Chapter 2 A Moment Off Duty

Ransom Giudice was a whole half of a block away from her when he saw her clutching her yoga bag over her shoulder. Her face was what struck him first. It wasn't her clear complexion or her light green eyes that complimented her auburn hair so well that attracted him at first- though he noticed them and appreciated them once he got closer. No, it was her scowl.

She looked so displeased with something. Judging by her big coat and her red cheeks it was probably the weather. He swore he could see her mouth moving, cursing the sharp chill of the wind. And the way her eyebrows furrowed together and made her eyes darken was so serious it was cute.

He had no intention of stopping her and talking to her, let alone opening the door for her, but then she met his gaze and his stomach nearly dropped out of his *ss. He wasn't expecting such intensity. He was intrigued, so he didn't break their gaze.

When she also refused to look away as they neared each other on the sidewalk, he couldn't help but smile at her. She was overtly attracted to him. He had caught women's gazes before. They usually blushed and looked away. On a rare occasion, a woman would wink at him or smile coyly. Once he was even catcalled from across the street.

But this lady was different. Usually, he would reprimand anyone who dared to veer from their directive, but he was basically the boss, so he could do whatever he wanted. He decided to take a moment and step away from his mission so he could interact with her, just for a second.

He assumed the cute woman was going into the building which had a yoga studio on the third floor. He checked out her bottom half. Her legs were shapely, and her thighs were the best kind of thick. He wished she wasn't wearing such a bulky coat so he could see the rest of her, but he honestly felt like he wouldn't mind if she didn't have big breasts or a flat stomach. Those things were overrated anyway.

She was super cute though, he thought. He grabbed the cool metal handle of the door and pulled it open just as she arrived. "You goin' in?" he asked.

The woman paused in front of him. She was fairly tall, probably five foot seven or so in her tennis shoes since the top of her head was about level with his shoulder. She looked up with him, her bottom lip sucked nervously between her teeth. Her cheeks were red from the wind, but he could see a gleam of embarrassment in her eyes. So maybe she wasn't as conspicuous as he thought.

He grinned down at her. What was she going to do now? Ignore him like the other women?

She cleared her throat and nodded. "Uh, yeah. Yes. Thank you," she said. Then she stepped calmly into the building and left him standing there with the door open.

He was almost tempted to follow her and ask her name, but he reminded himself that he was trying to get a nasty task taken care of, and she was just a distraction. A beautiful, intriguing, pleasant distraction.

She walked quickly to the elevator and pressed the up button. He closed the door and watched her for a moment, appreciating the simplicity of their interaction. She hadn't run away after he'd spoken to her. She hadn't hit on him. She actually met his eyes and spoke to him. That was nice, new.

You see, for Ransom... he was used to people running away from him. That's what happened when you were the underboss of one of the big five mafia families in Philadelphia. Not a lot of people knew the face that matched the name, but after they found out, they usually weren't too keen on sticking around him unless they wanted something. Protection or profit, usually.

He appreciated this little moment, this little break from work, but it was time to get back to it.

Ransom was out wandering the business district looking for someone in particular. When you're in the mafia, especially as a boss, usually you go after people who owe you money. Money was what made the world go 'round, and it was especially what made the underworld go 'round. And when someone tried to tip the balance of the world or slow its orbit, Ransom was the guy who tracked him down and then had his guys take care of setting things straight.

Tommy Bariallias was a new... client... of the Giudice Mafia, and he still hadn't learned his manners. He still needed a few classes on etiquette. Ransom was all about teaching etiquette, respect, and he did so with thin patience and a firm hand. That's what you had to do. And if people like Tommy didn't get it after the first couple of lessons, then Ransom had to send the other guys in, the mean guys, and he didn't like to do that.

So he was off to find Tommy Bariallias and let him know he'd messed up and that there wasn't a large margin for error in his business, not now, not with father and son Giudice involved.

The thing about guys like Tommy Bariallias was that they usually responded well to stern lectures because they were smart and they knew what would happen if they didn't show up, if they didn't get the money they owed. Ransom was glad to have people like that. He didn't want to have to hurt anyone. He was just doing the job he was raised to do.

As Ransom rounded the corner of the building, he found himself looking over his shoulder, something he didn't generally feel the need to do. He knew that woman wouldn't be back there, but something about her made him want to turn around if it meant getting to look at her face again.

How unfortunate that he would probably never see her again, not in a busy city like Philly.

Luckily, Tommy was easy to find. He always parked in the same place on the fifth level of the parking garage. He drove a nice car, a BMW Buick, 8 Series Gran Coupe. There weren't too many of those around, even in the business district. Ransom waited by his car until Tommy popped out of the elevator.

"'Ey! Tommy! How's it goin'? Ransom called out.

Tommy froze in his tracks and nearly dropped his keys and his phone.

"Careful, buddy," Ransom said. "Didn't mean to startle you. I just came to have a little chat. That's all it is."

Tommy hesitated to keep moving forward. Now this. This is how people approached him. That was... if they had any sense.