*
Gio paced his home office in his Upper West Side penthouse apartment. He’d brought work home with him, but it was still tucked, untouched, in his briefcase. Although he notoriously worked late, he’d thought a different location would help clear his head.
So far, it wasn’t helping.
He couldn’t concentrate. He groaned as he remembered what he’d said to Julia in the café. She brought out a possessive side of him he hadn’t known he had. He’d wanted to rip her away from the security guards when he’d seen her laughing with them.
He told himself to keep walking. It was none of his business who she spoke to, who she laughed with, unless it affected her job performance. Even then, he wouldn’t normally have wasted his time by getting involved. He would’ve mentioned it to Rena and she would’ve sent an email to the head of the security department.
He had never imagined himself as the type of man who would proclaim he was uncomfortable with any woman’s relationship with her coworkers; like some jealous boyfriend.
And that’s what made Julia dangerous.
He wasn’t himself around her.
I should just fuck her and get it over with.
Nothing breeds contempt better than familiarity. By trying to deny whatever this is, I’m giving it an artificial importance.
For all I know she lives with someone. She may have dated half the men at Cogent while I was away. That possibility alone should be enough to keep me away from her. Getting involved with Julia could get complicated. He didn’t do complicated.
He opened the doors to his balcony and stepped outside, hoping the fresh air would return some of his sanity. As he looked over the skyline of the city, he wondered if what he felt for Julia was merely a side effect of how he’d been feeling lately.
A few months ago, if someone had asked him how he felt about his life he would have said he was comfortable with where he was and what he was doing. His business was thriving. Any drama that had existed within his family was in the distant past. His social life was full, even if it was unexciting when compared to his brother Nick’s.
Unfortunately he had made the mistake of attending a summer function with the side of his family he normally avoided. Seeing his uncles again had rekindled memories of betrayal. And, much like with Julia, he didn’t like how those old emotions threatened the calm he had worked so hard to achieve.
Every time Madison Andrade contacted him, he was reminded of how fake that side of the family was. His uncles often spoke of love and family loyalty, but when he and his brothers had needed them the most, they had proven how hypocritical and self-serving they were. He wouldn’t be fooled by them twice.
Maybe it’s time for me to take a page out of my brother’s book and do something I want to do.
Or, rather, someone I want to do.
A little complication might be just the distraction I’m looking for.
Chapter Six
A few days later, Julia checked the messages on her phone from the window seat on a public bus. She wasn’t worried about missing her stop since she knew the route well. This was a ride she took as many days as she could. Down to the Diamond District with her bag that doubled as a display case for her jewelry.
Her phone rang.
“Julia.” Her father’s ever-cheerful voice rang clear across the miles. “What are you up to today?”
She smiled into the phone. “The usual. I try to pitch to one new jewelry store each day.”
“You must be a pro by now.”
“Or something,” she said with some irony. She didn’t know if she was getting better at pitching her jewelry, but she was definitely becoming more experienced doing it.
“I am so proud of you.”
“Thanks, Dad. Eventually one of the stores is going to buy my line. Or, I will have the dubious title of being one of the few people who has met every single jeweler in New York City.”
“Just be yourself, Julia. That’s the best sales pitch.”
“I’m not sure I should take advice from someone Mom used to hide from customers.”
“That’s only because when they asked me for my opinion I would give them my honest answer. Your mother is much more diplomatic than I am.”
“How is she?”
Her father was quiet for a moment. “She had a good day yesterday. I took her to the ocean. Do you remember the beach she always took you to when you were little? The one with the abandoned stone building next to it? You used to picnic in front of it. Then you always begged her to take you inside. She’d tell you that it wasn’t a good idea, but the two of you would go in anyway. She told me it was your fault. You used to pretend you knew the last owners and would insist that you’d promised you would take care of their old place. Your mother always did have a weak spot for dreamers.”
“She told you that yesterday?”
“No, honey, she didn’t remember the place.”
Julia bit her lip and looked sadly down at her lap. For just a moment, she had let herself believe in what she knew was impossible. “I thought you said she was doing much better on her new medication.”
Her father’s tone was gentle. “She is. We had a good day together. That’s what’s important right now. She’s happy. That’s all I care about. I want that for you too, Julia. Whether it’s in New York or here with us . . . whether you sell every piece of jewelry you make, or you discover you want something else entirely, it doesn’t matter. Just find something that makes you happy.”
The bus began to fill and a woman sat down in the seat next to Julia. The glare the woman gave her was a not-so-subtle hint to end the call. “I have to go, Dad. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Julia was about to return her phone to her purse when it rang again. “Did you forget something?” she asked with a laugh.
“Julia,” a familiar male voice said, sending instant shivers of desire through her.
“Mr. Andrade?”
“Call me Gio. I need to see you tonight.”
“About my job?”
“No,” he said simply, and Julia felt her face warm with embarrassment.
“I work the overnight shift,” she said and turned her face toward the window of the bus.
“I’m sure your boss will understand if you call in sick.”
Julia chewed her bottom lip, then said, “This isn’t a good idea.”
“No, it’s a very, very bad idea, but one I hope you find as irresistible as I do. Say yes, Julia.”
And there it was—confirmation of the desire she thought she’d seen in his eyes. Her body clamored in response to the knowledge that their attraction was mutual. Perhaps because she was fresh from speaking with her family, but his offer—although tempting—was one that she knew she had to refuse. “I can’t.” She grasped at a reason. “I don’t like to call in. I would feel too guilty to enjoy myself.”
“Tomorrow night then.”
“I’m scheduled every night straight through the weekend.”