I still need a second.
There wasn’t a concrete reason as to why I had put off appointing someone new. Perhaps because the position hadbeen filled by my sister for so long, it was difficult to imagine anyone else at my side.
But as I look around the room at the faces that have watched me grow from boy to man, there are frighteningly few options that could possibly fill Isabella’s stiletto-wearing, computer-hacking, no-shit-taking place.
Oddly, Mia suddenly springs to mind. I bury the thought quickly.
“Maximilian,” I call out absently. “Come here a moment.”
There’s the sound of a chair being dragged across the floor, followed by his footsteps. Everyone else seems to be collectively holding their breath.
I don’t speak again until he’s at my shoulder. “Would you be so kind as to sign here for me?” I point to the space in question.
Max does not move. “Is this your way of asking me to be your second?”
“Would you prefer a ring?” I wince as soon as the words leave my mouth. Too soon.
But Max doesn’t seem to notice. He smirks as he plucks the pen from my hand and scrawls his name in a surprisingly elegant script.
Once I’ve done the same, I risk looking up at our audience.
Dante, at least, seems pleased with this development. The rest seem torn between relief that the negotiations are finally over and staring daggers at Max.
It’s to be expected, considering he’s a newcomer, but luckily, Max doesn’t seem too concerned by their judgment.
“There we have it,” I announce as I hand the contract back to Dante. “Tell Teo I am looking forward to a very happy matrimony.”
5
MIA
“Teo Vitale, OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR!” I yell because if I don’t yell, I might cry, and being angry right now is a lot damn easier than being sad.
It took me a long time to track him down. Longer than it should have, which is enough to tell me that he’s trying to hide. Especially as he seems to have locked himself up in the one place he presumed I’d never look.
TheCandelabrawas always empty this time of day, save for the cleaning crew resetting everything for the evening crowd. It’s always a bit strange seeing the stage drenched in sunlight.
The Guild’s office is usually only used as a private space to entertain honored guests during the show. But Teo has been known to work from it whenever the Guild’s base—a large industrial unit by the docks—gets too crowded.
A fact I assume he must have thought I’d forgotten.
“YOU CAN’T HIDE IN THERE FOREVER!”
I can hear someone shuffling behind it and wait another moment before pounding against the wood once more.
“I HAVE A MASTER KEY, YOU KNOW. I WILL MURDER YOU IF I HAVE TO GO GET IT.”
I don’t have a master key, but Iamthe manager, so it’s not out of the realm of possibilities.
Suddenly, there’s a resigned sigh and a click, and the door swings an inch inward.
Teo gives me an exasperated look through the crack. “There is no master key.”
I ignore him and push through the door.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” I state as soon as I get far enough inside to spin around and face him.
He mutters something suspiciously, like, “Can you blame me?” and then closes the door again. He takes heavy steps back toward the desk, where he seems to have been poring over several documents.
