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“Yeah, Matteo Valentino, the husband—he’s also a good fucking attorney in New York. Not only does he know his shit when it comes to laws and contracts, he also knows how to make you disappear like you never fucking existed in the first place.”
“Well, fuck, guess I’m looking forward to this meeting then.” The sarcasm drips from my voice. Xavier drops a folder on my desk and leaves the office. I can’t believe he’s letting Lucy get mixed up with the fucking mafia. That never ends well for anyone. I hit the button on my intercom. “Tracey, reschedule my afternoon meetings. Something’s come up.”
“Sure thing, boss,” she replies.
Now, to see what the hell this genius fucking mafia prince attorney has hidden in the fine print. There’s always a way to read between the lines for someone who knows what the fuck they’re looking for.
* * *
I’ve foggedover the glass of the conference room to give us some privacy. I also made sure Bentley was too busy to come to this meeting with me. I do, however, have Xavier sitting next to me. Lucy and Dom are seated opposite us as we await the other parties.
“Mr Miller, I have a Mr and Mrs Valentino here for you.” My secretary sticks her head in, announcing their arrival.
“Thanks, Tracey. Send them in.” I stand, buttoning my jacket as the two Valentinos enter the conference room. I thought I’d seen arrogance before, but this Matteo Valentino takes that look to a whole new level. I school my features and hold out my hand. “Nathan Miller. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
For a moment, I think he’s not going to return the gesture as he sizes me up. “Matteo Valentino. And this is my wife, Savannah,” he says before taking my palm in his.
“It’s nice to meet you, Savannah,” I say, shaking her hand as well. Which, judging by the growl that emanates from the man beside her, wasn’t something her husband approved of. “Please have a seat.”
“Dominic, Lucy. How are you?” Matteo asks as he pulls out a chair for his wife before taking his own.
“Good, I’m excited,” Lucy says.
“How was the flight?” Dom asks.
“Fucking long,” Matteo answers.
“Right, let’s get started, shall we? I’ve gone over the contract, added changes, which you’ll see are tabbed.” I hand each party a copy of the document.
The room is silent as everyone reads through the paperwork. I see Matteo’s lips curl when he picks up on the one major change I made. It was well hidden—the clause basically stated the entire agreement could be terminated by the Valentinos at any time with all profits, ownership of designs, materials, and so on reverting solely to them. In other words, Lucy could do all the hard work of setting up, making the business successful here in Australia, and they could swipe it out from under her, leaving Lucy with no legal recourse to stop them.
Matteo looks up at me. I’m not sure if he’s trying to intimidate me into backing down from the change I made, which really just deletes that whole clause. If that’s the case, it’s not going to work. I don’t care who he is. I will not let Lucy be taken advantage of.
“Is there a problem?” I ask.
“Nope, just wondering how you managed to pick that up. I must admit this is a first.”
“I’m good at what I do.” I shrug.
“Hold up… What are you talking about?” Dom asks, flipping through the pages.
“Yourfriends,” I say, emphasising the last word, “added a clause that would leave Lucy with nothing if and when they decided they wanted to end the arrangement.”
The expression on Dom’s face morphs into something feral. I knew the kid was one step away from the asylum, but this look takes him five more past the door.
“You tried to fucking rip her off?” he growls, pushing to his feet with his palms spread out on the table. Before I know what’s happening, Dom and Matteo both have a gun pointed at each other. And all I can think isthank fuckI fogged over the glass.
“If you’re as smart as I’m told you are, you’ll drop the gun, Dominic.”
“If you were as smart as I thought you were, you wouldn’t have tried to rip off my fucking girlfriend,” Dominic growls.
“It’s business,” Matteo says with a shrug.
“Yeah, funny you say that, because I’m in the farming business. And you know what we have in the farming business, Valentino? Pigs… heaps of hungry fucking pigs.”
“Okay, stop. Put the damn guns down now! Both of you. We all know neither of you are going to fucking shoot. Matteo, we don’t kill family.” Savannah stands to move in front of Matteo.
“Savannah, get the fuck out of the way. Don’t put yourself in front of a gun,” he hisses at her.
