“You’d have a job,” he stated calmly, too calmly. “I will always look out for you, Kitty.”
“When people break up, everything turns sour.”
“I’m not people and we won’t be breaking up.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You don’t know that.”
“Was that a question or a statement,liunissa?” he purred.
Because I was back to squirming, I sniped, “You’re too pushyandoverconfident.”
“I’m very aware that I’m the right man for you. Where’s the harm in that?”
“You’ve known me for less than a week!”
“AskMatrihow she metPatri. Luciu is as bad and now he and Jen are repopulating the city on their own. They even had a similar arrangement at the start of their relationship as the one I’m proposing… It’s how we roll in my family. Even my grandparents onMatri’sside… I guess an arranged marriage doesn’t count, does it? But they fell in love so it wasn’t a total disaster.”
I gawked at the sanitary towels receptacle. “Your grandparents were in an arranged marriage?”
“They were nobles. Landed gentry. So it was more of a merger.
“From what you said, it sounds as if your parents got together pretty fast too. None of this is outside the realms of possibility. I can write you a letter of recommendation if you’re so worried about this. You can just add the date. Now, what do you say,duci? Come on. You’ll earn three times what you do now.”
“Because I’m me or you pay generously?”
“Both.”
“Did you make up that number off the top of your head?”
“I rounded down because I didn’t think you’d take it. Have five times what you make now?—”
“This is insane, Stan! We cannot be having this conversation while I’m in the restroom!”
“Why are you in a restroom?”
“I felt like…” When he didn’t rush to fill in the silence, I knew he’d wait all goddamn day until I spelled it out. “…I was going to have a panic attack.”
It took sitting on the toilet seat and speaking with him to accept that bitter truth too.
“Duci, if you don’t get your ass in our car and come home to menow, when that ass of yours isn’t bruised, I’m going to spank you. Quit,gattaredda.Pi favuri. They don’t deserve you.”
I knew this was a disaster waiting to happen.
You don’t mix business with pleasure!
I could already hear Raisin’s disbelief, never mind what Ma would have to sayorLucas. Cade had been as bad with Belle—and they’d worked out fine, hadn’t they? Neev would probably give me a high five…
Millie would swoon, Lara would crow, but George… I dreaded him finding out the truth. Thank fuck he was on the other side of the country.
“Okay, I’ll work for you,” I said in a rush.
“Good girl,” he crooned. “Now, come home.”
I shivered at the order, never mind the praise. “I need to quit first.”
“Fuck that. If you decide to quit or Currau passes, you’ll have that presigned reference. I’d never do anything to stop you from getting another job,duci.”
It freaked me out that I trusted him, but…
