Page 8 of His Beautiful Revenge
“No.”
“Then why don’t you leave?”
She didn’t answer, merely pulling her hand away. As she turned to leave, he saw, just for a moment, a flash of hurt in her eyes.
“Tara …”
“Don’t,” she said, her voice quivering, and disappeared back into the apartment. Giacomo felt like a heel, but told himself he’d done nothing wrong.You’re not the one who is cheating.
“Not yet,” he said, thinking of Norah Reddy’s pink lips and sweet smile. “Not yet.” He dropped his head into his hands and sighed.
Che cazzo di casino.What a fucking mess.
Norah straightened her skirt over her hips and wished she had another suit. As a graphic designer, she’d always been casually, if professionally, dressed, but otherwise she was hardly ever out of jeans and Chuck Taylor’s. She felt awkward in the dark red suit, but as soon as Giacomo Conti entered the room, she forgot everything else. The photograph on the website did not do him justice.
He shook her hand, his large, warm hand dwarfing hers, and led her into his office. His very cute assistant, Sebastien, grinned at her.
“Would you like some coffee?”
“Just water, please,” she managed to croak out at him and he gave a reassuring wink.
“Jack, for you?”
Giacomo smiled and Norah felt her stomach flip. God …thatsmile.“Water’s good for me too. Thanks, Seb.”
“He’s nice,” Norah said after Seb had gone and Giacomo smiled.
“He is, and very efficient. I got lucky. Now, I want to thank you for coming to see me, Norah—I can call you Norah, yes?”
Oh, god, yes. Especially with the accent.“Of course, Mr. Conti.”
He laughed. “And that’s “Jack” to you. I hate standing on formality.”
Norah relaxed a little. “Me too.”
“Good. Now, as I said in my letter, we have a number of new projects in the pipeline and I was impressed with your portfolio.”
Norah nodded. “And thank you for taking the time to look, but, Mr. Conti, I have to tell you from the off: I’ve never worked a major project before. Not that I wouldn’t welcome the chance to work with you, but I have to be honest. It would be a huge step-up for me.”
“I appreciate that,” Giacomo—Jack, she reminded herself—said as Seb came in with their drinks. “Then, I suppose, think of this as graduation day.” He grinned at Seb, who rolled his eyes.
“That’s his favorite saying,” Seb said to Norah in a stage-whisper and she chuckled.
“It is?”
Giacomo nodded. “Yes, but it’s also true. Norah, Seb’s right in that I do like to nurture new talent, especially from the Bay Area, but it helps when that talent has new, fresh, exciting ideas …and your portfolio shows me how talented you are.”
Seb made a loud beeping noise. “Too many uses of the word ‘talent.’ You’re out.”
“You’re fired,” Giacomo shot back, grinning, as Seb made his exit, laughing out loud. Norah was shaking her head in disbelief at the comedy show.
“I may be out of line, but I’ve never been in an office like this,” she laughed and Giacomo smiled at her.
“Like I said, I hate formality. Or hierarchies. God, who gets off on power trips? Never a good way to run a business.”
Norah liked this man –immensely—not just because his green eyes were beautiful and warm or because his smile was making a steady pulse beat between her legs, but because, if nothing else, he was honest. Rich, handsome, the world at his feet, but he made jokes with his employees and took their teasing with good humor.Yeah, you’re a good one,Norah thought and felt sadness that she didn’t know more men like him.
“Are you okay?”
