Page 85 of Frayed Bonds

“I changed shower gels.” I offer a fable excuse. I covered myself in every scented item I own to try and mask the scent of his shower gel but nothing seems to be fucking working.

“I thought you were avoiding me,” I say and start unpacking.

Antonio puts his glasses on and I wish he didn’t until after answering so that I could at least gauge his reaction properly. “I would not be this happy to see you if I was,” he chuckles.

My eyes drift to his hands but they sit perfectly still on the top of my desk so I smile to myself.

“Ambrose practically held me at gunpoint to go wrap up some things in New York. Let’s just say I don't think he wanted me around for a bit.” I freeze, heart sinking when I realise I know exactly why Ambrose would have not wanted his brother around. “Speaking of Ambrose, I’d try to not give him too much shit today he’s on a fucking warpath.”

Too late.

With that, Ambrose's office door whips open. “Where is the fucking spreadsheet I asked for?” he yells.

My eyes are wide as I stare at him while Antonio doesn't even seem phased. Ambrose looks over at the two of us with the same amount of disinterest as someone watching paint dry.

“I told you I’ve got it covered. Why are you stressing everyone out this morning?” Antonio asks and Ambrose ignores him.

“Are Adriano and Augustus ready?” he asks Antonio.

“Ready for what?” I butt in.

“We’re meeting with Horatio to seal the deal today,” Antonio says excitedly.

“That’s today?” I ask, my voice sounds so small and I stare at Ambrose apologetically while all he seems interested in is his phone.

“Adriano will be there, Gus has a meeting with Kaia about something,” Antonio says and Ambrose's head snaps up so fast at the mention of Kaia's name I almost want to scoff aloud.

“What could he possibly be meeting with her for?”

“Something to do with needing a designer to step in for another or something like that, but I don’t think she’s going to say yes. She’s got a lot going on, and-”

“I know,” Ambrose cuts him off and I wonder why, if it’s because I’m here or because he genuinely doesn't want to hear what Antonio has to say.

“Okay let’s go,” Ambrose says and Antonio nods.

“See ya later, Val,” Antonio blows me a kiss and waves. I don't miss the way Ambrose glares daggers at the back of his brother's head and I almost giggle until Ambrose spins on his heels and his cold green eyes meet mine. They look as cold as they did when I walked in here on my first day.

“Valerie, please bring in some coffee at around 10:30.”

I nod, not able to say much else.

“Normal coffee Valerie, no salted caramel bullshit,” he yells over his shoulder as he walks into the elevator.

An hour later I’m walking up to the main board room with eight coffees in hand, praying I don't somehow trip in my uncomfortably high heels. Packing for nights at a time has started becoming more and more challenging since I can’t make last-minute changes in the mornings, and right now, I’m severely regretting my choice. The heels along with my bodycon knit dress were not my smartest decision.

As I knock, and wait for the ‘come in’, I have flashbacks to that night at Scala when I walked in on their meeting. It feels like a lifetime ago, and much like then, I fear I’ve interrupted something.

All eyes are on me, some more surprised to see me than others.

“Ahh, Valerie! So lovely to see you again,” Horatio says and I feel a chill run down my spine. He looks like a completely different man when sober and not acting like a complete creep in the club.

I eye Ambrose nervously to see his reaction but he simply stares down at some papers. “Good to see you again as well, Horatio.” I politely smile.

“I brought everyone coffee,” I say as I lean down to place them on the table. I can feel the heat of his gaze on me. When I look up I confirm it, he gestures me closer with his head and I frown.

I didn't want to be in the room longer than required but I know why he’s doing it. We have a persona to uphold in front of these men.

Antonio starts talking again as I grab the one double cappuccino I got for Ambrose and walk around the entire table towards him. I spot a discarded sketch in front of Antonio and smirk at how much more he’s been practising since I returned home.

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