Giovanni said to meet at. I have never really been around this part of town since everything here was a little too expensive for my taste. Why would I spend $29 for a single dish when I could blow all that money on food, some clothes and still have enough for a movie ticket at the theater? Of course, Giovanni would be here since he could afford it.

  He did say it would be his treat so I had nothing to lose, I guess. I just get the opportunity to meet the man that my loved one avoided all his life.

  To my surprise, Blue Valley was a pretty low-key restaurant. It didn’t look super big and the entrance was just a narrow flight of stairs that led to this single, wooden door.

  “Maybe it isn’t as fancy as I presumed it would be,” I told myself under a whisper as I began to climb up the staircase.

  That fantasy quickly evaporated the moment I approached the door. An usher opened it for me and as soon as I stepped in I felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. The interiors were a completely different world compared to the drab building seen on the street Inside the restaurant was bathed in deep blue and roaming lights as if the entire area was one big lava lamp. All of the tables were in VIP coves and I could see the waitresses were all young, hot and wearing really short skirts. It almost made think this was a gentleman’s club and not a fine dining establishment.

  “Hello, ma’am, your reservation please?” the usher asked. I turned to look at her. She was probably a year or two younger than I was and had on such a tight blouse it pretty much squeezing her tits out.

  “Oh, uh Lily Hunter,” I answered. “It’s probably under Giovanni Ricci.”

  The usher’s face quickly switched from a stereotypical I-need-to-be-nice smile to a pale gasp. She quickly nodded and gestured me into the restaurant.

  “Right this way, ma’am. Mr. Ricci just arrived a few minutes ago, he’s already at your table waiting for you. Please, just this way.”

  I followed her past some tables and she led me up to the third floor of the restaurant. Our table was at the very far corner and I noticed that the cove was significantly larger than any other. I guess Giovanni really didn’t settle for anything but the best. Who knows, maybe he even owned this place.

  Giovanni stood up to greet me. He shook my hand, hugged me and gave me a soft peck on the cheek. With a hand he then gestured for me to sit beside him and so I did. The usher handed me a menu and left us to our privacy. I did see a buzzer on the table so we could call them whenever we were ready to order - that is, if Giovanni didn’t order already.

  “Hey,” I greeted as soon as I got comfortable. Sitting less than two feet from him I could smell his cologne… it was intoxicating, distracting. It was so masculine. I wanted to just shut my eyes and let it wash over me.

  “How are you? Wow, you’re absolutely stunning,” he told me. Now that I really got to listen to him, he did have a strong Italian-American accent but it just made him seem manlier than ever. It was a unique trait that even Matt didn’t have.

  I took a sip of the free water they had on the table and then answered. “Oh, thank you. To be honest, I didn’t really know what to wear. As for all this craziness… I’m starting to feel better. It was a big shock when I got the news about Matt but ever since I buried my head into the funeral details and all that I’ve started to calm down. How about you?”

  He turned a little to get a better look at me and said “Well, to be honest I’m a little indifferent. I didn’t get to know him so well. We last spoke when he was turning twenty-one and that was ages ago.”

  That was interesting. So it’s been that long since Matt decided to distance himself. What about his mom? Why was Lorie such an asshole to everybody?

  “Damn,” was all I could reply. “I get that, though. The last time me and Matt were together it was a little chaotic too.”

  “You guys get into a fight or something?” Giovanni asked as he fingered through the menu. He gave a tired sigh. “You know, I own this place. The chef here is a good friend of mine. We did business before. Maybe I’ll just tell the waitress that I want the kitchen to surprise me with whatever they serve us. Eh?”

  I liked that idea. “Sure! That sounds intriguing. As for me and Matt… well, no, not really. We didn’t get into a fight but he did lie to me that night. He picked me up from work, we drank a little at his place, he then drove me back home and I thought that was it. I thought he’d go home and he said he’d go home but instead he lied and spent time with our other friends drinking at their place. He was heading home from that house when he got into the accident.”

  “Why would Matt lie to you?”

  “I-I don’t know,” I admitted. God, thinking about Matt was making me buckle under. I could feel tears start to form in my eyes. I didn’t want to break down in front of Giovanni though. “It’s just… it makes this hollow feeling grow big inside me, you know? I wanted to know everything that was going on but before I could get any answers he’s taken away from me.”

  Giovanni wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me in. Oh God, that felt so good. Fuck social conventions and protocol. I shut my eyes and began to cry. I just buried my face in his chest and let him hold me so close.

  “Hush now,” he told me. “Do not cry. Maybe eating here is not good idea. How about you come over to my place instead? We can have more privacy, you can talk and rant as much as you like and no one will care. I promise to take good care of you. You were important to my son so you are important to me.”

  That was the most reassuring thing anyone ever told me ever since Matt died. I simply nodded and before I knew what was happening he led me up from the table and we went back down, out of the restaurant and to his car. He didn’t u
se the limousine this time and instead it was a sleek, two-seat muscle car and I gawked at it amidst my tears. Damn, this was amazing.

  Boy, I had no idea this was just the beginning.

  Chapter Five

  The drive to his place was nice and quiet. He let me sulk in silence and I cried to myself as I looked out the window, my mind buried in memories of Matt. As we got closer to the residential area - to the well-to-do section, as a matter of fact - my mind began to drift to how Kevin said Matt told him not to reveal they were together that night. I kept on wondering why Matt didn’t want me to know and what kind of secret he was really hiding. I needed to figure it out. I needed to know the truth.

  We then pulled up to a large compound which, behind its walls, were three large manors. The biggest one was in the middle and I presumed that was where Giovanni actually lived whenever he was here and not out in some other city for business. I had no clue what the other buildings were. I didn’t even know why he’d need another building. Did he have so many servants they needed their own dormitory or something?

  “Why so many buildings?” I just had to get it out of my system.

  He slowly pulled up to the large building in the middle. “That one on the right side is purely for business. It’s an office here in the compound. The other is a utility building so that’s where all the laundry is done, all the cleaning and whatnot. I have nine servants including the driver you met the other day. They all stay there, except for Richard since he’s my personal assistant. He stays in my house.”

  Wow. That’s a lot of money going in and out every day. How rich was this old guy?

  As soon as he parked, a servant opened the front doors and came running down the stairs. He then opened the driver’s seat and hurried to open mine. When I stepped out I got a better look and realized this guy was probably just as old as Giovanni, around fifty if I were to make a guess.