The Veil (The Veil Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  THE VEIL

  V.B. EMANUELE

  Copyright © 2019 V.B. Emanuele

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  To request permission, contact the author at [email protected]

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  ISBN: 9798633455625 (Paperback)

  ISBN: 9781663557490 (Hardcover)

  First paperback edition September 2020

  Cover Photograph by Nicoletta Emanuele

  Cover design by Nicoletta Emanuele

  For V.B. Emanuele

  Southlake, Texas United States

  vbemanuele.com

  DEDICATION

  For MJC

  Rest in Heaven

  “Someone’s gotta live to tell about it.”

  And I will…

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  i

  1

  New Beginnings

  1

  2

  Masquerade

  20

  3

  Arrangement

  38

  4

  Call Me Sir

  60

  5

  Conflicted

  82

  6

  The Plan

  103

  7

  Penthouse

  127

  8

  Interviewing

  152

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  First Date

  Great Escape

  Exposed

  Secret Revealed

  Conflict

  London Bound

  New Revelation

  Confession

  Shedding Light

  No Safe Word

  Visitors

  173

  194

  217

  240

  261

  284

  305

  329

  352

  374

  392

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  Taken

  Emergency

  Forgiveness

  Defiance & Lust

  Mamma

  Austrian Christmas

  About The Author

  412

  432

  451

  470

  488

  508

  532

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thank you to everyone who played a role in making this happen:

  To my editor and proofreaders, thank you for your hard work and late hours that you put into my work.

  To Hana, for once again helping me in so many ways, especially with editing. Words cannot express how much I appreciate your friendship and selflessness. Thank you for your hard work and friendship.

  To Emily, you and I had a conversation on June 9, 2019 that forever changed me. This was the novel I was working on at the time. Our conversation helped launched me into the writer I am today. Thank you.

  To my family, for being willing to share quality time with my writing and readers. You are the greatest support system I have, and I am so thankful for you.

  To all my faithful readers who have been waiting for me to publish this as a novel (off WP), thank you so much for your patience and support. I love you guys so much! I hope I continue to make you smile.

  1 New Beginnings

  Do you ever believe you have your life entirely planned out, only to be met with a different reality? It is nothing like you imagined it would be. It does not mean it turned out bad, but sometimes, an insignificant decision can change our entire world. That is exactly what happened to me when I left my small hometown in Ohio to pursue a life in New York City.

  I never anticipated that my life would end up the way it was today. When I relocated for college, I ended up falling in love with the city. So, I planned a career here. Having been a small town girl, New York City was the place I always dreamed of being. I loved the busy streets, the traffic, the lights, the park nestled among the concrete jungle; I loved almost everything.

  Overall, life was going well for me in so many ways, but there were changes I longed to make. Soon after I relocated and got settled, I obtained a job at an upscale bar to make ends meet. In New York, that seemed almost impossible. It was no secret the city is a pricey place to live, but I was determined to make it here, doing whatever it took to survive.

  As the months passed, I found myself growing tired of the same routine. Work, to school, then back home to my quaint apartment about a mile away from my job was the routine. What I did not expect was that it was all about to change, forever.

  Wednesday night came faster than I had hoped. It was normally my night off, but I picked up a shift for another waitress at work. Closing time was approaching quickly. One customer lingered at the bar, perched on a stool as he quietly sipped on his sixth drink. I made myself busy by tidying up and drying glasses as they came out of the dishwasher. Every few moments, I was interrupted as my boss kept finding excuses to walk past me, grabbing my backside. Sometimes he was subtle. Other times, not so much.

  His name was Jesse and he stood around five feet ten inches. He was balding but refused to give up what was left of his hair. So, he would comb it over with gel, giving it a greasy appearance. His beer belly hung proudly over his slacks, peeking out from his sweat stained shirt. I never understood how he was allowed to work in a place with high standards when he looked like a used car salesman from the bad part of town.

  Regrettably, his perverted remarks and fondling were both an ongoing occurrence here. I did not even know why I put up with it for so long other than I needed the money. Living in a big city was financially draining for my roommate and me. We even tried moving out of downtown, but the commute took way too long and public transportation was always unpredictable.

  If we were late, we were verbally humiliated. So yes, I continued to put up with my brute manager while I searched for another job in my spare time. I remained positive, believing that a greater opportunity was just around the corner.

  This particular Wednesday night, just as we were about to close, four men strode in chatting amongst themselves. They were dressed in pricey suits which was not uncommon for our swanky establishment. I glided across the room in their direction, my long, light brown ponytail swinging back and forth in perfect sync with my stride. The men were so distracted with their conversation that they did not bother to acknowledge me as they waited to be seated.

