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Oh, he enjoyed that last jab at me. I could see it written all over his smug, chiseled face.
“You know what? You and my darling brother can both kiss my ass.”
I wrenched the office door open and was almost all the way through it when he called after me:
“Fine!”
I stopped again but didn’t turn around this time. My chest heaved with the way I was trying to even out my breathing. The man was infuriating!
“I’ll double the offer,” he said, sounding closer than before. He was making his way over to me.
I could feel his commanding presence approaching me, and the hairs on the back of my neck prickled in anticipation, but I didn’t dare look at him. Not yet. Double the offer? I didn’t even know what the original one was. All he’d said was that I’d be “handsomely compensated,” and who knew what that meant to someone with Luca Moretti’s billion-dollar net worth?
What I did know was that I was taking a huge risk walking out on him and that mystery offer. Rent was due, and I still hadn’t landed any other interviews for the countless applications I’d sent out. Doing this onetime thing for Luca would give me the breathing room that I needed. Of course, it would help my pride if he believed he needed me more than I needed him.
“I’m sorry, okay?” He came to a stop right behind me. The warmth of his body emanated through the flimsy fabric of my T-shirt, starting a new wave of goosebumps. “Don’t tell your brother I called you a spoiled brat.”
His attempt at a joke softened me up, and I couldn’t help but smile. I turned to face him. “Actually, you called me a spoiled little girl…”
“No, no.” His smile mirrored mine, and I noticed the way it reached all the way up to his eyes, making the corners crinkle. “You’re definitely not a little girl.”
His gaze dropped to my chest, and in that second I noticed a flash of heat in his eyes. Then he looked up at me again.
“Definitely not a little girl,” he repeated.
That heat in his eyes seemed to reach his voice, where it dripped like honey. I felt myself melt under the weight of it all.
“Double and a half.” I still had no idea what I was negotiating, but something in me wanted to see how far I could push him.
Luca took another step toward me, his body so close to me that nothing more than a single hair’s breadth separated us. My breath caught in my throat as I willed my lungs to remember how to operate normally. His dark, brooding stare was intoxicating.
“Triple,” he responded, raising an eyebrow.
I snorted with laughter. “I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to go.”
“I don’t care. My plane leaves soon. Angelique will send you coordinates to the tarmac.” He pointed to his assistant who I only just noticed had been watching us the entire time.
A rush of warmth rose to my cheeks the minute I noticed the blush on her own, and she dropped her head as she busied herself with some imaginary task on her desk.
“Right on it, sir,” she said with an emphasized air of diligence.
Luca started back into his office.
“Wait,” I called after him.
He wore the most sincere smile I’d seen on him since I’d first arrived. “What is it?”
“What do I wear? Is it business casual, formal, or…?” The anxiety of my decision finally started to kick in.
Luca laughed lightly. “Don’t overpack, but make sure you have something…” His eyes devoured my body from head to toe and then came back up to finally rest on mine. “Make sure it flatters your, uh, assets.”
I bit back a shy smile as my cheeks grew even warmer. “Got it. I’ll see what I can do.”
“I’m sure whatever you pick will make the perfect impression.” He flashed a wink at me and disappeared into his office.
I stood rooted to the spot for a moment longer, catching my breath and every runaway thought zooming around my head. What the fuck? What just happened?
And why did I like it so much?
