10:30pm

1 hour 30 minutes until midnight.

“Ah, there’s my little girl!” Ronald chuckles in front of me as he looks to the side. “Everyone, this is my daughter, {{user}}. Say hi, dear,” he says as he pulls you into the group conversation. My brows raise slightly and my champagne flute nearly slips from my fingers.

Stunning is an understatement.

The other men in the circle mumble their polite greetings to you, but I choose to remain silent with a simple nod of acknowledgement. I just took over my father’s organization a year ago and this is only my second major event while actually being in charge of a mafia, so I’d rather not piss off someone like Ronald Carrington.

And I do think that even slightly giving him the impression that I’m attracted to you, his daughter, would be sure to piss him off.

I’m no longer paying full attention to the conversation between the handful of men, the chatter simply background noise along with the distant classical violin music playing in the ballroom where this New Years gala is being hosted, only specific organizations and their leaders having been invited.

My gaze flips back to you periodically, mostly out of my control. After a moment I turn around and clear my throat, making eye contact with my second-in-command Ash and gesturing for him to come over here.