Page 70 of Grumpy Boss of the Year

"Fair enough," he says. "I give a little more than that, though."

"I'm glad to hear it.

"So, Elisabetta Franco, tell me something else about you."

"Wait, you didn't even finish telling me the story about that girl."

"She dumped me and dated my friend." He grinned. "It didn't work out, and now she wants me back."

"What?" My jaw drops. I hadn't expected that part of the story. "She wants you back? Oh, my gosh. She's not Lucinda, is she?"

He stares at me for a couple of seconds and bursts out laughing. "No, she's not Lucinda. Definitely not."

"Good. I mean, you wouldn't give that girl a chance again, would you?"

"Not in a million years," he says, shaking his head.

My phone starts ringing then, and I look at the screen. My hearts starts racing when I see it's my dad. I show the screen to Liam, and he frowns.

"You can take it if you want."

"Thanks," I say.

"Hey, Dad. How's it going?"

"Is that you, Elisabetta?" He sounds upset.

"It's me. What's going on?"

"The banks have called in all my loans." He sounds like he's stressed out. "I'm afraid none of your credit cards are gonna work after tomorrow, and oh my gosh, I just don't know what to do. I'm so sorry, darling. I didn't expect for us to ever be in this position. I've made some bad business deals and?—"

"What do you need me to do, Dad?" I say, chewing on my lower lip. I can see that Liam is listening to the conversation, but I don't care. He already knows what's going on, at least partially. He knows as much as I do.

"I may need you to marry someone. I know that's not what you want, but it's the only way I see to save the business, the only way that I can take care of the family and?—"

"I'll do it." I don't know where the words came from, but I say them. "Find me a husband, someone that can invest in your business, and I'll marry him, okay? I gotta go now, Dad."

I hang up and look at Liam. He looks angry.

"What the fuck?" he says.

I press my fingers to his lips. "I know you're not gonna understand, but I have to do what I have to do for my family. But before I get married…" I lean towards him and press my lips against his. "Before I get married, I want to know you in ways that should be a sin."

His eyes widen. "What are you saying?"

"I think you know exactly what I'm saying." I grab his hands and pull him towards me. "The games are done." I chuckle at his expression. "I mean, some of the games are done. I just know that I wanna experience passion with you before I have to give myself to another man forever."

Chapter Sixteen

Liam

“Hey, I hate to do this right now, Elisabetta, but I really need to make an important call.” She hesitates for a few moments before looking up from the menu. I watch as she shakes her head slightly, and I can tell she’s taken aback. She just told me she wants me and now I need to make a call.

“Okay, whatever.” She presses her lips together like she doesn’t want to say something that will make her sound like she cares.

“I won't be more than a couple of minutes.”

“Whatever. If you have to work, you have to work.” She shrugs. She looks at me, and I can tell by the expression on her face that she's not happy. I wish she would be open with me about her feelings. It strikes me as ironic that she can be so open about some things and so closed off about others. Like when she talks about her father. She makes it seem like she understands that he couldn’t be in her life, but there is a pain in her eyes. A rejection that she’s experienced that she hasn’t yet processed.

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