Alessio (The Conti Crime Family Book 1), page 1
Alessio
The Conti Crime Family
Book One
C.M. Steele
Copyrighted © 2023
All Rights Reserved
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is purely coincidental.
Cover design: Bookin It Designs
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Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
Alessio:
Juniper wasn’t the right fit for the job, but it didn’t matter to him. She was the perfect fit for him. As the underboss of the Conti Family, Alessio D’Amato hadn’t planned on finding anyone. Still, a simple, inane task led him to the woman he wanted more than he anticipated.
There were just a couple of problems. He wasn’t a good guy, and worst of all, he didn’t see him as the guy for her. She had eyes for someone else
June:
From the first encounter with Alessio, I felt the heat between us. Unfortunately, I was just the help. He was hot and cold; I couldn’t figure the man out, but once I did, the gloves were off. Then he got the wrong idea, and I couldn’t correct him.
Chapter One
Alessio
I pull up to the temp agency early on a Tuesday morning full of annoyance and ready to return to my normal tasks, which doesn’t involve household chores. However, Dario needs me to handle the staffing after the last fuckup led to a young maid trying to seduce him.
It was a poor attempt at seduction that resulted in a quick firing, so it made him wary of hiring and needs me to take the reins. He doesn’t want a spy or a whore working for him, and it’s my job to make sure the agency gives us the right person.
I asked him why we didn’t just go with a maid service, but they ask too many questions and they have too many people coming in and out without reliable background checks. In our line of work, we need to be sure who we have working around us at all times. With a mansion as large as his, he needs a full staff, and that includes a maid—a well-vetted one.
It’s a headache, but I’m here to do Dario’s bidding as his underboss and cousin. It feels like a task that’s beneath me, although technically, it’s for the best for all of us to have trusted employees that handle the cleaning. A snitch could land us dead or behind bars.
I’m about to get out of the vehicle when a CTA bus pulls up across the street, and I’m frozen to my seat by the sweet thing that exits.
She pops off the bus in a light, summery white and blue sundress with a matching dark blue blazer that’s open and only covering her slender arms. Her ample breasts aren’t hidden from my gaze as she bounds across the road with her tits bouncing. Those round curves slightly peek out from the top of the dress.
My mouth salivates like never before, and I want to follow her wherever she goes but I don’t have the damn time. It’s bullshit.
She’s about ten feet in front of my vehicle, right where I’m headed. Holy hell—please tell me she’s looking for a position. She takes a deep, calming breath before opening the door to the agency and stepping inside.
Immediately I’m on the phone to the director, informing her that I’ll be just a few more moments. Frankly, I can’t exit the vehicle in my current state. Trying to relax and calm my arousal, I remember my priorities and step out of my vehicle, adjusting my dark blue suit that hides my now semi-hard cock.
Sliding on my sunglasses, I inform Michael, my driver, to wait here. “I shouldn’t be too long.”
Entering the office, all eyes are on me and I survey the area for danger. It’s benign, so I move to the desk. With years of experience, I don’t let on that I spot the girl from the bus in the one seat away from a group of men. Good girl. She nervously looks my way, but then quickly looks down. Too late, beautiful. When I turn toward the desk, I catch her head lift back up. Interesting.
“May I help you, sir?” the receptionist asks, smiling as she stares a little too long at my throat.
“Hello, I am Mr. D’Amato,” I inform her.
“Yes, Ms. Walker is expecting you, sir.” She dials her boss’s number, and after a brief call, she gives me her attention again. “She’ll be out in a moment. Would you care for something to drink?”
“No, thank you.” I turn and lean on her desk, pretending to aimlessly look around the room. My little stalker isn’t quick enough to turn away so I train my gaze on her, but she focuses on the hem of her skirt.
Smirking, I wonder if she’s interested or just curious. Then I remember she’s alone in a room full of mostly men, abrasive-looking fuckers too, and safety dictates she protect herself by hiding herself. Damn it. I’m not trying to scare the girl. She should never fear me unless she wants to end up over my knee, getting a nice spanking. I’m not sure where the fuck that came from, but I’m grateful that my suit covers my cock. Hopefully, no one pays too much attention to my pants.
The door opens to the side of the receptionist’s desk, and an older woman steps out. “Sir, I’m Ms. Walker. I’m sorry about the wait.” She smiles politely.
“That is no problem,” I say, even though I’m the one who was late.
“Please join me in my office.”
I hold the door open for her and wait until we’re inside before I close the door and say, “I’d like to ask if you had any candidates in mind for the posting.”
