Page 66 of Sinful Lies

“I have the Wilson case report for you.”

Giovanni holds out his hand, so I stalk over to his desk and drop it down in front of him.

I go to leave, but he holds up a hand, his eyes narrowing on me as he picks up the file and flicks it open. I fight the urge to roll my eyes as he quickly scans the first paragraph.

“This needs to be redone.” He tosses it back onto the desk without even reading the full report.

“What?”

“Did you not understand the instructions? I said it needs to be redone, and you’re not leaving until it’s finished, seeing as this was meant to be completed on Monday.”

“The report is fine.” I grit my teeth.

“I didn’t realize you had the authority to sign off on the reports.”

I bristle, trying hard not to lose my cool.

He’s being completely unreasonable.

“I’ve written dozens of reports. I’ve included everything you asked. You barely even looked at?—”

“What I saw was all the proof I needed that this is of poor standard, which I guess I should have expected from you. Your work has been slipping over the last few weeks, Zara. Perhaps if you focused more on your career rather than your personal life?—”

“Excuse me?” My patience starts to waiver. “If you’re annoyed that I took a few days off for my honeymoon?—”

“You’ve fallen behind because of it, and it seems you’re not putting in the effort to catch up.”

Screwthis.

Perhaps it’s because I know Dimitri is waiting for me outside that I feel a sudden rush of confidence.

This fucker can go to hell because I’m damn good at what I do, and I always go above and beyond. It’s not my problem that he’s failed to notice what an asset I am to this company.

“I’m not re-doing the report.” I fold my arms across my chest.

“What did you just say?” Giovanni’s gray eyes narrow.

I know I shouldn’t have pushed back like that, but I’m sick of feeling weak.

“I said, I’m not redoing the report. You’re more than welcome to have another partner look over it, or email HR if you think my standards are slipping. You’re welcome to that opinion, but I’m not going to take it for fact.”

Giovanni is on his feet in an instant, and my heart rate quickens.

I take a step back, my skin prickling at the look of fury on his face. I’m all too familiar with that look.

Giovanni Saccone does not like being told no, and if I don’t get the hell out of his office right now, I might come to regret standing up for myself.

“I’ll see you on Monday.” I turn my back on Giovanni and head toward the door.

His footsteps thunder across the carpet, and my breath catches as I reach for the door handle.

I’ve barely opened it an inch before Giovanni has his hand against the wood, slamming it shut so hard the hinges rattle.

I jump, my legs trembling as Giovanni’s arms encase me, his hard body pressing up against my back.

“Stop,” I choke, screwing my eyes shut as I try to ignore the feeling of him behind me.

“You’re not going anywhere.” He grips me by the shoulders and spins me around, pushing me back against the wall so hard that I grunt as my back screams in pain.

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