Page 63 of My Italian Love Affair

"None?"

"Nope."

I resist the urge to throw my notepad at his face.

"Okay," I say, forcing a pleasant tone. "Then let’s talk aboutyour own performance -"

He pulls out his phone.

I freeze.

Is he seriously checking his phone during our interview?!

A quick glance at the camera crew confirms that, yes, he absolutely is.

One of them shifts awkwardly, and I canfeelthe secondhand embarrassment radiating from them.

I look back at Matteo, who is now casually scrolling, completely ignoring me.

Something inside me snaps.

"Are you serious right now?"

Matteo doesn’t even look up.

"Hmm?"

"We're in the middle of an interview."

He nods, completely unbothered.

"Yes, of course. But I can multitask. I am a man of many talents."

Behind the camera, someone coughs - probably to cover a laugh - and I squeeze tightly to my notepad.

I’m incredibly close to snapping, and it takes everything within me to remain calm.

"You're being unbelievably rude."

Matteo finally lifts his head, his dark brows raised like he’s genuinely surprised by my comment.

"You’re wasting my time," I press on, my frustration bubbling over before I can stop it. "If you didn’t want to do thisinterview, you could’ve just said so instead of sitting here and acting like this is some huge inconvenience for you."

For a second, he just stares at me.

Then, slowly, the corner of his mouth lifts.

"Wow," he murmurs. "You’ve got bite, don’t you,giornalista?"

My cheeks burn, but I hold his gaze, refusing to back down.

He sighs, tossing his phone onto the table.

"Fine. I was only checking that nobody needed anything urgent from me,” he says. “Go ahead. Ask me another question."

I hesitate.

"You’re actually going to answer it?"

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