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“Wait, at the end? No way am I going through months of dealing with you every day and not getting paid for it. I want money up front and on a weekly basis.”
“No money up front. Money at the end of the first month then weekly from there.”
“You have lost your mind; nothing for the first month? Oh, hell no, this isn’t going to work. Never mind, you can do it on your own.”
“I bought the house because you said you would be the one to handle the remodel. There’s a twenty-four-hour buyer’s remorse clause. I’ll have Dante pull it and go find someone else who keeps their word.”
Silence. I can feel her vibrating with outrage. Not laughing isn’t easy, but I’m not sure she won’t get violent. “Payment on a weekly basis starting week one.”
I consider the offer. “Weekly, starting week two.”
“I hate you. I just want it out in the open now.” She spits out the words at me.
Biting my tongue to keep from laughing, I shrug. “I don’t need you to like me. I need you to do the job I hired you for.”
“Asshole.”
Shit, I can’t stop my laughter before it bubbles out of me. She does that thing again where her eyes go big and she can’t look away from me. A honk from behind us tells her the light’s green. Yeah, she hates me all right.
Once we’re in the elevator, I lean back against the wall. “Fair warning, Bethany is crying for no reason now at the drop of a hat, so pretty much anything you say or do might make her cry.”
6
Chloe
I mean it, I hate Enzo Sabatini with his smug, superior attitude, he knows it all, and I should be going down on my knees thanking him for even being in his presence. I wish he would stop laughing, I really wish he would stop. I take back wanting to know what it sounds like; it sounds like a rumbling thunder, soft yet soothing as a storm comes in. I’ve never been afraid of thunderstorms, I love them and whenever one begins, I immediately want to run to bed to lie there and listen to it. He’s already gorgeous but when he laughs, dear god it should be illegal. If I had been driving I would have run into something. It’s super fucking annoying that me telling him I hate him didn’t annoy or anger him in the slightest. I’m so fucked.
When the door opens, Bethany flings her arms around me. “I knew it. I knew you’d get Enzo all tied up in a single day with one hand behind your back.” I get barked at by a small tan chihuahua whose name I can’t remember, but Ginny and Maxie greet me by winding around my legs. “Sorry, come in. Enough you guys, shoo. Wine?”
“Yes, please.” I watch in fascination as Enzo scoops up the whining chihuahua. The tiny dog is in ecstasy in Enzo’s arms. I’m not jealous of the dog. I think.
“One glass, she’s driving,” Enzo rumbles.
Bethany nods. “One glass only. Enzo, if you behave you get to take the extra lasagna home with you.”
It’s annoying how sweet he is with the small dog as he gently sets it down after cuddling it close. He’s an asshole; he’s not supposed to also be sweet, nice, or anything that could mean he’s not just an asshole. I’m at the table sipping deeply on my wine, wishing I weren’t driving. “Chloe, cheese garlic bread?”
I nod and take the basket from Bethany. “Thanks, I can never believe you bake the bread from scratch. I don’t have the patience for it. I’m already smug from making my pasta from scratch. I’m forever in love with your lasagna. Almost every time I eat it, I swear I go home to play with mine to figure out why it doesn’t taste as good as yours.”
“It’s not hard, I love kneading the dough, it allows me to get my frustrations out. And don’t even try it, I’m not giving you the recipe no matter how much you beg.”
Taking a bite of the lasagna, I can’t help releasing a small moan. “I swear this is better than sex.”
A deep, smoky chuckle comes from Enzo. It goes right to the core of me, leaving me slick with desire. “With all due respect to Bethany’s skill, if this is better than sex then your partners have been letting you down.”
“It’s an expression, trust you to take everything literally.” I hate the blush I feel on my face. It doesn’t help I meant what I said. My past sexual partners have been less than impressive. I take too long to get there, they usually gave up before I even felt a freaking tingle. I’m far happier with my two vibrators than I have ever been with a man.
Bethany shakes her head. “Enzo, be nice. Before I met Dante I would say food was better than sex, now I know differently. How soon are you moving into your new house?”
“Not soon at all. It needs work. The kitchen is getting a gut, all the bathrooms, the office and the basement is a wreck. Chloe is in charge, she drives a hard bargain, she gets three months and three fifty for her hard work.”
Dante groans. “Come on, man, she’s my number two. You’re going to monopolize her.”
“What can I say? She impressed me. Given her own extensive knowledge on remodels she’s done herself, I think I’ll get my money?
?s worth putting her in charge.”
“La de freaking da.” I swallow the last of my wine. “The great Enzo Sabatini is paying me a compliment. I must make sure to transcribe it into my diary the moment I get home.”
