Winter had been turned on full blast. The ground froze, and there was no escaping the bitter chill in the air. I shivered as I stood in my office and looked down on the city below, watching as fat snowflakes and raindrops swirled throughout the air. The sky was spitting snow, but it was too cold. The rain froze before it even hit the ground, leaving patches of black ice everywhere.
“Roman, are you ready for this meeting?” Monica asked from behind me.
“Yeah, I’m coming.” I tore my eyes away from the dark sky and snow and followed her from the room.
“Mr. De Luca,” I greeted the man dressed in a black designer suit as I entered the conference room with my hand extended to shake.
He stood from the table and shook my hand with a firm grasp. “It’s good to see you.”
I breathed out. He was dark. Powerful. The sort of man you didn’t fuck with. He didn’t even need to open his mouth to tell me. His presence oozed it.
“Please, have a seat.” I motioned toward his chair as I sat down in mine. “Can we get you anything to drink? Coffee, tea, water?”
He lifted his hand to show me his palm, with rings on every finger, as a means to stop me from asking.
Lorenzo De Luca was a big deal in this city. Hell, in the world. The fact that he was asking for a meeting with me had my heart racing.
“No, thank you.” He looked around, his dark eyes taking everything in. He was the head of Rustic Rifles, and if the rumors were true, he was a mafia don people didn’t fuck with. “It’s awfully quiet around here today. Everything alright?”
“Everything is fine. Most of the employees are working remotely today due to the weather.”
He glanced out of the window. “This cold front is rough. I think there’s an inch of ice on the roads. Makes commuting dangerous. I’m glad to see you’re the kind of boss that considers your employees’ safety, no matter the cost.”
I clenched my jaw and swallowed over the lump in my throat. “I lost my wife to a car accident. The roads were bad. A drunk hit her. I know how hard that is, and I want to take every precaution to make sure none of my employees ever have to go through that. If I can help it, of course.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Not that it matters, but my wife is dead too.”
I widened my eyes at him. “You’re… young.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t say I was sad she was gone. Some things don’t matter enough to mourn.” He rapped his tatted knuckles on the table.
Well, shit. That was definitely not a bag I wanted to look into.
“The reason I requested the meeting was that I understand you have some incredible programming and tech skills. I want to utilize those skills in some of the new weapons we’re developing. I think your brand of tech is exactly what Rustic Rifles needs for our next step.”
I breathed out. This would be one hell of a deal.
“I’m interested,” I said immediately. Taking a deal like this would definitely keep my mind off my shitty life. I could pour myself into it, working on it directly.
“Perfect. I’ll have my guys contact your guys. Sound good?” He rose to his impressive height and held out his hand.
“Absolutely. I look forward to it,” I said. “We should have dinner sometime to discuss it further.”
Monica walked into the room before Lorenzo could answer me. “Roman, you have a call on line one.”
I frowned at her. “Hold my calls, please. I’m busy here.” I looked at her with annoyance and surprise. She knew how important my meeting was.
“This is an emergency.” She lifted her brows, and her eyes widened.
I took a deep breath, my hands shaking as my mind vaulted to something being wrong with Sophia.
“Please, excuse me.”
“Of course. I need to be on my way anyway, so we will talk soon.” He pushed a business card into my hand. “Reach out for anything, including that dinner. Have a good day, Roman.”
I bid him goodbye before I made my way out the door. A secretary was sitting at the desk outside the conference room, and when I exited the room, she held the phone up for me to take.
I took it from her hand, and she clicked on line one.
