She Made Every Mafia Suitor Reject Her for 3 Years—Then the Boss Said, “You’re Faking It.”

Vanessa Parker had discovered something very important about wealthy men. Saying, "I'm not interested," rarely worked. Apparently, rejection offended certain male egos so deeply that they interpreted it as encouragement. But telling a man you owned 12 cats, that three of them slept on your pillow, and that any future husband would be expected to participate in a color-coded

litter box schedule. That worked beautifully, which was why Vanessa was currently seated beneath a crystal chandelier worth more than her first apartment, holding four photographs of cats that did not belong to her, while the handsome man beside her looked increasingly desperate for an emergency exit. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. The Bandandy charity dinner glittered around

them. Champagne, diamonds, tailored suits. Candle light reflected from gold rimmed glasses. A string quartet played somewhere near the marble staircase while servers moved between tables carrying plates so elegant that Vanessa suspected the vegetables had undergone interviews before being selected. Everyone looked expensive. Everyone behaved beautifully. Everyone was pretending not to watch everyone else.

And in the middle of all that polished sophistication, Vanessa Parker wore an oversized brown cardigan decorated with cats. Actual embroidered cats. One on the sleeve, two near the pocket, a particularly judgmental orange one near her left shoulder. She had found the cardigan online at 2:00 in the morning 6 months earlier, and immediately

recognized it as an investment. Underneath it, she wore a perfectly lovely emerald green dress. Nobody needed to know that the cardigan had a job. So did the enormous tortoise shell glasses sitting on her nose. The lenses were clear, completely useless, except socially. Beside Vanessa, sat Michael Caruso, 33, handsome, well-connected, excellent teeth, and according to