XOXO

“What’s going on, Arietta?”

“Clarice is on her way up.”

He rounds my desk, so he’s standing across from me. I finally drag my gaze up to his face. Damn. Dominick Calvetti with a little stubble on his jaw is freaking hotter than my coffee.

“This is it.” He scrubs a hand over the stubble in the mesmerizing way only ridiculously gorgeous guys can pull off. “She’s going to sign with us.”

From his lips to her ears.

I hope he’s right. I could use the ‘compensation’ Mr. Corning promised I’d receive if Clarice officially becomes a Modica client.

Snapping my laptop closed, I push back from my desk. I glance down the corridor when I hear the elevator ding its arrival on our floor.

Clarice pops into view a few seconds later, dressed in the same blue trench coat she was wearing the night we met. She’s paired it with black slacks and a white scarf around her neck. The brooch is pinned to that.

“Arietta!” she calls out my name with a wave of her hand in the air. “How are you?”

I steal a glance at my boss. He’s watching me. I’d say he’s waiting with bated breath for my answer, but his expression doesn’t match up with that. He wants me to skip past the pleasantries, so he can find out if Clarice is ready to take the plunge to become his number one client.

“I’m well,” I say as she approaches my desk. “How are you today?”

Her gaze flits over my face before it lands on Dominick. “You probably think I’m here to sign with your firm.”

“I hope that’s the case,” he says quietly.

“My lawyer looked over the contract, and...” Her voice trails as she turns to me. “We’ll get to that momentarily. First, Arietta is going to tell me all about her date last night.”

Sweet torture is not Dominick Calvetti’s forte. I can tell by the tic in his jaw as he waits for me to recount my date with Lowell.

“It was fun,” I answer honestly. “The food was incredible.”

“And Lowell?” She leans in closer. “How was he?”

“A gentleman,” I say with a smile.

The Dick clears his throat, likely because that’s a foreign concept to him.

“When’s the next date?” Clarice toys with the brooch.

“Tonight,” I say, even though I’ve considered postponing it to a night when I don’t feel like I’m stuck in a patch of fog, unable to see or think clearly.

“That’s a great sign.” She looks me over. “What a lucky man this Lowell is. Don’t you agree, Dominick?”

We both turn toward my boss. He clears his throat again. “Arietta is indeed something.”

Something? Is that a half-compliment or a full-on insult?

I can’t tell.

It wouldn’t kill him to toss some kindness in my direction now and again.

Clarice nods in agreement. “She’s something special. That’s why I’ve decided to sign with your firm, as long as you agree to my stipulations about Arietta being my point of contact.”

I turn to Mr. Calvetti, and the air catches in my lungs. I stare with my mouth ajar.

He’s smiling. He’s actually smiling with his perfectly straight white teeth in view and the corners of his eyes squinting upwards.

“Agreed.” He extends a hand to Clarice.

She takes it for a brief shake. “My lawyer will send the amended contract over for your perusal. We’ll meet again soon to sign.”

He nods with that drop-dead gorgeous smile still on his face.

I look down because it’s striking something inside of me. Something I should feel for Lowell, not my boss.

“I have a meeting,” Clarice announces. “Blocks from here, in twenty minutes, but you know traffic.”

I don’t. I know walking, the bus schedule, and the subway with its sticky seats and men with untoward glances.

“Arietta will see you to the lobby,” Dominick offers. “She’s on her way home for the day.”

I am?

The question gets caught in my throat behind a lump of confusion. He’s letting me leave early? I can walk out of here in the middle of the afternoon without a solid excuse?

I don’t waste time trying to figure out my boss’s motivation.

As I scoop up my purse, I glance at him. “What time do you need me here tomorrow, sir?”

His gaze slowly travels over my face, landing on my lips. With a hint of a smile, he leans closer to me. “Nine a.m. will be fine, Arietta. I’ll see you then.”

Chapter 27

Dominick

There is no way in hell that this plan I’m putting into action is a good idea. It’s a fraction better than the plan I initially cooked up while Arietta was talking to Clarice this afternoon.

I listened as my assistant spoke about her second date with the lowlife Lowell. Jealousy hit me with the force of a freight train.

If she’s seeing this guy two nights in a row, surely there’s something there.

I decided on the spot that I’d send Arietta home early so I could go to a bar for a drink and a much-needed distraction.