Page 32 of Ruthless Rival

I didn’t even make it to the bottom of the stairs before Bri noticed me with an alarmed look on her face. “Mr. Mancini, is everything alright?” she asked as she strode toward me.

I didn’t have time for a conversation right now. I felt bad for skipping out, but I needed to reach Gabriela. “Yes, I need to go,” I replied as I brushed past her.

Iso straightened up by the door, seeing how briskly I moved.

“What do you mean? Did they do something wrong?” Bri asked as she walked after me.

I reached the door, turning to see Iso hold his arm out to block Bri from coming any closer. I waved my hand at him, motioning for him to relax. I wasn’t in danger. “They were perfectly fine. I just need to go. I have a meeting I forgot about,” I assured Bri, not wanting her to jump down Megan and Kate’s throats for scaring me off. “I’ll have someone come by to pay for my time and the rest of their shifts.”

Bri’s eyes grew wide with surprise, but she nodded. “Yes, Mr. Mancini,” she replied.

I nodded and opened the door, hurrying to the SUV and getting into the backseat. “Four Seasons,” I told the driver with urgency in my voice. It was already 7:30, so there was no telling if I was late or not. Gabriela might’ve worked quickly to get the job done with, which I couldn’t blame her for. Who would drag out their own torture?

I didn’t even care if I was blowing my chance of getting the governor on my payroll. He was flaky and weak, and he wouldn’t last much longer in office anyway. I cared more about making sure Gabriela was fine and getting her away from the governor.

I just hoped I wasn’t too late.

“Step on it!” I barked from the backseat, prompting my driver to speed down the street. Frustrated heat settled over my skin, making sweat threaten the skin at the crown of my head. It didn’t matter if the car was going sixty miles an hour. We weren’t going fast enough!

I ground my teeth as I stared at my watch, seeing the second hand slowly crawl around in a circle. With each second that passed by, the bigger the chance that I would be too late to show Gabriela who she needed to be with tonight, and it wasn’t that spineless governor.

Tightening my hands into fists, I finally saw the Four Seasons looming ahead of me. If the governor laid a finger on her, I would break every single one of his fingers. Only one man deserved to have Gabriela in his arms.

That man was me.

Chapter Fifteen:Sweet Sabotage

Gabriela

I carefully dragged the tip of the eyeliner pen along the crease of my upper lid, drawing a perfect wing to complement the one I made on my other eye. I decided not to do anything extravagant when it came to makeup for tonight. I wanted to make my eyes and lips pop, and between the black eyeliner and red lipstick, they did just that.

The governor wouldn’t be looking at my eyes or lips all that much, though. He would be looking at my bust, which looked incredible in my new dress. I leaned away from the bathroom mirror and peered at my reflection, liking what I saw but not feeling all that happy about tonight.

Part of me wanted to bail. Guilt churned in my stomach when I had those thoughts, but I didn’t want to sleep with the governor or even talk to him. All he wanted from me was a pretty girl to hang on his arm. When I was with Alberto, he didn’t treat me like a prop. He treated me like a queen.

But what man let his queen lay with someone else?

If he had an inkling of care in his heart for me, he would’ve told me not to go through with this. He would’ve insisted that we come up with another plan or anything other than approving my idea of blackmailing the governor with a sex tape we made. Now, I was about to put everything in motion, and all I had heard was crickets. That didn’t seem like a man who cared.

I hated sitting here, wondering about Alberto and how he felt about me like a lovestruck teenager, but I wanted him to care. I wanted him to be upset. After all of our chemistry and our intense kiss, why didn’t he fight for me?

I forced myself out of the bathroom, telling myself to stop procrastinating and just get this over with. The sooner I did the deed to blackmail the governor, the sooner I could work with the Mancinis to take down my father and the rest of the cartel. I had to keep the light at the end of the tunnel in mind.

I didn’t need to be worried about Alberto Mancini. He certainly wasn’t stressed about me and what I was about to do. I deserved a man who cared about me, so why in the world was I hung up on him? He’d already lost his chance and the governor would experience an even wilder night with me than the one I spent with Alberto.

I walked out of the house, briefly greeting my driver before getting into the back of the Mercedes. Crossing my legs carefully in front of me, I leaned back against the seat and looked down at my phone, considering texting Alberto and telling him I was on the way to the hotel to spite him. My thumbs hovered over the screen as I thought of something coy to say, but I sighed and shook my head. I just needed to stop thinking about him all together.

I was already giving up my dignity by sleeping with the governor on camera. The least I could do was to not embarrass myself and seem desperate before I even got to the hotel. So, I placed my phone down on the seat next to me and looked out of the window until I saw the hotel looming ahead.

My stomach twisted as I prepared to get out. My hand stiffly grabbed the door handle to open the door, and I had to force my legs out. “Come on,” I whispered under my breath, coaxing myself to get out of the car and head into the hotel lobby. I wanted to run back home, but I breathed in deeply and remembered that a little bit of pain could grant me a life of paradise if I stuck to my plan.

“Gabriela!”

The governor’s voice was like nails on a chalkboard. It was too late to escape now since he had already seen me. He waved at me from the hotel bar, wearing a grey suit with his hair brushed to the right in a glaring side part.

I forced a smile on my face as I waved back and headed his way. The sound of my heels hitting the tile floor echoed throughout the busy lobby. When I reached him, I let him take my hand and kiss the top of it. “So nice to see you again, Edward,” I greeted him.

Edward Monfort might’ve been the most powerful man in the state of Louisiana, but he had the spine of a sponge when it came down to business. He hid behind his title and his nice estate, running from deals like the Mancinis’ so he didn’t have to get his hands dirty. He hardly did anything for his own state.

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