Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
A knock sounded at my door, and I could tell by the softness of the tentative tap that it wasn’t Dante, so I pulled the door open with a smile. “Lena. What’s up?”
She looked left and then right before she leaned in and giggled. “You want to have dinner with us Lucy?”
Yes. “That is a very kind invitation, but I think you should enjoy dinner with your father before the week starts and he gets busy again. Don’t forget to tell him how much you’ll miss him and how much you love how hard he works for you.” I spread my mouth into what I hoped was a believable smile and ruffled her hair. “Did you have a good weekend?”
“I did. Daddy took me to a puppet play and to a very fancy dinner. I got to dress up and it was so much fun!”
“That’s great to hear, Lena. I’m so happy for you.” Spending time with her father was good for her, especially since they were all each other had in the world. I would have given anything to have even a fraction of the attention from both of my parents that Dante managed as a single parent. “Don’t forget to wash your hands before dinner!”
“I won’t,” she replied with a small smile before she ran off down the stairs and back to her father.
I smiled and shook my head before I closed the door and got back to putting my clean clothes away. I had seen Dante for a few moments when I first arrived and we hadn’t exchange any words, not even a simple polite greeting. In fact, we hadn’t said anything to each other in more than a week and it was both gratifying and torturous. It was the only way to move forward without things getting messy, no matter how awkward it was.
No matter how much it hurt.
It won’t hurt forever, I reminded myself before I stepped into a steaming hot shower. The water pounded against my aching muscles and the steam opened my pores, relaxing me until I felt calm and thoughts of Dante no longer interrupted perfectly reasonable thoughts of everything else. Feeling refreshed and mostly ready to face the week, I stepped out of the shower and into the steamy bathroom with a half-smile on my face. I took my time as I applied leave-in conditioner to my hair, moisturizer on my skin and slipped into a pair of comfortable cotton pajamas.
Sometime after ten o’clock another knock sounded on the door, and this time I knew it was Dante. I inhaled a deep breath and let it out for as long as I could, steeling myself for an interaction with my boss. With another breath to strengthen my resolve, I gripped the doorknob and turned it slowly.
“Yes?” I ignored how good Dante looked, even in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that clung to his sculpted muscles.
“Lucy.” He opened his mouth and closed it, almost as if he was at a loss for words, something I was sure felt foreign to a man like Dante. “I think we should talk.”
I folded my arms in an unconsciously protective gesture. “I don’t think that’s necessary. Is there anything I need to know about Lena?” Talking about what he said wouldn’t solve anything, which meant it was pointless.
“Ah, no,” he grunted with a sheepish grin. “I owe you an apology.”
I shook my head and took a step back as if I could put some distance between me and whatever words he felt he needed to say. “No, you don’t.”
“I do.” He stepped forward until he was inside my room and closed the door behind him. “I’m sorry that I was such an asshole the other day. I have no excuse, not for how I spoke to you or what I said, and, well I’m sorry.”
“Fine,” I stepped back again. “Apology accepted.” The words didn’t make me feel better, but I knew they wouldn’t, so I slapped a smile on my face and nodded, pretending that his apology fixed everything.
“You don’t mean that.” His expression was serious, his body one tightly coiled mass of muscles and tension. “Dammit Lucy, what can I do?”
I sighed wearily. “What does it matter, Dante? You don’t care, you just don’t want things to be awkward.”
“Damn right I don’t!” His words rolled across the room and I wrapped my arms around myself.
With as much calm as I could muster, I nodded. “Things aren’t awkward Dante, they’re exactly as they should be. Professionally distant. We don’t need to be friendly or share meals. We have one shared goal, and that’s Lena’s education and well-being, so that is what we need to focus on. Nothing else.”
“And if I can’t?”
I smiled though it didn’t reach my eyes. “You can, and if you can’t, then remember that I’m looking to trade up to someone richer than you. That should make things easy.”