Page 49 of Scorned Beauty (Scorned Fate #5)

Chapter

Thirty-One

Dom

Me

Well?

Bianca

Well, what?

Can I meet you girls somewhere now?

Well…

It was three days before the gala. Sera created a girls chat called Sloane Makeover, which I insisted to be included on.

I was sitting in Jabbin’ Java having my third double espresso.

Did I have other boss things to do? Yes.

Did I feel like doing them? No. I was a love-sick fool, craving a crumb of attention from the girl I’d once rejected.

And my cousins gatekeeping Sloane was wearing on me.

It was also fear. I acknowledged now that one of the reasons I kept Sloane to myself was because her beauty would eclipse everyone beside her.

Hell, she deliberately downplayed her looks to avoid attention.

My cousins and sister were determined to unleash her beauty in a Sloane tsunami.

I was determined not to be ignored.

Me

I was supposed to accompany Sloane to her fitting.

Bianca

You can’t see her dress.

Why? It’s not a wedding dress

She wants to surprise you.

I didn’t respond, but that appeased me a bit. Surprise me? A smile formed on my lips. Maybe she really was warming up to me. I remembered during the last movie night, she was making those sexy noises in her sleep. I was so fucking hard, I couldn’t concentrate on the film at all.

But then Bianca’s next words disabused me of my notions.

After all, you’re paying for it.

I found out the girls scheduled a spa day for tomorrow and charged it to my account.

If Sloane thought treating the girls on my dime was going to turn me off, then she was wrong.

Others would see Sloane as a gold digger, but I knew what was in her heart.

Money meant nothing to her other than a means to take care of people she’d let into her heart.

Billy had let her down, but the revelation of what led to her brother’s self-destruction was helping her heal.

This new information about how Vivienne Tomlin damaged Sloane’s self-worth was another hurdle to overcome.

Entitled people like me, who’d been born into power and money, who’d assigned her to a corner and limited the success she deserved, were the ones undeserving of her.

But as Sloane battled her demons, which included what I’d done to her, I was determined to be the last man standing.

Me

What about lunch?

Sera

We’re thinking of having makeovers first.

Aren’t you going to the spa tomorrow?

Lucy

Since Sloane is liberal with your card, we added haircuts and makeup.

I’m surprised Ma let you go to the fitting by yourself.

She magically had a last-minute meeting about the gala.

I bet Margo had something to do with it.

What salon are you girls going to?

No response.

I waited for five minutes.

Hello?

What the fuck. There were eight people on this chat, including me, and no one was answering.

“Oh my God, that’s gorgeous,” Liz exclaimed from the coffee bar. She was sharing her screen with Renz.

Suspicious, I slid out from the booth and walked over to them. Liz glanced up from her phone and pressed the screen to her chest.

Narrowing my eyes, I growled, “Is that Sloane’s dress?”

“You’re not supposed to see it, remember?” Liz said with the snarkiest tone I’d ever heard from her.

Renz shook his head and chuckled. “Another espresso?”

“At this point, I don’t need more caffeine. Water would be good.”

Me

Did you girls form another group chat?

Liz burst out laughing.

I glared at her. This was nothing new. Depending on who was the current annoying one in the family, micro-chats were created to exclude that person.

Never mind. I have my answer. You all have no loyalty.

Firecat

I’ll make it worth your while.

My breathing faltered when she responded. She’d been quiet throughout this text exchange.

“Here you go.” Renz put the glass of water in front of me. I thanked him distractedly and continued texting Sloane while I had her attention.

Are you enjoying yourself?

Very much.

Which salon are you girls going to?

There was a long pause before Liz started laughing again.

I glared at her. “Are they preventing Sloane from responding?”

Liz did a zipper gesture across her mouth.

I glowered at Renz. “Your wife is colluding against me.”

“I’m just a spectator,” Liz defended herself. “It’s kind of cute seeing you all worked up.”

Bianca

Leave Liz alone.

Me

Tell me where you girls are going. I’ll bring lunch. Anything you want. A full caviar service. Cocktails?

Sera

Hmmm…

@S.Scott Don’t cut too short!

Bianca

You’re not the boss of her.

“Argh.” I furiously tapped on the phone.

You removed B.Rossi from the chat.

“Seriously?” Liz laughed.

Renz glanced over her shoulder and a rough chuckle gusted past his lips. “You’re starting a war, cuz.”

S.DeLucci added B.Rossi to the chat.

Sera

@D.DeLucci, don’t do that again, or we’re blocking you.

Bianca

Sera

@B.Rossi, stop riling him up.

The women might have found out a way to block me from tracking them, and if I wasn’t heartsick over Sloane, I would have figured it out sooner.

Not that any of my cousins or Sandro would help me.

I tried Trevor, but he was the one who instigated the block.

And since Matteo outranked me in the Archer Syndicate, his orders took precedence.

