Page 38 of Strange Seduction
“Ciao capo, come stai? You got a second?”
“Not right now,” Theo said. “I’m showing Carmen around.”
The woman turned to me, brows raised. “This is the infamous girlfriend?”
I laughed. “That depends. What’s he saying about me?”
“Smart. Pretty. Lives in New York. Probably too good for him.”
I grinned. “Oh, that sounds accurate.”
She introduced herself as Mila—Theo’s assistant—and gave Theo a look I couldn’t read. Then she leaned in toward me.
“He’s grumpy when you’re not around,” she whispered. “So, thank you for coming.”
I’m starting to like this place.
Theo showed me around—glass meeting rooms, a terrace with a view of the Arno. I didn’t say much, mostly because I was trying to picture him actually doing it. Commanding meetings. Running this whole show. Speaking Italian with the staff as if he’d lived here his whole life.
I didn’t need to imagine it, though; he was really doing it and not playing around.
Eventually, he brought me to the back—to this wide, gorgeous office with windows for walls and light flooding every inch.
“Wow,” I said, walking in. “This is so sexy.”
He laughed. “The office?”
“Sure. We’ll say the office.”
He came up behind me. “You still think of me as the man who used to do sketches in that dorm back at Eden?”
I turned. “Sometimes. But mostly, I see the man who worked hard to be here. The man who built this. You amaze me every time.”
His face softened. “I want you to be part of it.”
I leaned into him. “I will. One day.”
He grinned and was about to speak when someone cleared his throat behind us.
We turned to see the source. A man—tall, golden-brown skin, close-shaved beard, sleeves pushed up, Rolex glinting on his wrist—stood in the doorway with a folder in one hand.
“Didn’t mean to interrupt,” he said, his voice deep, smooth. “Just wanted to drop this off before the nine a.m.”
Theo nodded. “You’re good. Carmen, this is Vincent. Head of Strategies. He’s the brains behind half our contracts and clients.”
Vincent’s eyes met mine, and I felt it—that pause, just a second longer than polite. His gaze flicked from my eyes to my mouth, then back again.
Not in a sleazy way.
Just…aware.
He held out a hand. “Pleasure to finally meet the woman we hear so much about.”
I shook it, noting the warmth of his palm and the confidence in his grip before he let go.
“Nice to meet you, too.”
His eyebrows went up in surprise. “Not American?”