She takes a seat behind her desk while offering me the one in front of it. “Well, Mr. Conti was clear that you would be the one to say what was acceptable and what wasn’t. Although he did mention that selecting a young woman was off the table. Also, he was adamant that those with other obligations, like children and husbands, were not acceptable as well.”
“Yes, but a lot of that is negotiable.” It really isn’t. All I want is the one outside.
“Well, I don’t have a lot of candidates that fit the bill, so it’s hard to fill the slot. I know he’s offering a great deal of money, but I just…”
“Fine. If you have anyone who doesn’t have kids or a husband, that would be a start. We need someone who can devote a great deal of time to working on request. Mr. Conti hosts parties and sometimes special guests in his home. Keeping it clean is very important, but discretion matters as well. Wives tend to gossip to their husbands or can’t devote a lot of time because their husbands or children require it, hence the no spouses or children policy.”
She nods. “Understood.”
She bites her bottom lip, pulling a file from a stack on her desk. “I do have one candidate, although she doesn’t meet your other criteria. She’s young.”
“How young?” I grumble.
She scrunches up her face before saying, “Eighteen.”
“That is young.”
“Ms. Beaman’s a highly responsible young lady, and she recently graduated from high school. Although, she doesn’t have a lot of cleaning experience except at home.”
“When can you interview her?”
“I already interviewed her last Friday, but there’s nothing for her yet. She’s going to sit around and see if anything comes up. You can review her file if you’d like. If you want to hire her on, I will discuss it with her after you leave to see if she’s interested.”
“I would like to review her file.” She hands it to me, and from the photo attached to the cover, it most certainly is the young woman I saw out front. Juniper Beaman, or June, as she prefers to be called. Fuck me. I don’t react to the image or the details, knowing that I have everything I need right here.
Technically, I could hire someone else and just snatch June up and make her mine, but Ms. Walker’s right. She’s a good girl, and good girls don’t belong in my world. Maybe she could use the job and I can admire her beauty from close by while keeping assholes at bay.
Her street address puts her in the Jefferson Park area of the city. That’s still about forty minutes from the estate. “It states that she’ll be traveling to work via public transportation.”
“Oh, no. That won’t work,” Ms. Walker states the obvious. I can’t let that happen. She will work for me.
“Well, we figured that might be an issue with most people we hired given the estate’s distance from the city. There are staff quarters on the estate where she can stay during the week and then commute on the weekends back to her apartment.”
“If you want to interview her yourself, I can bring her in here.”
I sure as fuck can’t interview her because none of the questions would be appropriate. “Is that not what we’re paying you for?”
“Yes, of course. I just…never mind.”
“I have other matters that require my attention. Have her there and ready to start by tomorrow morning at nine a.m. Please excuse me.” I stand and exit the room without another word.
If I had my way, the woman in question would be over my shoulder and out the door into the backseat with me, riding my cock all the way back, and the only household chore she’d be doing would be servicing me.
Ignoring the small mass of people waiting for their meetings, I focus on her and spot some prick actually attempting to flirt with her. This unemployed fuck is trying to hit on my woman. June’s too good for a thug like me. She’s meant to be Dario’s maid only, nothing more to any of us. She tilts her upper body away, clearly trying to distance herself from the asshole.
Angry, I’m about to reach the prick to remind him of his manners when Ms. Walker calls out, “Ms. Beaman?”
She stands with a grateful sense of relief on her face, nervously looking up at me before moving past me and toward Ms. Walker.
“Fuck, that ass is almost as sexy as those tits,” hisses the jerk she’d been trying to get away from.
I growl at his disgustingly loud remarks and walk to the main desk. “Who is that man over there?”
“That’s Juan Dominguez. He’s here every couple of months after the temp assignments don’t work out.”
“And you keep letting him come back?” There should be a policy for fuckups like that.
“He’s related to the boss.” I can’t relate to that, but I understand that nepotism is a thing even if I’ve never experienced it. I was related to Dario and he only showed me love and respect because I was a bastard child of the family and completely rejected, never given the Conti name. She waves her hand about dismissively. “He’s all talk because he’s married.”
“Married men shouldn’t be doing any damn talking to women like that.” The fact that he’s married only amplifies my rage. My sperm donor had been no better than him, and men like him make me fucking sick.
With my teeth set on edge, I storm out of the place. June won’t step foot in this place after today, thankfully, but if he does approach her again, I won’t be so nice.
When I approach the car, my driver climbs out and asks, “Everything okay, Alessio?”
“Yes, Michael.”
“You seem agitated.”
“I’m good, but let’s wait a minute.”
