Page 6 of The Prices We Pay (Vittori Enterprises #1)

“Good!” She claps her hands together and looks around. “But really, is this okay? I know I don’t know you very well, but between Mr. Vittori, Dante, and me, we thought this fit your vibe. If it doesn’t, though, we can totally start over! You just say the word, babe.”

“No, I love it. It’s truly my dream office. The only thing is, umm… if it wouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience, could we get rid of the alcohol and just re place it with some coffee and snacks? I don’t—I don’t drink.”

Her eyes widen in horror, as if she’s offended me in every way possible.

“Oh my gosh, yes! Of course. I’m so sorry!

It’s just something we usually include in all the upper-level offices out of habit.

I’ll get everything switched out when you meet with Elizabeth from human resources. Don’t you worry about a thing, dear!”

“Thank you, Clara,” I answer gratefully.

“Why don’t you set your bag down, and I’ll take you to Elizabeth’s office? She’s just a few floors down. Bring your breakfast, though. You’re going to need all the energy you can get to get through that personnel packet.”

I laugh and do what she says as I follow my new best friend out of my new dream office.

After five hours of sitting with Elizabeth in human resources doing the most mind-numbing paperwork I could possibly imagine and a cheeseburger the size of my head from down in the cafeteria, I’m on my way to my two o’clock meeting with Luca, Dante, and the COO.

I decided to take the stairs to work off some of that delicious burger since the boardroom we were meeting in is just two floors below mine. Considering Clara and I were the only ones left on our floor, I’m assuming everyone else is already there waiting for me.

I exit the stairwell just as the elevator door opens.

Out walks a man about six feet, two inches tall, who looks like he belongs on the cover of GQ.

As if in slow motion, I stand perfectly still and watch as he walks past me.

His sandy blonde hair, cut into a low fade with gorgeous waves at the top, is perfectly styled, but he has the lightest amount of stubble covering his sharp jaw.

He smiles and waves at an employee who walks in the opposite direction, and the dimples that form on his cheek shoot butterflies to my stomach…

and he wasn’t even looking at me. His bright blue eyes, paired with his radiant smile, quite literally seem to brighten up the entire floor.

Prince Charming is wearing a perfectly pressed pair of light tan trousers that hit just above the ankle, a black linen short-sleeve top that hugs his biceps to perfection and is tucked into his pants, a white pair of trainers, and sunglasses hanging from the open button of his shirt.

And his tattoos… my god.

I can’t quite see what they are from here, but they start at the elbow of his left arm and make their way down the back of his hand to the tips of his fingers.

I don’t know what it is about a hand tattoo, but it gets me every time.

His face is finally out of my line of sight, and time seems to speed up to its normal pace.

Is there something in the water at this building? Because, holy shit.

Wiping the metaphorical drool off my chin, I look at the sign on the wall and walk down the hall to where it says the conference room is located.

However, as I walk toward the direction of the meeting, I notice I’m following him.

He continues to walk past every room until he’s at the end of the hall, opening the exact door I need to go into.

I pull my eyes from his deliciously juicy ass and back up to his face when he notices me out of the corner of his eye. He gives me a genuinely friendly smile and sweeps out his arm through the door as I approach him.

“After you.”

I don’t think I can handle this many gorgeous men in one room. Let’s just hope the COO is ugly and balances the scale a smidge.

By no means am I a shy woman, but I’m not lying when I say that the men I’ve met in this building the last two days are some of the most beautiful men I’ve seen in my entire life.

“Thank you.” I softly smile up at him and grip my laptop tighter to my chest as I enter the conference room.

My eyes immediately gravitate toward Luca, who’s sitting at the head of the large table.

The thick black-framed glasses he’s now wearing reflect whatever he’s frowning at on his computer.

Dante’s large frame is folded into the chair, directly to Luca’s left.

Both he and Luca are sitting in identical chairs, yet Dante’s looks like it’s made for a doll house.

“Our guest is here, boys. Look alive,” the blonde says from behind me as he moves around the table to sit in the chair next to Dante.

An intense look passes between him and Luca, but before I have time to question it, the fourth man in the room speaks up.

My eyes snap to his, and I can most definitely confirm that he is not ugly.

“It’s you?” Enzo asks.

