“Then trust me to drive in mine,” she says. “If I need you in that lane, I’ll ask.”
I nod once. “All right.”
Her hand slides to the tablet again, dismissing the subject in a movement more effective than a full stop. “Anything else for me?”
I flip my pad closed. “The only other note is a handful of overpour warnings in the lounge. I’ll handle it.”
“Good.” She picks up her tablet again, ready to be done with this meeting.
I take that as my cue to leave and stand. “Thanks for the time.”
“Olivia?” she adds, before I reach the door.
I turn back. “Yes?”
“We had an amazing grand opening,” she says. “That was all you. You know that, right?”
I soften. She’s my best friend, after all. If there’s anyone who knows about Caterina’s pissy moods, it’s someone who roomed with her for years.
“It wasn’t all me,” I counter. “You had a little to do with it, too,” I say wryly.
“Olivia,” she says.
“What?”
“Stop being so fucking humble and take the compliment,” she says blandly.
I grin. “Fine. I will. I was a fucking rockstar.”
Caterina laughs. “Yes, you were. And on the next night we’re both free, we’re going to go out and celebrate that.”
“Can’t wait,” I say and turn back to the door.
“Olivia,” she says again.
I turn back. “Yeah?”
“How was dinner last night?” she asks slyly.
I can feel my face heating up, which embarrasses me, so I blush even harder.
“That good, huh?” She grins.
“It was a really lovely dinner, and the wine was great too,” I say.
She laughs. “Oh, I bet it was.” She picks up her pen and taps it on the desk. “You know, we got some noise complaints from that floor last night. Someone said there was a lot of screaming. Did you hear that, by any chance?”
If my face gets any hotter, I’ll probably implode.
I clear my throat and the bite mark on my thighthrobs wonderfully.
“I didn’t hear anything, no,” I say hoarsely. “It was a pretty quiet night, all in all.”
“I’m sure it was,” Caterina says, still with that sly smile. Then she picks up her tablet again and teases me with: “Tell Zio Roberto I said hi.”
A beat passes. “If I see him around, I will do that,” I say.
I don’t miss the laugh she lets out as the door shuts behind me.
