Page 69 of Fixate
He was quiet in that way, making himself nearly invisible. And I almost regretted that he saw the entire exchange because for as much as I knew him, he knew me as well.
He knew that I had never been that way with Stasia.
He knew that I was the type who preferred submissive partners.
And he knew that I had just brought in someone new to help with the other side of my work.
Though Ricardo had been involved in the casinos as well, he had not met Dario yet.
“Is he the one from the Romano camp?”
I nodded.
“And you've known him for years?” Dario questioned.
“I have. We've met multiple times on and off. Dante was his boss for a very long time and now I am.”
“Is that all you are?”
At the question. I tilted my head. “Why do you ask?”
His eyes cut to the side, a sure sign he was about to lie.
“I don't know,” he said.
I leaned forward. After having relaxed for the call, the position put me back into a pose designed to intimidate. I pressed my hands together.
Part of me wanted to reach out to my cousin to show him that I was here for him no matter what he was going through. But I also knew that he wouldn't appreciate it.
For as much as Ricardo was confused about his sexuality and what he wanted, I believed Dario to be much worse off. If there was a single way to describe it, I would say he was touched starved.
My cousin hated physical contact in all forms, whether it be affection, intimate relationships, or even friendly gestures. He would lose his cool the instant his body came in contact with anyone else's.
I had theories about why this was.
Maybe one day he’d feel safe enough to tell me the history of it all. Until then, I worked within the restraints and guides he'd set.
I would respect his boundaries because I cared for him.
“I think you do know, Dario. Let’s call it a feeling.”
He shook his head quickly, then turned back to me. His soft gaze from before had turned back into business mode.
"I want to show you something else," he said quickly.
He extended a flash drive to me then stood to stand behind me — far enough away there was no chance of us touching, but close enough to direct me to where I needed to go.
When I opened the document he wanted, it was a spreadsheet full of numbers and data. It was completely unlabeled, which left me confused as hell.
"Care to tell me what I'm looking at?"
"The potential of growth," he said. "Once I noticed that the money wasn't the way it should be, I realized we were depending far too much on the revenue from your Lyon Enterprises investments to function on their own. I believe we should extend your portfolio."
I hummed softly as I went over the numbers.
"Move on to other things. These are just a few ideas I had. If we could get businesses or projects to meet these margins, we'll be good to go,” he added when I didn’t continue.
I turned in my chair slightly, careful not to spin around fully. I didn't want to crowd him.
