Page 28 of Frayed Bonds

My gut churns at the thought, and I'm caught off guard by the sudden surge of annoyance I feel looking at the pair.

“Ambrose? Can you hear me?” Diego's voice rings through my phone.

“Yes, I can. Sorry, you broke up for a second. I wanted to check if it’s okay to push the meeting back till after the CFP dinner?”

I bring the cup up to my mouth and take a giant sip. Expecting to taste a warm vanilla latte, except I’m met with a salty taste so intense, that I’m worried for my kidneys after the small amount.

Immediately I spit the entire contents out in front of me and burst into a fit of coughs. Everyone’s eyes are on me but it’s a certain pair, that seems to gleam with a bit more mischief than normal, that catches my eye.

I thank Diego for agreeing and hang up.

Stifled giggles fill my ears as I walk towards her desk. The mischief is quickly replaced by a false innocence, and if I wasn't incredibly annoyed right now, it might have triggered a very different reaction from me.

I slam the cup down on the desk and she tries to not flinch, but I notice the way she stiffens at the harsh movement.

“Clean this up,” I snap.

“You didn't like your vanilla latte?” she asks, the most convincing look of confusion that could put an Oscar winner to shame splattered across her face.

Antonio chokes down his laughter as he listens to the exchange.

I scoff, she’s got some fire in her. “I think you accidentally ordered salted caramel instead. Clean it up, Valerie.”

“Yes, sir.” She mimics the salute Augustus did this morning when he left.

“Let’s go,” I say, to Antonio who jumps as my attention switches to him.

“I’ll see you at lunch, Val,” he says and winks at her.

“I thought you were meeting with Mattia and Adriano?”

He shrugs. “I am. After lunch. Did you need me to be doing something better with my lunch hour? ” Sarcasm drips off his tongue as his large green eyes meet mine.

I know it's supposed to be an intimidating gaze, but the only intimidating thing about Antonio's gaze is the colour green of his eyes.

“Nope.” I pop the ‘p’ for extra emphasis, patting his back more harshly than is probably necessary.

It pisses me off to know my brothers aren't taking Diego's threats nearly as seriously as I am.

I am indeed the Vitale with the worst reputation among the four of us, but majority of the things that made headlines are stories the media blows out of proportion. As they usually do.

Adriano and Augustus arrive outside the meeting room at the same time Antonio and I do.

“Did you sort out Val's key card?” Augustus asks Antonio.

“Yeah, Ernest said he’ll drop it with her before the end of the day.”

“What was wrong with her keycard?” I ask as we all take a seat.

“She doesn’t have one, Antonio didn't arrange for one, so Fabio has been helping her all day.”

I shoot my youngest brother a look. “It's not my fault. I was stuck in back-to-back meetings this morning, trying to defuse the situation with Enzo and his men still hanging around in Tevici.”

“Speaking of hanging around, I spoke to Diego and he agreed to push back the next board meeting until after the CFP dinner.”

All three of my brothers groan in unison.

I try to hide my smile at their reaction. The Centurion Finance Partners or ‘CFP’ dinner is held annually, and my father has been forcing us to attend every year since we turned sixteen.

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