Page 4 of The Prices We Pay (Vittori Enterprises #1)

Enzo

“ Y ou guys, I think I’m in love!” I yell down the hall as I walk right past my office toward Luca’s at the end.

Clara laughs but doesn’t bother to ask what I’m talking about as I approach her desk in front of his office door. She’s more than used to my antics by now. “Good morning, Enzo.”

“Morning, Claire Bear.”

“You’re late,” she sing-songs.

“It’s not like he can start without me.” I shoot her a wink and push open Luca’s door, not bothering to knock .

“Well, well, well. Look who decided to grace us with his presence at”—Luca glances down at his watch—“ten in the morning.”

I sit down on the chair on the other side of his desk, making myself comfortable.

“Oh, shut the hell up. You know good and well that I had a meeting across town this morning.” We’re in the process of buying out Style Us magazine, one of the top fashion magazines in the country.

I all but closed the deal this morning with their board; all that’s left is for them to sign on the dotted line, and it will be ours.

“Everything good to go, then?”

“Of course it is. You sent me . They just want their lawyers to look over everything one more time. But that’s not what’s important. Didn’t you hear me?”

“The entire floor heard you, Enz.” Luca tries to pin me with a glare, but we’ve been best friends since we were in our mothers’ wombs. I know when he’s fighting back a smile.

“You’re in love with someone new at least once a week,” Dante adds nonchalantly. I look over to find him manspreading on the couch against the window, the muscles in his chest straining against his black button-up as he drapes his arms along the back of the couch.

“Not true!” I answer, acting wholly offended, even though he’s probably right.

“It is true.”

“Last week, it was the new barista at the coffee shop down the block,” Luca adds.

I bite my lip at the memory. “Could you blame me? The way she looked in that apron was practically pornographic.”

“The week before that, you were convinced the security guard we worked with on that mission was, and I quote, ‘the man of your dreams.’” Dante laughs at Luca’s impersonation of me.

“Okay, one”—I point my finger at Luca—“did you not see his ass? I could have bent him over and taken a bite out of it like an apple. And two”—I turn to look at Dante—“I don’t know what you’re laughing at, D. Don’t act like you weren’t jealous that I was checking him out.”

Dante clenches his jaw. “Why would I be jealous? ”

I shrug. “I know you have the hots for me, Big Daddy. It’s okay to admit it.”

“No, I don’t, and stop calling me that.”

“Leave him alone, Enz.” Despite his warning, Luca’s grin finally breaks through.

“Awe, come on. He loves it. Don’t you, Big Guy?” If a look could kill a person, Dante’s glare would have me keeling over in my chair.

“We’re getting off-topic. Who do you think you’re in love with this week?”

“I don’t think I am. I know I am. And her name is—” Shit.

I don’t know her name. The woman of my dreams, and I didn’t wait to find out her fucking name.

You’re better than that, Enzo.

“I didn’t get a chance to find out her name because you kept fucking calling me. But I will. She works in the building. I’m bound to run into her again, one way or another. If I don’t, I’ll just camp out in the lobby until I find her.”

Luca rubs at his temples as if my trying to find the woman of my dreams is inconveniencing him in some way. “Enz, you’re the COO. You can’t be in a relationship with someone who works in the building.”

“Can too. As long as we address it to the entirety of the company and they don’t report directly to me. Considering I don’t know who she is, she obviously doesn’t report directly to me. Remember, I helped you write those rules, Amico.”

Even if she did report to me, I would gladly rearrange the entire company structure so she didn’t.

“We don’t have time for this,” my best friend huffs. “We have to go over the mission for tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night? A little short notice, huh?”

“It’s an easy one. We should be in and out in five minutes.”

“What about Seb?” He’s always present for the mission briefings.

“He’s already emailed me all of the information. He needed some rest.”

My smile grows so wide it practically splits my face. “You two have a long night? I thought I heard some noise coming from your side of the apartment.”

“Lorenzo…” he groans in exasperation.

“Gli lascerei anche il mio culo, fratello.”

“Lo farebbe se lo pregassi abbastanza forte.” If I knew Luca like I thought I did, I’d dare say that was a challenge, but it couldn’t be.

“Would the two of you speak in fucking English?” Dante snaps, interrupting my thoughts before they can spiral any further.

Luca blinks, and I watch as the heat in his eyes disappears. I have to force myself not to shift in my seat. He clears his throat and continues in English, “Before we go over the plans, though… do you have time to meet with the new broker tomorrow?”

Raising my brows, I ask, “Finally hired one?”

“Yeah. Her name is Josephine Jenkins. I think she’ll be perfect .”

I notice the change in inflection on that last word but choose not to question it. There’s already enough tension floating in the air for one morning.

“I’ll double-check, but I should be free at some point in the afternoon. ”

“Good. I think you’ll really like her,” he says with a suspicious grin. I’m not sure what could be so special about a broker, but as long as I don’t have to hear Luca bitch about customs forms every night when he gets home, I’ll be a happy camper.

“I’m sure I will.”

“All right.” Luca hits a button underneath his desk, and the sound of the door locking sounds through his large office.

You can’t hear or see it, but a security system blocking any outside reconnaissance equipment casts a cloak over the room—a type of beyond-complex software that Seb was able to create and install in a matter of an hour.

He looks over at Dante in question. “You ready?”

Dante nods. “Sure am, boss.”