24. Chapter 24
Jasmine
Dario’s big, brown eyes stare down at me, and I let go of his wrist. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a turn-on as I watched the rage overtake him and he acted as though he was going to battle for my honor.
I hold in the laugh as I try to picture it.
I’m pretty sure the man couldn’t hurt a fly.
His greatest weapon is being able to bring someone to their knees with his devilish grin.
Dario moves his wounded eyes to me and whispers his question. “Me?”
I sigh. “I’m not sure how, but Todd knew you were at my apartment this weekend. Not only that, but he knew you stayed that night. It bothered him.”
His nose scrunches up, causing adorable frown lines to form before his eyebrows. A part of me wants to kiss them, smoothing them out. A larger part of me remembers this man is the one responsible for me currently being jobless.
“How would he have known I was here?”
I blow out a breath, shaking my head. “No idea. Maybe he drove by and saw your car? It doesn’t exactly blend in with the others in the lot.”
He nods, seemingly contemplating my suggestion, though he doesn’t seem satisfied with it. “Jasmine, I really am sorry. I can speak with someone about getting your old job back. It really wasn’t my intention to get you fired.”
I smile softly, knowing he absolutely would barge into the building and demand they reinstate me, but if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t even know that I’d want to return. How would I hold my head up high knowing that my coworkers all think the worst of me?
“I appreciate it, but I don’t want you to do that.” I release a heavy sigh. “I’m sure my dad will love to have me back in his office. Lord knows he needs all the help he can get with only him and my brother there.”
Dario’s eyes grow large. “You can’t go back home.”
“I don’t really have any other options,” I say with a shrug.
“Well, leaving here isn’t one either,” Dario snaps.
We sit for a moment, his heavy breaths the only sound in the room. When I can’t take it any longer, my voice is quiet. “I can look for another position here in the city, but if I can’t find anything by the end of the month, I will have to go back.”
Dario considers my words, then abruptly stands. “Work for me.”
I laugh. It’s one of those that starts small but then grows as I realize how preposterous his statement is. When I’m full-on belly laughing, I look up to see the serious expression on his face.
“What do you mean? I did work for you. It got me fired all of a few hours ago. Did you already forget?”
Dario grimaces, and I feel a little bad for twisting the knife a little deeper. Not too bad, though.
“Work for my family. Directly. We will drop all of our filings with Jorgensen I can’t imagine we wouldn’t try to kill one another.
Besides, the main reason I sought out Jorgensen & Munson was because I wanted to leave behind the small-town life. I bite my lip as I realize what I’m about to do, then I bob my head up and down. “Okay.”
“Yeah?” Dario asks, surprised.
“I’ll join you tomorrow for your family dinner in hopes of them considering me as the family attorney.”
His smile is wide and brilliant. “It’s a date.”
I shake my head. “It is not a date.”
On the car ride over, Dario explained that while this was a more involved family dinner that included the entire family and not just his father and brothers, it was still a casual affair.
The man clearly doesn’t understand what the word means.
Feeling completely underdressed, I step into the elaborate estate his family owns.
The three other women standing amongst a sea of casually dressed men appear to have purchased their wardrobes from a 1920s speakeasy.
The sight is enough to make my stomach flip in unease, but I inhale deeply as Dario guides me through the room.
I run my hands down the sides of my jumpsuit, knowing the color makes my skin glow, and my lips curve upward. Green has always been my favorite color, and the olive tone of my outfit brings out that shade in my hazel eyes.
The fabric hugs every curve as though it were tailored just for me, the belt cinching my waist in all the right places. The pants cuff above my chunky heels, giving me enough height to make my legs look endless.
Slipping my hands into my pockets, I look directly into the judgmental eyes of the women staring at me in their tiny, black cocktail dresses with their slits and bare shoulders. I don’t need sequins and sparkles and the arm of a man to know I look good.
“Gio,” Dario calls as we approach where his brothers stand by the bar. The eldest of the Carusos holds his bourbon up in greeting, but his eyes assess me. Did Dario not tell him I was going to be here?
A larger man stands beside him, casting a stare that sends an eerie feeling over me. This looks like a man you call when you need to get rid of somebody. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was either a hit man or in the mafia.
