Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Milo
Shit was too quiet these past few days. As expected, the other cities formed an alliance with Medina, and they all agreed to allow him free rein in their territories. That should have been enough for Medina, but it wasn’t.
He was coming with a vengeance. He no longer requested to meet with us, which led us to believe a takeover attempt was in the works. We needed to blow those plans out of the water and fast.
Ever since my father left to investigate the disappearance of a cartel member last fall, there had been one complication after another. Gian Gallanti, Danny Collins, Romeo Bello, and Diego Medina to name a few.
We were fighting with several syndicates on the east coast. These were territories that were notoriously agreeable when it came to our business. Gian had set all of this in motion before we took him out. If we didn’t dismantle Medina’s operation, we were going to lose control in our own city.
When my dad left again to shut down the trafficking operations, Medina was able to use that to his advantage. He let the other cities know that New York was ripe for the taking and Nico Accetti’s heirs couldn’t run his territory.
We appeared weak. At least the cartels hadn’t turned on us. As long as we kept our agreements with them and made them money, they would stand with us. We needed to eliminate Medina. Sooner rather than later.
“Milo!” Camila barged into my office. “Angela said I could come in.”
“When did you two become so chummy?” I shut my laptop, annoyed by the intrusion.
“She’s been to the boutique a few times.” Camila made herself comfortable, taking off her coat and standing by the gas fireplace to warm her hands. “Although, ever since she got married your father hasn’t given her his credit card.”
“Go figure.” I sat in the chair in front of my desk. “That’s her husband’s responsibility now.”
“That’s if your father isn’t still, you know…”
“My father wouldn’t sleep with a married woman.” As far as I knew, my father and Angela were not sleeping together, and I was pretty certain things would stay that way. “You didn’t come to talk about my father’s sex life, so what brings you here?”
“Can’t I just stop by and say hello?”
“You could, but I know that isn’t why you’re here.” That would be too easy. “What can I do for you?”
“You’ve been scarce these last two weeks. It takes you hours to answer texts, Forget about emails.” She placed her hand on her hip. “And you’re sending my calls to voicemail.”
“I’ve been busy.”
That wasn’t a lie, but I had been avoiding my aggressive business partner. Whatever brief encounters we had shared in the past were over. I wanted her to run the boutique without her trying to climb into bed with me.
“Too busy for me?”
“I’ll swing by the boutique when I have time, but you’re doing a fantastic job of making money.” I stretched out my legs. “I thought you would be pleased that I wouldn't be breathing down your neck. You like that I am a silent partner.”
“I like when you’re close.” She came up from behind me and rested her hands on my shoulders. “I miss seeing you.”
“Is there something you need from me?” I clasped her wrists and guided her around the chair to stand in front of me. “I apologize for being off-the-grid. Business is tense.”
“I always need something from you.” She moved to the front of my desk.
“I’m going to stop you.” I held up my hand. “I need you to stop the not-so-subtle flirting and the references to us getting together.”
“They weren’t supposed to be subtle.”
“That’s what I mean.” I stood and joined her in front of the desk. “We fucked around and had some fun.”
“We had a lot of fun.” She twirled her hair around her finger. “We still could.”
“We went into business together because you’re good at what you do and you make money. And you don’t seem to mind who I am and what I do.”
“I accept you for who you are.”
“I appreciate that, but I’m not interested in anything else.” Could I be any more direct? “If you want to continue our friendship and business partnership, I’m all in, but that’s all you’re ever going to get from me.”
“Why?” She ran her finger across her full bottom lip. “It’s not like your heart belongs to anyone else, and if we’re being totally honest, it isn’t your heart I want.” She glanced between my legs. “Why can’t we just…”
“I said no.” I glared at her. “Do you want me to dissolve our partnership? I’ll give you a reference if you want to work on Fifth Avenue. There are plenty of stores there. I’m sure someone would love your expertise.”
“Are you serious?”
“Very.” My gaze hardened. “Actually, I could send you to Paris or Milan. Maybe a change of scenery would help you see how serious I am.”
“Okay, fine.” She huffed. “You’re in a mood. You don’t want to have sex, so whatever.”
“I don’t want to have sex with you.” I ran my hand along my jaw as visions of the only goddess I wanted to please filled my thoughts. “That part of our lives is over.”
“I’ll leave you alone.”
“Thank you.” Now maybe she would focus on the boutique and find creative ways to make me more money so I could keep the cartel happy.
“I really am here for business reasons,” she said.
“I wish you would have led with that.” I rested my hand on the edge of my desk. “What’s up?”
“This might be a sensitive subject, but a few weeks have passed since we last spoke, and I found a buyer for the dress you told me to put in storage."
Sable’s dress? The one I had purchased for Valentine’s Day.
“You said you wanted to auction it off but someone is interested,” she said.
“If it was in storage, how did someone know you even had it?”
“I was making arrangements to have it put in storage and I was photographing it for insurance purposes when a long-time client of mine came into the shop and asked about it.”
“Did you tell them it wasn’t for sale?”
“That’s why I’m here. I know you want to auction it off for your mom’s charity, but we have so many other options for that. This dress is very expensive. It would be fantastic exposure for the boutique.”
