Page 48 of Carnal

"Any questions?" Dante asks.

"Who's going to be the fly on my back?" I smirk.

"Tristano's going through our men to see who the best fit is," he answers.

"Fine. Send me a memo." I turn on my computer and pull files out of my desk drawer.

"It's probably going to take a few days. We need to move our guys around," Dante adds.

"Well, I won't hold my breath,'' I mutter.

"Until we figure out who we can utilize, your driver is on high alert. He'll be stationed outside your condo door, too," Dante informs me before he rises and leaves the room. When the door to my office shuts, I put my hands over my face and groan.

I knew Tristano's conversation was about me. It's not a surprise Dante's adding security to me, yet I still don't like it. I'm a private person. I like to keep my personal life away from the Marinos. They influence enough of my choices.

It's exactly why I need to cut off whatever this thing is between Tristano and me.

9

Tristano

Friday

My patience is running thin.Pina's ignored most of my messages all week. The last one she sent to me stated it wasn't a good idea for us to be anything but professional and that I needed to forget about last weekend. It pisses me off, but instead of moving on, I only want her more.

When I left her condo on Monday morning, I couldn't get my mind off her. I kept replaying the entire weekend. I hadn't meant to stay that long, but it felt right. Now, it's like we've taken ten steps backward.

Why can't I forget about her?

I don't chase women.

She needs to stop ignoring me.

Papà's had me dealing with different issues all week. It's prevented me from going to Dante's office or knocking on her door at night. But every text I send her has gone unanswered in the last two days. It's making me feel crazy.

I got home at five this morning and met my brothers for our morning workout. No amount of punching the boxing bags reduced my frustration. If anything, it only made me more determined to figure this issue out today.

I step out of the shower, dry off, then get dressed. It's seven thirty, and Pina should be at work. The rest of the staff doesn't get in until nine, but she likes to get there earlier. Dante already confirmed he's working from home today, so I text Flex to meet me out front.

On my way out, I run into Papà. He asks, "Where you off to?"

"I'm meeting Rubio at the docks," I lie.

Papà arches his eyebrows. "Is there an issue or shipment arriving that I'm not aware of?"

"No."

"Then what's the meeting about?"

Irritation fills me. Lately, Papà's drilling all of us about our activities. I accuse, "Are you going to start micromanaging me now?"

He crosses his arms. His eyes turn to slits. "When my sons return to obeying my orders, I'll not ask questions."

"I just spent my entire week obeying your orders," I point out.

"Do you want a medal?"

Anger sears through me. "Are we done here?"

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