Page 16 of Frayed Bonds

The irony is that the man in front of me truly couldn't be bothered by a few hundred thousand euros. He probably uses that much in his shower routine alone.

“Are you sure that's how much you need? You know your maths skills have always been a bit…questionable.” He tries to suppress his laughter but instead, it results in a hissing sound coming from his nose.

“It was one test I failed in high school, get over it.” I roll my eyes and chuckle.

“I might have a job for you, but only if you tell me why you suddenly need that much money.” His voice is solid, calm yet careful as if he's worried he’s crossing a line by asking.

“I was kidding. I could never take your money, Nino.” I shake my head and pull my laptop closer to begin looking for a job.

“It won't be taking my money if you work for it.” He shrugs and my eyes lift off the screen for a few seconds, enough to scope out his face.

No emotion. Until he shifts, rubbing his hands on his thighs and I scoff.

“You're lying,” I say with irritation clear in my voice. Antonio is a magnificent liar to a stranger, but anyone who knows him can spot it a mile away.

He has a nervous tick where he rubs his hands together or against his thighs.

“I'm not lying, I'm just withholding some information.” He defends.

Smiley returns and hands Antonio his coffee before turning to leave rather quickly. I frown at her sudden change of pace but brush it off.

“That’s the definition of lying, Antonio.” I frown, still staring at my laptop.

His large hand reaches forward and shuts the laptop. “I’ll trade you one piece of information for a piece of yours,” he bargains and I frown, contemplating just how serious he is about the job offer as well as how badly I need the job.

I nod, and then he gestures with his hand for me to go first.

“My father’s medical policy isn’t covering all his surgeries and rehabilitation fees. So, I need a job pretty quickly.”

“How much aren’t they covering?” He continues to question, but I shake my head, knowing if I answer, he’ll pay off the debt as if it’s nothing. And then I'll be left feeling guilty about owing him for the rest of my life.

He scoffs. “The job is as Ambrose's assistant. The salary isn't usually too high, but I'm sure he won’t notice if I raise it a tad so it can help you pay everything off.”

My eyes widen. I’m scanning his entire body again, but he sits perfectly still with both hands resting on the table pencil now in hand again.

“Really? You'd do that for me? For my dad?” I rush out and he all but laughs straight in my face.

“Your father was a huge part of my life when we were growing up, so, of course, I would. You mean a lot to me as well and if it'll help, I'll do anything.”

“Antonio, I don’t know how to say thank you enough…” I trail off, already feeling as if I owe him for this.

“Stop,” he raises a hand. “Don’t even start feeling like I'm doing you a favour. Working with Ambrose is shit. So I'll be surprised if you last longer than a few weeks.” He chuckles and I roll my eyes at his lack of confidence in me.

“You little shit, I've been waiting in the car for the last twenty minutes and you're sitting here flirting. You were supposed to be getting a coffee.” Ambrose’s voice booms from beside us, causing me to jump while Antonio doesn't even flinch.

His eyes raise to his brother’s and he lifts the cup in a cheersing motion. “I did get a coffee,” he says sarcastically.

“Let’s go or I'm leaving you here, and I'm sure the media would love to have a picture of Italy’s youngest billionaire taking a taxi,” Ambrose says and walks away.

Antonio turns gravely white and stands up. “I’ll send you the details, Val,” he says before rushing off. The only trace of Antonio is the small, very detailed, sketch of a tulip on a piece of paper where he was sitting.

When the rush of the last few minutes settles, my brain begins to process what just happened, and I'm left questioning whether or not this is a good decision.

Chapter seven

Valerie

“Let’s go, Valerie,” Natalia says as she leans against the kitchen counter.

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