Page 57 of Mario
My attention sharpens. Diego is many things, but careless is not one of them. “Did he?”
“He said he had been warned away.”
I keep my expression still.
“And that surprised you.”
Her gaze is direct. Unflinching. “It did. I am here to do a job. I did not expect the parameters of that job to include who I am permitted to speak with.”
“You can speak with anyone you need to.”
“Then why would he say he was warned away?”
“It was not a reflection on you,” I say
“Then what was it a reflection on?”
“On him."
Her brows draw together slightly.
“Diego is charming,” I say. “He is also occasionally impulsive, and you are beautiful,” I say the words simply, as a statement of fact.
For the first time since she walked into my office, hell, into the building, I see Victoria's composure fray. She blinks rapidly a few times. A faint flush rises from her collar, creeping up her throat.
It's a reaction I hadn't counted on, and I like it very much.
It's a reaction that makes me want to push further.
“My brothers have a habit of… collecting things. Sometimes I have to remind them not to.”
“I am not a thing, Mr. Conti.” Her words are dignified and a bit stiff.
“I am aware of that," I say mildly. "And that's precisely why the reminder was necessary." I hold her gaze, letting the silence stretch.
I am being a bastard. I know I am.
She needs to understand who she is dealing with. She needs to understand the world she has stepped into. This isn't a corporate law firm. This isn't a negotiation.
This is us.
She looks down at her tablet, but I see the way her fingers are trembling, just a little.
“I appreciate the clarification,” she says, her voice a little too tight. “I will ensure my interactions remain professional.”
"I never had any doubt about that, Ms. Murray," I say. "But I cannot always say the same for my brothers."
She doesn't respond to that. She just nods, her jaw tight. She is angry. And embarrassed. And something else I can't quite name.
I should stop. I know I should. I have made my point.
But I don't.
I stand and walk to the bar at the far end of the room.
"It's not yet 9:30," I say, my back to her as I open the hidden panel. "But I find a meeting of this importance calls for something other than coffee."
I hear her sharp intake of breath.
