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Matti

By the time I return to Dragovari Tower, the building I own in Tribeca, I’m physically and mentally drained. I’ve spent the last week sitting awake by Siena’s side as she slept at my house on the Demonio estate. Food, sleep, sanity are all a distant memory, and I can’t stop worrying about her—both her health and her life—should Aurelio decide to send someone after her again.

The two-story concrete doors glide open slowly as I climb the steps to the entrance. Eleanor greets me at the threshold with her usual efficiency, holding out a cup of coffee and a stack of mail.

“Thanks, but I’m headed to bed soon, Eleanor,” I murmur, waving away both.

Eleanor, the CEO of Dragovari Tower and my point person for day-to-day operations, is as impeccably put together as always. Her tailored charcoal-gray pantsuit and short, silver hair tucked behind her ears give her an air of unshakable authority.

“Of course, sir. I thought you might appreciate a little extraboost. Your companion for the evening is waiting for you in the penthouse.”

My companion? Shit. Valentina.

We walk into the expansive lobby. The ceiling looms forty stories above us, interrupted only by the giant glass sculptures suspended from its apex. Each of those forty stories is home to dozens of apartments and storefronts occupied by business partners and family friends, designed in an open circle with glass railings so that anyone can step out their door and look down to the lobby below.

My penthouse and rooftop spa occupy the top two stories. Where Valentina is waiting.

I sigh, dreading the encounter. Valentina’s moods are always a coin flip. She’s always ready to either rip your clothes off or claw your eyes out. You never know which version of her you’ll get, and tonight, I don’t have the energy for either.

“On second thought, Eleanor,” I say, taking the coffee from her hands. “Have someone escort my, uh, companion from the penthouse. Let her know she’s no longer needed.”

Eleanor presses her lips into a tight line, but she nods. “It is after 11 p.m., sir.”

Fucking chivalry. If it were a man, I wouldn’t think twice about kicking him out. But even though she’s a terrible person, I can’t tell Valentina to do the same. “Fine. Offer her a car to any hotel she wants or a flight back to wherever she came from. But, Eleanor—”

“Yes, sir?”

“She cannot stay in this building.”

“Understood,” Eleanor replies crisply. There’s a flicker of disapproval in her eyes that Valentina is here at all. She’s been with the Demonio family since I was a kid, practically asecond mother to me and the Demonio boys, and she’s never hidden her distaste for Valentina and her choices.

When she doesn’t leave to carry out my instructions immediately, I sigh softly. “What is it?”

Eleanor hesitates. “I just thought you should know… she’s in a mood. And her attire may not be entirely… professional. No judgment, of course.”

I smirk, knowing Eleanor’s ‘no judgment’ is always loaded with plenty of it. “Don’t worry. It was never a date. She was here strictly for—”

“Yes, sir,” Eleanor interrupts. “I understand her purpose. I’m not sure she does, however, and I don’t foresee her taking the news of her dismissal well.”

She’s saying Valentina may make a scene.

As we cross the open space, employees pause to nod respectfully or offer a polite “Hello, Mr. Dragovari.” Most I ignore, but Jacob Bennett, a trusted associate and one of our lawyers, waves from his office. He steps out as I approach.

“Eleanor,” I say before turning away, “bring a couple of people with you in case she needs convincing. Use the service elevator to escort her out.”

“Of course, sir.”

Bennett greets me with a firm handshake and a lowered voice. “Vin’s been looking for you. He sounds stressed.”

The mention of Vin’s name is like plucking an exposed nerve. He’s called and texted several times since I left him in Aurelio’s office with Siena, but I’m not sure I’m prepared to handle that conversation without blowing up.

I gesture toward Bennett’s office, and we both take a seat as he fills me in on Vin’s messages.

I’ve made it a point to keep the people I trust close to mehere at Dragovari Tower so that I can keep an eye on them. One Pearl Park is, in part, Aurelio’s version of that, which is why Luminous & Co has an office over there and not here.

Though both buildings have a similar purpose, the atmosphere is very different. The floors here are a deep chocolate stained concrete and not marble. The furnishings and details downstairs are rosewood with living edges with a mix of champagne-colored linen and leather rather than the heavy carved walnut pieces and thick red velvet that Aurelio prefers.

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