Page 6 of His Beautiful Revenge
He waved away her sarcasm with his hand. “You know what I mean. You don’t have the high-pressure work that I do.”
Norah gritted her teeth. This was more like it. The affable, fun-loving boyfriend of this morning was gone and in his place, the egotistical douchebag who belittled her at every turn. Her eyes narrowed at him. “Why do you do that?”
“What?”
“Put me down? Does it make you feel like more of a man?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You don’t have the high-pressure work I do.” She mimicked him, knowing it annoyed him. “I run my own business, Lucian, and you think I don’t have pressure? Actually, I runtwobusinesses. So don’t give me that bullshit.”
Lucian looked astonished at her outburst. Finally, he started to smile. “Are you menstruating?”
Wanting to pound the smirk off his face, Norah got up. “I’m going to work.” She looked around for her phone, and realizing she’d left it upstairs, she headed out of the door.
Upstairs, she sat on the bed and took a deep breath in. Why was she so annoyed? Maybe becausethisis what Lucian did—he’d be playful, friendly when it suited him, and distant and dismissive when it didn’t. She was sick of it. She dropped her head in her hands. It was Saturday and she was glad that she had the bookstore to open. Maybe it would distract her. She grabbed her phone, then saw her pill packet next to the glass of water on her nightstand. God, she’d forgotten to take it this morning. Hurriedly, she swallowed it with some water.No, Lucian, I’m not on my period because I make sure I never have them. She didn’t question why she had always made absolutely sure she wouldn’t get pregnant …not with Lucian’s child. As she walked back downstairs, she asked herself the same question she had asked herself for a long time now …
Why the hell am I still with him?
Lucian heard her on the stairs and stuffed the envelope back into her bag. Conti-Tech. Giacomo Conti wanted to hire Norah. Coincidence? He didn’t think so. Norah came in and grabbed her bag, giving him a short, “See you later.” He grunted in reply, then when he heard the front door close, he pulled his cellphone out.
Tara’s greeting was a purr, but a few seconds later she was much less friendly. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“I’m talking aboutyourboyfriend hiringmygirlfriend. Does he know about us?”
“No, of course not. How could he?”
Lucian sighed. “I thought you said that friend of his might have seen us.”
“Carmel? That situation is being dealt with. Put it out of your mind.”
“How do you mean ‘dealt with?’”
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t think this thing with Giacomo and your girlfriend is anything to worry about. Didn’t you tell me she was an excellent graphic designer?”
“Well, yes …”
“Giacomo has a habit of nurturing new talent. He probably just sent out feelers to a whole slew of young up-and-comers. If we freak out about it …well, that’s just going to confirm issues.”
Lucian rubbed his eyes. “When can I see you?”
“Soon. As soon as this other situation is over with.” Tara’s voice warmed again. “I’ll miss you. I’ll miss your cock inside me, baby. I’ll miss sucking it …”
“God,” Lucian gave a moan of desire. “I want to cum inside you so hard, beautiful …”
She laughed softly. “I’ll be thinking about you …”
Norah read and re-read Giacomo Conti’s letter. She showed it to an impressed Zulika, whose eyes bugged out of their sockets. “Wow. I mean,wow, Norah.”
“I know, right?”
It was late afternoon and the bookstore was quiet for once. Norah couldn’t resist telling Zulika about the letter. Zulika read Giacomo’s handwritten letter and sighed. “Even his handwriting is sexy.”
“He’s sexy?” Norah looked confused. She’d never seen the man himself. Zulika rolled her eyes.
“Just occasionally,” she teased, “Check out some gossip sites instead of your usual geeky ones. Here,” she grabbed her iPad and quickly brought up some photos. She handed it to Norah, who did a double-take.
“Holymoly.” She looked into the intense green eyes and dark good looks of Giacomo Conti. “I thought he was much older.”
