“Later, Tee. Love ya,” the guys echoed.
“Love y’all,” I murmured. “Later.”
Tyler and Jayda always had some shit going on. The last thing I heard from Ty about them was that she was sexting with her ex. Now this.
Maybe it was better that they separated. It wasn’t healthy what they had, and now it was driving the friend group apart. Tyler having to block all the girls was crazy, and sooner or later, we’d all have to have a group discussion on boundaries when it comes to our individual relationships, even though we were all friends.
I pushed all that to the back of my mind because I had my own relationship to focus on and I needed to work on making things right, starting with this.
I usually avoid the reception desk, but today I made a pit stop.
“Buongiorno, Mr. Clayton.” Guila greeted me with that same bright smile she wore when I walked in. I didn’t return it.
“Morning,” I said, getting straight to it. “I need to talk to you.”
She tilted her head, still smiling. “Sure.”
“Carmen mentioned that an attitude was given to her. Care to explain?”
She rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide the shift in her mood. “Your girlfriend is rude.”
“Not intentionally. And she wasn’t, not when I first brought her in.” I narrowed my gaze. “Did something change since then?”
She squirmed in her seat. “No, sir.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
She held my stare, eyes searching for a crack I didn’t give her and hoping for emotion I didn’t wear.
“No problem,” she finally said. “I’m sorry.”
“Hm.” I gave her a second, just to let it sit. “Just… watch yourself.”
“Ovviamente, capo.”
I gave her a nod and walked away, jaw tight.
One problem down. A million more to go.
?????
Spanish was surprisingly easy to learn when you already speak Italian.
They shared similar grammatical structures, but the pronunciation was fucking me up a little. I should be looking over the plans. Instead, I was going over Spanish books that I had my assistant bring up as soon as I got to the office.
What was it about Carmen Reyes that made me stop doing what I needed to do and focus on her?
Even something as simple as getting out of bed this morning was a challenge. Carmen stirred as I eased out from under the sheets, her leg still tangled in mine, reluctant to let go even in sleep. I brushed a kiss against her bare shoulder, let my hand rest on the curve of her hip a moment longer than necessary, then slid out of bed. She murmured something soft and incoherent before settling back into the pillows.
That alone made me feel guilty enough to question my entire life decision, and turn into a full-on Dominican by lunch.
My phone rang on my desk, interrupting my Spanish lesson.
Dad.
Finally.
I groaned with annoyance and answered.
