Page 58 of The Apprentice
I couldn’t stop pacing the foyer hours after I’d given Sloan a rundown of the meeting. My fingers itched, and it felt like ants were crawling under my skin. I burned to go back to the Folliero brownstone, strangle Michele Scotti, and bury his body with all the others I’d killed for Sloan. But, this wouldn’t be for the boss. No, this murder would be for me.
“Problem?” Conall’s smug tone caused me to freeze and glance over my shoulder. He stood on the stairs that led up to the second floor, leaning his elbow on the polished black railing.
I cleared my throat. “No, sir.”
“Really?” The tone stiffened my spine. There was an underlining danger in Conall’s voice I hadn’t really heard from him. After a few moments, his mouth curved into a smirk. “Your mood doesn’t have anything to do with Fionn going on a date with a certain Italian, does it?”
I swallowed and gripped my hands behind my back to stop him from seeing them clench into fists. “I worry that Scotti isn’t good enough for him.”
“Who is then? You?” He pushed off from the railing and moved down the last few steps to the foyer before he strode toward me. He stopped mere inches away. “From what I heard, you’ve been leading him on for years. Maybe he deserves a man who’ll give him what he needs.”
“You don’t know the full story.” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“Does Fionn?” He smirked when I didn’t answer immediately. “Does Sloan?”
I stiffened. “No. Sloan’s my friend and boss, but there’s things he doesn’t need to worry about. If you tell him?—”
“I promised Fionn I wouldn’t. That’s theonlyreason I haven’t.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “But Ipromise youI will do everything in my power to get Fionn the perfect man. From what I heard, you’re not it.”
I stared at him for a long moment, and the last remaining threads of control I held on to slipped away from me. “I am. Fionn belongs to me.”
Conall’s smirk widened and he poked my chest. “Then stop being a little bitch. Do something about it. You’re going to need to grovel, Daire, because he’s done with your mind games. He wants arelationship, not a fuck buddy.”
“He was never a game to me,” I snapped in a way I shouldn’t to the boss’s pet.
He snorted and leaned in closer. “You better do something now or you’ll lose him forever. Don’t be a coward. Grow some balls.”
I gritted my teeth but didn’t leave. It was the wrong move to go anywhere near Fionn, but my heart demanded something different because it wanted what it couldn’t have. If I said it out loud, I might consider my reasoning to be stupid, but I’d done everything I was supposed to my entire life. I’d kept my familyafloat when Aodhan had gone off to do something reckless. Following my brain over my heart kept me alive.
“What’s going on?” Sloan came walking down the hallway to the left of the grand staircase, his suit jacket missing, leaving him in his white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows and black pants. He looked good, but there was never a time when Sloan didn’t. I had grown up listening to men and women swoon over my best friend.
Sloan walked over to Conall, who tilted his head back to receive the kiss Sloan dropped on his lips.
Conall smirked. “Daire and I were just talking about taking what we want.”
“Really?” Sloan’s ocean blue eyes slid from me back to him. “And what do you want, pet?”
Conall made a show of slowly licking his upper lip as he raised a hand to play with his collar. “I think you know what, Boss.”
Sloan slid a thumb over his mouth, chasing after his tongue, and Conall grinned, playfully nipping at Sloan’s finger. “Hm. You’re a tease. What am I going to do with you?”
Conall’s gaze went back to me. “Take whatyouwant. We all know what it is. Otherwise, someone else might get it instead.”
Even though he was clearly talking to Sloan, I was also aware his infuriating advice was directed at me, too. If Sloan noticed Conall pointing the words at me, he didn’t say anything as he grabbed Conall and lifted him up against his chest. Conall laughed and wrapped his legs around Sloan’s waist, arms around Sloan’s neck.
“No one gets you but me, pet.” Sloan’s voice came out as a growl, and then he slammed his mouth against Conall’s. Their kiss was intense, and Sloan used his grip on Conall’s ass to keep his pet pressed against him.
My desire for Fionn swirled deep in my stomach.
Something snapped inside me as I watched Sloan walk off with Conall in his arms. Throwing aside every rational thought I’d had in my head, I stalked up the stairs. The few guards I passed gave me suspicious stares before averting their eyes. There were certain people they couldn’t question—I was one of them.
I only got halfway down the hall toward Fionn’s room when he slipped out the door, dressed in a way that had my mouth watering. The jeans melded with his long legs and ass, showing off every curve he had, while his shirt was the tightest I’d ever seen on him. The black material clung to his sinewy torso, and as he turned toward me, I lost my breath and came to an abrupt halt.
He squared his shoulders and stormed toward me until he was in my face. “Move.”
“No.” I gritted my teeth and crossed my arms. “You’re being ridiculous, boy.”
“Me? Ridiculous?” He laughed and mirrored me by folding his arms. His eyes flashed with a rage unlike anything I’d seen from him. “Move, Daire, or I’ll make you.”
