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"No one tells me what to do, not even my favorite brother," I murmur.
He laughs, "At least, you admit that I am your favorite."
"Che cazzo!" Christian frowns. "Just becausestronzohere is the most creative of the lot of us—"
"Also, the most handsome," Xander chuckles.
"If you like the cookie cutter definition of handsome." Christian counters. "I have the rugged good looks, don’t forget that."
"And I have—"
"A talent for brewing espresso that tastes better than what I make, and that," I nod in Xander’s direction, "is not praise I give lightly."
I take a sip of the espresso and the dark complex notes of coffee laced with chocolate and cinnamon fills my senses. I take another sip, and my sinuses seem to clear. Another and my brain cells finally seem to start firing. I place the espresso cup back in the saucer, dip the biscotti in the coffee and crunch down on it. "These are good." I scowl at the baked item, "Different from what I normally have, but reallyeccezionale."
"New supplier," Massimo, who is also in charge of procurement, offers. "They are homemade, and sold only through our coffee shops."
Yep, we also run a coffee shop chain. One of our many businesses through which I launder the not-so-legit money. The coffee shop chain is one of the more successful ones.
I crunch down the rest of the biscotti, then drain the last of my espresso. My muscles relax, and whether it’s the effect of the baked good or the coffee… Or perhaps, a combination of both, I don’t know, but I feel almost human.
"So, what are you guys doing here?" I glance between them, "Don’t you have enough work to take care of? Do I need to rebalance the systems and make sure you all get more to do?"
"Whoa!" Massimo blinks. "You don’t remember?"
"Remember what?"
"You,fratellone,who never forgets a work gig. You don’t remember why we are here?"
I blink around at them, "I still remember all my work appointments—"
"Except why we are here?" Christian smirks.
"You guys going to spill it, or what?"
"May I?" Seb glances at the rest of the guys, who nod.
"Go right ahead," Massimo acquiesces. "Enlightenfratellone,here, about what has slipped his mind completely."
"Enough with the fucking drama." I scowl. "The hell are you guys trying to imply?"
"That you are right." Seb tilts his head.
"I am?"
"You bet." Seb’s grin widens, "You don’t remember there being a meeting this early in the morning because it wasn’t planned."
"It wasn’t?"
He shakes his head, "However you did miss a meeting."
"I did?"
"Last night." Adrian adds.
"The fuck you mean?"
"Last night, we had a meeting scheduled with the Russians, which you didn’t turn up for," Seb informs me.
