Page 10 of The Prices We Pay
“Ignore him, Josephine. Everyone else does,” Luca says with a shake of his head.
“Okay, rude.” Enzo crosses his arms like a petulant child, and I don’t miss the way his suit tightens around his arms.
Completely ignoring him, Luca continues, “You’ve already met Dante.”
“Hey, Joe.”
“Hey, Dante.”
“This is Sebastian.” Luca looks at him, his eyes lingering a moment longer than necessary, before looking back at me. “He’s our head of IT and oversees all computer and operating systems within the company, as well as assisting Dante with necessary security measures. He works both from home and in the office. He’ll help you get started installing and going over the necessary programs,both on your desktop in your office and your laptop.”
Sebastian.
“It’s nice to meet you, Josephine.”
“You too, but please, call me Joe.”
Sebastian side-eyes Luca, who just shrugs before looking back at me. “How much storage do you have available on your laptop?”
“I’m not really sure. Probably not a ton. I bought it when I moved to New York a couple of years ago, so I’ve used it quite a bit.”
Sebastian sits back in his chair. “No worries.” He looks at Luca. “Let’s just put in an order for a new one. She’s going to need all the extra storage she can get.”
Luca nods and hits a couple of buttons on the phone on the conference room table. In just seconds, Clara’s voice fills the room. “Yes, Sir?”
“I need you to put in an order for a new laptop for Josephine. Same one she has now, just the latest model and more storage.”
“Right away, Mr. Vittori.” The line cuts out, and I look between them, flabbergasted. One, becausethey just ordered an extremely expensive laptop like it was no big deal when I saved up for years for this baby. Two, because Luca did exactly what Sebastian told him to, with zero hesitation or questions asked.
For someone who works in IT to be giving the CEO of a company such direct orders is not normal.
“We should have it by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll stop by your office to transfer everything over from that one to the new one, and I’ll install and go over everything you’ll need. Does that work for you?”
His soft smile is completely at odds with his domineering voice. “Yes, that’s fine.”
The next hour is spent reviewing the goals and expectations of my position, and I have to admit, I have my work cut out for me. I’ve never worked for a company of this size or stature, but if there’s one thing I’m confident in, it’s that I will not only rise to the challenge but overcome it.
However, I am extremely uncertain of how I’m going to focus on said tasks with the four of them in the same building. Especially when they’re lookingat me the way they’ve been looking at me since I walked into the room.
Enzo, like he has as many dirty thoughts rolling around in his mind as he does dirty jokes.
Luca, like he’s doing everything in his powernotto look at me.
Dante, like he’s studying me from the inside out. Like he can see everything that makes me… me.
And Sebastian, like I’m the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.
It’s as nerve-wracking as it is exhilarating.
Be that as it may, it’s something I have to ignore. The last thing I need to be doing on my first day is fantasizing about a man I work with… let alone four.
I worked too hard to get here, and I’m not going to let something as trivial as sex fuck things up for me.
It’s not a price I’m willing to pay.
6
Dante