“The dress isn’t going into storage. I need it back.”
“For what?” she asked. “You don’t even know when the auction will be held, and I have Romeo Bello on the hook to buy it.”
“Bello? He was at the boutique?”
“He comes in all the time buying clothes for women who are far too good for him but he spends a shit-ton of money.”
“Why that dress?” This didn’t feel right to me.
“Because it’s stunning.”
“It isn’t a dress a man would buy for a casual fuck.”
“You would know.” She smirked.
“Camila, what did he want?” Bello should not have been lurking around the boutique.
“Clothes?” She inched closer to me. “What’s making you so crazy? Since when do you care who I sell to?”
“What did you tell him about the dress?” I pointed at her. “Why did he want it?”
“He admired it and I told him it wasn’t for sale.” She sat on the edge of my desk. “He said everyone has a price. He wasn’t wrong. I told him it belonged to you and you bought it for Sable, but since you two aren’t together, you wanted it to be put into storage.”
“Do you always share my business with every fucking scum that walks into the shop?”
“I told the truth. I didn’t think it was a secret.”
“I’m putting security on the shop.” I should have done that weeks ago. “I’ll have a guard at the door during business hours.”
“No!” She hopped off the desk. “I run the boutique without your interference. How do you think my clients will feel if they have to get past security to get inside?”
“He’ll be discreet.”
“Bello always comes in.” She paced in front of me. “I don’t understand what the problem is?”
“You don’t have to understand,” I shouted. “You just have to listen.”
“Fuck you!”
“Hey!” I grabbed her arm and yanked her toward me. “You need to listen to me. Bello is no longer a customer. Do you understand?”
She glared at me, but I wasn’t going to let her make me lose control.
“I’ll have security on the door in my fucking boutique. Got it?”
“Is everything okay?” Sable stood in the doorway, looking between me and Camila. “Things sound intense.”
“We’re fine.” I released Camila from my hold. “I’ll have a guy at the boutique in about thirty minutes.”
“Whatever you want, boss.” She smoothed out the sleeves on her silk blouse and smiled at Sable. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I guess not.” Sable came into the office. “After our last conversation, you were so sure I wouldn’t be returning.”
“As you can see, I don’t need the dress in storage,” I said to Camila. “I’ll bring Sable in and have it altered so she can wear it on Valentine's Day. I have something special planned for her.”
“Of course.” Camila nodded before grabbing her coat and heading for the door. “Have a great day, you two.”
Once she was out of the room, Sable closed the door behind her.
“Sorry.” I took a calming breath. “We had a misunderstanding.”
“She didn’t look happy,” Sable said.
“She’s not.” I rubbed my temple. “It might be time for me to reevaluate that partnership.”
“Did you sleep with her?”
“What?” I dropped my hand from my head as I processed Sable’s question. “You know that I have in the past.”
“Which past?”
“I don’t know what you’re asking me.” I stalked toward her, taking her hand before she could retreat. As fun as the chase was, I didn’t have time for it now. “Say what’s on your mind.”
“What did I walk in on?”
“An argument.”
“It looked kind of passionate.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I backed her against the door. “She pissed me off because she brought up Bello.”
“She knows how to push your buttons.” The hurt in her expression dominated the anger.
“That’s not the issue here.” I squeezed her hand. “Ask me the question you want the answer to. Be direct.”
“When we were apart, did you sleep with her?”
“No.” I gritted my teeth. “How could you think that?”
“Because she was here the day I gave you the bracelet back. We ended things. You were free to do what you wanted.” She gazed down at the floor. “When I saw you with her just now, I thought you were arguing because you and I are back together.”
“Camila will never have a say in my relationship with you because I don’t care what she thinks.” I closed my eyes and tried to compose myself. “I don’t know how you could think that I would sleep with anyone after… I wouldn’t.”
I didn’t have a chance to calm down from Bello being in my boutique. And now this.
“I’m sorry,” Sable whispered. “She got inside my head the last time I was here.”
“She told me what she said to you, and I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“I wish you would stop saying that.”
“Why?”
“Because so much is my fault.” I cupped the side of her face in my hand. “But I promise I don’t want anyone but you. I never will.”
“I believe you.”
“You asked me something the day you gave me the bracelet back and I couldn’t answer it because I was hurt and confused.”
The vibrant shimmer of emerald flashed in her gaze. “I asked if you said you loved me today, would you mean it?”
“I love you, Sable.” I swept my mouth along her soft lips. “I love you more than anything. The thought of not having you in my life makes me insane.”
“I love you too.” Her breath fluttered across my lips. “I’m sorry that I thought you and Camila…”
“Shh.” I pressed my fingers to her mouth. “There’s only the two of us in this room. You’re all I’m ever going to want.”
No more words were needed. I pinned her against the door, taking my time to kiss her. Slow and sensual, pouring everything I had into this connection. The only mouth I ever wanted to kiss from now until I drew my last breath.
“I’m glad you’re back here.” I spoke against her lips. “You keep me centered even when everything seems to be crumbling at my feet.”
“I’ll help you pick up the pieces.”
“The goal is to keep the pieces from falling.”
“Is that possible?”
If I had the answer to that, I wouldn’t be in this situation.