Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Ariana
He was brutally handsome. Short dark brown hair and a light well-manicured beard. Just enough to make him incredibly sexy. A strong jawline and perfectly shaped lips. Smoldering blue eyes—sexy, hypnotizing. I didn’t know how tall he was because he was sitting down. For all I knew, he could be short. His black suit screamed designer—the type the lawyers in the office I worked at back in Boston wore. His shirt was crisp white, and his tie was black with light gray dots. He looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. Why was he a secretary? Weird. I frowned as I washed my hands. He wanted to show me the sights of the city. I was flattered, but I couldn’t let him. A guy was the last thing I needed right now. My life was in limbo. A mess. An apocalyptic mess, to be exact. He was a secretary, and I was almost a lawyer. Big difference. Should it matter? No, but it did.
I stepped out of the bathroom and returned to the desk where the man had been sitting. He wasn’t there.
“There you are!” Olivia spoke with excitement.
“Sorry. I had to use the bathroom.”
“Are you ready to go?” She grabbed her purse.
“Yes. I’m starving.”
Olivia took me to a garden café around the block, and we had a nice lunch outside on the patio. I didn’t tell her about the secretary behind the desk because I just wanted to forget about him. It was no big deal, anyway, even though he was sexy as hell.
“Can you come back to the firm with me for a minute? I want you to meet my boss.”
“Sure.” I smiled.
We stepped through the doors and took the elevator up to the tenth floor.
“Let me see if he’s in there first.” She smiled.
She looked in his office and then waved me over. As soon as I stepped inside, my mouth dropped when I saw the sexy as hell man sitting behind his desk.
“Luca, I would like you to meet my friend, Ariana. Ariana, this is my boss, Luca Russo.”
I swallowed hard as he got up from his chair, buttoned his suitcoat, and walked over to me with a smile on his face.
“We’ve already met. It’s nice to see you again, Ariana.”
“Technically, you met me but failed to introduce yourself because you were too busy trying to get me to agree to go out with you.” I smirked.
“Well then, let me correct that.” He held out his strong-looking hand. “I’m Luca Russo.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Russo.” I placed my hand in his and lightly shook it as I gulped at the electrical current that traveled throughout my body.
“I’m sorry. Did I miss something?” Olivia frowned.
“Your boss was sitting at the desk outside his office when I walked in and pretended to be the secretary.” A smirk crossed my lips.
“I wasn’t pretending. You just assumed I was the secretary,” he spoke.
“You said your boss was cool.”
“I was stating a fact.” He smiled. “And I am my boss. So, you were assuming.”
Narrowing my eye at him, a small smile crossed my lips.
“You had an opportunity to tell me that you weren’t the secretary, but instead, you led me to believe you were because you answered the phones, put them on hold, told me your boss was a cool guy, and then evaded my questions because you were too focused on convincing me that I should allow you to show me the sights of New York. When I told you that you had your hands full, that was your opportunity to tell me that you weren’t the secretary. But at that moment, you knew I thought you were, so you played it out. Therefore, you pretended and took advantage of my assumption.”
He cocked his head and arched his brow at me. God, he was sexy.
“You’d make a damn good lawyer, Miss Williams.” He smirked.
“Thank you.” I grinned.
He gathered some files on his desk and placed them in his black leather designer briefcase.
“Again, it was a pleasure to meet you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must get to court.”
I glanced over at Olivia, who was standing there with her mouth open.
“What?” I asked.
“He asked you out?”
Waving my hand in front of my face, I spoke, “He just wanted to show me the sights of New York since I told him I had just moved here. You didn’t tell me your boss was hot.”
“I didn’t think about it.” I followed her out to her cubicle. “Are you into him?” She turned and looked at me.
“No. I think he’s very handsome and I like his name. Anyway, I should get going. I still have to look for a job.”
“Did you check into the bar exam?”
“I did.” A sad expression overtook my face. “The next exam is in two weeks and is way past the registration deadline. So, it looks like I can’t take it until November.”
“That’s four months away.” She pouted.
“I know, but what can I do? I’ll see you at home.” I smiled.
I scoured the streets of New York, got lost, and still had no luck finding a job. A sweet older woman who owned a bakery offered me a position, but she could only pay me minimum wage, and there was no way I could get an apartment on that. I did have enough money to rent one now, potentially, but only enough to cover the rent for the first couple of months if I planned on furnishing it, paying utilities, and buying food.
I was feeling tired, so I stopped at a Starbucks before hailing a cab back to the apartment. The line was long, but I had no problem standing in it for the coffee I desperately needed.
“Hello, Miss Williams,” I heard a man’s voice from behind speak.
Turning around, I swallowed hard when I saw it was Luca.
“Hello, Mr. Russo. What a surprise seeing you here.” I smiled.
“I just got out of court and needed some coffee.”
“Did you win?” I asked.
“Of course. I always do.” He smirked. “I’m assuming you need a midday pick-me-up as well?”
“I do. Looking for a job has taken its toll on me.”
The line started to move.
“You didn’t already have a job secured before you moved here?”
“No. It was a bit of an impulsive move.”
“I see.”
Finally, it was my turn.
“Can I help you?” the girl behind the counter asked.
“I’ll have a Grande café latte with non-fat milk and a double shot of espresso.”
“I’ll have the same, and this is together.” Luca smiled as he pulled out his wallet.
“Mr. Russo, I can pay for my coffee.”
“No, you can’t. You don’t have a job.” He winked. “Plus, it’s the least I can do since I pretended to be the secretary and all.”
“Well, in that case, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” The corners of his mouth slightly curved upward.
We walked over to the pickup counter and waited for our coffee.
“Do you have time to sit down?” he asked.
“Where? Here?”
“Yes.” He chuckled. “There’s something I would like to discuss with you.”
“If it’s about you showing me the sights?—”
“It’s not. I promise.”
“Sure. I have time. Actually, I have all the time in the world right now.”
“Good. Why don’t you go grab that table over in the corner, and I’ll bring our coffees?”
I walked over to the table and took a seat. What could he possibly want to discuss with me? I hadn’t a clue, but he could forget it if it had anything to do with going out. I wasn’t looking to date anyone. I had too much on my mind, and I was trying to get my life under control.