Page 22 of The Prices We Pay
“Yeah. Gio and Caterina were the witnesses. Got off the phone with Ronan right as you walked in there. He’s thrilled to have a new brother. Obviously.”
Thateven gets Dante to chuckle from behind me. “Obviously,” Enzo replies with a smile. Throwing his thumb over his shoulder, he asks, “What’s going on in there?”
Instantly, I sit up a little straighter and ask, “What do you mean?”
“They’re snuggled up like two peas in a pod on the couch in her office, doing something on her computer.”
Dante sighs heavily. “Enz, stop trying to start shit. They are not cuddled up like two peas in a pod.”
“Oh yeah? Then what do you call this?” Enzo whips out his phone, and a picture of Seb and Josephine fills his screen.
“Would you stop sneaking pictures of her? It’s fucking creepy.”
“Oh, don’t worry, D. I have pictures of you, too.” Enzo winks at him, and I can practically feel Dante roll his eyes. Meanwhile, I’m taking the phone from Enzo’s hand, studying the photo.
Joe’s sitting on the couch, high-heels kicked off, with her feet crossed underneath her. She’s got acoffee mug clutched between both hands, and her glasses are perched on her nose. Smiling, she leans into Seb as she studies something on her laptop screen that’s sitting on his lap. Except when I look at Seb, he’s not looking at the same thing she is. No, he’s looking right at her. And his expression is the same one he usually reserves for me. The one he wears when he’s trying to figure out what’s going on in my mind when even I can’t understand my own thoughts. It’s curiosity mixed with desire.
I wait for a wave of jealousy to crash through me at not only the fact that Sebastian was looking at her that way but also the fact that she seems so comfortable around him already. However, he’s always had that effect on people. Seb’s infectiously bright personality has the capability of attracting everyone in a room. But no matter how long I give it, the jealousy never comes. Instead, all I feel islonging. Because no matter how much I want to explore that with her, I can’t.
She’s my employee.
Vittori Enterprises needs her skills.
She can’t get too close.
The Horsemen still have so much work to do. Dangerous work.
I have Sebastian.
I have Dante and Enzo.
My life is complete.
Isn’t it?
“Want me to send you a copy of that, Amico?” My eyes snap up from the phone to find Enzo staring at me, brows raised, one side of his mouth tipped up as if he just read every thought that was rolling through my mind. Which he probably did. Has been able to since we were kids.
“He’s just running her through the company’s programs. The faster she gets integrated, the faster she can start cleaning up all of the imports and exports.”
“Speaking of which, Angelo’s shipment never got delivered.”
That pulls my attention away from whatever is going on in Josephine’s office. Angelo’s is a high-end jewelry shop that we own on the Upper West Side. It was about to go under about eight years ago when there was a fire, and Angelo losteverything. His insurance company dicked him around for months before denying his claim and refusing to pay for the pieces lost, not to mention the cost it would take to rebuild his shop. However, one look at his clientele base and the company books, and my dad knew that his shop was worth buying out. In just a few short months, my dad had the store rebuilt, and it was filled to the brim with new luxury pieces. Pieces that men and women across the New York elite are fighting tooth and nail to get their hands on. We may own the store, but Angelo gives everything he has to that place, and because of him, it runs beautifully. That’s how I know that if a shipment hasn’t shown up, it’s more than just a shipping error.
“How big was it?” I ask Enzo.
“Just a handful of small pieces, nothing more than a drop in the bucket, honestly.”
“Something you think we should keep an eye on?” I’m asking Enzo instead of deciding on my own, fully aware that he is more than capable of handling this.
“I don’t think it would hurt. If it’s something as simple as a missing shipment, fine, our shit’s insured anyway. But if it’s not, best be aware, yeah?”
“Agreed.”
Enzo nods in Dante’s direction, “Can you and Seb meet with the guys down at the port sometime in the next couple of days? Just make sure no one has their hands on shit they shouldn’t have?”
Dante quickly nods, always willing to do whatever is needed of him. “Sure can.”
“I’ll have Josephine check all of the paperwork once she gets settled in.”
