Page 20 of Broken Pieces
She shakes her head. “I have way too many meetings as it is.”
“Then, you’re going to have to stay later than normal,” I counter.
“I have plans.”
With a bored tone, I say, “Cancel them.”
She gapes at me in disbelief.
“Petrov…” I warn.
Her eyeslight with fire and annoyance. A small laugh escapes my lips and this causes her back to stiffen, her eyes shooting daggers at me now.
“Romano,” she snaps, standing up from her desk and stalking toward me. “The auction isn't until next month, so we have time.”
I thin my lips, staying silent. She has a point, but I don’t fucking care. If this is what will keep her away from a club, I’ll be an asshole. It’s for her safety. Just a normal human being concerned for anothernormalhuman being. If anything, I’m being a good person, asaintfor that.
You can keep telling yourself that sorry excuse. Doesn’t mean it’s true.
“I don't need reasons to want things when I want them,” I point out as I close the distance between us, amusement in my tone, despite the irritation in her eyes. “Get. It.Done.”
She offers a humorless laugh, then gives a sarcastic bow, saying, “Anything else I can do for you,boss?”
I fix my cufflinks and reply, “No.”
“Okay.” She strides past me, a drift of her fruity perfume invading my senses. She smells like strawberries and a hint of sweet vanilla. It’s intoxicating, and something I could quickly become addicted to. She opens the door of her office, and says, “Can you please get out now, so I can get to my endless list of things I have to do? Including something I know you’re more capable of doing.”
As I slide my hand into my pocket, I exit her office. I turn around to utter another word, and she murmurs something along the lines ofassholeandraging dickbefore she shuts the door in my face.
I shake my head with a laugh, deciding to just leave her be and go to my office and get some very much-needed work done. I don’t fucking care what she thinks, I will go to any length to get what I want. She had to find out sooner than later. The sense of relief floods over me like a savory triumph.
I can't shake the possessiveness when it comes to her. It’s like a caveman feeling that sneaks up on me, grabbing on hard and throwing all rational thoughts through a window.
Like I said, she’s going to be thedeathof me.
Glancing at the clock, it's almost nine o’clock in the evening.Huh. Time sure flies when I have an endless list of things to do. Since Aria started working here, I've made it a habit to stay until she leaves, whether or not I've finished my work. Leaving her alone in the gallery just doesn’t sit right with me.
Lost in thought, I'm interrupted when she storms into my office, dropping some paperwork on my desk.
“I got you two tickets. So you can go and take whatever woman is dumb enough to go with you,” she says in an annoyed, dry tone.
I'm surprised at how quickly she managed to secure the tickets. Even though I used this as an excuse, I truly was having difficulty finding tickets—okay, that’s a lie. All I needed was to make one single call, but you know, it’s a good thing I didn’t try. This was the perfect excuse.
“How did you get these so quickly?”
“I have my ways.”
I nod, then make a decision. “You're going with me. I can use your eyes on this collection.”
And if I’m being honest, I would love nothing more than to spend time outside of the gallery with her, even if it’s slightly work-related.
I’m officially losing my fucking mind here.
“I can't. I have too much to do here.”
I remain firm, saying, “This is not up for discussion, Aria. Now go home; it's late.”
She checks her watch and protests, “It's barely nine. I'm going out.”
