Maid for the Mafia [HIATUS]

This started as a one-shot request and has spiralled into my first WLW short story. I'm aiming for less than fifteen chapters since I've got my plate full. But I hope you enjoy it, and thank you for reading.

x- Mal

DAISY’S P.O.V

I’d heard rumours about Vittoria Moretti since I moved to Italy a few months ago. They were always rather vague, as if people were afraid of discussing her in too much detail. Everyone knew that she was the leader of one of the most powerful mafia in the world, that she wasn’t to be crossed, and that she was- to say the absolute least- a perfectionist. It had been said that she’d fired many members of her staff because they’d failed to meet her standards, and there were even whispers of her having had a few particularly lousy ones killed.

From a young age, I had been described as ‘terribly clumsy’ and, occasionally, ‘airheaded’. I was the last person who should have been working anywhere near Miss Moretti. And yet, there I was, about to begin my first day working under her household.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I had applied for the job because I couldn’t afford my apartment anymore, and the maid position came with a free room, food, and thirty days of paid leave. I never actually expected to get hired.

“This is your room,” the housekeeper, an older woman named Renata, stated as she led me into a room that was much bigger than I’d been expecting.

“Woah,” I whispered, taking in the queen-sized bed, silk sheets, large wardrobe and ensuite bathroom.

"Signora Moretti is very generous,” Renata said. “But she is also very strict. Which is why you will be expected to wear a uniform like the rest of the staff. You’ll find it in your wardrobe. It has been tailored to fit you using the measurements you sent when you applied for the job.”

I nodded, still in awe and disbelief.

“There will be a briefing this evening,” Renata continued. “At 6 PM in the courtyard, followed by a tour. Don’t be late.”

“Um, y-yes ma’am,” I nodded.

“You’ve got manners,” she nodded in approval. “Good. The Signora likes manners. I’ll see you at 6.”

With that, she left the room, and I found myself alone.

I let out a soft, excited squeal before I tossed myself onto my new bed. The plan was to work for a few months, save up money, and rejoin university sometime next year.

Little did I know, all that was going to go right out the window tomorrow morning.

My first task was extremely simple. All I had to do was clean the foyer. It was a very big foyer, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out how to use a broom and mop. There were other maids around with mops of their own, working on different parts of the room. I had been doing rather well before she walked in. But the second she entered the room, my brain turned into mush.

Before I knew it, the mop was falling out of my hands, and I scrambled to grab it, which caused me to slip and tip over the bucket, which eventually resulted in water being spilt all over the floor. I fell on it, grimacing as my new uniform got soaked. I didn’t even want to look up at her as I lay there, wet and humiliated; A massive imperfection right before Vittoria Moretti’s eyes.

I heard my fellow maids gasp before a thick, tense silence settled upon the room. No one dared to breathe, and I closed my eyes, praying to some god or deity, wishing they could erase me from this world. And for my death to be a quick and painless one.

There was the crisp clicking sound of heels on tile as Miss Moretti approached me. I swallowed thickly, feeling her above me. When I opened my eyes, I was met with grey eyes as cold and pale as ice.

"Come ti chiami?" she demanded.

For a moment, I couldn’t respond, stunned by her beauty. I had been expecting an older woman, one hardened by a life of crime. But before me stood a classic Italian beauty: from the dark hair to the sun-kissed glow. Every part of her dripped elegance and feminine allure, and the all-white suit seemed to enhance her beauty.

At my lack of response, Miss Moretti’s crimson-painted lips dipped into a frown. ”Come ti chiami?" she repeated, her tone snappier this time.

I frowned, confused. “P-Pardon?”

She scoffed, “You don’t speak Italian?”

“No, ma’am.”

“British,” she stated, picking up on my accent. She raised a brow. “What is a British girl who doesn’t speak Italian doing working for me?”

“I... I got the job,” was my stupid response.

Miss Moretti looked just about ready to shoot me in the face. Luckily, Renata rushed into the room.

"Signora,” the older lady greeted our boss with a polite curtsy. “Please, forgive the new girl. She’s... less competent than I assumed.”

Ouch.

But fair.

“You know I dislike messes, Renata,” Miss Moretti said, and looked at me with an expression akin to disgust. “And I despise idiots.”

Ouch again.

I lowered my gaze, twice as humiliated by her words.

“I’ll have her dismissed immediately,” Renata said.

My eyes widened in panic. Losing this job would mean being out on the streets.

“Please, don’t fire me,” I said, and Renata shot me a look that said ‘shut up’, but I was desperate. “Please, Miss Moretti,” I begged. “I’ve got nowhere else to go. I need this job.”

“That’s none of my business,” Miss Moretti said coldly before she turned to Renata. “Get rid of her.”

My heart sank as the woman then turned to walk away. Without even thinking, I reached out, grabbing her by the ankle.

“Please!” I begged, clinging to her for dear life.

I heard several gasps of horror from the maids nearby, and Miss Moretti looked down at me with stunned, angry eyes.

“Are you mad?” Renata snapped, moving to grab me. “Let go of the Signora!”

“No!” I whined. “I need this job!”

Renata tried to pull me off while I tried to keep a grip on Miss Moretti. A moment later, guards came rushing in. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting to get shot. I was risking my life, but I’d have no life if I lost this chance.

“Enough!” Miss Moretti snapped, and Renata stopped trying to drag me.

I hesitantly opened my eyes to see Miss Moretti raise her hand at the guards, telling them to back off. She then looked down at me, seeming less disgusted and more... something else.

“What’s your name?”

“D-Daisy.”

“You’re insane, Daisy,” she said before she looked at Renata again. “Have her dried off and changed. She’ll be serving me personally from now on.”

I was stunned, as was everyone else in the room.

“Yes, Signora,” Renata said, her tone full of surprise.

Miss Moretti looked down at me once more, moving her ankle now that my grip had loosened. “If you fail, you die,” she said. “You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you for grabbing me like that.”

I swallowed thickly and nodded. “Yes. Thank you, Miss Moretti.”

She scoffed and walked off without another word.

I smiled, happy to have kept my job.

“Foolish girl,” Renata sighed. “There’s nothing to be smiling about. You’ll be dead by the end of the week.”