Ryder: Hitman Mafia Romance by Lexi Cross Read Free Book Online Page B

expensive items. Those hung on circular racks or folded displays, depending on the item. Of course, she’d never dream of hanging sweaters or something with delicate fabric that might get stretched out. Her lingerie collection was in the back, in small wooden squares for different sizes and pieces.
     
    After her tour through the store, when everything looked in place, she checked the time. Close enough. She walked back to the front, turned the sign to say “open” and took her place behind the counter. The cashier she had scheduled for today showed up a short time later and Pia retreated to her office.
     
    She spent the morning doing paperwork—the boring stuff. Which mostly meant collecting receipts and invoices to give to her accountant. She couldn’t be bothered to do any of that stuff. Then she opened her computer and got to the fun part. The whole reason she opened this store to begin with. The shopping. She loved looking through exclusive collections and having access to items that only a few other boutiques had access to. It made her feel even more special than she already did.
     
    Sometimes she would order just one of an item, just for herself, and wear it in the store. When people asked if she had the item for sale, she’d smile and say, “Sorry. This is an exclusive piece.” Of course, other shops could purchase the same item, but there were no shops like hers around. Someone would have to order online or travel far to find the outfits she owned. Her next step would be to have designers create an exclusive line that truly was all hers. That they wouldn’t sell anywhere else. She wasn’t quite big enough for that, but she’d get there.
     
    She glanced over at the edge of her office. Ryder sat there, picking his nails. Gross. She quickly looked away. She got up to stretch and headed back onto the floor for a while. She walked around, chatting with customers as she saw fit.
     
    She heard someone murmur something and turned toward the sound. It was two women, standing close to each other and leaning in to talk. They looked at Ryder and continued whispering, then hurried away to the other side of the store.
     
    She went over to the women. “Is everything okay?”
     
    “Oh…” One of the women glanced over her shoulder to look at Ryder, who was tagging along behind Pia, as always. “Everything is fine.”
     
    “Are you sure?” Pia asked. She gave Ryder a pointed look. “He’s just my security, no need to worry about him.”
     
    Ryder smiled at the women. Then he moved his jacket aside to reveal his gun, tucked under his arm in a leather holster.
     
    The women’s eyes grew wide and they rushed out of the store.
     
    “What the hell!” Pia stormed into the back room, then turned and waited for Ryder to follow her. When he did, she put her hands on her hips and gritted her teeth. “You just scared away two of my customers!”
     
    He shrugged. “Didn’t look like they were going to buy anything anyway.”
     
    “I don’t care! Don’t take out your gun, and stop looking all creepy when you’re in my store. I know you have to be here, but you don’t have to ruin my whole life.”
     
    “Ruin your life?”
     
    “You’re everywhere! I can’t get away from you. You’re just there, lurking all the time. It makes me very uncomfortable. I don’t like it.”
     
    “Well.” He shifted his weight and smirked. “That’s not my problem. I’m just doing my job.”
     
    “Well, I can’t do mine if that’s how you’re going to do yours. You don’t have to be so obnoxious about it!”
     
    “You’ll find anything to complain about, won’t you?”
     
    “I’ll complain when someone scares my customers out of the building, yes. Who knows what sales I just lost and who they’ll tell. These things spread, you know. If word gets out that there’s some creepy man who stares at everyone and has a gun, no one will come in, and I’ll lose business.”
     
    “Oh no. And then what will