Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 84219 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84219 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Renzo is known for being late, and usually, I’m the one who’s kept waiting.
Grinning at my friend, I ask, “Did you wet the bed?”
He lets out a chuckle. “No, my sister and her kids are in town. The little shits scream at the top of their lungs from morning to evening, so I had to escape the torture.”
“How is Valeria?” I ask as we walk toward the entrance of the warehouse.
“She’s good. Pregnant again.” He shakes his head. “She says it’s up to her to keep the family name going, seeing as I won’t even consider getting married.”
“Well, it takes a load off your shoulders.”
Renzo and I have been best friends since middle school, and we’re more like brothers than best friends.
I take in the shipment of arms Renzo brought in and let out a low whistle. “Christ. We’re going to be here the whole day.”
Sucking in a deep breath, he lets it out slowly before he says, “This shipment is important. Nothing can go wrong.”
We watch as the men pack the weapons into hollowed-out airconditioning units.
“We’ll get the trucks across the border,” I assure him.
Walking over to the weapons, I pick up an Uzi and inspect it.
“Good quality, right?” Renzo asks.
“Yeah. There’ll always be a market for this submachine gun.”
When my phone vibrates in my pocket, I put the weapon down on the pile and answer the call.
“Vitale speaking.”
“It’s Samantha, sir. Mr. Franks would like to make an appointment with you for Monday morning. I just wanted to check if it’s okay with you to schedule the meeting for eight o’clock.”
“That’s fine,” I mutter before hanging up.
Renzo raises an eyebrow at me, then asks, “What’s the longest you’ve managed to keep a PA? Two months?”
I glare at my friend. “It’s not my fault they’re all incompetent.”
“Right.” He crosses his arms over his chest and turns his gaze to where the men are hard at work. “You go through assistants like I go through toilet paper. Maybe you should try saying please and thank you once in a while.”
I let out a sigh and shake my head. “Miss Blakely has an uncanny way of annoying the living hell out of me.”
Renzo’s eyebrow pops up. “Yeah? You sure it’s not the other way around?”
“Fuck off.”
A burst of laughter escapes him. “At least this one is easy on the eyes.”
I don’t say anything about his comment and just grunt.
My phone vibrates again, and checking it, I see it’s a message from Brian. I open it and read that Miss Blakely has requested another meeting. This time, she wants to be alone in a room with a man, but no touching is allowed.
Interesting.
Chapter 6
Samantha
Ugh, I wish Mr. Vitale would stay out of the office. Last Friday was so peaceful when he didn’t come in.
I roll my shoulders to ease some of the tension while I put together all the documents that will be needed for a meeting on Thursday.
A message from Mr. Vitale pops up on my screen via the internal messaging system, and I give it a disgruntled look.
Keep the schedule clear for the 26th of June and wear something comfortable that day. We’re inspecting a building I’m interested in buying.
Just freaking great. I can’t think of anything worse than spending an entire day alone with Mr. Vitale, and I’ll fall behind with my other work.
Bringing up my emails, I search for the approval from HR for the vacation time I’ve requested. Adding a note to the email, telling him to keep in mind that I’ll be out of the office for the whole week of the Fourth of July, I forward it to Mr. Vitale.
Within seconds, a reply pops up in my inbox.
Make sure all your work is done before you take the week off. In the future, your requests for time off will come directly to me, not HR.
“Yes, sir,” I mumble. “At least he didn’t cancel my vacation days.”
Opening Mr. Vitale’s electronic diary, I block out June twenty-sixth before continuing prepping for the meeting.
The work is so mundane that my thoughts turn to the date I had at Paradiso. It was so freaking dull but comforting at the same time.
Doyle is definitely not my cup of tea, but just talking to a man made me feel like I’m not a total hopeless case.
I’ve booked another date for tomorrow night, but this time, I’ll be alone in the room with the man they assign to me.
It’s a huge step I’m not sure I’m ready for. It’s one thing having a drink with a man while we’re surrounded by people, and a whole different scenario being alone in a room with a member of the opposite sex.
Maybe this whole thing is stupid, and I should cancel the appointment.
My fingers keep tapping on the keyboard while my thoughts revolve around the impending date.