Wide-eyed, she nods. “Okay.”
Now I miss it. Damn me. Where was I? I scan my office. Did I lose track of my thoughts? I did. I need to get rid of this woman. Pronto.
“Ms. Wilder, I’m leaving for Rome in an hour. You think you can pack in an hour and come with me?” She doesn’t have a choice, but I’m trying not to be a complete asshole about firing her.
I feel responsible, even if I shouldn’t feel responsible for some random goon who hurt her while she was on my island. I did tell her to stay in the room. See, this is what happens when people don’t do what I say. Case in point: my best friend is in a hell of a mess now. I’m so bitter about Miro.
“I can pack in an hour, yes. Where are you taking me?”
I frown. “To the embassy to get your passport, of course.”
“Of course.”
“Then to the airport, so you can get home.”
“That’ll take time, sir. Not sir. Mr. Angelini. Alessio. Can I call you Alessio?”
Out of the question. “Yes.”What?I rear back, shocked at myself. I can’t take it back now, so I roll my shoulders, get the tension out of them because I can’t very well grip my dick and start rubbing the tension out of it and ejaculating everywhere, now can I? No.
“Alessio, you know how the embassy is always busy, and it’s almost the holiday season?—”
“The holidays are in December. We’re still in the fall.”
“We start the season early in the US.”
She’s right again. One after the other, the retail market keeps moving holidays up the calendar year. “Case in point. Christmas in July,” I say.
“Yes.” A small smile plays on her lips. It’s not enough to deter me from firing her.
I round my desk and sit down, getting ready to work on something other than finding the thug who mugged her. But then I remember I can’t do anything about the thug because I lost my hitman. And then I cycle back to the stranger who walked into my house with my hitman, which is unproductive.
Troy cost me my hitman. But this woman? This one might cost me my life.
“Why are you still here, Ms. Wilder?”
“I have no money, no job, and I’ll be on the street if you fire me.”
“You’ll get your passport in under an hour. I’ll pay you for your time with Leo, and I will fly you to the US in first class. You’ll have everything.”
“I need this job.”
With a sigh, I lean back in my chair. She’s starting to cry, which I dislike. I dislike it a lot, but she must leave. “You cannot stay here.”
“Why not?”
“Because I want to fuck you.”
Warm brown eyes widen, her jaw drops, and she makes a show of closing it by pretending as if she needs to lift it using her hand.
Smiling, she wipes her tears. “I forgot how charmingly bold you are.”
Most people think I’m an asshole. She thinks I’m charming. I bite the inside of my cheek to prevent a shit-eating grin from splitting my face. “Get packing, Sunshine.”
TEN
THERE WERE NO VANILLA BITS
Lake