“I believe you’ve met Jasmine Baker.” Gio reaches out and shakes my hand as Dario completes his introductions. “And Jasmine, this is my other brother,” he says, motioning to the other man. “Luca, meet our new family attorney.”
I extend my hand to him, but he simply stares down at it, opting not to touch me.
I’m conflicted by the lack of interest. On one hand, I’m terrified he could crush every bone from my fingertips to my shoulder with the simple movement if he wanted.
On the other, this man is hot as sin, and I wouldn’t mind his hands on me in any capacity.
“Miss Baker, this is a pleasant surprise. I’m sorry to hear about your employer,” Gio says before cutting his eyes to his youngest brother. “He was a good and loyal man.”
I glance at Dario, but before I can question him, he’s giving Gio his signature smile that has a way of sweeping people off their feet. Damn, he’s pretty.
“Jasmine no longer works for Jorgensen & Munson. She will be representing our family independently.”
“Oh?” Gio says like a question, his dark brows rising. “I hope you left on good terms.”
I fidget with my fingers. “There was a misunderstanding.” Gio cuts me a look that I swear is its own version of truth serum. “They were under the impression Dario and I were together. And we’re not. Intimately, that is.”
Gio looks unimpressed. Luca looks like he doesn’t give a shit. But Dario? He’s grinning from ear to ear. “Well, there was that one kiss…”
“We do not talk about that kiss,” I whisper-yell at him, and it only causes his smile to somehow grow larger.
Dario licks his lips. His soft, beautiful lips. “If you won’t let me talk about it, then perhaps we can relive it?”
My eyes widen, but thankfully Gio speaks up before this conversation can get any more humiliating. “Does Papa know you brought a guest?”
“About that,” Dario drags out. “Luca, would you be a gracious host and accompany Jasmine to get a drink?”
I’m about to argue with him for trying to dismiss me, but before I’m given the chance, Luca uses his large body to block me out of the conversation between the two men.
“Come.”
His one word brooks no room for argument, but it does send a surge to the spot between my thighs. I do as he says, wondering if I wouldn’t mind being bossed around by a man like him in the bedroom.
He guides me over to an impressive bar cart lined with several spirits and mixers. A cabinet of various glasses is behind it.
“Choose.”
I peruse the options but admittedly don’t know how to make my own martini, so I decide to pass on the offer. “I’m okay.”
“What do you want?”
I stare up into eyes darker than Dario’s, shocked by the lengthy sentence he delivered. If it were any other man, I would act disinterested and pretend I wasn’t desperately needing a drink, but I don’t think it’s wise to play games with Luca. “Umm, a martini?”
My request comes out as a question, as though I need permission from this quiet giant. It must work because he begins to mix the drink before my eyes, and it’s pretty impressive.
“You bartend?” I ask, not believing for one second that this man stands behind a bar striking up casual conversations with patrons. Luca Caruso doesn’t seem to be a man of many words.
“Some.”
I decide my assessment is correct when he hands me my drink and I take a sip. “Do you know what Gio and Dario are discussing?”
“No.”
“Do you think it has something to do with me?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not a big talker, are you?” I quip.
“No.”
He navigates me back to where Dario and Gio are standing, the younger of the two looking a bit more chagrined than when I left him. I want to ask him what’s wrong or suggest we go ahead and leave for the night, but a deep cough from behind me has me turning around.
There’s no denying the man glaring in our direction is the head of the family.
Dario’s father has a slight hunch in his back, keeping him from standing quite as tall as his sons, but his features are the same as all three brothers.
He’s still a very handsome man, despite the fact that age is beginning to wear down his body.
“Who is she?” he barks.
Dario wraps his arm around my waist. “My date, Papa.”
“Oh, this is not…”
Dario quickly turns my face and presses a chaste kiss to my lips, silencing me. When he moves them from mine, leaving me thoroughly confused, he tucks my blonde locks behind my ear and whispers, “Not now, mio toro.”
I tilt my head in the direction of his father and see him assessing the two of us as though he already knows that what Dario is saying isn’t the truth. “Let’s eat.”
Looks like I know where Luca’s conversation skills come from.