She hoped her first shift would be easy, with no disturbances.

The staff here might not have been the nicest but Clara had already enough experience to be aware of what's doing. She performed her duties and she allowed herself to be completely consumed by that. When someone appeared at the bar she was still busy pouring drinks but she did not hesitate to ask without lifting her gaze "What can I get for you"

"Better décor, tasteful music, and more respectable brands of alcohol. This club is shit" the familiar male voice said. She looked up to see no one else but Lorenzo. He was looking good as always. He was wearing a long dark brown coat and leather gloves in the exact same color.

"What are you doing here?" Clara asked, feeling defensive the moment she showed up. She glanced with concern at his cheek, thank God there was no trace of her violence from last night. She was very ashamed of her action but as always her pride prevented her from blurting out apologies.

"I don't recall asking about your opinion. Leave, I'm working and it's my first day" Clara grumped and started to furiously wipe the bar counter with a wet white cloth as if it was the furniture that was guilty of something and not her.

"And the last" Clara froze. She looked up again to see his confident cocky expression. He wasn't being serious, right? What would he do? Go to her manager and tell her she's fired?

"What?" she asked with confusion. But at the moment Lorenzo wasn't paying attention to her. He was fully focused on her co-worker, Veronica who just an hour before was giving her introduction to working at this place. She was rather strict and terrifying.

"Hey, can you come closer to sugar?" Lorenzo asked.

"Yes? Is there anything I can help you with?" Veronica asked politely.

"I will pay you $500 for covering Clara's shift today. Is that fair?" He showed her the money. Clara's eyes widened at the sight. He was keeping that amount of money in his pockets? That was insane.

"Y-yes, sure. Shift covered, don't worry about it" the woman laughed nervously. Shock clear in her eyes.

"Lovely. Now please show us the VIP booth. We need a little privacy" Lorenzo continued speaking. Clara on the other hand was speechless. This man begged to be slapped again.

"Please, come with me," Veronica said in a respectful tone.

They arrived at the private booth and Clara had to admit it was as hideous as the rest of the club with neon colors that didn't even match properly and were splattered everywhere.

"Do you have Cabernet Sauvignon?" Lorenzo asked.

"No, sir" Veronica responded.

He sighed. "Then bring me the most expensive bottle of red wine you sell here"

"Right away, sir"

The moment they were left alone Clara started speaking. "What the fuck is wrong with you? You can't just come to my workplace and act like you own the place you massive fucking asshole"

"Fucking asshole? It's not Mr. Vincenti now?" he mocked.

"What do you want?" Clara growled.

"Apology. My cheek still hurts you know" he grabbed onto his cheek and his expression turned into a grimace. There was literally no trace that she did anything to him and he was clearly enjoying making fun of her.

"Should I make your other cheek hurt as well? I will if you continue disturbing me at work" she said menacingly.

She was about to leave but he grabbed her wrist. His face in a split second turned serious.

"Dolcezza, that's not very nice to threaten people, you know? I should teach you some manners and I will" he took a step forward and she took a step back, facing him. Then another. Until her back hits the cold wall behind her. She was trapped with no way to escape. He grabbed her chin in a manner that caused her a small discomfort.

She was scared but she spoke up for herself anyway. "Respect goes both ways. You can't just force me into an arrangement like that and expect me to respect you. I feel like a prisoner" she said and then tears started streaming down her eyes. Fear crossed his face as she saw her.

"No, don't cry," he said wiping the tears from her cheeks with a gentleness she has never experienced before. "I don't want to force you into marriage. That's why I came here today. To propose the time-limited arrangement"

"What do you mean by that?" Clara's eyes furrowed.

"Sit down with me, please. And for this evening at least let's not argue but hear each other out"

"Okay" she was willing to do that too. She was tired of constantly fighting him.

This is when the waitress decided it's the best moment to show up. Then the process of wine tasting started. Clara, as a person who rarely drank alcohol, had no idea how the good wine was supposed to taste, thankfully Lorenzo quickly made a choice and dismissed Veronica so they could continue their conversation.

"What sort of proposition?" Clara asked.

"Given that you clearly don't want this engagement give me 7 days to convince you to become my wife. If I won't be able to convince you I will personally take the blame in front of your father for breaking our engagement"

"Where's the catch?"

"For seven days you can't say no to me. In other words, you will follow my every command"

Clara's eyes narrowed, after what happened with Sabrina she would never trust any man. "But what if you're going to use your power to hurt me?"

"Hurt you? Don't forget I want you to convince you to marry me, not escape the country" Lorenzo responded. "With this agreement, I want to show you how things could be if you stopped fighting me every step of the way"

"I have a rule and if you're not going to respect that rule, no deal" Clara decided. She was almost ready to agree but not quite.

"I'm listening" Lorenzo looked at her with all seriousness and she realized he's treating her like a serious business partner.

"No sex for the time of our agreement" she was too afraid that he would take advantage of her. She didn't want to be pushed.

"Fine. You will regret it but fine" he agreed easily and again his overconfidence showed up again.

"I will most definitely not regret anything" she scoffed.

"I have already told you before that I love a good challenge, dolcezza.

"You already assume you won"

"I know I did. So, do we have a deal?" he asked, smiling. When he smiled the sparks of happiness entered his beautiful dark eyes, it was so easy to drown in them. Clara blinked a few times to free herself from his capturing gaze. She was scared of what this man was capable of. Could he really make her fall in love with him in only a week? No, that's impossible.

"Yes, we have a deal" She tried to do a handshake but he pulled her towards himself and kissed her on her forehead.

"W-What are you doing?" she asked, more surprised than scared a deep shade of red appeared on her cheeks.

„I am sealing the deal between us. Think about this kiss as a way of stamping the contract between us"

"Alright. So when do we start?"

"Today"

"What's my first command, my Lord?" Clara said sarcastically.

"Quit your job" Lorenzo responded in complete seriousness.

Fuck!