I waited until I got confirmation that the women were about to leave for the salon.

There was one person who wouldn’t play along with this shit.

I shot off a text to Luca.

Me

Can you find Sera’s location?

Luca

***

I gritted my teeth. This was embarrassing enough.

The women are going to a salon, and Sera had Trevor block me from tracking them.

Fifth Avenue. Royale salon.

Owe you.

I’m helping you because if Natalya had blocked her location, it would piss me off too. This is a childish game.

Sighing, I texted back.

Me

Agreed. But can’t say I didn’t deserve it.

Luca

You’re a boss. Act like one.

That should have stung, but it didn’t. Anything for Sloane. Nothing mattered, even my pride.

None of the women are under the De Lucci crime family umbrella. They don’t answer to me.

Use your judgment, then. But fix your shit with Sloane.

Yeah, Ma told me Moretti men always fuck up, so I probably shouldn’t take relationship advice from you.

She did, did she?

Luca didn’t answer for a few seconds, so I shot him another text.

Don’t go ratting me out, Zio. The women are trying to hide from Ma.

Fine.

Bubbles appeared and disappeared. Finally, another text came.

It would be amusing to witness your groveling firsthand, but I fear when Natalya sees it, she will think she didn’t make me grovel enough.

I laughed. Luca wouldn’t care to admit such a thing in text, but I had a feeling I had his approval anyway with whatever path I took.

An hour later, I found street parking by the salon. I’d already called ahead of time to make sure that they could accommodate my request.

When I rounded the building, I spotted Matteo and Nico heading the same way. What the fuck?

Matteo smirked at me. “Looks like you found them.”

I’d been ignoring the text messages after Luca’s, so I checked my phone to see a slew of heart and drooling emoji messages thanking me for the lunch spread.

When it came to the women in my family, being pampered with food was the way to their hearts.

It didn’t have to be the five-star meal I just planned, it just had to show that it took effort.

In a way, Ma had trained me well. Money could buy many things, but it couldn’t replace the thoughtfulness that came from the heart.

And this was from the heart. I wanted to spoil Sloane with everything she deserved.

Nico clapped my back. “Looks like someone is obsessed.”

I didn’t deny it. I simply opened the door for them to walk in. “Since I’m paying for lunch, maybe back me up a bit, yeah?”

The fuckers had the gall to laugh.

The receptionist of the salon greeted us.

She was tongue-tied for a while, which was usually the case when women saw the De Lucci men traveling in packs.

Thank fuck Sandro and Luca weren’t around.

I wanted the focus to be on the women. Although the way some of the staff were tittering behind their palms was telling.

Not surprisingly, only one woman’s opinion mattered to me.

“The lunch spread you ordered is being set up in the Camelot room,” the receptionist said.

“Where’s Sloane?”

“Miss Scott is with Mrs. De Lucci and the others in the Corinthian room. Also, Mrs. Rossi requested the guys wait at the Camelot room where lunch is being set up.”

“I don’t mind a beer,” Nico said.

“Same,” Matteo answered and slung an arm around me but addressed the receptionist. “Don’t worry, miss, we’ll keep him company.”

She led us into an ornately appointed lounge room where the caterers had set up a long table covered with white linen.

In one corner, the bartender from my club was already in place.

“The usual, sir?” He grabbed a Macallan 18.

I tipped my chin in confirmation.

Meanwhile, Nico nudged Matteo. “I changed my mind.”

I rolled my eyes. As if they couldn’t afford expensive scotch. But an eighteen-year-old sherry oak single malt beat the best beer for sure, especially if you needed a shot to calm down your over-caffeinated nerves.

“Why not the Macallan 25?” Nico teased.

“I’m reserving it for another occasion.” I accepted the glass of scotch and let the crisp liquor saturate my tongue as I observed the luncheon setup.

Easy finger food. Like seared scallops on a stick, a charcuterie board, asparagus spears wrapped in bacon, and, of course, the full caviar service.

The caviar was to kiss Sera’s ass since it was a favorite appetizer of hers.

Sloane didn’t seem picky with food, and from our time together, she’d eat anything. Obviously, we didn’t date but ate out of necessity to recharge after vigorous sexual activities.

If she had a favorite dish, then shame on me because I had no clue. That was about to change. As long as she’d give me a second chance, I would find out every single favorite thing of hers, including substitutes.

I stared broodily at the entrance to the room, waiting for Sloane to appear. One server headed our way. Earlier, she had walked by with the girls’ drinks.

“Mr. De Lucci.”

“There’re three of us, ma’am,” Matteo drawled.

The woman, who was probably in her forties, blushed. “I can see that.”

“What? I don’t look like him.” Nico pointed at me.

“There’s a resemblance.”

I didn’t know whether that was a compliment or an insult. “What do you need?”

“Miss Scott is asking for you.”

“Is she all right?”

The woman appeared pensive. “I’m not sure.”