Claimed by the Boss: An Age Gap, Mafia Romance (Sinful Mafia Daddies) by Natasha L. Black

Author:Natasha L. Black [Black, Natasha L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2025-10-27T00:00:00+00:00

17

LYRA

Isit in front of the monitor, fingers hovering over the keyboard, watching lines of code blur into unreadable patterns. I’ve been staring at the same function for the past ten minutes, trying to decide whether to rewrite it or leave it as is. I know what the code needs to do. That isn’t the problem. The problem is why it needs to do it at all.

I’m not stupid. Ever since Becca told me who Damien really is, I’ve started looking at everything our company does through a new lens.

Damien has been careful with his words, tossing out phrases like “high-priority client” and “secure environments,” but this is military-level anti-jamming technology. No average business is asking for a custom override protocol capable of hijacking encrypted frequencies. This is not about fixing bugs or helping someone improve their Bluetooth connectivity. This is surveillance. Full-blown, illegal, invasive surveillance.

My hands finally settle on the keys, muscle memory taking over as I begin modifying the database signature layer. I know I shouldn’t do this. I could report it to the authorities. But even as the thought forms, I already know I won’t.

I have his baby growing inside me. No matter who he is or what he does, we are linked together in a way that can’t ever be untangled.

My stomach twists as the weight of that truth settles in again. I still haven’t told him. I’ve barely come to terms with it myself. It’s been a month since my doctor’s appointment, and every day since, I’ve told myself I’ll figure out what to do tomorrow. But tomorrow keeps coming and going, and the truth is, I don’t have a plan. I’m just floating in this in-between space, hoping the right answer will show up if I wait long enough.

It hasn’t yet.

And now, with the truth of who Damien is hanging heavy over me, I’m not sure how to tell him. Maybe it would be better to run the other way and pray he doesn’t come looking for me.

I exhale and shake my head, saving the current version of the program and pulling up the next module.

A quiet knock on my cubicle wall breaks my concentration. I turn and find one of my coworkers, Kara, standing there.

“Hey,” she says, eyes flicking to my monitor. “You’ve been buried in that file for hours. Need a break?”

I click the screen off and shrug.

“I would love to, but this is a special project I’ve been assigned,” I tell her, keeping it vague on purpose. “It’s got a very tight deadline, so I can’t really stop.”

Kara raises a brow at this. Maybe I’ve said too much without meaning to. We don’t usually get special projects.

“What is it?”

“Oh, just some custom software for a high-level client,” I say, keeping my tone casual.

Her mouth presses into a thin line, and I catch the moment her expression changes. It looks like jealousy. If nothing else, she’s read between the lines that this task came directly from the top. And considering I’m still the new girl here, I imagine that doesn’t sit right with her.

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