The Mafia’s Wanted Desires

ASHLEY

“Okay, people, get to work!” I clapped my hands together with a wide grin on my face, subtly dismissing my editors. They mumbled greetings to me and soon filed out of the office, shutting the door behind them and I slumped onto my chair, spinning myself around. I kicked my heels off my feet, moaning at how good it felt not to have that death trap strapped to my legs.

I threw my head backwards on the chair, sighing softly. God, no one said it would be so hard to run a firm. The past few weeks have been so draining. I leave home so early and get back late at night. Ivana told me that the first few months are always the hardest, because you have to put things in order and get everything going. And she was right. I couldn’t afford a slip-up. I wanted everything to come out so nice.

It was exhausting but I loved every bit of it.

Heck, it still feels so unreal. Every day I walk in here to discharge my duties, it makes me question the fact that I, indeed, owned this place. It made me rethink the fact that I was pursuing my dream, and somehow, I desperately hoped this wasn’t some dream that was as real as it gets.

I knew it was going to take some getting used to and I sure as hell was waiting to see how everything turned out.

I got up from my chair and skipped towards the bar to pour myself a glass of fruit wine. I took a sip from the red liquid and my momentary bliss was cut short by the shrill sound that emitted from my phone. I rolled my eyes and ambled over to my desk, frowning a little at the disturbance. I picked up my ringing phone, my face lightening up when I saw that it was a group call from Dawn and Ivana. Gosh, it gets to me how they always make time to check on me, despite how busy their schedule might get.

I swiped the green icon and their shrieks of excitement filled my ears, reverberating across the room. It brought a smile to my face and in no time, I was beginning to shriek like they were.

“Hey, bitch!!!”

“If it’s not the latest CEO in town!”

They were so excited for me and it warmed my heart, bringing tears to my eyes. I didn’t know what I would do without them most of the time. They were just too good for me.

“Hey, girls!” I chirped, waving my hands at the screen. I made my way to my chair and plopped on it, adjusting my phone, so I could see them properly. Dawn looked like she was buried amid paperwork, one of her pens hanging in her ginger-red hair while another hung around her hair. She was clicking one of them in her hands, looking stressed as fuck but trust Dawn to pull off a tired face, looking like a million bucks. Her blue eyes, though tired, sparkled with so much life, and her lips pursed in a slight frown.

Ivana, on the other hand, looked all dolled up in her corporate red dress, almost like she was set for work, and boy, she slayed the dress. Her pale skin had a certain glow to it that made me glance at her twice. But of course, the woman needed all the glow she could get. Her dream wedding was finally coming up in less than a month and she didn’t even have to say it, she looked so eager to walk down the aisle and get married to the love of her life.

“You look amazing!” I squealed, directing my compliment at Ivana, who rolled her eyes in return before she shrieked lightly.

“I know, right!” Dawn chirped.

“I just want to get this over with and be married to him.” Ivana pouted and we giggled.

“Ugh, come on. I am sure you can wait a few more weeks. Gosh! You girls grew up so fast. I am the only single bitch among us.” Dawn faked a puppy face.

“Oh, please!” Ivana rolled her eyes.

“You were the one who insisted you were done with men.” She added, and I couldn’t suppress the chortles that exited my lips. Ivana was right.

Dawn stopped dating when we were in college. She’d rather stick with no-strings-attached than get into a relationship and I would be lying if I said I didn’t understand her. It wasn’t like she had never loved before. Of course, she has, but it didn’t end well. She almost lost her life at the hands of the last guy she dated in college.

No shit, Casper broke her.

And it broke my heart that she wasn’t over it yet. Heck, she didn’t look like she was. We were just first-year students when Dawn met Casper and boy, did he sweep her off her feet. He was like the utmost prince charming that every girl wished for, but it didn’t last for long because Dawn started withdrawing from us. And at some point, she stopped talking to us. Dawn was this crazy ass girl who loved to wear anything short. She lived for it but she suddenly started covering up. We tried to coax her to tell us what was going on but we couldn’t get through to her.

The only way we got to find out was the day he hit her and she tried to reach out to us by calling. Dawn was unrecognizable by the time we got to her apartment. My heart broke for her that day. She was barely breathing by the time we got her to the hospital. To date, I really don’t know how she survived his brutal beating.

It was after she regained consciousness that she opened up to us about how possessive he had always been of her. She didn’t take it to her at first, but he started hitting her when she saw her with other people, including us, because according to him, he should be her only priority. He would hit her and force himself on her at the slightest provocation. He didn’t get away with it though, because the police made it their priority to find him and when they did, they didn’t hesitate to send his ass off to jail where he belonged.

Dawn was a strong woman. She tried to get back on her feet and channel her rage into who she was today, but something broke in her that day. Her ability to love and trust. He took that from her, and for what’s worth, I sincerely hope she got that back. I sincerely hope she meets a guy that’s going to love her the way she deserves.

“Ashley?” Ivana’s soft voice drew me out of my thoughts and I blinked, looking up to meet her worried gaze. I chuckled softly, giving a dismissive wave of my hands in the air to assure her nothing was wrong with me.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“I am fine,” I uttered to aid my assurance.

“How are the preparations going?” Dawn asked, grinning from ear to ear.

“They are going great. I am so excited! I have always wanted to plan my wedding. Gosh, I have this feeling that it’s going to be so amazing!” She sounded so enthusiastic about the whole thing.

“I am probably more excited than the bride,” Dawn pitched in, her eyes twinkling with softness.

“How’s work treating you guys, though?” I asked them, sitting up and propping my face on my elbows.

“Girl, I don’t even want to dive into that.”

“It’s so stressful,”

The two ladies commented and I heaved a sigh. I can totally relate to them. I mean, I was barely six months into this and it feels like I am carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders.

“Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out,” Dawn spoke up as though she could read my mind and I nodded my head with a light smile.

“He has not won me over, just so you know!” She wagged her finger at me, warningly, and I giggled.

“The guy took me by surprise. A firm, really?” Ivana expressed her surprise.

They nearly flipped when I first told them about it. I mean, I was shocked too. This was a man who kicked against me working and then, he suddenly had a change of heart. It was so heartwarming that he was willing to make this work.

“What’s that smile on your face?” Dawn teased me, and I couldn’t help but grow red in the face.

“She likes him,” Ivana noted. She didn’t sound like she was making a guess. She spoke with a strong conviction and didn’t seem like anything was going to deter her from the opinion she had about this issue.

“No, I don’t.” I was so quick to debunk, getting all defensive.

“Whatever floats your boat, my love,” Dawn said in a sing-song voice and I rolled my eyes at how convinced they sounded.

“I have to go, girls. I have an appointment. I love you two!” Ivana hollered at us, blowing us kisses before she hung up.

“Love you!” I chirped to Dawn with a wide grin.

“Love you more,” She smiled at me and hung up.

“Ugh,” I groaned, untying my hair from its ponytail. I stared at my laptop with a wary look, heaving a sigh before I got to work.