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“While working, you mean?” When he nods, I shake my head even if he can’t see me while he’s driving. “No. But most guys don’t brag about what they do for a living, either.” I don’t know if that’s anywhere near the truth or not. The guy still thinks I’m my sister.
“Let’s just say Mr. Bernardi is a powerful man with powerful friends. I’m going to be rewarded for this, mark my words.”
“Why? What do I have to do with anything?” And dear God, how am I supposed to get away from him? I can’t even take these damn shoes off, and there’s no way I’d be able to run with them on. There isn’t exactly a discreet way to unbuckle the straps without him noticing, though.
“Don’t play dumb.”
“What does that mean? Who do you think I am?”
“I know who you are. We know each other very well.”
“Then you should know I don’t have the first clue about any of this.”
“Stop pretending you and Luca Bruno weren’t dying to fuck each other in that ballroom.”
Funny, we were saying the same about you eye fucking me. God, that was only a little while ago. Maybe less than an hour. How did everything fall apart out of nowhere?
Luca has to find me, he just has to. Does he know I’m gone yet? I don’t even know how long it’s been since we left the party. Twenty minutes maybe, or thirty. He must have figured it out by now. I can only hope he found the earring.
What if he decides I’m not worth coming after?
No. I can’t let myself think that way. I have to believe he’ll come for me, or else I’m going to lose it. Here and now, in the heated seat of this ridiculously tiny car, I’m going to break down. This is as close to losing it as I’ve come since this whole insane situation started. I can’t believe I didn’t think it would get worse, like I had already faced the worst of what life could do to me. And I’ve always thought I was so smart, cynical.
“Luca’s not going to care.” I stare straight ahead, and I have to wonder who I’m talking to. This pig, or myself? Am I trying to convince myself not to get my hopes up? it could be. “I promise you. Anything you saw between us tonight was on purpose. Luca wanted to make a good impression at the party.”
“My boss did tell me that Paul Giordano is a sucker for a beautiful woman.”
“It seems like your boss told you an awful lot of things.”
“I need to know stuff if I’m going to do a good job for him.” When his hand touches my knee I almost jump out of my skin. “We’re both good at our jobs. We have a lot more in common than you might think.”
I’m going to throw up. All the champagne and appetizers I ate are going to come right back up again.
His hand tightens until my teeth grind together. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to react. I’m not about to give him the pleasure. “Aren’t we? Come on, baby. Stop acting like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” I whisper through clenched teeth.
“You’ve changed.”
“Or maybe you just kidnapped me. It’s kind of a different situation, isn’t it?”
“Do me a favor and tell me the truth.” He’s going to break my knee if he doesn’t stop squeezing like this. The man is strong, stronger than anybody who’s ever put their hands on me this way. It isn’t like I’ve never been treated roughly before.
This is different. This is somebody who wants to hurt me.
“What truth?” I venture.
“The truth about what you were doing at that party with him. That wasn’t the look a john gives his escort. He looked at you like you meant something.”
“I guess he’s a good actor.” Damn it, why does he have to say things like this? All it does is get my hopes up. “All he cares about is his money, and how much I’m going to make for him.”
“Oh, so he wants you to be one of his girls, does he?”
“That’s the agreement we’re working on.”
“What, was tonight some kind of a try-out or something?” My stomach drops when he turns off the road we’ve traveled down for most of this journey. This road is barely more than a dirt path, one cutting through thick woods.
“Something like that. There was nothing personal about it.” Oh, boy, we are really in the middle of nowhere. “So you see, you’re wasting your time here. He’ll find out I’m gone, get another glass of champagne and move on with his life.”
