The Mafia's Priced Possession

•ISABELLA•

After slamming the door behind me, I rushed to the change room, took my bag from my locker, and headed towards the front entrance.

I was so angry that I wanted to push anyone who got in my way.

I wasn't in the mood to ask people to get out of my way, especially now that the club was getting crowded, and people were already drunk.

I bumped shoulders with people who were coming inside and those who were just too drunk to watch their steps while I rushed for the front door.

"Where are you going?" Sarah stood in my way.

I rolled my eyes and stopped walking. "I'm going home."

Her eyes almost popped out of her eye sockets when she heard that. "What? Are you insane? The boss is here, remember?" She exclaimed.

"He can suck his own dick, I'm out." I clutched onto my bag, shoved my way past her, and left.

Luckily, I found a taxi outside and took it and went home.

On my way back home, I kept thinking about my father and what he was going to say when he saw me coming back home from work.

He instructed me to impress Antonio so that I'd be able to keep my job, but if he meant that I had to encourage his sexual advances on me, then I was better without a job.

After paying the taxi fare and hopping out of the car, I stood outside the driveway and looked at my house.

My heart started beating fast because the lights weren't out. It meant that my father was still up.

I looked at the time on my phone, it was 10 PM, and I was not supposed to be home until morning at 5:30 AM.

I took a deep breath and decided to go inside. After closing the door behind me, I heard giggles from the living room, and I knew that my father had company.

I decided to tiptoe my way upstairs before they noticed me because if he was with someone, it meant that he was drunk.

And I wasn't in the mood to deal with the drunk version of my father.

"Come here, you little brat." My father called behind me, and I froze in my steps.

I took a deep breath and turned around slowly. He was sitting on the couch with one of his bitches that he brought to the house.

The girl looked like she could be my age if not a year older or younger.

But this was not surprising at all since my father had decided that his dating types were now girls young enough to be his daughters.

"Why are you home at this time?" He got up, and the girl with him rolled her eyes at me, fixed her shirt, and covered up her breasts.

"I quit." I didn't want to beat around the bush, and then I swallowed.

I knew that hell was about to break loose. He was going to swear at me until my eardrums hurt.

His face countenance even changed when he heard that I quit. It was as if I just spat vulgar words.

"You quit what?" He walked towards me.

"I quit, Father. I can't work for Antonio anymore, he -"

Before I could finish my sentence, I felt a slap across my face that caused me to stumble back.

I heard a ringing noise from my right ear and could not believe that he had just slapped me in front of another girl who was the same age as me.

He never slapped me before, and this caught me by surprise. I had no idea that it was so important for me to try to keep my job at the club.

"You will go back there and ask for that job back. Do we understand each other?" He fumed.

"I'm not going to do that, Father! No! If you want to work in that club, you go there yourself, and do not escort me with you!" I snarled and rushed upstairs to my room.

After closing the door behind me, I took a deep breath and went to sit on the edge of my bed.

The flashback of what happened in Antonio's office made me feel a chill down my spine. He was a dangerous man that I didn't want to associate myself with.

Everyone knew what he was capable of, and the thought of his hands on my body made me feel a knot in my stomach.

We all saw the girls that he brought into his office and pretended not to know them the next evening, and I was not going to allow myself to be amongst them.

***

I had no idea how I fell asleep when I woke up tied up in a chair.

For a second, I thought that I was in a dream, and there was no way that I was back in the club and tied up on a chair while my father stood there watching.

I groaned and looked around me, feeling my head getting light and the bright lights on the podium made me feel dizzy.

My body ached as if someone had been punching me before I got tied up.

"Father..." I mumbled as I lifted my head and looked at him.

"Please, you can hire her back and get all the money that I owe you. You don't have to do this." He pleaded with Antonio, and I didn't know what to make of everything that was happening.

I closed my eyes and said a little prayer, hoping that I would wake up in my bed and this would be over, but no, it didn't happen.

I opened my eyes, and my father was still standing there looking at me with eyes filled with pity.

As I tried to regain my consciousness, someone came and helped me drink water from a bottle.

I started to feel a little better, and I realized that I was indeed back in the club and tied up on a chair at the stripping podium.

I saw Antonio's bodyguards, and next to my father was Antonio.

