Chapter 24 NANNY.
\~~~RAINA.
The day came faster than I prayed for.
Every day since Luciano announced that COO nonsense to me, I have been dreading this exact morning. It hangs over my head like a damn storm cloud that is threatening to soak me in stress the moment I blink.
I stepped into the closet, wrapped in a towel, water still dripping from my hair… and of course, he was there.
Standing like some holy guardian of wardrobe decisions that he wasn’t even invited to make.
He lifted a hanger with a white shirt slowly, and deliberately, the way people raise a glass when giving a toast, and on the other hand, he held a dress.
His eyes swept over me, the towel and all, like he has already decided what I am wearing and I just haven’t caught up yet.
Of course.
Two days ago, he had a personal shopper fill my closet with corporate outfits.
There were no cute casuals, nor cozy basics.
Just corporate!
Only suits, blazers, dresses, and shirts in that sharp, terrifyingly expensive style that screams I run empires and crush necks before breakfast.
I still don’t know whether to thank him or strangle him.
He lowered the hanger slightly, as if presenting options to a toddler.
“This,” he said calmly, lifting the white shirt a little higher,
“Or this,” he tilted the dress forward.
I tightened my hold on my towel because somehow the sudden urge to run away or evaporate is very, very strong.
“You are choosing my clothes now?” I asked, raising a brow.
He didn't answer immediately, which is worse. He just watched me with that look that makes me feel like he is mentally undressing and redressing me at the same time.
Finally, he moved closer and held up the white shirt in front of my chest, as if checking the aesthetic.
“You are starting work today,” he reminded me, his voice low, “and you are not stepping into my company looking like a lost puppy.”
“Oh, whatever,” I muttered under my breath.
Wrong thing to say because his eyes drop to me immediately, slow and warning, and I swallow hard.
“I didn’t… I meant…”
“Choose,” he cut in, raising both hangers again. “The shirt or the dress.”
I stared between them, stared at him, and then at the clothes again.
To be honest, I really consider picking neither and walking out naked just to spite him
But I am not suicidal today, so I take a deep breath.
“Shirt,” I said.
“The dress, it is,” he returned the shirt, and I widened my eyes.
“You asked to choose one!”
“I never mentioned if it was to wear it or return it,” he shrugged simply and pressed the dress against me.
I snatched it from him, wishing my gaze could bore a fucking hole in his head.
“Get ready in ten minutes,” With that, he walked out of the space and I just stood still, annoyed at this man who acts as though I am his personal project.
_____
And so, I was done.
I walked back into the bedroom where Luciano waited, and the moment I stepped in, his eyes lifted slowly, and deliberately before scanning me from head to toe.
The dress he forced on me was an elegant, body-skimming corporate piece of a fitted knee-length black dress with a clean square neckline that showed just enough collarbone.
The fabric hugged my waist, smoothing over every curve as if it had been sewn on me. The sleeves were short and structured, giving me that sharp, corporate silhouette he clearly wanted.
My heels clicked softly against the floor, sleek pointed black pumps, classic and annoyingly perfect.
And my hair, still slightly damp from the shower, fell over one shoulder in loose waves, giving me an unintentional effortlessly put-together look I absolutely did not sign up for.
Luciano’s gaze moved slowly from my legs, up the line of the dress, lingering at my waist and then my chest before finally stopping at my face.
He didn’t smile at me. Not like I expected him to, by the way.
He didn’t compliment me either.
He didn’t even blink. He just looked at me like he was evaluating his property.
“Can I just do sandals? These are torturous,” I breathed out, looking down at my heels.
“No.”
Luciano walked past me and then out of the room, leaving me no choice but to go with him.
I kept descending the stairs gently, like a robot on a low battery and that was it till we arrived downstairs.
When he mentioned breakfast, I shook my head instantly because heaven knows I can’t stomach any food right now.
And I am glad he didn’t push me.
He just nodded his head and then, I turned around to look at the men who entered.
It was Viktor and Gabriel and my face lit up at the sight of the latter man
I hadn’t seen Gabriel since the first time I saw him, so it was safe to assume that he had gone out for business errands.
Viktor stopped when he got to where we stood, bowed at Luciano, and then turned to me gently, “Madam.”
I only nodded at him before I turned to look at Gabriel who waved his hand at me, and God, I waved my two hands at him instantly.
“I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Boss thought going on a business trip right after I returned from one was a befitting punishment,” he said, and I turned to look at Luciano who didn’t even bat an eye.
That asshole!
So, he had sent Gabriel out on purpose!
“I must say, you look different from that night, Mrs. Moretti, and you look abso…”
The words caught in his throat and I needed no soothsayer to tell me Luciano had caused it.
I could legit see the tension that suddenly filled the air and I breathed out again, turning to look at Luciano who was indeed staring at Gabriel.
“Fine, warlord, we can see you,” I rolled my eyes, earning a frown from him instead.
If Gabriel wanted to burst into laughter, I can’t tell because the man suddenly let out an obviously forced cough, and then turned around, palming his mouth.
“I am assigning my wife to you as of today,” Luciano said, glancing at Viktor, and then Gabriel.
First, assigning?
What am I?
Whatever?
God, please, I don’t want Viktor.
I had clasped my hands together to pray before I realised it.
“Yes, boss,” Viktor nodded his head, like he could see through his boss.
And then, I turned to look at Luciano who nodded his head, before I turned to look at Gabriel then Viktor.
“No way,” I shook my head, taking a step back.
“Excuse me?” Luciano frowned.
“You’re assigning him to me or me to him, I don’t care, but, for what?”
Luciano closed his eyes for a second, scratched in between his brows lazily, and then answered.
“As your guard, driver, nanny, whatever you choose to call it.”
I know if we were behind the closed doors, this was going to be the part where he would pin me to the wall and bite my fucking head off.
“No way!” I exclaimed.