“It’s me.” I wave my hand, clutching my laptop awkwardly.

Luca pinches his brows and says, “The two of you know each other.”

“Yes.”

“No,” I answer at the same time as Enzo. “I mean, we met in the lobby for a minute yesterday. He saved me after I so rudely tried to run him over. ”

Dante tries to hide what I’m assuming is a rare smile while Luca looks at Enzo in exasperation.

Silence fills the room before blondie asks, “What am I missing here?”

“Nothing,” the three of them answer at the same time.

“Please, Josephine. Have a seat.” He gestures to the chair next to Enzo.

Suddenly feeling like it’s a million degrees in here, I set my laptop down and unbutton my blazer. Once I get seated, Enzo leans into me and speaks softly, even though everyone in the room can hear him anyway, “So, Josephine, huh?”

I can’t fight the pull at my lips. “COO, huh?”

He sits up straight and proudly pulls at the lapels of his suit jacket. “Don’t quite fit the bill, do I?”

“No, you definitely do not.”

Not that I mind in the slightest.

I’m actually rather impressed that a man who looks like him holds such a high position of power in such a successful company. Even though my appearance is nowhere near as drastic as his, I know I’m not what people expect me to look like. It gives me hope that I could truly fit in here.

“Enz. Would you let her be?”

“I suppose.” He winks a mischievous sage green eye at me. “For now.”

“Ignore him, Josephine. Everyone else does,” Luca says with a shake of his head.

“Okay, rude.” Enzo crosses his arms like a petulant child, and I don’t miss the way his suit tightens around his arms.

Completely ignoring him, Luca continues, “You’ve already met Dante.”

“Hey, Joe.”

“Hey, Dante.”

“This is Sebastian.” Luca looks at him, his eyes lingering a moment longer than necessary, before looking back at me.

“He’s our head of IT and oversees all computer and operating systems within the company, as well as assisting Dante with necessary security measures.

He works both from home and in the office.

He’ll help you get started installing and going over the necessary programs, both on your desktop in your office and your laptop. ”

Sebastian.

“It’s nice to meet you, Josephine.”

“You too, but please, call me Joe.”

Sebastian side-eyes Luca, who just shrugs before looking back at me. “How much storage do you have available on your laptop?”

“I’m not really sure. Probably not a ton. I bought it when I moved to New York a couple of years ago, so I’ve used it quite a bit.”

Sebastian sits back in his chair. “No worries.” He looks at Luca. “Let’s just put in an order for a new one. She’s going to need all the extra storage she can get.”

Luca nods and hits a couple of buttons on the phone on the conference room table. In just seconds, Clara’s voice fills the room. “Yes, Sir?”

“I need you to put in an order for a new laptop for Josephine. Same one she has now, just the latest model and more storage.”

“Right away, Mr. Vittori.” The line cuts out, and I look between them, flabbergasted.

One, because they just ordered an extremely expensive laptop like it was no big deal when I saved up for years for this baby.

Two, because Luca did exactly what Sebastian told him to, with zero hesitation or questions asked.

For someone who works in IT to be giving the CEO of a company such direct orders is not normal.

“We should have it by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll stop by your office to transfer everything over from that one to the new one, and I’ll install and go over everything you’ll need. Does that work for you?”

His soft smile is completely at odds with his domineering voice. “Yes, that’s fine.”

The next hour is spent reviewing the goals and expectations of my position, and I have to admit, I have my work cut out for me. I’ve never worked for a company of this size or stature, but if there’s one thing I’m confident in, it’s that I will not only rise to the challenge but overcome it.

However, I am extremely uncertain of how I’m going to focus on said tasks with the four of them in the same building. Especially when they’re looking at me the way they’ve been looking at me since I walked into the room.

Enzo, like he has as many dirty thoughts rolling around in his mind as he does dirty jokes.

Luca, like he’s doing everything in his power not to look at me.

Dante, like he’s studying me from the inside out. Like he can see everything that makes me … me.

And Sebastian, like I’m the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

It’s as nerve-wracking as it is exhilarating.

Be that as it may, it’s something I have to ignore. The last thing I need to be doing on my first day is fantasizing about a man I work with… let alone four.

I worked too hard to get here, and I’m not going to let something as trivial as sex fuck things up for me.

It’s not a price I’m willing to pay.