Page 57

My attention sharpens. Diego is many things, but careless is not one of them. “Did he?”

“He said he had been warned away.”

I keep my expression still.

“And that surprised you.”

Her gaze is direct. Unflinching. “It did. I am here to do a job. I did not expect the parameters of that job to include who I am permitted to speak with.”

“You can speak with anyone you need to.”

“Then why would he say he was warned away?”

“It was not a reflection on you,” I say

“Then what was it a reflection on?”

“On him."

Her brows draw together slightly.

“Diego is charming,” I say. “He is also occasionally impulsive, and you are beautiful,” I say the words simply, as a statement of fact.

For the first time since she walked into my office, hell, into the building, I see Victoria's composure fray. She blinks rapidly a few times. A faint flush rises from her collar, creeping up her throat.

It's a reaction I hadn't counted on, and I like it very much.

It's a reaction that makes me want to push further.

“My brothers have a habit of… collecting things. Sometimes I have to remind them not to.”

“I am not a thing, Mr. Conti.” Her words are dignified and a bit stiff.

“I am aware of that," I say mildly. "And that's precisely why the reminder was necessary." I hold her gaze, letting the silence stretch.

I am being a bastard. I know I am.

She needs to understand who she is dealing with. She needs to understand the world she has stepped into. This isn't a corporate law firm. This isn't a negotiation.

This is us.

She looks down at her tablet, but I see the way her fingers are trembling, just a little.

“I appreciate the clarification,” she says, her voice a little too tight. “I will ensure my interactions remain professional.”

"I never had any doubt about that, Ms. Murray," I say. "But I cannot always say the same for my brothers."

She doesn't respond to that. She just nods, her jaw tight. She is angry. And embarrassed. And something else I can't quite name.

I should stop. I know I should. I have made my point.

But I don't.

I stand and walk to the bar at the far end of the room.

"It's not yet 9:30," I say, my back to her as I open the hidden panel. "But I find a meeting of this importance calls for something other than coffee."

I hear her sharp intake of breath.