Page 2 of The Prices We Pay
Four weeks ago, when I found out the brokerage company I was outsourcing was shortcutting and incorrectly filling out forms, risking me millions of dollars in fines and fees, I fired them on the spotand have been attempting to do what I can in the meantime.
However, I have quite literally a thousand other things I need to be doing instead, both inside and outside Vittori Enterprises. So, at the risk of being tempted to smother myself underneath a never-ending pile of customs forms, I decided to hire an in-house broker. I’ve interviewed a dozen over the last two weeks, and they all seemed beyond utterly incompetent.
Josephine Jenkinshas to bethe one.
As if a stereotypical fifty-year-old paper-pushing broker—if the last six interviewees are any indication—is going to try to get the jump on us, Dante takes his usual spot behind me. Clara politely knocks on the door as she slowly pushes it open.
“Ms. Jenkins, Sir.” Clara steps to the side and sweeps her hand in my direction.
I freeze halfway out of my chair when I see the most breathtakingly stunning woman I’ve ever seen in my thirty-four years on this earth step through the door.
Fifty-year-old paper-pusher, she is not.
Dressed in emerald-green slacks that make her legs look a mile long, a pair of pointy black heels that I would gladly let walk all over me, and a white button-up shirt that shows the perfect amount of cleavage and the tattoos that cover her forearms, Josephine Jenkins looks like a siren ready to haunt my dreams.
Any other potential employer may care about so many visible tattoos showing in a professional workplace, but considering the fact that my best friend and COO are covered from head to toe with them, I have little room to talk.
She makes it all the way across my large office and to the front of my desk before Dante kicks the leg of my chair and coughs, prompting me to stand.
Do not look at her chest, Luca Vittori. Do. Not. Do. It.
In what feels like slow motion, I watch in rapt attention as she reaches her hand out. And instead of moving, I just stand there and stare at it.
Dante coughs from behind me.
Right. Hands. Shake.
I wrap my hand around hers, and I can’t help but notice how small her hand looks in mine.
My gaze finally meets hers, and it feels as if all the air is sucked out of the room. Even though I’ve only been in her presence for seconds, her gunmetal-blue eyes feel as if they have the ability to pierce my soul.
“Josephine Jenkins, nice to meet you, Mr. Vittori.”
I shake her hand a little longer than necessary, reveling in the feeling of her skin against mine. She raises a brow, and the corners of her full lips tip up in a smile.
Right. Interview. Broker. Focus.
Reluctantly, I drop her hand. “Please, call me Luca.” I gesture my hand toward one of the chairs in front of her. “Please, sit.” I wait to take a seat until she does so. Once we’re both sitting, Josephine looks from me to the giant man standing behind me. “This is Dante DeLuca. He’s my head of security.”
“Am I a threat?” she asks with a practically sinister smile.
I think youjust might be.
Dante doesn’t speak—at least not around anyone who’s not me, Sebastian, or Enzo. Josephine looks back at me. “No threat, Ms. Jenkins. He’s just doing his job.”
“Josephine, please. But my friends call me Joe.”
“Josephine,” I answer, choosing the former, the name sounding like it was meant to fall from my lips. “Thank you for coming in today.”
She sits up a little straighter and sweeps her hair over her shoulders so the long black strands lay down her back, giving me an unobstructed view of her face.
There’s beauty, and then there’s… there’s her.
“I’m happy to be here.” She reaches for her bag and pulls out a small stack of papers she has clipped together. “When your assistant called me the other day, she mentioned that you were in desperate need of an in-house broker.”
Clearing my throat, I answer, “Yes, we were outsourcing, and let’s just say the firm I was using was less than impressive. I’ve heard around town that you’re one of the best in the business.” Iquickly let my eyes graze her body, not even caring if it looks unprofessional. “And at such a young age too.”
She smiles softly. “Twenty-six isn’t all that young,Mr. Vittori.I’ve worked extremely hard over the last six years, and I can promise I’ve more than earned my reputation.”
