4

“Do you have an appointment with Mr. Ivon?” The woman behind the counter gave Carys a once-over that was anything but courteous. “If you don’t, I will make sure to pass across any message you wish to leave.”

Carys stopped herself from checking out her outfit, did Italians have a problem with blood red? The dry mobster joke almost made her laugh. “Mr. Ivon is expecting me, the name is Carys Wertheimer.”

Brent had turned red when she suggested going in with her name, it was too dangerous and too close to home, but she had insisted. This mission was too personal to fuck up because she forgot her undercover name was ‘Fiona’.

His job was to keep her records clean when they pulled her file and the Valachi’s were going to dive deep since it involved their sister, a girl no one had ever seen.

Carys had never been a people person, and as an only child, she didn’t understand the bond between siblings. The need to check up on someone to make sure they were okay, or comfort them when they were sad.

Deep down she wished she wasn’t saddled with this unwanted clause in her job description, heavens forbid the girl needed attention every minute, she might have to drug her once in a while to get anything done.

The sound of fingers stabbing the keyboard yanked her back to the present; she looked to the side and blinked, rooting herself. The woman was taking her sweet time which allowed Carys to appreciate the décor.

Not a fan of dark gloomy colors because they made her hair look dull, Carys much preferred colors that announced her before anything else did. Despite her position, she couldn’t help but admire the grey, white and audacious sky blue that didn’t need to fight to be seen.

The colors weren’t as overwhelming as the people walking in and out of the building. Everyone looked important behind smart looking suits, and a handful of other in too comfortable clothing mixed with the fold, but Carys turned up her nose at the mere notion of wearing sneakers or anything flat in a working environment.

“I apologize for keeping you waiting.” The woman smiled politely this time. “Take the elevator to the last floor. I have informed Mr. Ivon’s assistant that you are on your way.”

“Thank you.”

The calming sound of her heels stabbing the floor gave her a little audience, but Carys was used to turning heads and didn’t look back until she was in the elevator. When the doors locked her in, she took a deep breath, held it until her lungs burned before she let it out.

Sweat trickled down her spine in anticipation, fear, or nervousness? Carys couldn’t tell which one was making her hands shake. This wasn’t her first insertion, but there were no rules to guide her here. This interview was going to determine her future.

If she failed, maybe it would haunt her for the rest of her life, but she would go home, clean out her desk and search for another adventure, one that didn’t demand she don a new skin every once in a while.

Switching personalities was fun; the main problem was forgetting your true self and bouncing between your former lies to find what fits. Mr. Ivon was going to get the truthful version, Carys simply needed to root out all the lies she had filled in over the years.

Ding. The elevator doors opened and Carys stepped out, the floor was extremely quiet, save for the low voice of the woman sitting behind the a low black marble counter, who was speaking into the phone she held over her ear, placing a palm on the receiver when she saw Carys, she said. “Mr. Ivon is in his office, knock twice before you enter.”

Following the direction she swiftly pointed in, Carys knocked twice on the only door she saw and pushed it open. Momentarily blinded by the very bright light, she blinked several times to get used to the stabbing sensation.

“I apologize; I always forget how brutal the natural lighting can be” Ivon Valachi’s voice was rough but his words were well pronounced with no hint of an Italian accent, interesting.

Smiling grateful when he closed the blinds some, she pressed her behind into a chair when he pointed at one; ignoring the loud voice demanding she access the threat. “Thank you for meeting with me today.”

“Likewise” His response fell flat.

Used to the silent tactics men in power played, Carys studied the man glancing through her file. His features were striking to say the least, no wonder the woman guarding the elevator found her dubious at first.

It wasn’t news that the Valachi brothers were sought after in all circles; but the oldest Valachi- Ivon- attended every public function and the youngest Valachi – Leon, also known as the enforcer – had never made a public appearance. If not for the scar on Leon’s face, no one would be able to tell them apart.

“Your resume is impressive; everyone you’ve worked with had great things to say about you.”

Carys shifted her focus from the blinds behind him, and was immediately pulled into the icy blue pool of his eyes. “I’m happy to hear that.”

“Are you interested in tech?”

The odd question made her frown. “Tech?”

“Yes, tech, are you interested in working in this company?” His dull gaze was now sharp, resembling the edges of a sword waiting for the appropriate time to cut her down.

“I am not interested in tech, I applied for a job which you posted, and the teaching job is right up my alley.”

“That’s good, because I have had a lot of people apply for this job and pitch for another when they got here; I wanted to save us both the stress if that was your game plan.”

“I flew all the way from New York for this job, why would I change my mind halfway, besides this place is too crowded, and I don’t like crowds.” Big. Fucking. Lie. The office was twenty times more chaotic than this whole building.

“Thank you for clarifying that, now what do you intend to teach my sister?”

“I’m here to teach your sister everything she needs so that even if she goes back to school, she isn’t going to lag behind, home schooling is different for every child so what we will discuss when I meet her is my teaching methods”

“Teaching methods?” He flipped through the papers, and looked at her when he didn’t find what he was looking for. “What does that mean exactly?”

“Every child is different, some children get distracted easily, some don’t grab things quickly, some are very easy to work with and some are extremely difficult. I need to know what box your sister fits into before I draw out a lesson plan.”

“I’ll tell you now that she is very easy to work with.”

Carys nodded slowly, “That decision is for me to make, Mr. Valachi, respectfully, she’s your sister and I’m going to be her tutor, she won’t react to us the same way.”

“What makes you think you got the job?”

Games’ bordering on confidence was her jam, but she couldn’t afford to over play her hand. “We’ve established that I am not going to turn around and become a techie.”

He fought a smile and won. “Valerie is extremely sensitive, but she isn’t a difficult child. We had to pull her out of school because of some family issues, and I do hope she likes you or this arrangement is going to be a problem.”

“That question can only be answered when I meet her, I promise to try my best to charm her.”

“I’ll reach out to you over the weekend and send a driver to your hotel to pick you up so you can meet her at the house.”

“Does that mean I’m hired?” She stood when he did, craning her neck to maintain eye contact.

“Yes”