Page 33 of Merciless Desires

“Don’t dismiss me,” I said. Why were things always so contentious between us? Why did we have to fight about everything?

“I’m not dismissing you, but I don’t have to give you a play-by-play of everything I do.”

“This isn’t a…scherzo. I mean, what’s the word?”

“Joke?”

“Yes!” Sometimes, when I was mad or upset, I slipped back into Italian and I forgot the English word.

“You’re right, your safety is not a joke. Alberto violated my trust and put you in danger. What did you think I would do? What would your father have done if someone jeopardized your safety?”

“You’re not my father.”

“I’m here in his place.”

“That’s weird.”

“Stop making my job so difficult.”

“Alberto was only listening to me when I asked him to take me to you.” I waved my hands in the air as I often did when I got upset. “He was only following my orders.”

“He should have known better. He follows my orders, not yours.” Gio sat on the sofa. “You can’t have a guard you can manipulate. You need one who won’t give into your emotions or cater to your whims, because that could get you killed. I’m assigning someone who won’t get attached to you. Who will put your safety first.”

“So you fired Alberto?”

“I didn’t fire him. I sent him back to your father. It’s up to him if Alberto stays employed.”

“You know what my father’s going to do.”

“That’s not my problem. Alberto had one chance with me, and he screwed up. I’m not taking any other chances when it comes to protecting you.”

“Why didn’t you discuss this with me first?”

“Because it didn’t concern you,” he replied.

“How could it not concern me? I’m the one being guarded.”

“Security is my job.” He looked at his phone. “This discussion is over.”

The hell it is.

“Pay attention to me!” I grabbed his phone and tossed it on the coffee table.

“Watch it.” He didn’t raise his voice, but the look in his eyes was enough to make me rethink my approach. “I will not tolerate your disrespect.”

“I’m tired of guards, safety, and not being able to do what I want when I want to. Do you have any idea what it’s like living like a prisoner?”

“Princess, you have a pretty good life.” He sneered. “Do you know how many women would trade places with you and your Versace dresses?”

“Yes, I have money and material items, but what kind of life do I have?” I had lived under lock and key most of my life. Never making lasting relationships unless it was with one of my guards or a housekeeper. “How can you say I have a good life when you grew up in the same environment? Secrets, lies, betrayals. Always knowing there is something you should know, but no one will tell you what it is.”

“It is what it is,” he said. Why was he being so dismissive? “Don’t question it.”

“I thought by coming here it would be different. You would be different.”

When my father told me he was sending me to Gio, I believed it was because he wanted us together, but from the moment I got here, Gio acted as if I was an obligation. A job he was doing for my father. I wanted more with him.

“I’m trying to make that happen.” He reached for me and pulled me into his lap. “You have to stop making it difficult for me. I can’t do what has to be done if you’re fighting me all the time. It’s exhausting.”

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