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I huffed through my growing annoyance. “As long as I want him to. I pay him to wait. What is he talking about, how much longer? Does he have somewhere to be? Tell him he’ll be on standby for as long as I need him to be.”
Angelique nodded briskly and slipped back out of sight, the door closing behind her with a soft click. I went to sit at my desk but immediately got back up again. Every minute I spent waiting was another minute lost to my competitors, and I wondered whether I’d made a mistake trusting Christopher with the most important move of my career. He always had my back, sure, but he didn’t fully grasp the nature of what I did. What if he pushed his sister at me because she was family and not because she was the best person for the job?
“Your face will get stuck that way if you’re not careful.”
I frowned, blinking at the stranger in my doorway. A young, redheaded woman with large eyes the color of a Norwegian forest in spring looked back at me. Even though she was dressed casually in a pair of blue jeans and white oversized T-shirt tucked at her waist, her beauty was undeniable. Ethereal.
The last time I’d seen Scarlett James, she was still in high school, with a face splattered with freckles and ruby-colored braces wrapped around her teeth. The back of my neck grew hot beneath my shirt collar as I considered the great job she’d done growing up. She was definitely nothing like that awkward teenager anymore.
She smirked at me, her gaze drifting around my office before landing back on my face. “You really leaned into that whole stereotypical billionaire vibe, didn’t you?”
“If heading up one of the biggest tech firms in the world is a stereotype, then yes,” I replied. “Do you always start job interviews by insulting people?”
She folded her arms across her chest. I didn’t miss the way her T-shirt tightened, carefully outlining the lace pattern of her bra underneath. Even from across the office I could tell that it was black. My tongue came out to slowly wet my lips. I was going to have to be careful.
“I’m here because Chris asked me. Well, he kind of begged, which was slightly embarrassing for a grown man, and I felt bad,” Scarlett said, taking up one of the chairs in front of my desk without an invitation.
I went to do the same, suddenly grateful for the expanse of mahogany separating us. If it weren’t for my desk, I wasn’t sure what my instant attraction to her would lead to. It was the desk, but also the mention of my best friend’s name. Her brother. The biggest reason I needed to keep a mental wall between her and the spark of lust blooming in the depths of my stomach.
“Your brother tells me you’re good with languages,” I began, focusing on the business at hand. It was a miracle that her presence forced me to forget that for a few moments.
Scarlett shrugged. “I do okay. What’s it to you?”
Her tone was mildly hostile, and I couldn’t figure out why. But it was her eyes that intrigued me more—the way her gaze flickered to my lips when I spoke and grazed the outline of my jaw. There was a definite tension in the room, and it wasn’t all coming from me.
Hope erupted in my chest that maybe I’d have a way to placate her after all.
“I have a proposition for you.” I locked eyes with her, my lips curling up into a half-smile. It was a well-practiced look, and I was fully aware of the reaction it always got.
She swallowed hard, shifting in her seat before squaring her shoulders once more. “I’m listening.”
I had her right where I wanted her.
“I’m flying out to Shanghai today, and I want you to be my official translator for the trip.” I rested my elbows on my desk, steepling my fingers in front of my mouth. “You will, of course, be handsomely compensated for your time if you agree.”
“What’s in Shanghai?” she asked, her head tilted to the side as she studied me closely. “Another unsuspecting company you’re going to obliterate from existence?”
My hands dropped along with my jaw, and I scrambled to regain my composure. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about how I would die before I ever helped you.” She put her hands on the armrests of her chair and pushed up with all her bottled anger spilling out. “You and Chris probably thought that I’d go along with this because I need the money, right?”
“He told me you needed a job.” I stood up too, unwilling to be looked down on by the fiery siren. “This is a favor to you as much as it is to me.”
“Favor?” She scoffed loudly. “Favor, he says. He wantsmeto dohima favor!” She spoke to my empty office as if there was an audience.
I followed her gaze to the empty corners of the room. “Who—who are you talking to? What are you raving on about?”
She jabbed at me with her forefinger, the veins in her neck protruding ominously. “You, Luca Moretti. You’re the reason I got laid off to begin with.”
Chapter 2
Scarlett
Myscathingaccusationsenthim back a step or two, bumping his expensive leather chair into the floor-to-ceiling window behind him. I’d hoped I would have a moment to confront him and could hardly believe it when Christopher handed it to me on a silver platter.
“Christopher said you work in tech,” he said, the cogs slowly turning in his mind.
But I didn’t have the patience to wait until the broody Italian finally got the message. He was a lot taller than I remembered, with his broad shoulders filling out his designer suit like a GQ model. His dark hair was slicked back, calling even more attention to his thick, low-set brow and chiseled jawline.
