Page 44 of Ruined By the Enemy
“Is there something going on between you two?” Raff asks, cutting clean through the static in my head.
“What?” I snap.
He lifts both hands, palms open, as if that’ll soften the hit. “Hey, I’m just saying. The way you were looking at her wasn’t nothing.”
He tilts his head and gives me that knowing, irritating smirk of his. “I’ve seen it before,” he adds, shrugging one shoulder. “That’s the look of a man who likes a woman and is very clearly jealous.”
I stare at him.
Raff doesn’t flinch. “You’ve got the whole storm-brewing-between-the-eyes thing going. If it helps, you’re not exactly subtle.”
I exhale slowly through my nose. “She’s an employee.”
Raff rolls his eyes. “And I’m a priest.”
“She works for me,” I repeat, voice hardening.
“Mhm,” he hums, sipping from his drink. “So does half the building. But you don’t watch the rest of them like they’re your chess pieces.”
I don’t answer. Mostly because he’s not wrong. And that infuriates me more than anything else.
He leans in a little, lowering his voice. “So, what’s the play here? I’m not one for interpersonal relationships, but I haven’t seen you this way before, so if you have something for her, then you have my blessing.”
“And you’ll have my blessing and a recommendation letter,” I say flatly, “when you’re looking for a new job tomorrow.”
Raff backs off with both palms raised in mock surrender, but the smug curve of his mouth doesn’t entirely disappear. “Fine, fine. Touchy.” He’s already scanning the room again. “I’m going to get myself another one of those cocktails. I don’t know what they put in them, but it’s incredible.”
He wanders off, slipping into easy conversation with someone else without a problem.
I turn back toward the table where I last saw Sophie, but she’s not there. The chair sits empty.
The man she was with is still in conversation, but Sophie is nowhere in sight.
Did she find someone else?A flicker of something cuts through my chest, pushing jealousy straight into the territory of possessiveness.
I brought her here to watch her unravel. To measure just how far I needed to push until her plan crumbled in on itself.
But now I’m the one standing on the edge of the room, my drink untouched, watching her smile fade into memory, left with nothing but a tightness in my chest I refuse to name.
My phone buzzes.
I ignore the drink being offered and reach into my jacket. A message from Sophie. “I’m sorry, but I had to leave early. I caught a stomach bug and I couldn’t stay.”
“A clever lie,” I mutter under my breath.
She was fine when she walked in. She looked fine when she smiled and when she slipped her arm into another man’s, like she belonged there.
But I’m not going to chase her. Not tonight.
I’ll let her feel safe again and believe she has the upper hand because the longer she works for me, the more comfortable she gets.
And when she thinks she’s dug her way in—I’ll be there. Ready to drag her right back out.
I accept the drink when it comes by a second time, but my taste for polite conversation has dwindled, so I step outside to get some fresh air. I’m halfway through when I hear brisk footsteps coming and Raffaele’s terse voice.
“Dom.”
I can already tell something’s wrong before I turn. His shoulders are rigid, and he shakes his head slowly. “There’s been an accident.”