I felt my heart beating fast against my chest when I remembered that my father had pleaded with Antonio to hire me back to pay back all the money that he owed him.

I didn't know that my father owed him money until that very moment.

"Name a price of your choice, and it will be yours, but she will be mine as repayment for the money that you owe me." Antonio negotiated with my father.

"Father, what's going on?" I asked in horror when I realized what was going on.

"She's my daughter, Antonio. I can't sell her off to you just like that." My father protested.

"50 million dollars for her."

My father gasped in shock as he looked at me. I knew that look, and the money that he heard was getting into his head.

I was his daughter, but that money sounded more valuable than I was to him.

I knew that he was going to take the offer and sell me off to the only man that he knew was not good for me.

He knew that Antonio was going to break me, but the look on his face told me that he wanted the money more than saving me as his daughter.

"50?" He gushed as the widest smile spread on his face.

"50 million," Antonio emphasized, looking at me.

"Deal," my father held out his hand to Antonio.

I watched as he took his hand, and they shook hands in exchange for my life, freedom, and free will.

Just like that, my father sold me off to Antonio Rodriguez.

When Antonio turned and looked at me, there was a smirk of victory on his face.

•ISABELLA•

A FEW HOURS AGO...

"What happened to that boyfriend of yours? I never see him come around anymore." Sarah asked during our shift at the club.

Sarah had been working at the club for over a year while my father found the job for me 5 months ago so that I'd be able to help around in the house, and because of that, Tom Creed, my boyfriend, had been distant.

"He's a douchebag that got cold balls when he saw me cleaning the floors the other night when he came with his friends," I rolled my eyes.

"So, he stopped coming because you weren't working behind the counter anymore?" She exclaimed.

"Can you believe it? I'm still surprised."

"His father owns a bakery downtown. He could have at least got you a job there if he thought you were embarrassing him by working at a club."

"He'd rather watch me stay at home with nothing to do than help," I huffed.

"So selfish of him to turn around and be a control freak, yuck."

"I know..."

My heart broke a little because I was in love with him. Everything was great between us until I got a job at the club.

He started distancing himself from me as if I were a disease. When I tried to text or call him, he ignored me and never bothered to get back to me.

So much for someone who said he was going to stick around through anything.

While I was cleaning the floors, Sarah wiped the tables, and soon, we were done.

It was already 8 PM, and people were starting to pour inside the club. The club only operated from 7 PM to 5 AM.

So, when we were done cleaning for the opening, our manager would get us to serve people drinks or clean the boss' office until our shift was done.

"Hey Isa, can you take care of the VIP tonight?" Bruise, the club manager queried.

"Of course," I nodded and went to change my clothes in the changing room.

When Sarah and I were given shifts to serve drinks, we had to dress up as the other waitresses and blend in.

As much as I hated my job when it came to dressing up to encourage perverts of their perverted behavior, I had bills to pay, and my father didn't care what I had to do to make sure that I brought something to the table.

So, I untied my hair and put on my tight and short jeans with a see-through crop top.

I then looked at myself in the mirror and patted myself on the back to suck it up and get through this night like a big girl.

When I was done, I put all my things in my locker, got my heels on, and then returned to the club.

I went to the bar, got the most expensive bottle with four glasses, and went up to the VIP area.

I already knew what they were going to order, and when I got there, I found the four friends in their usual seats with girls on their sides, except for one guy.

"What do you have for us today, Bubbles?"

"Romanèe Conti 1945," I put the bottle down with the glasses and avoided eye contact with him.

"Do you mind pouring for us?"

I lifted my head and looked at him, and when our eyes met, he smirked.

There were a lot of rumors about Antonio Rodriguez, and the one that always sent shivers down my spine was that he once killed a man and held his beating heart in his hand until it stopped.

"Of course." I smiled at him and took the bottle and opened it gently with the corkscrew.

As I was busy opening the bottle, Antonio's eyes burned on my skin, but I didn't dare show that I was flushed.

"Yay!" The girls who were there squealed when the bottle made a popping sound.

I gently poured the wine into their glasses and laid the bottle down when I was done.

"Thank you, Bubbles." He looked at me as he picked up his glass from the table and sipped.

I took the tray and left.

"That must have been nerve-wracking," Sarah whispered when we met downstairs.

