Page 89 of Made to Sin

I will always love you.

My heart clenched as the acidic taste of jealousy flooded my mouth. I hated the sight of him and Sofia more than I’d like to admit, but it was a good thing I saw it. Something needed to grab my hope and stomp it dead before it grew.

What was I thinking to have a crush on Luciano? He was the epitome of a Made Man. Violence, women, lies. I survived one broken heart, a second wasn’t guaranteed.

With heavier shoulders than when I came down, I turned and dragged my feet upstairs. I finished the rest of my shift in silence, not speaking unless necessary. Even if it meant getting a weighty tip, I wasn’t as cheerful as I was at the beginning. If Francisco sensed my mood change, he didn’t mention it.

When our replacements came, I raced downstairs. I wanted to get my stuff and leave as soon as possible.

Except Lady Luck was never on my side.

Right as my feet touched the last step of the stairs, Luciano stopped me in my tracks. “Katarina, can you come to my office? I want to discuss your first day.”

He may have sounded like he was asking, but I knew that he was demanding. There was no fight left in me, and I rather get whatever he wanted over with, so I nodded and followed him into a dim, square-shaped office.

There was no need to even take in the place, it was almost identical to the one in the warehouse with different books and art pieces. Bitterly, I wondered if he reused women the same way he reused his interior designs.

“Can I help you, boss?” I asked as normally as I could.

He leaned against the wooden desk, gesturing me to the adjacent chair.

I remained standing.

He ran a gaze down my face. “Is something wrong?”

As casually as I could, I pulled on my hair tie until the ponytail came loose. It was cowardly to use my hair to protect me from his watchful eyes, but this man could read me like a book. I wouldn’t get far with lying if I hadn’t.

“Yeah, sorry, my hair was bugging me the whole shift,” I explained.

“I see.”

I fumbled with the loose hair tie. “Did you need something?”

“How was your shift?”

I didn’t like it when he was nice. It was harder to end my feelings when he was being a gentleman. I felt special that he treated me like I was worth something, but after earlier, I couldn’t tell if he was this way to every other girl he wanted to fuck.

“Good.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Doesn’t sound very good.”

I forced a smile. “Maybe you’re getting the wrong impression.”

“What’s wrong? Did Francisco make you uncomfortable?”

You made me uncomfortable.

“Nothing’s wrong. Francisco was great.”

He pushed off of the desk and started to come closer. Intuitively, I took a step back. I wasn’t going to think straight if he came any closer. As soon as he touches me, I become putty.

His eyes darkened, but he respected my boundaries and halted a few feet away. “What’s wrong, Katarina?”

“Nothing.”

I was sticking with the same boring story until he got sick of it and let me go. I didn’t have a valid explanation without revealing how much he affected me, and I rather not dig that grave tonight.

“Was this about what I said at the bar?”

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