Page 36 of Ruined By the Enemy
“You haven’t even heard the best part,” Raff drawls. “The CEO of One Construction, Mark Ross will be there. Maybe Sophie can work her charm better in a more… relaxed setting. That’s if you’ll take her as your plus one.”
The thought slams into me. If he’s there, Enzo Bellini won’t be far behind.
And if Sophie runs into her uncle?Everything unravels.
The cover. The lies. Even if she tries to hide it, I’ll be one step closer to finding out what she wants from me.
Raff’s still talking, amused with himself. “Or, if you’d rather not, I could go in your place. Represent the company. No big deal—”
“Send me the invite,” I say sharply. He lifts an eyebrow, but doesn’t push it as a smug smile touches his face. “I knew it,” he tuts. “You weren’t doing due diligence. You didn’t want to admit you’d missed the timeline.”
It’s not that I missed the timeline. Rather, I’ve found the best way to set the clock ticking.
It’s finally time for Enzo Bellini and me to meet.
Chapter Ten
Sophie
“Please go away,” I groan, throwing off the covers as the knocking continues, merciless and loud. My head is pounding, my mouth is dry, and my hair feels like a wild animal made camp in it overnight.
All I want is sleep.
I shuffle past the kitchen, slowing down long enough to eye the fridge. Maybe I can grab a bottle of water before facing whatever lunatic thinks it’s okay to knock like that on a Saturday morning.
But as if they can read my damn mind, the knocking grows louder and sharper. Like nails dragging across the inside of my skull.
“Alright, alright,” I mutter, fingers clawing through my tangled hair as I stumble to the door. My hand fumbles with the lock, misses once, twice—finally clicks it open.
And then I pull.
And a mop of rowdy curls smelling of warm baked goods stumbles into my living room. Tumbles, more like it. “Amara?” My brows furrow as I watch my best friend pick herself off the floor. “What are you doing here this early ?”
She grins sheepishly, tucking her hands behind her back. “What do you think? I thought I’d surprise you.”
I tilt my head to peek at the takeout bag she’s doing a horrible job of hiding. “This early? You’re not a morning person.”
“Well,” she shrugs as she stylishly moves from her position until I’m closer to the door and she’s standing with her back to the hallway, “Early to rise, right?”
“It’s early to bed,” I correct her, even as my stomach grumbles.
She gives up the takeout immediately, lifting the bag. “It’s good I stopped by the bakery, huh?” She blinks her lashes slowly, giving me a puppy-eyed look when I don’t respond, then dangles the takeout in front of my face as a final attempt. “Come on, Sophie. I know you’ve been working hard since you got your new job. You barely answer my calls, and I’m sure you spent last night by your desk, judging by the dark circles under your eyes.”
“Dark circles?” I lift my index finger to the spot.
Amara sighs and nods. “Yup, Dark circles. You look like hell, my friend.” She throws a hand over my shoulder. “What do you say I make coffee for both of us, you take a shower—because you stink—and then we eat?”
My stomach responds for me. My shoulders droop as I sigh reluctantly. “You’re right.” I stayed in the office until late last night, looking into One Construction, tasking my brain with possible scenarios and excuses I could use if Dom changed his mind and decided to either make an official offer or invest in the company.
His act… ‘If you can’t pull it off, no one else can,’ didn’t fool me. Not when he sat there, looking like he knew more than he let on.
I thought switching things up—a dress that had been in my closet for over a year, gold earrings that Amara forced me to buy—would throw him off, at least a little. Or maybe I was doing it for myself, because finding out he wanted to meet at a restaurant Enzo co-owned threw me off my game for a bit.
But he was in his element.
“The smug bastard,” I mutter.
“Who?”