"What are you talking about?"

"Antonio is the boss, remember?"

"So?" We finally got to the counter and laid down our trays on the countertop.

"Everyone working here tries to avoid him as much as possible. I can't imagine being near that man with a reputation such as his."

"He likes staring at people's asses. There's nothing harmful in that." I rolled my eyes and spotted a table in the VIP that was starting to flood in with customers. "I have to go."

"I'll be waiting for more scoop!" Sarah whispered behind me.

To my lovely surprise, Tom was among the crew that just arrived in the VIP. He had a smirk on his face when he saw me approaching their table.

And when I got to them, a girl got up from her chair and sat on his lap. I swallowed.

"Welcome to Club Nightingale. What can I get you?" My throat was itching, and I felt a lump in my chest as I tried to keep the tears that were swelling up at the corners of my eyes when I realized that Tom had the guts to bring a girl with him after ghosting me for months.

"Are you a stripper now?" He looked at my clothes, and his friends giggled.

"Are you going to order anything?" I rolled my eyes.

"You were a cleaner a while ago, and now this. Aren't you tired of embarrassing yourself, Isabella?" He pushed the girl off his lap, got up, and came towards me.

"The name is Bubbles in here, asshole." I hissed.

He scoffed. "Oh, so you're a stripper now? I knew that you're nothing but a gold digger who seeks validation from men by dressing herself up like a hoe." He looked down at me.

"I am working, Tom, so please, don't make my job difficult for me."

"Did you look at yourself, Isabella? You're a hoe. A shameless fucking hoe. What do you think people think when they see you like this and remember that you're my girl?"

I scoffed. "Your girl?"

"Don't fucking patronize me, you and I are leaving this club this minute." He tried to grab my arm, but I yanked his hand off me.

"Don't you dare touch me, Tom! You've been silent on me for months now and you think you can just say 'jump' and I'll ask how high? Leave me alone!" I snarled.

"Don't try me, Isa -"

"You heard the girl. Leave her alone."

It seemed like time stood still when I heard that voice.

"Or what are you going to do, huh, muscle man?" Tom approached him and pushed him.

When Antonio's friends got to his side trying to defend him, he held up his hand and restrained them.

"You think I'm scared of you? She is my girl, and I will talk with her however I want. Let's go, Bella." Tom tried to grab my arm again.

But before he could take another step, Antonio punched him in the face, and he stumbled back and fell on top of the table.

His friends got scared and ran away while the girl with him tried to help him up.

"I'll take you home," Antonio took my hand.

When we got inside his car outside the alley, I looked at him through the rear-view mirror as I sat in the back and couldn't believe what just happened.

I didn't know if I had to be grateful that he rescued me or beg for the job that I clearly needed.

•ANTONIO•

A FEW HOURS AGO...

When I saw that lowlife humiliating my angel, I had to intervene.

I couldn't stand there and watch as he talked down to her as if she was his object.

I decided to take her home since I knew where she stayed. Her father and I were acquaintances.

"Who is he to you?"

"My ex-boyfriend." She answered.

I looked at her through the rearview mirror and our eyes met. I felt a slight twitch and my dick threatened to erect.

Her eyes were the most beautiful I had ever seen. She had blue eyes and black hair that made them stand out.

"You will work in my office tomorrow."

"Oh, doing what, Sir?" She asked, puzzled.

"Tidying it up. I saw that it is a bit disorganized." I hoped that didn't make it too obvious that I was trying to get her away from the crowd in case one of her ex-boyfriends showed up at the club again.

"Alright, no problem." She responded.

I looked at her one more time through the rearview mirror and thought of how much I wanted her.

She had to be mine and there was nothing that was going to stand in my way in making sure that happened.

We pulled up outside her driveway and I pulled over. She then said her goodbyes, hopped out of the car, and went inside her house.

I didn't drive off until I made sure that she was inside and safe. I then took a deep breath and drove back to the club.

After parking my car outside the alley, I hopped out of the car and went inside the club through the back door.

To my most pleasant surprise, I found Tom and his girl about to leave.

He was limping as they headed towards the front door, and I couldn't let this chance slip me by.

"Tom?"

He turned around and met my gaze. He fumed and his nostrils flared. "You will pay for this, Antonio." He growled.

