Taming Ricardo, The Italian Billionaire

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Blurb:

An alpha male, Italian man, interracial billionaire romance novel. Kyla Fisher’s life purpose is to help those in need, and she is passionate about her job. So much so that the social worker will take a stand against a renovation project that threatens to displace her clients. Enter Ricardo Bianchi, a charismatic Italian entrepreneur with lofty career ambitions and the man behind the renovation.

Kyra fully intended to hate the man when she first sets eyes on him… But sparks between Kyra and Ricardo fly, setting off an attraction that neither can deny. Yet, Kyra is torn between her growing feelings for Ricardo and her commitment to those in need.

And now she finds herself targeted by unexpected enemies threatening to tear her life apart! Will Ricardo prioritize compassion over business? Or will he end up jeopardizing any chance for Kyra and Ricardo to find lasting love? Get answers in this European alpha romance book by Mia Whitfield.

Chapter 1

The buzz of conversation and phones ringing in the office didn’t register. As usual, Kyra was much too engrossed in her mountain of paperwork. Every now and then, she shifted her attention to her calendar but no further.

“Okay, I need to visit the Wilsons tomorrow and the Griggs Friday afternoon.”

“And go out for drinks with yours truly on Friday night.”

Startled, Kyra’s head popped up and she clutched her chest. She hadn’t realized that anyone was standing over her desk. She glanced up at Allegra, her co-worker and probably the closest thing to a best friend she had. Kyra was quiet, an introvert and Allegra was the only one who made any attempt to draw her out of her shell. If not for Allegra, her social life would be nonexistent. She was never one to pursue friends or make a big deal out of having a social life.  As far as she was concerned, she was better off with the smallest social circle possible, and hers was rather small. It consisted of one person apart from her work circle.

Kyra had been working at The Borough of Manhattan Social Services for five months before Allegra arrived and she had pretty much kept to herself. Allegra all but bounced in and introduced herself and Kyra had been taken in by her slightly pushy yet endearing attitude. Allegra was bubbly and chatty and the two had hit it off, with Kyra deciding that Allegra was perfect to counteract her timidity. Kyra now considered the woman a good friend. She shared more with Allegra in a year and half of friendship than she had with anyone else in her lifetime.

There was a time when she told herself that friends were overrated and being a loner made one better off. But she found that it wasn’t so bad to have friends or, at least, one friend. Sure, she should probably put a bit more effort into making a few new ones, but that was easier said than done because she always saw herself as socially awkward. She communicated just fine with her clients and colleagues about work matters, but interacting on a personal social level was a different story. It was a real struggle. Hence, her one friend, Allegra, and her currently single status, which she preferred not to dwell on too much. 

Kyra grinned at Allegra. “Hey, about the drinks-”

Allegra held up a finger in warning. “Don’t you dare say no again, Kyra! You promised you would go out with me this weekend. You promised me a girl’s night out.”

“As I recall, I never used the words I promise. I believe I said I would consider.”

“Come on, we should be painting the city red every Friday night.”

Kyra chuckled. “Considering that I was never any good at art, it isn’t a good idea for me to be painting any town in any color.”

Allegra let out a snort. “Very funny. You know what I mean. We’re young, gorgeous and single. It’s a necessity for us to go out and have fun.”

“It’s a necessity for you. I’m just fine at home reading a book. That’s what I call fun. And since when are we both single? Last I checked you had a boo thing, as you called him. What happened to… what’s his name?” Kyra racked her brain for the name of Allegra’s latest conquest. Allegra’s list of beaus was hard to keep track of. 

Disdain flickered across Allegra’s face and she waved a hand. “You have the right idea not remembering that jerk’s name. You know what? I’ll follow your lead and go ahead and forget him right now, as well.”

Kyra couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. “I won’t even ask.”  A few heads turned at the sound of Kyra’s outburst. No doubt they were surprised to hear the sound coming from her and not Allegra. Kyra was soft spoken and there was hardly a peep from her.

 With a smirk, Allegra glanced around the office and leaned forward with a conspiratorial twinkle in her green eyes. “Never mind my love life. Let’s talk about yours…or the lack thereof.”

Kyra scowled but remained silent. What could she say? She really had no romantic life to speak of.

“You know who has the hots for you?”

Oh, Lord, here we go. “For goodness sake, Allegra, what adult has the hots for anyone? This isn’t high school.”

Rolling her eyes Allegra, huffed. “Just guess.”

“Hmmm. Could it be Marcus Swaby from Human Resources?” Kyra’s tone rang with sarcasm.

With an excited gasp, Allegra nodded. “How did you guess? Oh, my God, did he finally ask you out?”

“No. I know because you mentioned it yesterday and the day before that.” And the day before that!

Allegra tapped her chin. “Did I? Oh, I forgot. Well, I’m telling you again. Marcus likes you. Should I invite him out for drinks with us Friday?”

Kyra pushed aside the stack of paper on her desk. “Absolutely not! I don’t fraternize with co-workers and I didn’t agree to going out.”    

Rolling her eyes, Allegra sighed. “Fine. If you want to remain single for the rest of your life, go right ahead. That shell you keep yourself in is damn impenetrable.  I give up on you, Kyra Fisher.”

“You say that now. Tomorrow you’ll be right back trying to break me out of my shell. By the way, I think you’ve managed to crack it a bit.”

Allegra’s lips stretched into a smile. “Awe, really? Well, I’m suddenly feeling encouraged. My efforts haven’t gone to naught.”

Kyra smiled. “You’ve definitely gotten somewhere.

 With a smile, Allegra glanced at her watch. “I’m going to get going. I refuse to do even a minute of overtime today. I have to get home and start preparing for my date tonight.”

Kyra’s brows shot up. There wasn’t a night where Allegra didn’t have a date arranged. She could understand why. She eyed Allegra with all her long honey brown hair, pretty green eyes, perfect bone structure and model-like physique. She smiled. “Of course you have a hot date tonight. See you tomorrow. And don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do.”

“Then I would end up doing absolutely nothing.”

Ouch. Kyra knew Allegra meant no harm but her words struck home. Did Allegra think she was pathetic? Did everyone else? Even Kyra thought the way she lived her life was a tad pitiful at times. But she couldn’t help remain inside of her shell, where it was safe. She liked safe. Growing up the way she did, it had always worked out better for her if she kept her mouth shut and avoided attention.  To her, staying mostly to herself greatly reduced the chances of getting hurt.

Kyra watched Allegra saunter to her desk and pick up her handbag. It was almost five, time to leave the office, but she was one of the few that always stayed behind. She had a passion for her job. If there was an overload of work, she was the one to stay at the office until the sun went down. It wasn’t like she had anything better to do. Every evening when she got home, all she did was eat take-out and catch up on reading. She often tried to convince herself that she was fine with that. Who needed fun and a ton friends?  And who needed a man?

“Yeah, who needs any of that?” She asked aloud.

Kyra pursed her lip and slouched in her chair, utterly embarrassed when a few pairs of eyes swung her way again. Great. Like her co-workers didn’t already think she was peculiar. Keeping her eyes lowered she threw herself back into work.

Nearly two hours later, she let out a tired sigh and stretched. The office was empty, except for the night janitor moving around with his cart. She had been so consumed with work she didn’t realize that everyone had disappeared. Gingerly, rising from her chair, she looked down at the files in front of her. Every day, no matter how long she worked, she always felt like she hadn’t done enough. In a way, she was trying to compensate for her unfortunate past by going above and beyond to help others who were in need.