“Yes, hi. I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
“You’ve met Francisco, I see.”
“We were just saying hello, yes.”
Shoulders slumped as if he bore the weight of the world, Edward joined our little group. Before he spoke, his gaze shifted between the two of us.
“This was not how I anticipated nor wanted this meeting to happen. When I brought you here, Salvatore, I had hopes that if the two of you worked together, a bridge of understanding could be built between you. I’m sorry you’ll never get the chance.”
Frisco’s brows shot up, an incredulous look on his face. “Wait a minute. You’re working here?Here?” His astonished face turned to Edward. “What’s going on?”
“I told you, Francisco,Ultimate NYCbought Salvatore Grant’s blog to incorporate it as part of our new marketing strategy going forward.”
With each word, cold fury built and burned brighter behind Frisco’s eyes. My legs felt like cement. I was pinned down. Trapped.
“So.” Frisco leaned his hip against Steph’s desk, arms crossed, blue eyes latched to my face like laser beams as he spoke in his deceptively calm, cultured voice. “You’re Salvatore Grant.New York for Real New Yorkers.” His words dripped with disdain. “Not Torre Rossi of Brooklyn? Yes or no? Who the fuck are you, really?”
The soft words from his lips didn’t fool me. Each one landed like a punch to my gut.
“Torre is my nickname. For Salvatore,” I said weakly. “It’s what I go by all the time. Grant is my mother’s maiden name. I use it for business so no one will connect me to my brother’s restaurant and accuse me of favoritism.”
“Aren’t you just the most fucking noble person,” Frisco sneered.
I winced at the bitter sarcasm, hearing none of Frisco’s usual laughter and teasing banter. “I…it had nothing to do with you. And you weren’t exactly honest with me either, you know.” But my explanation, truthful as it was, was of no importance to Frisco. Ignoring me, he pointed a long, elegant finger at Edward as he ranted.
“So this is why I’ve been tossed. Because Webster, that pompous jerk, that cheating bastard, needs to assuage his guilt by pretending he’s ‘of the people’ when you and I both know he hasn’t ever set foot in a restaurant where they don’t lick his asshole. And this is the answer to falling subscriptions and revenue?” He thrust his hand in my direction without looking at me. “Does he think this untrained nobody, whose only claim to fame is the delight he takes in sabotaging me, will attract subscribers?” He laughed, but there was little humor to it. “Fine, fine. If you’re interested in pizzas and hot dogs and street-cart food, then you’ve got your man. I’m sure he was happy to be instrumental in my demise here.” His icy gaze swept over me with zero recognition or any of his previous warmth. “It wouldn’t surprise me to know it was his suggestion.”
God, that hurt, but I held my tongue.
“Come on, now, son. This is not the way you want to leave, is it?” Edward put an arm around Frisco’s waist to hold him steady, and he murmured to him, which thankfully Frisco chose to listen to.
“What’s going on?” Matt came to stand at my shoulder.
“I didn’t realize Frisco—Francisco Martinelli—was the guy I knew.”
“Is that who you were talking about when you said you couldn’t go out with me?”
Miserable now, I nodded. “They’re firing him for no reason. He is the best at what he does.” As soon as the words fell from my mouth, I realized the truth. I might not agree with his brutal honesty, and I disagreed with his methods, but he hadn’t been wrong in his conclusions. Maybe if we’d worked together, we could’ve come to a truce.
“So,” Matt said. “How do you know him? Well, I mean, no one knows him. He fucks people, then leaves them.” His thin-lipped smile left little doubt he’d once been with Frisco, and my stomach turned.
I opened my mouth to snap at Matt to shut the hell up, when Frisco attempted to step around me.
“Excuse me. I hate to interrupt this cozy little twosome.” His glacier-cold eyes flashed at me.
Forgetting about Matt, I jumped to answer Frisco. “Not at all. We can go in my office.” Eager to get him alone for a few seconds to talk, I put my hand on his arm. He glanced down where I touched him, and with deliberation, shook me off, his lip curled as if he’d smelled something rotten.
“How cute. You thought I was coming to speak with you.” Without another word, he brushed past me to get to Steph’s desk, where he hugged her while she cried, leaving me rooted to the spot.
“He might be great in bed, but he’s nothing but a dick,” Matt muttered. I ignored him, and he walked away. I remained there until Edward joined me.
“Salvatore, I’m sorry. I-I had no idea you knew each other.” With troubled eyes, Edward faced me.
“Neither did I. It’s not your fault. It was a crazy coincidence.” I slanted a quick look at Frisco, who gave Steph one last hug, and without a backward glance, strode out of the office, shoulders stiff, head held high and proud. In contrast, I’d never felt so low.
With the show over, people dispersed, leaving Edward and me alone.
“Would I be wrong in saying that you and Francisco have a personal relationship?”
