Page 17 of Bastard Prince
Leaving D’Andre to finish his English Lit discussion in peace, I headed back to the main floor, stopping by Lexi’s work station to find her once again tipped back in her chair, feet up and typing a million miles an hour. Not wanting to disturb her, I gave her a simple chin lift and continued on my way to the door at the back, this time stopping in the boardroom and taking a seat at the table where only a week ago Julien had attempted to intimidate me with insults and condescending looks.
Asshole.
Finding my purse where I had left it earlier, I pulled out my phone and sent a text to my brother, making sure he was okay. I had hated to leave him, but he and I both thought it was best that no one else knew he was here. It was bad enough that Eric was aware, but with the price on the De Marco name, I wanted the world to go on thinking Antonio was already dead.
Because there was absolutely no way I would survive losing him a second time.
He responded quickly, letting me know that he was more than happy eating Enzo’s food and taking advantage of his air-conditioned home theater room, which honestly didn’t surprise me. I felt a rush of warmth flutter through my chest at the realization that, while it felt like a lifetime had passed since Antonio and I were separated, some things hadn’t changed a bit.
Switching phones, my next task was checking in with Sway. He had kept up a steady stream of texts over the weekend, everything from photos of drug deals taking place to the results of street corner fist fights, and overall I was more than happy with his information. While he was the only one who had sent me anything so far, I appreciated it greatly. It may have seemed like inconsequential stuff, but his texts had let me know which groups worked where, who was loyal to whom, and what offenses they thought were worth throwing down over. It was all important information to build a network on.
I praised every one of his contributions, no matter how bizarre, which he responded to with an ever-increasing list of ridiculous gifs and memes, but I also sent him the cash, for which I got a‘thx’in response.
Simple, yet it felt genuine.
There had been one text earlier today that had intrigued me more than the others, and that was a single line that read ‘DB in the 101’followed by a pirate emoji. It was confusing, but I hadn’t asked him to elaborate, instead just chuckling at the adorable insanity that was emoji culture.
What awaited me now, however, were the results of the science test Sway had taken on Friday. At first glance, it appeared to be an exam on the way light waves and sound waves functioned. Honestly, I had no idea what the answers were, but he had proudly underlined the grade of sixty-one percent. Of course, I didn’t really know what his previous test scores were, but this wasn’t half bad. Smiling to myself, I forwarded him the sixty-one dollars which was immediately followed by Sway sending a gif of a guy with a mullet saying ‘Dolla, dolla bills, y’all’ while making it rain.
I snorted, shaking my head, and slid my phone away, looking up as Lexi and Enzo entered the room, deep in some intense conversation.
“I don’t care what you have to do, Alexis,” Enzo growled, glowering at his phone screen, neither of them noticing me sitting at the conference table. “Set whatever kind of trap you have to. We are catching that rat, no matter what it takes.”
“I’m on it, bossman.”
“You have a rat?” I asked, causing both of them to whip their eyes to me, startled looks on their faces.
After a beat, Enzo smirked, attempting to look relaxed.
“Maybe you’ve seen her?” Lexi offered, sitting down beside me at the table. “Tall, skeletal, dresses like a mid-range hooker.”
“Ah.” So, Lexi was on an Amber hunt. Interesting. “I hadn’t heard that she had gone missing.”
“Nothing you need to worry about, babe.” He sent a significant look toward Lexi who ducked her head guiltily. I arched an eyebrow, but said nothing. “What are you working on?”
Allowing him the change of subject—but filing my questions away for later—I smiled and said, “Oh, just moving some money around.” There; I could make cryptic comments too.
Enzo frowned, opening his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word, the door burst open again, admitting a flustered looking Honey into the room.
“Oh,” she said, freezing in an almost comical imitation of Lex and Enzo from a moment ago. “I, uh, didn’t know anyone was in here.”
“It’s fine, Honey,” Enzo said, and I watched as Honey blushed, her creamy skin displaying her every emotion, whether she liked it or not. “Did you need something?”
“No,” she hedged, glancing at her phone. “I just, um...” Honey shifted from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable. “It’s nothing, Mr. Argenti, I swear.” Her eyes darted from Enzo to Lexi, then back again. “I just needed a quick break. I’ll be back on the floor shortly.”
Sensing something was up, I placed my hand on Enzo’s arm. “Can you give us girls a minute?”
He looked at me questioningly, then turned back to Honey with a gentle smile. “Of course. I have some calls to make.” He moved around the table, coming to stand next to my chair, then gently gripped my chin between his thumb and finger before placing a quick and possessive kiss on my mouth. “Come get me when you ladies are finished, and we’ll grab a late lunch before we head home. Alright, babe?”
Then, without waiting for my answer, he turned and strode once again into the inner office.
The minute the door closed behind him, Lexi let out a breath. “It’s so weird to see him like that.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“Being...” she waved her hand vaguely. “Committed.”
“I think he was being romantic,” Honey added with a wistful sigh.