"How about we have a word, you and I?" My two bodyguards immediately strolled to his side.

His girl stood aside as he was escorted to my office while I led the way. When we got inside, he let out a groan.

"My father will -"

"Oh please, Creed, are you ever going to stop hiding behind your father's shadow?" I interjected.

"What do you want?" He gritted his teeth.

"That's a very good question, mate," I smirked and went to sit on my chair and one of my bodyguards pushed him a little further to my table.

I leaned back on my chair and looked at him.

"I want you to leave Bubbles alone."

"Isabella is my girl," he raged.

I chuckled; he was so funny.

Of course, I knew Tom Creed's father. He was an old and retired mafia lord before his reign was abruptly ended by the Italian Conti Mafia.

Since then, Rob Creed has been invincible in Atlanta, Georgia.

Not even his son's threat can make me shake in my boots, not when I made a name for myself that people crumbled at the sound of Antonio Rodriguez.

"You will leave her alone, Tom, she's mine." I stood up and went towards him.

"You don't know her like I do. We have come a long way for you to just claim her."

"I am claiming her as my girl, Tom, and you better stay away from my girl."

"Over my dead body, Antonio. If you want her, you will have to go through me." He snarled.

"I love a good challenge, Creed. May the best man lay an official claim on her." I held out my hand for a handshake and the asshole took it.

He smirked as we shook hands as if we were making a business transaction on Isabella.

But this meant more than that. It was a challenge about who got the balls to claim her and make her his girl.

And the challenge was as good as mine. I was going to make her mine and no one, not even Tom, was going to make that impossible for me.

Tom Creed was escorted out of my office and I went to my chair and sat down.

I pondered on my next step and what to do to lure Isabella in. She was different from the girls I dated before.

She was authentic, beautiful, and the one girl who knew how to make my dick twitch whenever our eyes met.

I guessed that it wasn't going to be difficult to make her mine.

I was rich and the most powerful man in Atlanta, of course, she wasn't going to be able to resist my charms.

The next evening at 8 PM after my few rounds at my other workstations, I went to the club and rushed straight to my office.

I barged inside the door and found Isabella putting away files that I intentionally left disorganized last night.

She got startled and dropped a file with a gasp.

"Sir, you scared me."

I quietly closed the door behind me and went towards her. I picked up the file and laid it on top of my desk.

She just froze and looked at me with an unreadable expression on her face. I figured that she was terrified of me.

I cleared my throat and leaned closer to her, closing the little gap between us. "Breathe, Bubbles, you're almost pale."

"Oh," she cleared her throat, leaned back from me, and avoided eye contact. "I- I was tidying up your desk." She stuttered and her face looked flushed.

"I know, and I am here to make sure that you do a good job."

"Um - are you going to watch me?"

"If that won't be a problem with you, Bubbles."

She looked at me and swallowed. A smile slowly adorned her beautiful face. "Of course, it won't be a problem, Sir."

I stood aside and watched as she took another file from the desk and went to put it inside the file drawer.

I took a deep breath and went to sit on the visitor's couch near the door and fuck it, I couldn't sit there and watch as she moved her ass around without getting the urge to touch it and fuck her against the wall.

I craved for her and wanted myself inside her.

So, I got up and went to her as she closed the file drawer, and when she turned around, I was standing in front of her, blocking her path.

She gasped.

"Anton - Sir."

"Do you still love him?"

"Who?" She asked.

"Creed."

"Sir, that's -"

"You make me want to do things to you, Isabella, things that I don't want to do with any other girl. Especially a girl who works for me," I leaned closer to her, forcing her to lean on the file drawer and I cornered her. "I want you."

She looked at me and her face immediately changed, and she looked disgusted.

"Get away from me, you pervert! I should have known there was nothing good when you said I should be working in your office tonight." She pushed me and walked past me.

"Don't you dare walk out on me, Isabella," I commanded her.

She turned around and scoffed. "You're no longer my boss, I quit."

"You will come crawling back on your knees begging for it when your father hears of this, mark my words!" I snapped.

"Screw you." She walked out of my office and slammed the door behind her.

"Fuck!" I cursed under my breath and punched the air. "You will be mine, Isabella, you shall see."

It was a promise, and I was determined to keep it.