  “Excuse me, gentlemen,” I cleared my throat, “we're actually closing everything down.”

  I had their undivided attention at that instant. The most attractive of the men slowly rotated his head to me, his voice trailing off from his sentence. His gaze lingered over my body before it met my blue, almond shaped eyes but he did not smile.

  “I see you have someone already sitting at the bar,” he glowered as he lifted his chin, gesturing toward the man.

  I nodded sheepishly. His commanding tone promptly intimidated me. A shiver inched up my spine, triggering my skin to respond with goosebumps. I struggled to avert my gaze, but his eyes were extraordinarily authoritative and mysterious. I identified his accent as Italian, which rendered him more fascinating to me. He articulated his words with great concentration. Extremely entranced in him, I inhaled deeply, pulling myself together.

  He sighed, rolling his eyes while examining his wrist. “According to my watch, you close in five minutes,” he added sharply, “which means by law you have to serve my friends and me.”

  There was something about the way he said serve, that sent a tremor down my spine. He smirked, indicating he knew the effect he had on my body. His statement was essentially correct. We did close in five minutes, but I wanted to leave, so my statement was rather selfish. My boss had been drinking all night, as he often did, so I wanted to get out of work as quickly as possible.

  I opened my mouth to speak but immediately snapped it closed when I heard Jesse. Spinning around, my eyes widened as I witnessed him furiously waving his hands back and forth in the air, shouting obscenities in my direction, rapidly marching toward us. I remained professional as he grew closer, but I internally rolled my eyes knowing he would only see the money new customers brought him. This was going to result in a late night for me.

  “No no no,” he shouted, planting himself between the men and me.

  He did not want them to witness his angry face. He made sure to position his back toward them so he could attempt to frighten me. I winced, half expecting him to hit me. When Jesse was drunk, he was unpredictable.

  “You will seat these gentlemen,” he grumbled, clenching his jaw. He then spun to the men with a fake smile plastered on his face. “I apologize for her,” he chuckled nervously, “I've had issues with her since she started working here.”

  That was untrue, and he knew it, but it did not stop him from lying to them. I was a fantastic employee and always worked hard. I never complained to anyone other than my roomma
te, and I was very faithful to my job. Unfortunately, Jesse saw it otherwise.

  All four of the men glanced toward me except the most attractive of them. He scowled off into the distance, pursing his lips. It was hard to determine what he was contemplating. A fake smile suddenly washed over my face as I cheerfully leaned around Jesse.

  “I will seat you guys,” I declared as I gestured toward the dining area. “I apologize.”

  It was now after closing time, but choosing to comply with my manager, to avoid further embarrassment, I escorted the men to a booth near the back. The most alluring one inspected the bar area then pivoted himself to face me. He pointed to another half round booth nearby, but it faced both the dining area and bar.

  “May we sit here instead?” he requested as he lifted his hand to his chin, stroking his black stubble. “I think I'll like this one better.”

  I nodded willingly, “Of course.” The customer is always right.

  He positioned himself on the back side of the table, so that he was directly facing me. The other men arranged themselves around him. I handed them the drink menus I had swiped from the hostess stand on the way.

  “Our kitchen is closed, but I will be happy to make any drink for you,” I offered, making eye contact with each of them. “I'll give you a moment to look over everything and will be back in just a second.”

  I casually strode to the bar where my boss was taking another shot of tequila and chatting loudly with the lonely man on the stool. I cautiously approached them to ask the man if I could call a cab to take him home.

  “No, sexy,” he shook his head roughly with a smirk, “I’m walking tonight.”

  I nodded with a smile, preparing to reply but Jesse interrupted.

  “Woo!” he slammed his shot glass down on the bar top then threw his fists in the air before he poured himself another drink.

  He glistened profusely, sweating now. Alcohol seeped through his pores. His hair appeared as if he had just showered. I busied myself as I wiped the surface of the bar down, beginning my cleaning process. I peeked to see if the gentlemen were still looking over the menu.

  The most handsome one was watching me with great intent while smirking. His piercing blue eyes focused keenly on my every move. My cheeks began to heat with embarrassment. The man ran his fingers through his dark hair before his eyes slowly peeled away from me. He focused his attention back to his friends. Moments later, he waved me over with a nod of his head, and that is when I realized I had never turned away from my gaze.

  I shook off my feeling, approaching the table. The four of them provided me their full attention as they placed their orders, one by one. Nodding, I repeated the order back before I returned to the bar, making their drinks as quickly as possible. This meant my night was almost over and I could not wait to leave.

