Chapter 10

Valerius POV 

"The board meeting will begin in a few minutes, sirs," our personal assistant murmured, stepping quietly out of Vincenzo's and my executive office.

She had been our PA for the last three years, which was a record for us. I constantly cycled through assistants because almost every woman we hired inevitably tried to sleep with us or foolishly thought she could become a Rossi wife. It was pathetic. I only had space in my mind for one person—our innocent princess.

Vincenzo and I left the office and strode down the corporate hallway toward the boardroom. The moment I threw the double doors open, I found the executives already seated and waiting anxiously. We thoroughly despised tardiness.

"Let's begin," Vincenzo commanded, his voice clipping through the room as everyone scrambled to adjust their notes.

Ten minutes into the presentation, my eyes locked onto a blatant error on the projector screen. Then I slammed my palm on the table.

"Who the fuck did this calculation?"

The entire room plunged into a suffocating silence. The executives held their collective breath, knowing all too well what happened when they crossed us.

"WHO. THE. FUCK. DID. IT?" I demanded again, losing every single patience I had left.

"S-sir... it was me," a senior analyst stammered, instantly dropping to his knees on the carpet, trembling like a fallen leaf.

I instantly sneered down at him, disgusted by the weakness. "You think we’re fucking playing games over here? Get out. You’re fired."

The man began to beg, but we didn't waste a breath hearing him out. As we stormed out of the boardroom and marched straight back to our private office, my temper flaring. There was only one thing in the world capable of calming the violent demons in my blood: our princess.

Turning on my laptop, I synced into the last two weeks feed to check up on her. Vincenzo and I watched silently as she worked out in the garden, with the stable boy—I couldn't even remember his name, nor did I care to remember it. I truly despised the way she laughed at everything the boy said. Even though I’d confirmed the boy preferred men, I still loathed seeing anyone else in her space.

Vincenzo quickly stared at me, as I realized what he was thinking without opening his mouth, I mean we’re twins. He pulled out his phone, dialing the head butler instantly. "Tell Signora that Aurea is the one who will be serving us our lunch in our private wing."

Within minutes of switching to live feed, I watched the monitor as Signora walked out to the kitchen and told her about the change of plans. A wave of possessive relief washed over me. Satisfied, I closed my laptops, and grabbed my tailored suit jacket, and headed straight for our private elevator.

When the elevator chimed open into the building's exclusive lobby, the entire corporate staff froze. Not a single person dared to breathe until we walked out of the glass doors and slid into the back of our waiting vehicle.

"To the mansion. Now," Vincenzo ordered.

The driver slammed on the gas. Vincenzo and I sat in silence, a dark anticipation humming between us. I couldn't wait to see her.

Later that afternoon, we waited for our little bird to come to us, and finally I heard a knock at the door. I was leaning back, casually twirling a silver pen between my fingers, when I answered calmly. 

"Enter.”

I heard the door being pushed open and finally our princess stepped inside but I kept my eyes on the file before me.

Her shoes lightly clicked against the marble, then I finally snapped my grey eyes directly to her magnificent face. The lazy twirl of my pen stopped instantly. A fascinating smirk spread across my lips, my gaze dropped down the length of her body, taking her in.

"P-pardon the intrusion, Masters," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly as I stared rigidly at the silver tray in her hands before looking at her face. "I have brought your lunch."

I could see she was already having a mental breakdown inside, already planning on escaping us, but it’s not gonna happen.

She approached the table, carefully lifting the plates and setting them down in front of me and Vincenzo.

Then she reached for the bottle of wine to pour our glasses, but the bottle clinked sharply against the rim of Vincenzo's crystal glass.

"I—I am so sorry, Master Vincenzo! I didn't mean to—"

"Careful, princess," I murmured. "We wouldn't want you spilling something so precious, would we? What if we eat you instead” I finished staring intently at her as she froze in place for a second and quickly pulled my drink and took two steps backward, desperate to put some distance between us.

"Is... is there anything else you require, Masters?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Vincenzo picked up his wine glass, swirling the dark red liquid slowly before taking a sip and set the glass down.

"Your performance over the past few weeks has been acceptable, Aurea," Vincenzo stated coldly. "But moving forward, your duties will be shifting. You will no longer be working in the lower corridors with the general staff."

Her eyes widened with sudden panic, almost making me laugh. "Master?"

"You are being reassigned," I cut in, leaning forward over the table, my eyes flashing with temptation, resting my chin on my palm, a dark, wicked smile playing on my lips. "Starting tomorrow morning, you will serve as our private floor maid. You will take care of our personal suites, our laundry, and our private quarters up on the penthouse level. Only us."

I watched as different emotions filled her captivating eyes.

"M-Master, please," she choked out, a tear of pure desperation threatening to spill over her face. "I... I am still new. I am not experienced enough to handle the private suites. Senior maids like Lyra would be much better suited for—"

"We didn't ask for your opinion, princess," I interrupted, the playful amusement vanished from my face as I registered what she said, why the fuck would she compare herself with that slut of a maid?. "We gave you a command."

"You belong to our wing of the house now," Vincenzo added softly, and picked up his fork, completely dismissive of her. "You are dismissed, Aurea."

"Yes, Masters," she whispered in a trembling voice as she bowed her head and turned around with shaky legs and walked out of the doors. 

Now she’s where exactly we wanted her to be.