31. Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Ronan
“ I told you to let go of me!” The screaming could be heard before the door to my office flew open and crashed into the wall. Nellie was seething when she stormed in, Sal quick on her heels. She yanked her arm away from him, her chest heaving angrily when she turned to me.
Sal put his hands up in front of him like a peace offering. “Sir, I’m so sorry. I tried stopping her when she—”
“Back off! ” Nellie shrieked. Her cheeks were dark red, and the creases next to her eyes got deeper when she glared. “He knows why I’m here.” Did I? I had my suspicions.
“Thank you, Sal. I’ll take it from here.” I stood up, rounding the desk toward Nellie. Even as I talked to my staff, I didn’t take my eyes off the anger burning on her face.
As soon as the door closed behind her and Sal was gone, she sucked in a deep breath and shrieked. “You bought it? I told you I could do it on my own! ”
“You’re still doing it on your own.” I was calm while I closed the distance between us, but I could feel her getting angrier as I got closer.
“That’s not true!” She threw her hands in the air, and her eyes shined with angry tears she tried to blink away. “Stu rejected my rent check today, and apparently, you spent a pretty penny on the building. How much?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. I stepped closer to her, putting my hand on her arm and following the line to her wrist. She twitched before she pulled away.
The tears she tried to blink away slipped from her eye, tracing their way down her cheeks. “It matters to me!” She was loud, and I was sure if we hadn’t soundproofed the office floors, every customer in the restaurant beneath us would hear her.
“Why?” I asked her, swiping her tears from her cheek and framing her face to force her to look at me. “Why does it matter who owns the building?”
“Because I told you I didn’t want your fucking help, but you went and did it anyways.” She huffed and then her face twisted into a scowl as she looked at me. “Why did you do it?”
“I’d pay for a hundred buildings and see you thrive before I’d even think for one second about letting you struggle.” I leaned closer to her when she gasped. “And I can afford it.”
Before I could kiss her, her eyes darted to the side, and she looked away. “Is that because you’re in the mafia?”
“What did you just say?” I froze, keeping my hands on her face but standing straight. My stare never left hers.
“I heard a customer say the bakery is owned by the mafia.” She cleared her throat lightly, and I felt the vibration against my palm. “Are you in the mafia?”
I sighed and then shrugged a single shoulder. “We don’t really call it that.”
Nellie pulled away from me like I was burning her, like my hold on her face was an electric shock. “Oh my God,” she said, taking a few scurried steps backward. She trembled, and her eyes continued to get wider when she regained her balance. “Oh my God,” she repeated.
“Sugar, listen.” I reached for her hand, and she pulled back like I was going to hurt her. I would never hurt her.
She opened the door, letting the sound in from the restaurant below. The steady hum of conversations drowned out the sound of her labored breathing, but the glare on her face was the loudest. “I can’t believe this.”
Then she was gone, and her brown curls disappeared down the stairs before I could stop her. I wasn’t going to run after her. It would cause a scene—more than it had already. She needed time, and I needed an explanation that didn’t put her in danger.
I can’t believe this.