Page 3 of Bobby

“I did!”

“Great work, honey. What did you pick?”

“Yoga.” Her smile turns wicked as I giggle with Lily at her expression. “The boys hate it.”

My little brainiac also has a bit of a mean streak. Revenge is more like it. Usually a boy is picked to lead the class, and they always have to do push-ups or run or something Ivy considers “boy fun.” Once she realized the only reason a boy got picked was because the girls never tried hard enough to get it, she doubled her efforts and succeeded.

“And what about you, Lily? How was your day?”

“Well, first it started with Sarah taking my red crayon.”

I fold my lips inside my mouth to keep from laughing at the dramatic way my little sassy girl describes all the “horrible” things that happened at school, from someone choosing the same color she picked to not having enough time on the swings. As she goes on and on, I share a look with Ivy, who rolls her eyes again but smiles. This is our Lily. Dramatic to a T. But we love her. Despite everything, she still makes us all smile, and even when she’s mad at someone, they’re still her friend.

“How was your day, Mommy?” Ivy asks once Lily settles down from her story and plays with the buttons on my blouse.

“Not the worst.” I don’t lie to the girls, but I sugarcoat as much as I can. “I got good news, though.”

“Yeah?” Lily perks up at my words. “What is it? Tell us. Tell us.” She bounces on my lap with unrestrained excitement.

“You get to hang out with Mrs. Carlton tomorrow. I have to go to the office for a bit, and she said she can watch you.”

“Yay!” Lily cries out before throwing her arms around my neck and squeezing me tightly.

“I have a class project to work on this weekend,” Ivy grumbles.

I pat her knee. “Don’t worry about it. I already spoke to Mrs. Carlton about it. She says she has the poster board already and is happy to help start it with you. Then after work, we can finish it at home or on Sunday. Is that okay?”

I let Ivy work it out in her mind before she nods and grins. “That works.”

God, what would I do without Mrs. Carlton? The girls love her. She’s a retired teacher and knows how to handle kids. But she’s also wrapped around my girls’ fingers and spoils them more than I can right now.

But one day. One day I’ll be able to spoil them like they should be. Like the treasures they are.

Chapter 2—Bobby

“Shut up.”

“Didn’t say anything, boss,” Marco says with a stone-cold face I can see in the rearview mirror from the back seat of the town car.

“Your mannerisms are talking.”

“Sorry, sir. I’ll try to stop those.” He doesn’t smile, but I’ve known Marco long enough to know he’s laughing at me. No one else would know, and no one else would dare laugh at me, but we’ve been together for far too long to not have developed a friendship of sorts.

If I had friends, he would be my closest. But I don’t have time for friendship, or any relationship for that matter. I have an empire to run, the legit side to Vinny’s Mafia side. Second-born or not in the Leone family, I still have my fair share of the famiglia to run. We all do. All four of us.

Vinny heads it, as he’s the oldest and natural leader. I run the numbers, and most things those numbers control. I’ve got more determination than the others to work long into the night over the data. Danny, the third in line, covers security. Always was the protective type, even before he took over the role. And Tommy, the youngest, recently became the face that anyone can go to with an issue. He’s the in-between man, what some might see as the bottom rung, with access to the top guy. Milly, our sister and Tommy’s twin, would also be in the family business, probably running it, if it weren’t for her desire to just spend time with her man and kid down in Kansas. She’s already had enough issues, and the last thing she needs is our regular family drama, not to mention the drama that comes with running the famiglia and being in charge of the East Coast.

I don’t mind doing my part. I actually prefer to live in suits most days, work at the office more hours than I spend at home, and handle things from a single phone call or email. But on days like today? Days where I was actually planning on spending time at home and relaxing? Well, relaxing for me. I had a session booked with my martial arts instructor. I had to cancel twice already because of my busy schedule, and now this.

Someone’s going to pay for this inconvenience. Even if it’s one I created for myself.

I got so wrapped up in cleaning up our last famiglia mess—finding a mole and going over everyone’s application to make sure we wouldn’t do it again—that I forgot that I fired my assistant last week, another one, and I left my work laptop at the office. I have a few other computers at the house I could use, but this one has access to files meant for Leone Holdings only. Unlike the others.

I never said my relaxing day wasn’t just going to be me working from home after my workout session. I find work to be therapeutic when I want it to be. Besides, I run a very large corporation, so a day of not checking emails can lead to three weeks of being behind schedule. Something I refuse to do. If I had a damn assistant, they would have reminded me to pack my laptop last night. But I didn’t. Because, like the last two before this one, they thought they could have a life beyond my work. One where they could show up when they wanted and not show at all if they needed a “mental health” day. What does that even mean? You wake up cranky, so you take the day off so you don’t have to deal with getting your shit together and making a living? I don’t understand some of these young people. I get needing breaks to avoid burnout, but the man was only with me two days. Two days and decided a mental health break was needed.

I’m not that bad to work for, right?

Depends on who you ask.