“Grazie, padrone,” I whisper. “May I have more?”
His jaw clenches. His hands curl into fists.
This game is far from over.
21
Vin
I’m on the couch, arms slung along the back, scowling at Sophie in the kitchen. She’s naked, some of my cum still dried on her face from what I just did to her, making food for me. Smiling and humming like she could not be fucking happier.
What the actual fucking fuck?
My phone rings and Tommy’s name flashes across the screen. I slide my thumb across to answer and put it on speaker.
“Yeah.”
“Where the fuck are you? We were supposed to meet an hour ago.” Tommy’s voice is irritated, but fuck him. How many fucking hours have I waited on his ass over the past year during all his bullshit with Giovanna?
I lie easily. “Nah, I’m at the Edge. Been here all afternoon working through some of Silk’s intel.”
He’s silent and in the background, I hear Giovanna say something I can’t make out.
“Alright. Well, we need to meet. When can you—”
“I’ll call you back.” I end the call before he can protest, tossing the phone onto the couch next to me.
Sophie doesn’t look up from the cutting board where she’s slicing tomatoes with practiced precision, but her shoulders have gone rigid. It’s a small tell, but I catalog it away for later.
“Why did you lie to him?” Her voice is soft, but the question is annoying as fuck.
“Excuse me?”
She sets down the knife, pinning me with her big brown eyes. “You lied about being here. Why?”
“I don’t feel like getting into my personal life.” Irritation prickles under my skin. “You got something to say about it?”
Sophie wipes her hands on her apron, slow and deliberate. “Your brothers work for you.”
“Yes.” My jaw locks tight.
“You don’t have to lie to them.”
Who the fuck does she think she is? This is fucking ridiculous. “I don’thaveto do anything. Ichooseto lie because it’s easier forme.”
She gives me a look that says she’s not buying it. Then, almost like she’s conceding the point, she says, “You might be right,” but she says it like she left off the rest of the sentence: “You might be right. But you’re not.”
That pisses me off more than if she’d argued.
I roll my eyes and hang my head back for a second before lifting my eyebrows at her. “You’ve never lied to an employee because it’s easier than the truth?”
She shakes her head, returning to her tomatoes with maddening calm. “I’m the boss; I don’t have to lie. And it’s not who I am.”
Not who she is? Acting like she’s some fucking saint when we both know what she’s really doing behind my back.
“So what do you tell your little fuck boy when he wants to fuck you and you come home to me instead?”
Sophie doesn’t flinch. “First, I don’t have a fuckboy. Second, if I were in that situation, I would tell him the truth.” She pauses, considering her next words. “I don’t lie for any reason, but I certainly wouldn’t lie to someone I was sleeping with about other men. It removes their ability to consent.”