  I delivered their order to them before performing a final walk through of the dining area, making sure the area was spotless. I started wiping off the table and chairs that were closest to them. As I worked my way to the middle of the room, my belligerent boss marched out from behind the bar, making a beeline for me. I paused, gripping the rag tightly in my palm.

  The moment he approached, he leaned forward about an inch away from my face. “I want to see you in my office immediately,” he exhaled his alcohol infused breath directly into my nostrils.

  I winced at the smell. Knowing my night was about to take an ugly turn, I sighed. Every time he wanted to see me in his office, he would try to touch me. I would always reject, causing him to become irate. Then, the rest of my night would be horrendous since he was insulted that I did not give him the attention he desired. I was not the only employee he did this to, but it did not make it right.

  I followed him down the long hallway to his office. He held the door open for me to walk in ahead of him. Just as I nervously stepped through the threshold, he closed the door, locking it behind him. Slowly approaching me, he began choking back watery burps as he gave a predatory smile. I was scared this time, but he shocked me. He did not try to touch me. Instead, he did something I did not see coming.

  “Listen to me bitch,” he hiccupped while swaying, “how dare you not seat those men?” He chuckled, “Do you know who they are?”

  “No,” I shook my head, “do you?”

  He laughed menacingly, “They are very wealthy businessmen who like to come in on your nights off.”

  I did not normally work on Wednesdays, so I just let him speak while I remained silent.

  “They are some of my best customers,” he resumed, “and I will not allow you to be the reason they do not return.”

  “I'm sorry,” I only agreed with him to get out of the office unscathed. “I had no idea,” I sighed. “Since it was late and we were about to close, I--."

  “I don't give a flying fuck if we had been closed for an hour,” he interrupted me, “when those men show up, we open for them!”

  “I'm sorry, Jesse,” I began to tear up, “I won't let it happen again.”

  He laughed boisterously, “Oh bitch, I know it won't.”

  I gasped, covering my mouth to conceal my terror. His tone instilled fear into me. He did not stop there.

  “You are fired!” he snapped as he reached toward me, attempting to remove my apron. “Give me your apron and get out of my bar!”

  “But--,” I tried to reason with him as I wiggled away from him, taking a step backward.

  “I said take off your apron,” he gurgled on a burp as he struggled to grab for me again.

  I finally wrapped my hands around my waist, freeing it from my body. I slid my hand in the pocket to take my tips out, but Jesse grabbed my wrist, snarling.

  “Everything in that apron belongs to me too!” he bellowed, turning red with anger as he began to grind his teeth.

  “But my tips--,” I cried, reaching for my apron.

  Holding it behind his back, he shouted as loudly as he could, “Get out of my bar, Isabelle!”

  I choked back tears as I hurried to my locker, grabbing my handbag, then headed for the office door. Forgetting he locked it, I attempted to turn the knob, jiggling the handle through my tears. He crept toward me, but I managed to unlock it seconds before he got his hands on me.

  It was then that I felt his hand on the back side of my thigh. He began to howl with laughter. I finally got the door open and ran down the hallway, then through the dining room. The man at the bar was long gone and the gentlemen at the table were staring in my direction as I passed them, sprinting out the front door as fast as my legs would carry me.

  When I arrived at my apartment, my roommate, Tanya, was sitting on the living room couch eating pizza while watching a movie. She and I met at work months ago, becoming instant best friends. Recently, she had found a better job as an executive personal assistant. She seemed happier since she started working there, and I was happy for her.

  I trudged through the living room, dramatically throwing myself backwards into a chair next to the couch she was stretched out on. Running my fingers through my hair as I freed my ponytail, I could feel the stress radiating off my body.

  Tanya paused her movie, resting her elbow on the couch arm. She leaned her chin into her palm as I let out a deep sigh.

  “Rough night, girl?” she giggled.

  I could sense the sincerity in her tone, but the amusement overcame her. We always laughed about Jesse, but we also cried just the same. I did not find her to be insensitive right now, but I was in no mood to laugh. My emotions intensified, and I erupted into tears, spewing all my feelings out at once. I was so upset, unsure how I would pay my portion of the bills now.

  “What happened?” Tanya gasped, leaning forward on the edge of the couch. She reached over resting her hand on my knee. “Are you okay?”

  “He fired me!” I wailed into my palms.

  She withdrew her hand, folding her arms across her chest. “He had no reason to fire you, did he?” she scoffed in disbelief, knowing I was a hard worker.