Page 16 of City of Wind and Lies

"What's the buy-in?"

A familiar Italian lilt sets my teeth on edge. My fingers curl tighter around the door handle, pausing with it halfway open. Of course that douchebag I passed would associate with the likes of Gabriel Belluci. My head swivels over my shoulder as I ask, "What do you want, Belluci?"

"I'm here to play poker," he shrugs, stepping around from the passenger side of the Mercedes.

"Your money's no good here, Gabriel," I chide.

He lets out a low chuckle. "What, you think you're better than me, Bowie?"

My shoulders edge up toward my ears as rage scorches a path through my veins. I release the door, pivoting on my heels and marching right over to the smug bastard. I stab my finger into his sternum repeatedly, punctuating each word. "I. Am. Better. Than. You." I suck in a breath, spitting at his feet to drive my point home. "I'm not in the flesh trade."

His lips press into a flat line, hand reaching up to smooth the fabric of his gold Versace shirt. "Those in glass houses, shouldn't cast stones," he says, his thick dark brows slamming down in a scowl over his dark eyes. "Word on the street is your product is stepped on, merda, that it’s killing off its customers." He shrugs his shoulders. "Seems like a bad business model if you ask me."

"I didn't," I spit. "Now get the fuck outta my alley."

7

"You've got to be freaking kidding me!" I groan, slamming my laptop shut and slumping back in my chair.

I finally got the full company month-end reports compiled for Bowie last week, and because Allen took his sweet ass time in getting me his, it's already time to start preparing for August's reporting. And, of course, my computer has just decided to shit out on me. Cool.

"Everything okay in here?" Cami asks from my doorway, raising a perfectly arched brow.

"No," I whine, scrunching my eyes shut and massaging my temples. "My computer is super laggy and the programs keep freezing without saving my progress."

Fluttering my eyes open, I scoot and swivel my chair, leaning forward to drag my purse off the bookshelf. "And on top of all of that," I sigh, fishing out a bottle of Tylenol and twisting off the cap, "I have another headache."

I pop two pills in my mouth, take a swig of water, and look up to meet Cami's gaze. "Other than that, I'm great. How are you?"

"Ugh! I'm sorry, Wren, that sounds terrible!" Cami pouts her bright red lips in sympathy. "How about we drop it at IT and go grab some lunch?"

"Yeah," I agree, grabbing my laptop off the desk and pushing to my feet. "I like that idea."

Scooping up my purse and sliding the strap up to rest on my shoulder, I follow Cami out to her desk. She locks her computer, grabs her cell phone and wallet from the drawer, and we head off down the hall toward the IT department.

I rap my knuckles against the open door as I step in. "Hey, Perry."

"Oh, hey, Wren," Perry says, peering over the top of his monitors and pushing his dark-rimmed glasses up his nose. "What can I do for you, girl?"

Batting my eyelashes, I hold up my laptop and push out my bottom lip. "I think I broke it."

Perry's mouth splits into a grin as he tucks a strand of his shoulder-length dark blonde hair behind his ear and stands. "I doubt that. But I'll take a look." He reaches out a hand, folding his fingers in a 'gimme' gesture. "Can you tell me what's been happening?"

Placing the laptop in his outstretched hand, I give him the whole rundown of all the issues I've been having over the last week or so and how it’s progressively been getting worse. He nods his head up and down as he hooks the laptop up to his monitors.

"I'll run some diagnostics on it, see if I can find the issue and resolve it. Can you live without it for a little while?"

"Yeah," I say, hooking a thumb over my shoulder. "Cami and I were gonna go grab lunch. We'll stop back by in an hour?"

"That should be long enough," he replies as he sinks into his chair, his scrawny frame already hunched over the laptop and fingers flying across the keys.

I turn around, giving Cami a quick nod and following her down the hall. Stepping into the elevator, I press the button for the downstairs lobby. As the doors slide shut, Cami turns to me, keeping her voice low. "You know, Perry is pretty hot… in that grungy meets geeky way."

I chuckle softly. "I mean, he totally pulls off the hipster glasses and man bun, but he's not my type."

She toys with a loose curl as she muses, "You think he's single?"

"Only one way to find out," I state with a waggle of my eyebrows. "Check his socials."

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