10. Chapter Ten Jade
Chapter Ten: Jade
T he lab had chewed me up and spit me out, leaving my brain tangled in a web of genetic codes and ethical debates. I stood outside the familiar coffee shop, my hand hovering over the door handle like it was an electric fence. Dante’s texts were burning a hole in my pocket—polite enough to keep him at arm’s length but distant enough to draw a line. Just one coffee, I told myself, you can handle that.
Then I would reach out to him and…figure all this out.
I pushed open the door, the scent of roasted beans wrapping around me like a warm blanket. The barista nodded in recognition as I mouthed my order—a double espresso, no frills. I was running on autopilot, my thoughts still knotted with work until I turned and nearly collided with a wall of muscle and expensive cologne.
Dante Moretti.
“Jade,” he said, his voice smooth as the espresso I craved, pulling me back to reality—a reality where Dante Moretti always seemed to be one step behind me, waiting. His dark eyes held mine, and every cell in my body went on high alert. There was no escaping now.
And I was pretty sure I didn’t want to escape.
“Jade, what a pleasant surprise,” Dante said, his voice rich with warmth that didn’t match the cool smirk on his face.
I was caught off guard and could only manage a small smile in response. “Dante, I didn’t see you there,” I replied, my voice betraying a nervous edge I hadn’t intended to reveal.
He stood there, all casual confidence in a tailored suit that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. Despite my initial reluctance, I found myself being guided toward a small table by the window. We sat across from each other, the city’s hustle and bustle a mere backdrop to this unexpected encounter.
“Black coffee for me,” Dante told the waitress, never taking his eyes off me. I fidgeted under his gaze, acutely aware of every word that left my lips. My coffee arrived, and I wrapped my hands around the cup, grateful for something to hold onto.
“Thanks for joining me,” he said, and I wondered if he heard the pounding of my heart over the clinking of cups and murmured conversations surrounding us. It was just coffee, but with Dante Moretti, nothing was ever just anything.
“Yeah, of course. What were we going to do? Sit in different booths and pretend we didn’t know each other?”
He wrinkled his nose. “Like roleplay? Sounds hot.”
“Do you ever take anything seriously?” I asked, sounding more harsh than I intended.
“Yes,” he said, looking into my eyes. “Plenty of things. Busy day at the lab?”
“Always,” I answered, sipping my coffee, careful to reveal little. “We’re pushing for some major breakthroughs.” My guard was up; there were things about BioHQ that needed to remain unsaid, especially to someone like Dante Moretti. When he had sold me on working together, I had fully believed him. But now that Ellie had warned me off him, I simply couldn’t be sure if his intentions were pure.
“Been avoiding me, Jade?” His tone was light, but his eyes searched mine for something more.
“Slammed at work,” I said quickly, too quickly maybe, “and I’m sorry about missing that meeting with the lawyer. We’ll get to it eventually.”
“Sure, when the madness at BioHQ settles down.” He shrugged, seemingly unfazed.
“Exactly.” I forced a smile, yet my chest tightened.
Dante leaned forward then, his elbows on the table, and his voice dropped to a near-whisper. “It is a nice surprise to run into you like this,” he said, and his smile had a way of reaching his eyes that made it difficult to look away.
My heart did a quick dance before I regained control. “You seem to say that every time we meet,” I shot back with as much playfulness as I could muster, keeping the conversation buoyant, even though my stomach was in knots.
“It is always nice to see you, yes,” he said. “And I do mean it every time.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but suddenly, his hand brushed against mine on the table. It was a fleeting touch, probably unintentional, but it sent a jolt through me. My skin tingled where he made contact, and I felt that dangerous warmth creeping up my neck. Instinctively, I pulled back, folding my arms in front of me as if they could shield me from the electricity between us.
“Sorry,” he said, though his eyes held a glint that suggested the contact wasn’t entirely accidental. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s fine,” I managed to say, putting a little distance between us. I couldn’t afford distractions, not when my work demanded all of me. Not when he was a Moretti.
He tilted his head, observing me with consideration. Then, shifting gears, he said, “Your ambition is something I truly admire.” His voice carried sincerity, and his gaze held respect. “You’re dedicated to your work, much like I am to my business. Not many can match that level of commitment.”
“Thank you,” I responded, genuinely surprised by the compliment. This…wasn’t the kind of compliment I was expecting from him.
“Of course,” he agreed, nodding. “It’s the drive that keeps us moving forward. And I see that drive in you, Jade. So if you need to focus on this, then you need to focus on it. But I want you to know, I’m here and waiting.”
“Why?” I heard myself ask.
“What do you mean why? You’re fucking incredible.”
I looked at him then, really looked, and saw something beyond the suave businessman and rumored underworld ties—a reflection of determination akin to my own. It was disarming, and for a moment, I allowed myself to simply appreciate the connection beyond the compliment.
“Drive can take us to places we never imagined,” I said quietly, more to myself than to him. But it was true; whether in science or in whatever murky waters Dante navigated, we were both propelled by forces that wouldn’t let us rest.
The espresso machine hissed in the background, a stark reminder of the ordinary world bustling around us as I navigated these extraordinary moments with Dante. He was all but an enigma—a man whose life was embroidered with threads of danger and power, threads that could unravel at any moment.
But fuck it. He was already here. There was nothing wrong with just talking to him. I just needed to make sure not to jump into bed with him again.
