Page 22 of Hired By the Consigliere

“Not necessarily. I didn’t go into detail about how that part should go because I had a feeling that you would like some say in the matter. No one wants to look bad at the end of a relationship and I’m sure we can find a faultless reason to end the engagement. I just can’t have you ending things with me and using a reason like I cheated, or I couldn’t commit. I need to look like I was a devoted and loyal fiancé until the very end. Otherwise, all this scheming would be for nothing.”

“That makes sense.”

“Was that the only part of the whole document that you had an issue with?”

“Not the only.”

“What did I miss?”

“You state here that you will pay me one-thousand five-hundred euros per week just to beon call. Plus, an additional five hundred per date.”

“Yes? Is that not an adequate amount?”

I shook my head. “It’s too much.”

“No, it’s not. What you are doing for me...it’s huge.”

“I get that, but that’s a lot of money to just sit around and wait for you to callplusan extra five hundred just to spend time going out to fancy restaurants and parties?” I shook my head.

“How about we agree that you will include my usual Tuesday night appointments as well?”

“You mean like you booked through Delphine?”

“Precisely. Our relationship wouldn’t be all that believable if I was still seeing an escort once a week would it?”

“No, I guess not.”

“Although, considering our special arrangement, I think we should skip the hotel and just meet at my apartment instead.”

I took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t thought about it. Of course, our arrangement would include sex. It was how the whole thing started after all. But it hadn’t really crossed my mind, considering our main goal was convincing Ludovic that we were a couple, not being a personal escort.

“You don’t like that idea.” Enzo’s brow creased.

“It’s not that. And it’s not like we haven’t already slept together, I just hadn’t thought about it.”

“You hadn’t thought about having sex with me since the last time? I’ll try not to let that hurt my ego too much.” Enzo let out a small chuckle, but the sincerity wasn’t behind it. Had I upset him?

“I think that arrangement should be good.” I smiled at him. “It makes sense anyway.”

Enzo hesitated, studying me for a moment before nodding. “Alright. I’ll add that in, and we can both initial beside it to show that we agree to the amendment before we sign the final contract.”

Once everything was signed, he scooped up the papers and returned them to his coat pocket. “Ready for dessert?”

“Dessert? Always,” I said excitedly.

“Ah, you have a sweet tooth?”

“I think I have more than one,” I giggled.

He gave a genuine laugh, and the sound made me smile.

Enzo ordered dessert and it wasn't long before the waiter came back with two small, stemmed dishes, sitting them in front of us with a flourish.

Enzo grinned. “Zabaglione with Strawberries. I had the chef prepare it specially for tonight. I hope you like it. It’s one of my favorites.”

“This looks incredible.”

“And it tastes even better. Go ahead, try it.” He watched me eagerly as I took a small bite, enjoying the blend of rich custard, spiked with marsala wine that gave it a nice sweetness, paired with the fresh strawberries.

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