XOXO

“When you get a chance, tell him that Teagan got something very special pierced, and it’s not my ears.” She giggles. “I need him to come and kiss it better.”

Before I can stammer out a response to that, she ends the call.

I look to where Dominick is standing. He’s gazing out one of the windows in his office.

Teagan has no idea that she’s a distant memory to him by this point. All of the women he’s slept with are.

I pick up my phone to put it away so I can focus on work. A notification from the dating app I’ve been using flashes across the screen.

I hurriedly open it.

My face lights up in a smile when I see Lowell has reached out to me.

Lowell: Arietta! Have dinner with me tomorrow night. I can’t go another day without seeing your beautiful face in person.

I respond immediately. I need to take this chance. I doubt like hell Lowell is the type to fuck and flee like Mr. Calvetti does.

Arietta: I’d love to.

Shoving my phone in my desk drawer, butterflies flutter in my stomach. This is a big step, but it feels like the right one.

When I look into Mr. Calvetti’s office again, he’s moved.

He’s standing near the open doorway with his gaze locked on me.

“Is there something you need, sir?”

“No,” he says before he shuts the door without another word.

Chapter 9

Dominick

The last thing I expected to hear in my office was a goddamn rooster.

The sound took me to my feet. I waited for a moment after hearing it to see if Miss Voss would signal where it came from.

She did when her gaze immediately dropped to her phone.

Curiosity drove me to her desk, but before I could say a word, I was hit by the scent of her perfume.

It reminded me of the wildflowers that grow in Sicily in early spring. I closed my eyes and inhaled before I asked her what the hell was going on.

The look she gave me told me that I’d stepped into something personal. I was tempted to demand an explanation, but the incoming phone call interrupted that.

A series of soft knocks on my office door straightens me in my chair. “Yes?”

The door opens cautiously before Arietta peeks around it. The dark-framed glasses on her nose slip down. She pushes them up with her index finger. “Mrs. Glassman is here, sir. Her appointment isn’t for another hour, but she’s wearing a watch that isn’t keeping time.”

I watch as Arietta skims a hand over the red blazer she’s wearing. The shoulder pads are from another decade. The yellow dress underneath was likely popular back when my mother was in her twenties.

“I’ll see her now.”

She nods. “If it’s alright, I’ll take her watch to the jeweler she bought it from. They are just down the street. Mrs. Glassman doesn’t have anyone to help her with things like that.”

Kindness always drips from my executive assistant.

“Fine,” I answer. “Before you do that, get Mrs. Glassman a mug of...”

“Peppermint tea with honey,” Arietta interrupts. “Bronwyn started on that for me. She’ll bring it into your office the moment it’s ready. I also emailed her the details regarding the upcoming meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham. She’ll see to it that Mr. Corning has those in his hand immediately.”

Was Judd’s assistant the person emailing Arietta earlier, or was it a man?

I shake that thought away because why the fuck would it matter if it was a man?

A knot sits in the pit of my stomach. It has to be hunger. I skipped breakfast after my morning workout. Once this meeting is over, I’ll head out for a coffee and a bagel sandwich.

“Are you sure it’s okay if I go to the jeweler, sir?” she asks to confirm. “I can take care of it after work if you need me here.”

“Go.” I wave a hand at her. “Show Mrs. Glassman in and go get her watch fixed.”

A broad smile lights up her face. “Thank you, sir.”

I should thank her for taking such good care of my clients.

“I’ll pick you up a coffee from Palla on Fifth and two egg whites on a whole wheat bagel on my way back.”

What the fuck?

Arietta must spot the look of confusion on my face because she clears her throat. “I didn’t mean to overstep. But I have that same look on my face when I’m craving something.”

I scrub a hand over my forehead while I try to determine if I’m that predictable or if my assistant is a goddamn mind reader.

“Or I can skip the stop for your coffee and bagel if you prefer.”

“No.” My voice comes out deeper than I intend. “Make that stop, and thank you, Arietta.”

That lures a broader smile to her mouth. “You’re welcome.”

She doesn’t say it, but we both know that I’ve thanked her twice in three days. It stops now before she decides she deserves a raise for her good work.