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“What I understand is you running around with that asshole,” he sneers over the line, and my heart kicks in my chest. Shit. “I don’t care who you spread your legs for, but the money must be in my bank account within the thirty days. Am I understood?”
“Si,” I answer in my mother tongue. He prefers me speaking to him in Italian, but I never want to placate him. Since he knows about Rome, I can’t anger him because he will do something I’ll regret.
“Good girl,” he tells me before hanging up. I sit in the car staring at my phone for so long I jump when a message comes through from Rome. Even though I want to open it, my heart isn’t ready to see his words. Not right now.
Sighing, I exit the car and make my way to the store. The happiness that held me earlier has dimmed to almost nonexistent, but I force myself to smile as I do my shopping.
I’m so tired of being ruled by men in my life. Since I was a child, I knew there would be rules to follow, but now that I’m a grown woman, I feel like I’m being held prisoner because of my name and family.
Chapter 15
Rome
She hasn’t responded yet. But she hasn’t even seen the message. I decide that she’s busy. Perhaps she’s moving from her hotel to the apartment. I should have offered to help, but I thought she’d want some privacy and alone time after our tryst in her living room.
Even though I’m working, or meant to be, I can’t get her off my mind. My focus isn’t on Mr. Johnson’s house for sale, it’s on how Elisabet looked while she was coming on my cock, on my fingers. Every whimper and mewl is engrained in my mind. And as much as I try to convince myself I’ll be able to walk away from her, I know it’s a lie.
I click on the email from my client, scanning the contents. Opening the photos, I choose the handful that we’ll put on the website and send it off to my marketing assistant. She handles all the listings online. In email, I tell her to also remove Elisabet’s apartment from the website altogether. Normally, we leave the leases up for a while to show people those that have been purchased or rented, but I’m acting like a possessive asshole, not wanting anyone to see her home.
Sighing, I push my chair away from the desk and head out into the foyer. It’s quieter now since all the agents are out, and I’m the only one in besides my receptionist. I make my way to the kitchen, grab a mug, and set it under the Keurig. Perhaps a mug of strong coffee will get me out of this slump.
I feel like a teenager with a crush on the hottest girl in school, and she’s ignoring me while she’s with someone else. But I know Elisabet is alone; at least, I believe she is. Instinct tells me she’s not someone who would easily cheat or spend time with other men. I wonder if this has something to do with her past. Perhaps her secrets are more dangerous than I thought.
I pull out my phone and hit dial on Dom’s number. Pressing the device to my ear, I wait, listening to the rings before he answers.
“What’s up, Rome?”
“Hey, listen, you know that guy your family uses to check up on clients?” I ask, knowing that this isn’t going to be an easy deal with my best friend. Dominic is stubborn, and even if I told him it’s nothing serious, the fact that I want him to contact a PI for me means I’m hiding more secrets than he knows about.
“Yeah, Malakhov,” he says.
“Can he do some digging for me?” This time, I shut my eyes, waiting for the tirade of questions from my friend.
Silence greets me, and I glance at the screen to make sure I didn’t drop the call, but he’s still there. I’m still connected.
“Is this about the baker?” Dom’s voice is filled with amusement. He’s never seen me like this over a woman before. And to be fair, I haven’t ever wanted a woman as much. Never actually wanted to lay claim to anyone before. I need to take it slow, to gauge where this could go before I jump in with both feet.
“Yeah,” I tell him. “I need to know what she’s hiding. Her past seems to be riddled with secrets, and I want to know them all.”
“What if it’s something you can’t handle?”
Dom’s question stills me. I never once considered that I would learn something that could make me change my mind about Elisabet. But I can’t deny he’s right. There could be something that she has been running from that may be a deal-breaker.
