His Dirty Bargain (Dirty Billionaires 3)

Do it again. This doesn’t have the labor or the cost of the plumber or carpenter.

I text Ray for the hours for his men and ask if he has the information on the plumber and carpenter. Ray takes a few minutes to respond with his secretary’s number so she can get me the hours for his men, he thinks she has the info on the plumber but he isn’t sure about the carpenter. Fair warning though, she’s on lunch until one thirty.

I call her and leave a message pleading with her to get me the information as soon as possible because I have Enzo demanding it. With a sigh I respond to Enzo’s email, letting him know I can’t get the information until the woman is back from lunch. As soon as I get it, I’ll send him everything.

His response is quick.

Warning you now. Every time you miss a deadline you’re dinged ten thousand. This is a warning, from here on out you start losing money.

Bullshit.

You don’t get to start making up rules out of nowhere to cut my pay. Three hundred and fifty thousand, three months, that was the deal. So you aren’t a man of your word like your brothers always proclaim a Sabatini to be?

No response. Fucker. Closing my eyes, I fight the anger welling up inside me. A few deep breaths and I open my eyes to see a response.

Fine, but if you can’t meet the deadlines then you aren’t meeting my terms and you will be fired, and I will not pay you anything more than what you have earned. Three more times and you’re gone.

I don’t bother responding. I totally hate Enzo Sabatini’s guts. Before I do or say something I’m going to regret, I grab my purse and get the hell out of the office for lunch even though I’ve lost my appetite.

When I get back to

my desk I find everything I need from Ray’s secretary, a woman named Mara. I call her to thank her profusely and let her know I’ll need the information at the end of every week at the beginning of the day. She’s understanding and assures me she’ll get it to me.

It only takes a few minutes to update the spreadsheet then send it to Enzo. This time there is no response.

***

Chloe

I explain Enzo’s new demands to Ray, and consider slugging him when he laughs. He assures me he’ll help out any way he can.

I take pictures of the work done throughout the house. Wandering the rooms, I shake my head. If Enzo did buy the house for me, why did he care about the wood floors in the basement or the stove in the kitchen? Maybe like Dominic suggested, Enzo will find another woman to fill this home with the family he wants so badly. The very thought of Enzo with another woman in this home is a blow to my solar plexus, leaving me gasping as I sag against the wall. My legs refuse to work.

Oh god, Enzo and another woman. Enzo’s children running around the house, playing in the backyard. There have to be three or four, loud, with ink-black hair and dimples with big brown eyes. He wants them; despite what he said, he hasn’t given up on them. A man like Enzo won’t let one setback keep him from his goal. I slide down the wall to the floor, and my head goes back. I told him not yet, but all he heard was no. I had sent the ring back and not heard a word from Enzo about it.

Closing my eyes, I refuse to let the tears that have built fall. No, we’re beyond tears now. You did this. What are you going to do now?

14

Chloe

I’m exhausted. Sunday I slept late then took a nap, which meant I wasn’t tired until around three in the morning. So when my phone starts pinging with texts at eight while I’m still lying in bed, trying to decide if I’m actually getting up, it’s the last thing I want to hear. Without looking I know who it is. When I snatch the phone off my bedside table, I’m not wrong. Two texts: Don’t forget the report due by noon. The pool people will be at the house today at nine thirty and I need to meet them.

Do you wake up wondering how you can annoy the fuck out of me?

Fuck. This is what I get for getting on my phone before I’ve had coffee.

No. I wake up wondering how much money I’m going to make. As hard as it may be to believe, you don’t factor into my thoughts. If I annoy you it’s only a happy coincidence.

I don’t know why the hell I’m laughing, and now I’m annoyed at him and myself. Ass.

Let me guess, you aren’t out of bed yet.

He thinks he knows me so well. It’s even more annoying that he’s right.

I’m out of bed now. Leave me alone.

I also know him, he won’t leave me alone, which is why I’m leaning against my kitchen counter ignoring my coffeemaker while I wait for him.