Shut up, Noah. Seriously. He’s scrambled my brain like an egg. I’m starting to hate him. My own best friend.
Before I can respond, I hear footsteps.
My father. Gio notices him a second later. His posture doesn’t change. Not even slightly. He just lifts his brows.
"Here comes the devil in designer."
"Please don’t,"
I mutter under my breath. I’m already prepared for the worst.
Because these two, in the same space, is like shoving two feral rodents in a shoebox and shaking it.
"Rava."
"Father," I say, forcing a polite nod, eyes already locked on Gio. "Mr. Giovanni."
"Charles."
We couldchokeon that tension. My father turns to me.
"I must say, the presentation is surprisingly competent."
I feel my jaw tighten. "Thank you. We both worked hard—"
"I’m sureyoudid." His gaze flicks back to Gio.
"As for your associate, well. I suppose theatrics always help distract from lack of substance."
Gio laughs.
"Ah. There it is. I was starting to worry you’d gone soft."
My father’s eyes narrow. "And I was starting to hope you’d grown out of your childish need to provoke."
"I’m not provoking," Gio replies smoothly. "This is just who I am. Dangerous, huh?"
My father exhales dramatically.
"Dangerous," he repeats. "Yes, that’s the word people use for men who gamble with reputation and drag others down with them. For men who think recklessness is charm."
Oh God. Here we go. The theatrics.
Gio just lifts his glass and takes another slow sip while staring my father down. "Funny. I thought you liked winners."
"Only the ones who earn it," my father snaps. "Not the ones who stumble through life and land on their feet because someone cleared the path for them."
I cover my mouth slowly. Holy shit.
He’s talking about Gio’s dad. His company. The one Gio basically runs alone now, ever since everything went to hell.
I heard that from my mom.
Gio sets his drink down gently. Which means he’s pissed.
"Charles, my dad didn’t clearanythingfor me. He got wiped off the map and left me with a company that I had absolutely no fucking idea how to run."
My father stiffens.
