Did I just get the blessing?
“I’ll try not to, sir,” I reply.
He nods once and disappears.
On the drive home, I’m warm and full and happier than I’ve been in weeks. But Nico keeps doing that thing. Opening his mouth. Closing it. Looking out the window.
“Okay.” I turn to face him. “Spill it.”
“What?”
“You’re still doing that thing. Like you want to tell me something, then keep changing your mind. It’s driving me insane.”
He’s quiet for a long moment. Then: “If you had a cat. And your cat stole food you’d spent all day cooking for someone else. Would you forgive the cat?”
I blink. “What?”
Jesus. A metaphor?
Definitely a metaphor.
And a terrible one.
Nico Rossi, billionaire CEO, master strategist, apparently cannot construct a functional analogy to save his life.
“Would you forgive it?” he presses.
“I mean. Yeah? After I properly punished the cat.” I mime swatting something. “Bad kitty. No treats for a week.” I squint at him. “Why are we talking about hypothetical cats? And more importantly, what are you actually trying to ask me?”
He looks like he’s about to explain. Then his jaw tightens and he shakes his head. “Never mind. It’s nothing.”
“Nico,” I press.
“It’s nothing,” he claims.
It’s definitely not nothing.
But I’m too full of pasta and too content from his family’s warmth to push. Whatever it is, he’ll tell me when he’s ready. Probably with another baffling animal metaphor. Maybe next time it’ll be a hamster. Or a dolphin.
I lean my head against his shoulder and let the city lights blur past.
Things are good.
Things are actually good.
I try not to think about how that usually means disaster is around the corner.
33
Bree
Friday morning starts like any other. Take-out coffee because I’m still avoiding the break room. Emails that need answering. Calendar that needs organizing. The office gossip has died down, though I still get the occasional glare or knowing glance. The usual glamorous life of an executive secretary who may or may not be sleeping with her boss.
Living the dream.
My phone vibrates at 9:03 AM. A call. Sora’s name flashes on the screen, which is weird because she knows I’m at work and usually texts instead of calls.
I answer on the second vibrate. “Hey, what’s up?”
