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I conceded his point. “Not enough to trust who she presented herself to be at face value.”
“It’s a big change for you,” Weston added. “You weren’t ready for it.”
“He’d known it was coming,” Elliot argued.
The pulse behind my eye was beginning to throb. “Eventually, notnow, and sure as hell not as suddenly as it did.”
Weston gave my shoulder a pat. “How’s Vic?”
“Snarly.”
My father, Victorio Rossi, who, up until a couple weeks ago, had been the CEO of Rossi Motors. He’d been doing the job more than twenty years, since his father had stepped down. He’d have held on to the title for another twenty.
I wouldn’t have had a problem with that.
His heart had other plans.
Elliot’s normally impassive expression grew sympathetic. “It can’t be easy to go from ruling a Fortune 500 company to being told what to do, down to what he can eat. I don’t think any of us would handle that well.”
“Hell no,” I agreed. “I just wish he wouldn’t take his anger out on my mother. She’s waiting on him hand and foot, like always, and he’s being a dick to her.”
One sunny morning, my father had a heart attack in the middle of a board meeting. Our family gathered at the hospital, waiting hours to see if he’d make it out of surgery alive. The first thing he wanted to do when he woke up was check his emails.
My mother’s sobs had flipped his switch, though.
He’d retired almost immediately, much to everyone’s shock and his doctor’s delight. That meant I went from vice president—which had been a cushy title allowing me all the freedom I desired to pursue my passions and, as Elliot had put it, debauched lifestyle—to running my family’s company.
And we weren’t some mom-and-pop small business. Rossi Motors was the largest producer of motorcycles in America.
“I’m surprised Vic is capable of being a dick to Angelina,” Weston said.
“Me too.” I shoved my fingers through my hair. I’d been so busy talking I hadn’t even broken a sweat yet. “He’ll regret it when he comes out of this fog.”
My parents were disgusting. They were always kissing and laughing together. He pinched my mother’s butt whenever she bent down, and she sent him off every morning by straightening his tie and whispering secrets in his ear.
My sister and I used to gag at their public displays of affection, but as our friends’ parents got divorced, or worse, stayed in toxic marriages, we saw how lucky we were.
Which made my father’s treatment of my mother even harder to bear. She was his treasure, but he was acting like she was his jailer.
The pulse slammed behind my eye, and I was done. Done working out, done thinking about this, done talking. Circumstances were what they were. Fighting against them wouldn’t make anything easier.
I accepted who I was. Luca Rossi, CEO of Rossi Motors, soon to be the owner of the loneliest dick in Denver.
Chapter Five
Saoirse
Todaywasthefirstday in a long line of first days. I never tired of the anticipation of walking into a new office where anything could happen.
I flattened theVneckline of my cream silk blouse and smoothed down my leather pencil skirt, turning to the side to examine my reflection. Elise pushed into my room while I was in the middle of considering my outfit.
“Is leather office appropriate?” I asked her.
She stood behind me in one of her cute tops with a bow tied at the throat and a pair of smart trousers. I almost burst out laughing at how different our workwear was. Elise had honed her style years ago, and she rocked her librarian chic look. It helped that she was all curves and made pretty much anything look hot.
She tapped her chin, taking my question seriously. “What kind of company is this job at again?”
I turned to face her, my dearest best friend since we were randomly assigned as roommates our freshman year at CU Boulder. She’d moved back to Denver from Chicago a few months ago, and we’d joined forces once again, sharing an apartment like old times.
