CHAPTER 6

CHELSEA

My mind was fully invested in the meeting.

Our offer was lucrative enough for the Armenians. Business administration was my preferred area of study.

But seeing everything in practice was surely a blessing.

The way Dante negotiated the terms almost made me like him.

Almost.

He was tenacious and unwavering, and he somehow knew exactly what the Armenians needed, not what they wanted. It was like he could read their minds.

Dante is a smart man. There is no doubting that now. The only hope of defeating him is if I'm smarter. If I can hide my feelings better. Numb them like they don't exist and carry on with my plan as if it were a set of tasks for the day.

But something was amiss.

The Armenians. Their counteroffer was interesting and very good. In fact, too good to be true.

Even now, as I stare at the bathroom mirror back at the company building, I cannot shove the image of the Armenian boss's face out of my head. His eyes— they betrayed him.

He wanted something else. I knew it deep in my bones, like the knowledge of my own identity, yet I can't quite place what it is that he wants. What's so off and what makes this deal seem like a trap.

Well, food for thought for another day.

The water stops rushing from the tap as I turn it off and dry my hands.

Stepping back into my office, I relax into the seat and continue working on the laptop.

These meetings are so fucking many. How do I even schedule them?

And this new project is gonna suck me dry with work. I hope it kills Dante before it kills me.

"You did quite well today," Dante says breezily as he walks past me and out of the office.

Stuck-up man. Of course I did well. It's me, after all. I stick my nose back into the laptop and continue working.

"You coming or what?" His head pokes through the sliver of space at the door, his entire body outside the office and his brow raised in amusement.

"Oh yeah, right," I'm supposed to follow him to the heads-of-department meeting. I scramble, picking up my laptop and the papers.

My legs scurry me up to the door and...

Oh no, my pen. Why doesn't this shirt have a fucking pocket?

"Chelsea, I have a pen," Dante calls out just as I turn back to get my pen.

How did he know I needed that? Damn. Close one.

"Oh." I turn to face him, breathing out and calming my racing heart.

"Thank you."

Great, now he'll think I'm incompetent.

I follow him out of the office and to the elevator. A few floors below is the company meeting room.

"I never said I'd give it to you, though," he quips as soon as the elevator slides closed.

I jerk my face up to meet his eyes, my heart jumping under my skin.

God, I hate this man.

"You look like you're gonna hit me," he says with an amusement that is there one second and gone in the next.

Yes, I wanna beat you, you motherfucker. Of course I say that in my head and not out loud.

"No." I glance down, ignoring the upward curve of his lips.

I don't even know what the fuck is funny.

**********

The ticking clock hit nine p.m. just as I lock the office door on my way out.

I finally finished fixing all the schedules, and damn, my back is killing me.

Oh, I need a massage.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out.

"Yeah?" It's Giovanni.

"Could you hand me the Armenian files?" His voice is not as thick as Dante's, and he has a slight Italian accent.

"Uh yeah, but I just left the office."

"That's fine, I'm at the basement garage. I can give you a lift home."

"Uh, okay." At least he'll take some of the work off my shoulders, and I get to hitch a free ride. Whatever my feelings towards him and his boss are, a lift home would really be nice.

I mean, why don't I even have an official car? This job definitely calls for one.

I step into the lift and click the basement level.

As the elevator dings open, I step out into the garage.

The air is thick with the lingering smell of smoke and rusted metal. A smudge of black disappears around the right corner into the dark.

The dim light of the garage blinks lightly as I walk up to Giovanni.

"Dante keeping you up late?"

Giovanni walks toward me from the opposite end of the garage, his face all smiles.

I won't kill him when the time comes. I'll let him watch the man and the family he devotes his life to crumble.

An even worse fate than Dante's. Sad.

"Yeah, what can I say, I prayed for this, now I can't complain."

"No can do." His laugh is carefree as he takes the papers from me and opens the door of his car for me. If only he knows who he is being carefree with.

"Um, you know what..." I roll my eyes, feigning forgetfulness. I think I forgot my tab at the office.

"Oh."

"Yeah, I've gotta go get it." I start walking back slowly so as not to alarm him.

"I can wait."

"No, I can't do that to you—"

"It's no problem."

"I insist, I can leave on my own. I don't want to keep you waiting"

"Okay." He shrugs and enters the car.

The engine revs to life, and he takes off down the winding path to the entrance of the garage.

My every sense perks alert, listening for any sound.

"Come out, whoever you are. I know you're watching," I call out into the almost empty garage, my voice bouncing off the walls in echoes.

Whoever it was that disappeared into the dark when I entered the garage is definitely still in the building.

Kicking my heels off my feet, I silence my steps, my trousers now reaching the cement floor of the garage and picking up dust.

A clink of metal echoes behind me.

I turn swiftly to face the danger.

Soft air whooshes from my left, and I duck, narrowly missing a hand trying to grab me.

Jumping back, I stop in my tracks to spot who is trying to grab me.

The manager?