Page 449 of Savage Bosses

Bryce stepped forward, moving closer to Taro. Taro stuck his hand out. Bryce shoved his hands into his pockets.

Smiling, Taro pulled his hand back and said, "You must be Bryceson Cattaneo. I've heard a lot about you."

"I haven't heard anything about you," Bryce growled.

Taro chuckled and stared at Tati. "I'm offended," he told her. "You haven't told your friends about me."

Friend? He wasn’t her friend. He was her… he wasn’t her friend.

Tati elbow-bumped him. "Stop playing around and come help me fix the chocolate waterfall." Tati looked at Mrs. Cattaneo and said, "There are a few things I need to check off my list before the guests start arriving. I'm going to head inside."

"Go ahead, dear," his mother told her. "I'm going to check on the outside setup.”

Tati and herplus oneturned to walk away. Bryce took a step forward. His mother grabbed his arm.

"Stay and help me check out the table for the outside part of the event," his mother told him.

"That sounds like a job for your new manager."

His mom laughed. "My new manager is working. My assistant manager needs to work also."

"Who's that guy she's with?"

"Who, Taro?"

"You know him?" Bryce asked.

"Tina told me about him. He's the one who helped Tati a lot while she was in Paris. Tina is long-time friends with his family."

So, she'd been in Paris with another man. Bryce clenched his fists in his pockets. He'd been lying up in bed, learning to walk again, and she'd been with another man. That old hatred and anger rose up within him, just as strong as it had been on the day he’d found out she had really left him.

"Ma, you didn't tell her about Italy, did you? Or about the condition I was in when I returned?"

"No. Of course not. She doesn't know. I promise."

"Good."

"You should tell her yourself,” his mother insisted. “Help her understand...."

"Why?" Bryce said, cutting his mother off. "She moved on five years ago."

While I've been standing in the same place, she'd left me.

That old anger returned in full force. He'd killed two motherfuckers last night to protect her. And this morning, she was showing up in front of him with another man. Fuck trying to convince her to come with him so he could protect her. He'd treat her like he treated everything he wanted these days. He'd just take her.

Tatianna

The Farrina Brunch was a success, despite the glares Bryce and Melinda kept casting her way. Luckily, neither approached her as she oversaw things as a manager should. Tatianna smiled as she thought about the conversation she’d had with Mrs. Cattaneo and Noona yesterday.

They’d called Tati into Mrs. Cattaneo’s office and asked if she’d like the job of manager. Even though she’d said she didn’t want to take Bryce's job from him, they’d assured her that the job wasn’t really Bryce’s.

He was just holding it until he found someone qualified to fill the position. They said they didn’t need to look any further and that she was the manager they were looking for. Though Tati one day wanted to open her own restaurant, she couldn’t deny that she enjoyed working with the staff at Cattaneo’s Cafe and Sweets.

So, she’d taken the job with the expressed intent that during her time there, she’d be searching for someone among the staff to replace her within the next three years. Obviously, Bryce hadn’t received the memo. Tati chuckled.

“Why are you laughing, Little Bird?” Taro asked from beside her.

“Did I laugh out loud?” she asked.

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