“I mean, I can still do it if you want me to. Pull over.”
“Haha,” he mock-chuckled. “I’m being serious, Carmen. It’s not like you. What’s going through your head right now?”
I sighed, not knowing the answer myself.
“Honestly, Teddy. It’s your choice, ultimately. It’s your body, after all. God knows I’ve made choices for my own body without consulting you in the past.”
He pinned his lips shut at the mention of it. It was still a weird subject for us, well, him mostly. Sometimes I wish I had included him in the decision-making, but I couldn’t change the past. And though he didn’t mention it, I knew a tiny part of him resented me for it.
“Look. At the end of the day, it was always my responsibility to protect myself from any more slip-ups. You did your part by telling me before we did anything, so thank you for that.”
His grip tightened on the wheel. “Yeah. Of course.”
The rest of the ride was quiet until we pulled up to a sleek, black, and glass building downtown. Not touristy. Not romantic. Just… polished. The only English thing I could make out was the words ‘Corner’ and ‘Stones’.
“Is this your office?” I asked, squinting up at it.
“One of them,” he said, throwing the car in park.
“Youreallybrought me to work?”
He shot me a look. “You bought €110,000 worth of bags into our hotel suite, but I can’t show you where I make the money?”
Fair.
Inside, the building was so like him: clean lines, confident design, surprisingly warm once you got past the minimalism. It has him written all over it, like most things in Italy.
When we walked in the door, the receptionist smiled when she saw him.
Random Voice: Hm.
“Mr. Clayton!Bentornato.”
“Giulia,” Theo greeted stoically. “This is Carmen.”
Her whole face pressed thin.
Random Voice: Hm.
“It’s so nice to meet you. He talks about you all the time.”
“Does he now?” I glanced at him.
“Relentlessly,” she added, giving him a knowing look.
Random Voice: HM!
My God, shut up!
Theo gave a tight smile and gently touched the small of my back. “Come on. Everyone’s dying to meet you.”
Everyone?
Apparently.
Because as we moved through the space, people actually waved. As if I were someone important. One woman gave me an air kiss and said she loved my shoes. A tall, stunning woman in a leather blazer intercepted us mid-hallway.
Random Voice: Why were there so many women in this bitch?
