Page 12 of Beni

That’s what counted.

“Tom,” she greeted.

He grinned, winking. “How was your flight?”

“Who cares,” Camilla crowed, still holding onto August, “she is here for a whole month now!”

August laughed, hugging her friend to her side again. “It was good.”

Tom nodded. “Perfect. Did you settle into your hotel before coming here?”

Cam waved a hand, dismissing that notion. “She’ll probably stay here more, anyway.”

“Yeah, I did.”

Camilla was already moving to a new topic, which also wasn’t anything new for her friend. “We have to do something. You know, to celebrate you being here, and all. Dinner, maybe? Oh, or a club. Yes, let’s go drink and dance.”

Actually, that sounded pretty good.

“Let me settle in for a few days, and then we can do whatever. I have a couple of interviews set up for this week, and I do not want to be hungover for them. This assignment could finally get me a better position at Bared Brands, and I don’t want to screw it up for anything, Cam.”

Cam pouted. “Fine. This weekend, then?”

“That’d be perfect.”

“Oh, there’s a new club opening on the east side. We should—”

Tommaso made a noise under his breath, drawing in the women’s attention. “Not sure that’s a good idea, babe. There’s been some … bad activity on that end. Gang movement, and stuff. A crew having trouble. Better not to be caught up in something on that side, you know?”

Without even asking, August knew Tom was talking about the Outfit. Mafia business. The mob had come on her radar when she met Cam as a young teen, and people whispered that the girl’s father was a mafia boss. Of course, she hadn’t believed it until her father confirmed it later when he took on a job litigating a set of charges for Camilla’s father, Calisto.

Still, the mob hadn’t touched August’s life.

Not really.

And still, she understood that it was very real and present for her friend. Camilla’s family was saturated in mafia business. And her husband? The son of a prominent mob boss, too. August always figured, as long as she didn’t ask questions or get directly involved, then she was safe.

Right?

“It should be fine, it’s just a club,” Cam pointed out. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Tom gave her a look before muttering, “We’ll see. But have a backup club in the plans, got it?”

“Done deal.” Then, Cam turned her attention back on August. “Speaking of a better position … although let’s forget Bared Brands, have you considered the offer Alessa gave you a year ago?”

Tommaso’s aunt, Alessa Conti, owned Manic Media. The job offer, although she would have to start over and work from the ground up in her career, still lingered in the back of her mind even though she refused it the first time around.

Yes, she was considering it.

No, she was not telling Cam just yet.

Her friend would get excited, wouldn’t leave it alone, and would then undoubtedly affect August’s decision to make such a big change in her life and career. Not only would it mean starting over, but also moving away from her family.

She needed to figure it out on her own.

“Not really,” she lied. “I’m here for other things.”

Camilla sighed. “Breaking my heart, Aug.”