I put the wooden case back down before I could dive deeper into sad memories. I straightened, took a deep breath and left the guest bedroom. There was no going back, but it wasn’t always easy to move forward, especially if you didn’t know which way to go. But I needed something that gave my life meaning and structure, something I could put my energy into, as long Dante didn’t let me into his life.

I missed having a purpose, a daily task. I wasn’t someone who could sit at home all day, or spent our going over the newest piece of juicy gossip. I wanted a job, but even during my time with Antonio, people had found it strange that he’d allowed his wife to work. I worried that it would be a scandal Dante wasn’t willing to risk.

My steps slowed as I headed toward the door he hid behind almost all the time. I wasn’t only nervous because I wanted to ask Dante for a job. What if things would be awkward and strained between us now that we’d slept together? Though I really wasn’t sure how our relationship could take a further nosedive down. We were already barely being civil to each other. Apart from throwing dishes at each other’s heads and bickering constantly there really was no way our interactions could change for the worse. And to be honest, I wasn’t even sure if I wouldn’t prefer heated fights to the cold ignorance I was getting now.

Gathering my courage, I knocked at his door.

“Come in,” Dante called after a moment.

I entered his office. My eyes immediately darted to the spot on the desk where the photo of his first wife had been, but he’d removed it. I didn’t think he’d thrown it out. It was probably hidden away in one of the drawers in his desk, and I didn’t expect him to forget her, to throw away every piece that reminded him of her, to banish her memory from his heart; I only wished he’d leave a little room in his heart for me.

Dante looked up from a pile of papers. “What do you need?” He didn’t say it in an unfriendly way, but it was obvious that he was busy. His demeanor toward me hadn’t changed at all, despite what we’d done yesterday. As my eyes took in his dark gray vest, my body remembered the way it had rubbed against my nipples yesterday and I almost crossed the room and threw myself at Dante again. But I didn’t want to appear too needy. Our next sex would have to be initiated by Dante. Of course, maybe he’d go back to not touching me again. I pushed that worrisome thought aside as I closed the door after me and walked closer to the desk. “I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

Dante scanned my face. “Go on.”

“I want to work. When I was married to Antonio I helped him run his family restaurants too.” They’d always only been a way to launder money, but I’d enjoyed the task. I’d greeted guests and organized arrangements when someone booked a wedding in our restaurants. After his death, his younger brother had taken over. A woman alone couldn’t possibly handle the task. That’s what our men thought anyway.

Dante leaned back in his desk chair with a frown. “Work? What did you have in mind?”

I was glad he was open to the idea and didn’t shoot it down immediately. Emboldened by this, I walked around the desk and settled on its edge. Dante’s eyes flitted to my legs but too quickly they returned to my face. “I’m good at organizing and event planning. I’m also very good with people.” I was also good at leading people but I kept that to myself. Made Men didn’t like women who enjoyed being in charge. Somehow most of them couldn’t get it in their heads that a strong woman at their side didn’t make them less of a man.

Dante nodded. “I need someone for one of our casinos.”

I tried to curb my excitement. I didn’t even know what Dante had in mind for me yet. “Riverboat or underground?” The casinos on land weren’t official of course. It was still illegal to run a casino in Chicago that wasn’t situated on a riverboat, but the mob and Dante in particular were working to change that. He could be very convincing, and it certainly didn’t hurt that a few senators were regular customers in the Outfit’s casinos and brothels. Not that legalization would mean that the Outfit would make their secret casinos public. They’d lose too much money if they did.

“Underground. I don’t want you in the public eye.”

That made sense. People knew I was Dante’s wife. It would attract too much attention if I worked in one of the Riverboat casinos. “I know a little about gambling, and I’m sure I can learn everything else I need to know very quickly.” Actually, the only knowledge about gambling I had were the rules of Texas hold’em that Antonio had taught me, but Dante didn’t need to know that.

There was a knowing glint in Dante’s eyes. “The only thing you need to know about gambling is that the bank always wins.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Really. What kind of job do you have in mind that requires next to no knowledge about the workings of a casino?” I assumed Dante wouldn’t let his wife be one of the girls behind the bar that encouraged men to drink more.

“I want you to manage one of the smaller casinos of the Outfit. The man who’s been in charge for the last three years was laid off yesterday.”

Was that what Dante had done after he’d slept with me? For a few moments, Dante and I stared at each other as if we’d been thinking the same thing, but now wasn’t the moment to bring up sex. “Laid off?” I echoed his words, which I was fairly sure were an euphemism for something else, since it was hard to be fired from a position in the mob. If you messed up in one mob business, it was unlikely that you’d get a position somewhere else, unless you were someone’s son, nephew etc. And if you weren’t…

Dante watched me closely when he said his next words. “I found out that he filled his pockets with Outfit money.”

“So you killed him,” I finished for him. I knew how things worked in our world. Maybe I’d never been allowed in the midst of it, but I heard the stories.

Dante nodded. “I did. And if you want you can have his job.”

“I never managed a casino before. Why are you giving such an important position to me?”

“The assistant manager can do the main work in the background. I need someone to make the high rollers feel welcome.”

I stiffened. Dante of course picked up on it. “I think you misunderstand me.” He stood and stepped in front of me. He rested his hands lightly on my thighs, making my skin tingle even through my tights. “You are mine, Valentina.”

I had to bite back a smile at the possessiveness in his voice. “So what exactly am I supposed to do?”

He removed his hands and strode over to the window, hands in his pockets. “I want you to welcome the high rollers. Show them to their table. Introduce them to our complimentary girls.”

“Complimentary girls, really?”

Dante turned. “Gambling and prostitution are our main businesses, and both can easily be combined.”

“Okay. I can do that.” Even if the word complimentary girls made me want to tear my hair out. “That doesn’t sound like a lot though.”

“Also you organize special events. We have event nights once a month, and I think a female touch might make them more appealing. You also make sure that everything goes smoothly. I want you to be my eyes. I have a feeling I haven’t weeded out all the rotten fruit yet.”