Page 39 of Ruined By the Enemy
She laughs until she sees my face. “Wait… you’re serious?”
“As a heart attack,” I deadpan. “Life and death serious. My job—my life—might depend on it.”
Amara blinks. “Sophie, it’s just a party.”
No, I want to scream.It’s a landmine dressed in champagne and chandeliers.
But all I do is smile weakly. “Yeah. Just a party.” And I have hours to figure out how to get myself out of it.
Chapter Eleven
Dom
The party is in full swing when I walk into the building, from chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and glasses clinking mid-conversation. My gaze wanders from corner to corner as I greet people absentmindedly.
Sophie.
She refused the pickup service I offered, sending an email at the last minute that she’d get herself here instead.
I wonder if it was an excuse to bail.
After all, this party is another setup. It’s not as subtle as the last project because I confirmed ahead of time that certain people—who knew both families, Moretti and Bellini—would be in attendance to some degree, including the CEO of One Construction.
The question is… would any of them recognize Sophie? And if they did, would she vehemently deny or find a way around her lies?
A hand touches my shoulder, and I find myself staring at the rim of a half-filled glass. “You look tense, Domenico,” Raff murmurs, appearing from thin air. “People might start to think you were forced to attend.”
“Good,” I say. “It’ll save me the trouble of having to be cordial.”
He chuckles, and I accept the glass, sipping bubbly champagne. “You and I both know that’s not how it works. It doesn’t matter if you wear a sign on your forehead, you’ll still have to indulge a couple of people.”
My mouth flattens into a scowl, and more champagne warms my throat, working overtime. Iloathesocial gatherings. The pointless conversations, the fake laughs… it’s precisely why I rejected the invite when Raff first brought it up.
Until I realized it was an opportunity to blow Sophie’s cover wide open. Or maybe not blow it, but I’m willing to settle for seeing how she intends to navigate scrutiny.
“Where’s Miss Greco?” Raff asks as he snags another drink from a server. “I thought she was supposed to be your plus-one.”
I turn to him as my eyes narrow, the question ofhow he found outpoised on my lips. “I know everything, Dom,” he answers—before I speak—with a cheeky smile. “Where’s she? I assumed you’d be a gentleman for one and pick up the lady.”
I scoff lightly. “She’s my employee, Raffaele. Not my date. And besides, you’re here. You could be my plus one.”
Raff pulls away as he shakes his head. “Nope. Thank you, but nope. I’d rather sit in a corner than hang out with you.”
My head tilts as my mouth opens slightly in a dramatic display of hurt. “I wasn’t aware you thought of me that way, but thank you for being so honest.”
He places a hand on my shoulder, unrepentantly. “I’m sure there are many people willing to lie to you. You should feel lucky. I tell you the truth every time. Well,” he adds after a beat, “and Miss Greco. I have a feeling she’s not the kind to suck up to you.”
A flash of a raised chin and furious eyes flickers in my mind, quickly replaced by a calmer version—her gaze narrowed, her lips curved just slightly in that infuriating, smug way she wears when she knows she’s gotten under my skin.
Sophie Greco.
She’s not a suck-up. But a liar?
I let out a short breath that tastes like disbelief. “You have no idea.”
Raff misinterprets the sound, of course. He grins, like he’s been validated. “Told you I’m a good judge of character. But I won’t part easily with the next one. Although,” he pauses, running his thumb along his jaw, “I’ve got a feeling we’re not getting another Sophie anytime soon.”
No.We won’t.
