Page 15 of Broken Deal

“Please, let me be there when you tell Red,” Matteo begs, hands clasped together like an idiot. “She’s going to rip you a new one.”

Ivy tilts her head, contemplating. “I don’t know Aria well. But I do know Damian, and he’s the one that’s going to rip you a new one.”

“I’m glad my misery is bringing you joy,” I snap at Matteo, shaking my head with a scowl.

“Ivy, get back to work,” Elisa, her manager—and a pain in the ass at that—scolds her. “What have I told you about fraternizing with the gentlemen?”

“It’s fine, Elisa,” I drawl. I honestly dislike her. If it were up to me, I would fire her. But it’s not only my decision. The whole board has to agree.

“Mr. Mancini, with all due respect, it’s clearly stated in the employee rulebook that this isn’t allowed.”

“And as the vice president of this damn club, I’m telling you it’s fine,” I snap. “Now, go about your business.” I make a shooing motion with my hands.

Elisa, the smart woman she is, thins her lips and walks away without saying another word. I’m honestly surprised she was bold enough to say something in the first place. Not every employee here has the guts to talk to me like that.

Ivy looks around the room. “It’s getting kind of busy, so I’ll leave you two to it. I want updates, though!” she exclaims, serving me another drink before walking away.

Once she leaves, I look at Matteo. “Here’s the thing, she pretended not to know me. Granted, I started the whole thing, because I wasn’t sure how she was going to react, but she continued to act normal the rest of the night.”

“Where was I during all of this? I cannot believe I missed this.”

“You’d already left for that work emergency.” I wave a hand dismissively. “Can we get back to the point here?”

Matteo bites his lip, trying to hold back his shit-eating grin. “Well, shedidgive you a 7 out of 10. That’s a C minus. You’re losing your game, lover boy.”

“I’m not here for a lesson, genius.” I hit the back of his head. “And me? Losing my game?Please,” I scoff. I’m honestly a little offended he said that.

He raises his hands in defeat. “Hey, don’t be mad at me. Be mad at yourself. Maybe you were having an off night.”

Shaking my head, I grab the drink Ivy placed in front of me and take a sip. “I regret to inform you shedoesremember.” I sigh, running a hand down my face. “And she dared to remind me of my piss-poor rating,” I grumble under my breath.

Matteo’s blue eyes sparkle as he presses his lips together.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” I ask in disbelief.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” he says with a shit-eating grin. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

I just know those two are going to gang up on me and fuck with me every chance they get. Add Ivy to the mix and they’re going to have a merry fucking time.

“Are you going to tell Damian?” he asks, his tone serious now.

I give him an incredulous look. “Are you crazy? He’ll go straight to Red as soon as I tell him.”

“More like he’ll punch you and then go to Red,” he quips very matter-of-factly. “Ivy was right, Damian is going to lose his shit when he finds out. The girls are practically sisters, and you know how protective he gets of Aria. Our boy is pussy-whipped.”

“Thanks for the great input.” I grunt. “And stop talking about Damian being pussy-whipped, whenyouwished you were pussy-whipped by a certain grump with blonde hair.”

That shuts him up. He rolls his eyes, choosing to drink instead.That’s what I thought.

I know Damian better than that, though. He’ll be disappointed, which somehow, makes it so much worse. Our relationship is not what it used to be. He acts more like a dad, and I feel like an overgrown teenager, disappointing the very little family I have left. But with how life has been lately, I can’t bring myself to care, even though it makes me feel like shit. No one notices I’m drowning, so they assume I’m self-destructing. There’s a huge difference between the two. But people will believe whatever they want.

I bang my head once against the bar. “I have to tell them.”

“Yup. Because from the looks of it, I don’t think Sophia will.”

A hum of excitement floods through me at the mention of her name. Yes, the whole situation is fucked, but a part of me lives off the high that we’re in close circles now. Her best friend is marrying my cousin. A cousin who is practically my brother. And now we’ll be working together—a fact I didn’t tell Matteo for a good reason. He likes to be the voice of reason sometimes, and I’m not looking for that right now. I’m all too aware of how risky this is.

If Sophia thinks she can avoid me forever, she’s dead wrong.

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