Page 66 of Scream
Wife: Your couch feels like sitting on a slab of ice and I don’t like the way the leather feels on my skin.
Shit. I hardly ever sit on my sofa – I forgot it’s leather.
I call Jonathan into my office immediately. He’s young, in his early twenties, with fierce Italian features. His mother was my assistant for the longest, but she retired two years ago, having been my father’s assistant before me. She trained her son quickly to replace her. “Yeah boss?”
“Apparently, my wife finds my couch to be irritating and cold.”
“Just the couch, huh?”
I blink at him, understanding what he means, I grin inwardly, then I grunt outwardly, and he rolls his muddy brown eyes. “I don’t have time for your sass. Has she… spoken to you about the type of furniture she appreciates? Since you seem to be in more communication with my wife than I assumed?”
“Oh yeah, I love her couch. It’s really soft. Suede.”
I rise to my feet quickly and grasp his shirt. “How do you know what kind of couch she has?”
“Hey! Whoa! When we were planning the wedding. You have to put me down. I’m getting a really weird boner, and I don’t want to poke you with it,oh my god,” he pants.
I look him up and down when I drop him. “You’re gay?”
He puts his hand over his crotch. “I don’t really like to put a label on it, but bisexual is more accurate.” He takes a moment, then stands up straight, hand covering his crotch, huffing out heavy a breath. “God, that was so hot. I can’t even look at you right now. I’ve dreamt about being manhandled before but-“ He takes a peek up at me beneath black lashes then back to the ground. “No, I still can't look at you. Don’t you remember the guy I took to the wedding?”
I shake my head. I was busy watching my wife the entire time.
“Figures. Anyway, your wife, Lily, Raven, Elena - Jonas’ mom - Matilda and I would frequently spend time together at Sab’s-” I raise a brow at the nickname he has for my wife. “Uhm,Mrs. Giordano’shouse to plan the wedding. We only had sixteen weeks to do it. So yeah, I’vespent time at your wife’s house. Withfour other women!” he adds after I snarl.
“Do you still have your key to my penthouse?”
“Yes?”
“Good. You’re done here for the day. Have my furniture removed and purchase what you think she would prefer.” He’s not done here. I have so much shit I have to do before the fight next weekend.
“It’s Friday,” he argues.
“It’s Friday, but it’s also very easy to lose your privileges to my home in Saint Tropez.”
He bites his lower lip and looks up at me with a pout. “Fine. But I'm doing it forher. She deserves this. Not because of Saint Tropez.” he says, leaving my office.
“The recliner stays, and I need the furnitureblack, not pink!” I call after him.
“Okay!” he yells, grabbing his jacket from his desk chair but I hear him mutter, “So bossy.”
“Iamyour boss!” I call after him, but the door to the office is already closing with him on the other side of it.
I show up at Raven’s uninvited, knocking on the front door, Maverick’s face falling when he sees me, but he saves it with, “Sorry, thought you were the pizza guy.” He widens the door enough for me to walk through, then shuts it behind me. “We’re in the den, c’mon.” He welcomes me into his home like I'm a long-lost friend.
“Where is my wife?”
“Hmm? Oh, she’s downstairs with Raven and Parker.”
“Doing what?”
He lifts his brow at me over his glasses just as Damon offers me a cocktail, which I accept. Jonas sits on the oversized armchair with ice packs on his knees. When he sees me staring, Jonas shrugs and says, “It’s preventive. Had a harsh practice, and our in-house doctor wants me to ice them. I’ll add heat in a bit and alternate.”
That’s right. He just signed with one of the teams before the wedding.
Damon bends and kisses his temple, murmuring something about medicine. The tops of Jonas’ cheeks turn pink, but he turns and kisses Damon on the lips.
I feel my brows furrow together.
