Page 49 of Omega in Hiding

I grit my teeth. “Tony, do you want to talk to Dario instead of me? Cuz I can hand you over to him if you’d prefer. But I gotta tell you, he won’t be as polite as me. He’s not in a very good mood today.”

There’s a gulp from the other end of the phone. “No, I don’t want to bother Dario with this.”

“Then do what I tell you to do.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll do the Friday off load.” His voice wobbles. “And… uh… Paolo, there’s no need to tell Dario I wanted Friday off, okay?”

“No? Why not?”

“Well, er… there’s no point in bothering him with unimportant details.”

“I don’t know, Tony, you seemed pretty adamant getting Friday off was of utmost importance.” I smirk, enjoying the anxious breathing on the other end of the line.

“I was just joking.” He gives a nervous laugh. “You know how I am.”

“Yeah, I know exactly how you are, Tony.” I sigh. “But if you promise not to ask for time off again for a while, I won’t mention this to Dario.”

“Thanks, Paolo.” There’s obvious relief in his voice.

“Talk to you later.” I hang up and lean back in my chair. “Idiot.”

I have a bunch of other calls to make, but I’m beat. I stretch my neck, blowing out a tired breath. My lower back is killing me. It always kills me when I sit in Dario’s chair the entire day. When no one is around, I’ve gotten into a habit of getting down on the floor to stretch my back. It’s the only way to work the kinks out of my spine.

I glance at the list of numbers I still need to call, scowling. “They can wait. My back comes first.” I get out of the chair and crouch down onto the carpet. Then with a groan, I lie down on my back behind the big desk. I pull my legs up to my chest, and press my lower spine against the floor. “Oh, that’s better,” I mutter, enjoying the stretch of my tense muscles. “Yeah, baby, that’s the ticket.”

I stay like that for a few minutes, rolling side to side, and making sure my entire back is getting a good stretch. I’m aboutto get up and make the rest of my calls, when I hear the door to the study open. I freeze, mortified when I hear Dario and Enzo enter the room. Thankfully, they’re busy talking so they have no idea I’m lying down on the floor, behind the desk.

I’m embarrassed they’ll think I’m nuts for stretching on the floor, but figure it’ll be far worse if they catch me hiding behind the desk. I’m about to sit up to alert them to my presence, when the name “Connor” catches my attention. Heart pounding, I stay where I am, straining to hear what they’re saying.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him.” Enzo cackles. “He looked shocked as hell to see me too.”

“He was waiting tables?” Dario sounds bewildered. “I thought he was a professional manny.”

“He said he needed a change or something.”

From the sound of their voices, they’re coming closer. I don’t want Dario to find me lying on the ground like an idiot, but I also don’t want to just pop up suddenly and say “Ta da! I was hiding behind the desk!” I’ll look like an even bigger idiot. I’m not sure what to do, but luckily, they bypass the desk. They go to sit in the chairs that are in front of the unlit stone fireplace.

“When was it you saw him?” Dario asks.

“Yesterday night. I got into town really late. I was going to call, but didn’t want to bother you guys. Alessio hates it when I call too late at night. I don’t like it when the boss bites my head off.” Enzo laughs gruffly. “But I knew I had to tell you guys I’d run into Connor, so I came over first thing this morning. I thought Alessio would be here too.”

“He’s shopping,” Dario says. “He needed a new suit for Baby Joesph’s christening next month.”

“I see.”

“Did Connor say why he ran and didn’t just tell us he was leaving?” Dario’s voice is curious.

“He said the thing in the park rattled him. He didn’t like the violence.”

“Hmmm.”

“He looked thinner than I remembered. Tired too. I don’t think waiting tables agrees with him.” Enzo sighs. “I was tempted to drag him back here with me, just so you guys could get some answers. But wasn’t sure you’d want that.”

“No.” Dario’s voice is harsh. “I don’t want him back here. I don’t want him anywhere near Paolo. Connor is trouble.”

Anger stirs inside me. Who the hell does Dario think he is?Asshole.He has no right to keep Connor away from me. I’ll bet he was relieved when Connor left. He’s no doubt praying Valentino never finds out about me sleeping with Connor. He thinks keeping Connor’s whereabouts from me will cover his ass.

Little does Dario know, I’ve been trying to find Connor since he left. At first, I was going to just let Connor go. My pride was wounded by the way he left. I tried to forget about Connor. I told myself if he wanted to leave, then he was dead to me. But no matter how hard I tried to put him out of my heart and mind, he always crept back in. I finally had to acknowledge my feelings for him aren’t just going to evaporate. I need to see him again. I at least need to know why he ran away. We had such a strong connection. I know I didn’t imagine that. Something spooked him. I want to know what that something was.

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