Daughter of the Mafia's Consigliere

EIGHT MONTHS LATER. MARIANNE.

I was rudely awoken from my peaceful sleep by the sound of my best friend and roommate, Sophia, yelling at the top of her voice from downstairs in our two-bedroom apartment. "Marianne! Wake up, bitch, or you're going to be late!" I groaned and tossed in bed, snuggling deeper into the mattress. I had no intention of leaving the warm and cushy embrace of my bed. Just as I was slipping back into sleep, the bed covers were suddenly ripped away from my body. I sat up immediately, glaring at the culprit.

"Sophia, what the hell? Why won't you let me sleep?!" I hissed, glancing at the digital clock on my bedside drawer. My eyes widened when I saw the time: 6:00 AM. "It's literally just 6:00 AM, and the sun isn't even up yet!" I screeched. Sophia huffed incredulously, folding her arms. She was still dressed in her sleeping clothes - an expensive two-piece Victoria's Secret lingerie set bought by one of her numerous ex-boyfriends.

"Um, excuse me? It seems you've forgotten that you told me to wake you up early because you have an interview with the publishing company today!" she screamed back, her Spanish accent thick and angry.

I gasped loudly, my eyes widening in realization. I had indeed told her to wake me up for the very important interview with one of the biggest publishing companies in the city!

"Oh my gosh! I totally forgot!" I cried, springing up from the bed and dashing to the bathroom in the hallway. "Shit, shit, shit," I cursed under my breath as I began hurriedly peeling off my clothes and setting up the water for a chilly morning like today.

Sophia strolled into the bathroom leisurely as I stepped under the shower head and closed the see-through glass door. I didn't care about her seeing me naked; we had been living together for five years, so we were more than comfortable around each other.

Sophia headed towards the sink, grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste, and began brushing her teeth.

"You better hurry, the interview is by 8:00 AM. Hope you remember," she gargled with a mouthful of toothpaste lather.

"Of course, I remember! I'm supposed to be sitting in line before 8:00 AM, and it takes like an hour to get to the publishing company. I'm so fucked!" I wailed, but she merely cackled.

"Well, I guess you better hurry. Serves you right for sleeping like a log of wood."

I groaned as I hurriedly scrubbed myself down and turned on the water to wash off the suds. I opened the shower door and grabbed my towel from the rack, quickly wrapping it around my wet body and dashing back into my room. Luckily, I had been smart enough to hang up the outfit I planned to wear to the interview the night before, so all I had to do was throw them on.

I stuffed my feet into my flat shoes, grabbed my bag and phone, and hurried out of the apartment with Sophia yelling, "Good luck with the interview!"

"Thanks!" I called back just before the door shut.

I exited the complex and flagged down a taxi, quickly hopping inside and giving my destination to the driver. My phone began vibrating with an incoming call, and a smile formed on my face when I saw it was my boyfriend, Oliver, calling. I immediately swiped to answer it.

Before I could say a word, he spoke up. "Hi, babe, just wanted to check on you. Are you at the publishing company for the interview?"

I groaned. "No, I almost overslept, but thankfully Sophia woke me. I'm on my way there now. I just hope I get there on time."

Oliver chuckled softly. "Don't worry, babe. You're gonna make it."

I sighed with a small smile. "Oh, I hope so."

"Well, I know so. Anyway, I have to go now. I'm meeting a client with a divorce case. Just called to wish you luck on the interview, but I know you don't even need it because you'll do amazing either way." He affirmed and I couldn't help but giggled.

"Thanks for calling. Love you, have a great day at work."

"Love you too, babe," he murmured softly before the line went dead.

The beaming smile remained on my face for the rest of the ride. It was only when I stepped out of the taxi and stood before the tall building with 'WINGS PUBLISHINGS' written on it that the soft smile was replaced with a nervous one. I took a deep breath and walked into the building, making a beeline for the receptionist sitting at the front desk.

"Hi, good morning," I greeted politely, and the gorgeous blonde-haired woman looked up at me.

"Good morning, how can I help you?" she asked.

"I'm here for the job interview with Mr. Coleman. My name is Marianne Dupont." I replied with a little smile.

She nodded and turned towards her telephone, pressing a button on the dialer before placing it on her ear.

"Good morning, Mr. Coleman. Miss Marianne Dupont is here for her interview. Should I send her in?" She spoke into the receiver and paused for a few seconds before nodding. "Alright, sir." She returned the telephone to its place and stood up. "Follow me, please."

I trailed behind her as she led us down a row of offices with glass enclosures, making it possible to see whoever was inside.

"You may go in," the receptionist said, pointing to the glass office before us, and I thanked her before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

A young man who appeared to be in his late twenties was seated behind the only desk and rose to his feet before stretching out an arm for a handshake. "Nice to meet you, Marianne. I'm Alex Coleman, head of HR here at Wings Publishing." I shook his offered hand. "A pleasure to meet you, sir."

He smiled politely and gestured for me to take a seat. "Please, have a seat, and let's begin."

I obeyed and sat stiffly as he reclaimed his seat. He peered down at a file, which I assumed was my résumé. "So, I was quite intrigued by your last name, Dupont. It's French, isn't it?"

I blinked, slightly taken aback by the question, but I answered anyway. "Yes, it's French."

"So, you're French?" he asked, and I laughed nervously.

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"Well, that's probably because I've lived here in the States my whole life. I've only been to France for holidays."

He hummed distractedly while still looking through my qualifications. "You majored in English Lit?"

"Yes, I did."

"You said you love to read."

"Yes, I do. I read a lot; my nose is always buried in a novel."

He smiled slightly. "Favorite writers?"

I grinned. "Jane Austen and Charles Dickens."

"Good choice." He commented before leaning back in his chair. "Now that you're more comfortable, let's begin the real interview."

One and a half hours later, I walked out of the building with Alex Coleman's last words still echoing in my head: 'You did wonderful, Marianne. You're very talented, and we'll be pleased to have you working with us. Welcome to Wings Publishings; you're to start tomorrow.' A wide smile spread on my face, and I let out a loud whoop while jumping.

"Whoo! I did it! I got a job!" I screamed in delight, earning a few weird looks from passersby. I pressed a hand to my mouth to try and contain my excitement before moving closer to the edge of the sidewalk to flag down a taxi.

I couldn't wait to get home and break the news to Sophia; I was sure she and Oliver would be extremely happy for me too. My smile faltered when a sleek black car with tinted windows slowed to a stop before me.

I frowned slightly before turning to move further away from the car when the backseat window smoothly slid open to reveal a familiar female face that made me freeze in shock.

The woman inside the car flashed her impeccably white teeth at me in a smile.

"Hi, darling," she greeted in an accent that made it very obvious she was French.

"Mum?"