Page 51 of The Apprentice
“Can we talk?” I didn’t wait for him to respond. I pushed past him. The guards must’ve reacted because when I spun around, Conall had raised his hand at someone outside the room, then closed the door.
He frowned at me. “Okay. Are you here to look through my drawers again? Let me tell you, that might get weird because they’re Sloan’s drawers, too. Have you ever wondered what kind of underwear your uncle wears? You’ll find out if you go snooping.”
Ah, a joke eight years in the making.
I would’ve mentioned how long it’d been since then if I wasn’t wincing with a shame I didn’t expect to ever feel. I’d always thought I would hate Conall, and while the jealousy still lingered, it didn’t revolve so much around Sloan’s pet anymore. It was easier to like Conall andhateVail and Lor. I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry.”
He cupped a hand behind his ear and leaned forward. “What did you say? I didn’t catch that.”
I huffed and crossed my arms. “I’m not saying it again.”
He smirked, his nose wrinkling a bit. “Oh, you will because you want something, and I’m not going to help you until you say what you just said louder.”
Fuck. I dropped my chin in defeat. The bastard knew he had me by the balls. Biting down hard on my bottom lip, I took a few short moments to ponder my options before realizing I truly had none. I sighed and finally raised my gaze to Conall again. “Fine. I. Am. Sorry. I was an ass.”
“You still are.” He grinned and shifted forward, bare feet padding across the thick carpet. “Luckily, I like that about you.”
“You do?” I stared at him. He was joking, right?
His mouth quirked into a small smile, and he gestured for me to follow him over to a small sitting area near the window, right behind a feature wall with a stone fireplace. He sat on the wide windowsill, stretching his legs along the ledge, while I took a comfy gray leather armchair. He’d changed up the style since moving into Sloan’s room many,manyyears ago. The area itself was elegant, and they had the biggest bedroom in the house. It had plenty of light, with floor-to-ceiling windows, except for the nook that Conall had added to go with his sitting area.
“Believe it or not, yeah, I do like you, Fionn. You’re a good guy, and behind that obnoxious exterior is a man who’s loyal to Sloan and worries about his safety. I can respect that because I do, too.”
“Oh.” I shifted uncomfortably.
“Anyway, forget it. What do you want?” He relaxed and bent his knees while curling his arms around his stomach.
“Uh.” All the confidence I’d had coming in here evaporated, and now I felt stupid. My cheeks heated, and I scratched the back of my neck. “I was wondering if you know Michele Scotti? He’s Matteo’s brother.”
Conall’s eyebrows rose high on his forehead. “The same Michele who flirted with you at the club? I heard the men talking before you put a stop to it.”
I sighed. “Yeah. Listen, what happened between Daire and I?—”
“Is none of my business.” He shrugged. “You’re an adult. You can do what you want.” He smiled smugly. “And if you want to change it up to get some sexy Italian cock, that’s your choice, as long as it doesn’t affect the Company.”
“It won’t.” I sat up straighter. “I just want his number, and maybe to talk to him.”
“Phone sex?” He winked.
I held in a groan and wrung my hands together. “Maybe? I don’t know.”
Conall laughed. “You don’t need to be embarrassed. I mean, you see me and Sloan fuck all the time.”
“How do you do that?” I asked seriously, eyebrows furrowed. “In front of everyone? Isn’t that... weird?”
He pursed his lips in thought and hummed before finally shaking his head. “At first it was a lot to handle, but I think it’s hot now. I like people knowing I belong to Sloan. I want them to watch us and know Sloan’s mine and he’ll only fuck me from now on, you know?”
I didn’t know, but I nodded anyway. Conall and I had very different ideas of what was sexy. “So, uh... would you happen to have Michele’s number?”
He snorted and tapped his foot on the sill. “No. Can you imagine me having an insignificant man’s number like that? Sloan would lose his shit, and Michele wouldn’t be alive.”
“Oh.” Disappointment twisted in my gut and my shoulders slumped. After another conversation with Daire that had left me hot and horny and ready to be fucked—yet also gutted and alone because he didn’t want to kiss me in public—I’d decided nothing with him would change. I needed a man who wasn’t afraid to want me and be with me. Michele had been that person.
Conall chuckled. “But, I know someone who might. Give me a sec.” He jumped to his feet and flounced over to the bed. Grabbing his phone off the mattress, he waved it at me. “I was playing a game when you knocked.Chapters. Have you ever played it? That shit is addicting. It’s an app where....” He broke off and laughed as he headed back to the windowsill and took hisformer position. “Never mind. You don’t want to start it, trust me.”
I squinted at him, not quite sure what to say. I didn’t think I had any games on my phone other than the kind that involved math equations, and I was positiveChapterswasn’t one of those.
Conall unlocked his phone and played with it for a second before he held it up to his ear. After a moment, he smiled. “Ardan, I called Mancini’s phone.” He pulled the phone away and hit a button, switching it to speakerphone. The grunting in the background gave me an idea of what was happening.