Chapter Two
June
The second he steps through the door, all eyes are on him. He’d be hard to miss even if twenty men entered at the same time. Charisma, power, and something else just rolls off his tall, medium-build frame. In his expensive suit, I know he isn’t here for a job, but he’s probably an employer looking to hire, or even their boss. Although, I thought most companies did these temp assignments through the computer, not in person.
Still, I’m grateful for whatever reason that I get to steal glances, and he returns them. Nervously, I peek up at him. Twice he catches me, and I shamefully duck my head. Out of all the men that notice me, this has to be the hottest man ever, but I’m sure he has no interest in me at all. He probably senses someone is ogling him like a needy puppy. We’re a million miles apart.
Sadly, he doesn’t stay long because he leaves to meet with Ms. Walker while I sit around in the crappy uncomfortable chairs, waiting for them to call my name. As soon as he enters her office, a man scoots closer to me. I don’t even bother to look at the creep. He leans in and says, “You’re sexy.”
Without turning in his direction, I hiss, “Leave me alone. I’m not looking for a man.”
“I’m not either, but a hot woman would be nice.” He moves his knee a little closer, nearly touching mine.
“Leave me alone. I’m not interested, so stop it.” I move to another chair, but he just follows. “Ugh, what the hell is wrong with you?”
“Nothing but a hard cock that could be used between those fat tits,” he says, adding a rude grab of his crotch. I’m so repulsed that I nearly leave the agency, but money isn’t something I can just throw away because of a jerk.
The idea of landing a potential job and the slight chance of seeing that man in the suit again keeps me in the building. A new job or another few moments with the man who sent my heart jumping out of my chest, and my day would be made.
After about twenty minutes, the door opens and the handsome man strolls out, looking around the room and then directly at me. His stare hardens when he looks at the guy next to me who hasn’t gotten the hint yet. I’m about to stand up when the door he exited from opens again, and Ms. Walker appears. “Ms. Beaman?”
I happily jump out of my seat and walk over to her before the creep says anything else or dares to touch me. The handsome man stands at the front desk, speaking to the receptionist while I walk past him. I don’t make eye contact again because he’s way too close to me.
“Please follow me.” A little tension eases from my body. Getting a new job is always hard; this is my first time searching for a full-time position, and I’m going through a temp agency. Normally, I just applied to grocery stores or restaurants and worked part-time while in high school.
My feet move quickly to keep in step with the woman entering a small room off to the side of the waiting area. She waits for me to enter before closing the door. “Please have a seat.”
I do, and then she sets the folder on the table without taking a seat. “This is your assignment.” I open it to find the first page is just an address, quickly scrawled in pencil on the blank white sheet of paper. My brows knit in confusion. I’m about to move to the second page when she presses her hand down on it and says, “You’re to go there and only to speak with Mrs. Ricci. You don’t ask questions and you just do your job, which is from nine to three every Monday through Thursday. That’s it. Can you handle it?”
An instant feeling of disappointment fills me. “I thought this was a full-time job.”
She slides into the chair across from me and flips to the next page. “You’re young, and this is as good as it gets for someone with your lack of experience. Besides, if you look at the pay, you’ll understand it’s more than you’ll make checking out groceries or working at a mall, and because you don’t own a vehicle, they’re willing to house you through the week so you only have to travel on Monday morning and Thursday night. Also there may be occasions where you’ll need to work overtime when there are parties.”
My eyes dart to where her finger is pointing on the official form from the agency with the listed pay per hour, and my mouth drops. If I do my job, keep my yap shut, and live-in during the week, I’ll make thirty dollars an hour. Seriously? At eighteen? That’s a lot. I only made eleven at my last job, and that was after a raise. This will help us like crazy.
“I’ll totally take the position.” Immediately I’m thinking about all the debt we’ll be able to get out from under and how quickly the stress will ease from May’s shoulders. My sister has been my rock, and it’s time I returned the favor. We have a roommate who’s a classmate of May’s and we have all become good friends, but she’s an intern at a news station and doesn’t make crap either. We’re all a bunch of broke bitches.
“Good. You start tomorrow,” she says.
“Tomorrow? So soon?”
“It’s a temp agency. It’s how these things work. If you don’t want it, there are other women who would gladly take the position.”
“No, no. I will take it. Sorry, I was just surprised and have to get everything together.”
“That’s understandable.” The older woman just smiles politely and states, “Fill out this form, and we’ll have everything done later. We know you’re a good kid, so we’re not concerned about anything. Just remember that they prefer discretion and the homeowner works from home, so being unseen and quiet as a mouse is for the best.”
