Page 21 of Ruin

“Like what?” The electricity between us is so palpable it feels like I could reach out and touch it.

“Like maybe you’re intimidated, nervous, angry. Or that you’re not listening.”

“I’m listening,” I say softly, and stroke her forearm with one finger, vowing never to take my eyes off her again.

“Information is not just power,” she says, clearing her throat. “It’s also currency. But it’s currency that changes in value. Shared with the right person at the right time, it can be invaluable. Share it too early, too late, or with the wrong person, and it can cost you.”

“What information will be useful in this case? I don’t know anything about this guy.”

She taps her nails on the table. “Find out. Background checks. Personal history. Stuff he doesn’t want you to know. Make use of the people your dad hires to dig into his enemies. If he’s this much of a prick to you, you know he has them.”

“Again, it doesn’t feel appropriate to bring criminal tactics into the straight world.”

She lets out a humorless laugh. “The so-called straight world is an illusion. Where there’s money and power, there’s no such thing as playing it straight. And when it comes to getting what you want, sometimes you have to take it before someone else does.”

“Really.” I can’t stop my gaze from dropping to her mouth again. “Just want to make sure I’m hearing this right: your advice, counselor, is to take what I want.”

She blushes, but she holds my gaze. “If you really want something, sometimes you have to just take it, Tommy.”

Her voice is low, husky, and it’s all I can do to stop myself from lunging across the table and doing exactly that. I want to taste her so badly, feel her, hear her moan my name—

“Just make sure he doesn’t see youcoming.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that some of the most ruthless people have the most charm, look great in a suit, know how to make everyone they talk to feel like the only person in the world.”

“I don’t know how to do that,” I say flatly.

She laughs. “Yes, you do, Tommy. You can be one of the most disarming people I know. The way you turn your voice into honey and make me do things I don’t want to do. The way you look at me sometimes like you only see me and no one else.”

I swallow hard. I didn’t realize I was that transparent. “That’s different.”

“It’s not, though. You can turn that on with anyone. You’re always you, Tommy, but charming camouflage will help you get everything you want and make everyone fall in love with you at the same time.”

I stare at her for a long minute, my jaw ticking. Is she implying that she’s in love with me? “Are you in camouflage, Giovanna?”

She gives a dry laugh. “Not with you.”

Not with me? With who then? Her parents? Tony?

She clears her throat. “It’s too bad it’s not a dinner. A meeting can be five minutes or it can be an hour, and it’s in his office, so he has the power. A dinner lasts longer, and you can pick the place and get there first, make it your territory.”

I nod slowly, mentally taking notes.

“What are you going to wear?” she asks.

I look down at what I’m wearing and then back up at her, raising an eyebrow.

A look of horror crosses her face. “No. If you’re at a party with a bunch of Demonio goons, you can wear this and holdall the power. But in a meeting, a man wearing a $5000 Zegna Couture suit will not respect jeans and a hoodie.”

Panic grips me. “I don’t have anything like that. The meeting is tonight.”

“Don’t freak out. I’m taking you shopping.”

“We don’t have time—”

“Relax. I’ve got you.”