“Your childhood must’ve been something else,” I said, attempting to steer us back to safer waters. “Growing up in Little Italy, I mean.”
Dante’s eyes lit up with the mention. “It was...colorful, you could say. Full of life, full of characters.” His lips curled into a half-smile as he leaned back in his chair. “You know, there was this bakery just around the corner from where we lived—best cannolis in the city. My old man used to take my brother and me there every Sunday after mass.”
“You went to church?”
“Yes, every Sunday,” he replied. “We learned early on that we’d be beaten if we didn’t.”
“Jesus.”
“Yes, he was there,” Dante said, flashing me a smile. “It wasn’t that bad. He’s gotten less scary as I’ve gotten older.”
“Sounds charming,” I replied, my voice steady despite the fluttering in my chest.
“Charming,” he echoed, his smile waning slightly. “Yeah, it had its moments. But not everything is as sweet as pastry cream, Jade.”
“Including your dad.”
“Yeah,” he replied, shrugging. “Oh well.”
“Maybe you can show me around some time,” I ventured, curious yet cautious.
“Maybe,” Dante said, his gaze locking onto mine. “I’d like that.”
We sat in silence for a moment, the sounds of the coffee shop wrapping around us like a comforting blanket. It was a reprieve from the intensity of our conversation—a chance for me to collect my thoughts and prepare for the inevitable parting of ways.
“Thankfully, lab work doesn’t leave much room for dull moments either,” I said, trying to match his earlier ease. “Sometimes it feels like I’m on the verge of something monumental.”
“Is that right?” Dante’s interest seemed piqued, a flicker of genuine curiosity in his eyes. “And does Dr. Jade Bentley enjoy being on the edge of discovery?”
“Immensely,” I said, allowing myself a small smile. It felt good to talk about my work—my passion—with someone who seemed to understand the drive behind it.
“Then here’s hoping you find what you’re looking for,” Dante said, raising his empty coffee cup in a mock toast.
“Here’s hoping,” I echoed, clinking my cup against his.
The clink of our cups was a soft sound, almost lost amid the hum of conversation and the whirring of espresso machines. Dante’s eyes were still fixed on me, his gaze unwavering, intense in a way that suggested he wasn’t just talking about my research.
“Jade, I’ve been thinking a lot about us,” he began, his voice dropping to a low murmur. The lighthearted air evaporated as if sucked away by his sudden gravity.
I stiffened, my hand tightening around the ceramic cup. This was not a conversation I’d prepared for, not with him. His world was one of shadows and secrets, a place where my scientific mind could find no foothold. And yet, here he was, unmasking a vulnerability I hadn’t known existed within the enigmatic Dante Moretti.
“Us?” The word came out more as a cautious breath than a question, betraying the confusion that knotted inside me.
Just as he leaned forward, perhaps to close the distance between uncertainty and revelation, his phone rang—a sharp, insistent trill that cut through the moment like a warning siren.
“Excuse me,” Dante muttered, irritation flashing across his features as he pulled out his phone. He stood up, stepping away from the table with an apologetic tilt of his head. “This is important.”
I watched his back as he paced away, the phone pressed to his ear, his body language taut with frustration. My heart raced, thumping against my ribs as if trying to keep pace with the myriad thoughts that tumbled through my head. What had he been about to say? Did ‘us’ mean what I thought it did?
In the brief solitude his absence afforded, I fought to steady my breathing, to still the tremor that threatened to take hold of my hands. A part of me wanted to flee, to escape before I got caught up in whatever web Dante wove around his life. But another part—a reckless, daring part—wanted to stay, to hear him out.
“Sorry about that,” Dante said as he returned, sliding his phone back into his pocket. There was no mistaking the apology in his tone, but also a resolve that had not been there before. “Business never sleeps.”
“Seems it doesn’t,” I replied, finding my voice again, though it sounded far too casual for the storm of emotions brewing inside me.
“Let’s have that dinner sometime this week. Just us,” he proposed, his eyes searching mine for an answer. “No business talk. We need to catch up, you know, properly.”
“When?” I asked, my heart jackhammering in my chest.
“Thursday?” he countered, cocking his head. “I’ll pick you up. I did promise to wine and dine you.”
I hesitated, caught between the instinct to guard myself and an unbidden curiosity that urged me to leap into the unknown. The thrill of Dante’s attention was undeniable—there was something about him that pulled at me, a magnetism that was both exciting and terrifying.
“Jade?” he prompted softly, his voice a low rumble that seemed to resonate within the otherwise quiet space of the coffee shop.
I weighed my choice carefully, aware that dinner wasn’t just dinner when it came to someone like Dante Moretti. My life was one of labs and research, of controlled experiments where the variables were known and outcomes predictable. Dante represented an anomaly in my neatly ordered world—one that could either be an astonishing discovery or an uncontrollable reaction. And I remembered Ellie’s warning…but it was hard to think about Ellie when Dante was looking at me the way he was.
“Okay,” I finally agreed, the word slipping out before my more cautious side could protest. His smile deepened, both triumphant and genuine, and something inside me fluttered in response.
“Great,” Dante said. “I’ll pick you up at seven on Thursday.”
“Thursday,” I echoed, locking away my doubts and uncertainties for another time. There was no turning back now—I had stepped into Dante’s world, and only time would tell if the risk was worth the enigmatic promise of ‘us.’
And if things went wrong…well, fuck it. This was just a bit of fun. It didn’t have to spiral.
I wasn’t going to let it.