Page 31 of The Boss

“Maybe we should table this. Whoever this is doesn’t seem like a threat. And they might not even view what they’re doing as threatening. They’re trying to help,” Juliet says.

“Juliet, it doesn’t matter; they are calling you, scaring you, and I’m not going to let that go,” I say.

She huffs and leaves the room, and Drew just stares at me.

“What?” I bark at him.

“Hmm.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I ask.

“I knew you liked her, but damn, didn’t know you liked her like that,” he says, and I roll my eyes.

“Shut up, Drew,” I groan.

“Yeah, not going to. What the fuck is going on with you two? No one has said anything, but what the fuck happened? Mateo is missing, so you’re on edge; I get it, but you two… You’re both different.”

I’m not telling him about how we slept together; that's not happening.

He sighs. “Gino, if you two are trying to hide the fact that you are together, it’s getting harder for you to do that.”

“What the fuck?”

“Come on, man, we've seen it for years. We get it, you both have this loyalty to your father. And her parents were friends with your dad. But don’t use that as the reason you’ve got to hide your feelings or relationship,” he replies.

“Drew, I’m not in the mood to discuss this with you,” I say.

“No, you’re in denial, and so is Juliet,” he replies.

“You can say I’m in denial, but don’t speak badly about her,” I grit out.

“And that right there is why I know I’m right. I’ve known you both for how long? It’s obvious; it’s been obvious. I’ve known you both too long for you both to hide this.”

I take a deep breath. Technically telling him we’re dating is another lie, but he started it.

“Promise you won’t tell everyone?” I look over to him.

“Do you think I’m going to run and tell everyone?” He scoffs.

“No, I–”

“If you think everyone is going to be pissed that you two are together after all these years, you’re mistaken. We’ve been asking for the two of you to put us out of our misery. You’ve been doing this dance for years,” he says.

I swallow.

“I know Mateo wouldn’t care; neither will your sister, so go for it.”

“When did you become so insightful?” I ask.

He snorts. “I’ve said this to you for years; you're just finally listening.”

And with that, he leaves.

I stand in the kitchen, knowing that regardless of what Drew said, he will tell Alonso. And Alonso can’t keep a secret to save his life, so he’ll tell everyone.

Before I can think about anything else, my phone pings.

Alonso