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Now I felt obligated to introduce her. “Cassandra, this is my business partner, Dante. And this is his daughter, Scarlett.” I shifted my eyes to hers, seeing the way she struggled to maintain her composure. She must have heard enough of the conversation to gauge what had transpired.
Cassandra shook Dante’s hand.
“Cassandra and I went to school together,” I said. “We haven’t seen each other since, so we’re catching up.”
Cassandra moved to Scarlett.
Scarlett hesitated before she took her hand, and once she did, it was with a scowl.
“He was the first chair violinist, and I was second chair,” Cassandra said.
Dante took a drink as he waited for Cassandra to excuse herself.
“Cassandra, I’ll catch up with you later,” I said, trying to get rid of her as nicely as I could.
“Sure.” Her hand moved to my arm. “Let’s meet up before the end of the night.” She walked away and disappeared into the crowd.
It took all my strength not to look at Scarlett. But I didn’t need to see her face to know how she felt because her rage was like the heat from a bonfire. The energy around her was distinct and unmistakable.
I did my best to ignore it. “I haven’t spoken to Giovanni yet. He’s been swarmed with admirers.”
“Then you must not be that close,” Dante said coldly.
“Well, I got distracted by—” I realized I’d shoved my foot in my mouth. “I don’t chase people. He’ll come to me.”
Scarlett tilted her head back and downed the rest of her champagne before she placed the glass on an empty tray that passed. “I’m going to get a drink.” She stepped away and approached the bar, probably to get something stronger.
I did my best to seem indifferent to her departure. “The woman on his arm is Melissa. Not his wife, but one of his mistresses.”
“Good to know,” Dante said coldly. “There are too many people here. We’ll need to speak to him in private.”
“Dante, you’ve got to play the game.”
His eyes narrowed on my face.
“We’ve got to drink with him. We’ve got to dine with him. Give him a reason to step away with us.”
“But if you know him?—”
“But he doesn’t know you.”
His eyes burned at the interruption.
“Give him a reason to want to speak to you. Wine him. Dine him. The whole deal.”
He took another drink of his champagne. “I guess your connection isn’t enough.”
“I can introduce you and get him into a private room, but aren’t you more likely to get what you want if he likes you before that?”
Dante took another drink.
“I’ve been making you money hand over fist, so your confidence would be appreciated.”
He looked at me, his stare cold.
I knew he would never respect me, not after sleeping with his daughter and serving time in the slammer. It didn’t matter how good I was at making money, he would always view me as his inferior.
Giovanni finished his conversation with the group he was with then stepped away.
