“Okay, yes. He’s cute. I’ll give you that. I’ve never met anyone like him before and that intrigues me. But it doesn’t mean anything.”
“That’s what you say now.” She nodded her thanks to the waiter when he brought our wine.
I filled our glasses with the champagne-colored liquid and handed hers over. She took a sip, moaned, then set the wine down to continue with the point she’d been making.
“You’re going to be working closely with someone you find attractive and intriguing. How long do you think it’s going to be before you ride him like he’s a fucking bull in a rodeo?”
I groaned and covered my face with my hands. “Jesus. You really have zero filters. Have I told you that recently?” My voice was muffled by my palms.
When I lifted my head again, I found her grinning like a damn Cheshire cat. “Doesn’t mean I’m wrong. What, did I offend you? Did you want a better term for fucking his brains out like I know you want to?”
“It’s not like that.” It was totally like that, but it was my secret shame from now on. “We’re going to keep things professional.”
She snorted. “Really? Does he know that?”
“He doesn’t want me in that way. Trust me.” I wasn’t so sure about that actually. I’d seen the way he looked at me sometimes. He always smoothed out his expression too fast for me to be one hundred percent sure, but I thought I’d seen some heat there once or twice. “Even if he did, it can’t happen between us.”
“Why not?” She frowned.
“Because he’s my boss.” I lifted my hand and splayed my fingers before dropping the first one. “We would have to keep working together after, which would just be weird. If it didn’t work out, he could fire me. Do you need more reasons than that?”
“I don’t think he would fire you,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “I’ve told you before. It’s not like that here. Italian men are flirtatious, and they love women. It’s okay to have sex on a first date, and as long as you don’t try to get more from him, he won’t even worry about it.”
“I’m not sure the same rules apply when the Italian man in question is your boss.”
“They do.” Elena’s blue eyes flashed like they always did when she was about to get worked up about something. “The only real rule is not to try to get between an Italian boy and his mother. You can indulge all your romantic fantasies about being with him to your heart’s content. You’ll probably walk away with happy memories, but just know that if his mother doesn’t like you, you’re done for.”
“What? Why?”
She shrugged. “Italian mothers are not like American mothers. Especially not about their little boys, and their little boys love them for it.”
“I don’t think it’s like that for Marco. He’s built a multi-billion-dollar, multi-national company. I doubt his mother features much in his life.”
“Girl, have you not learned anything about Italians? Family is everything to us, and out of all of those bonds, there’s none quite like the one between mother and son. Take it from me. You’re always going to be secondary to his mother, and if she doesn’t approve of you, you’re out the door.”
“That’s insane. He’s a grown man.”
She lifted her shoulders again. “That doesn’t matter. In fact, it probably just makes the mothers worse because they can perceive you as some kind of threat.”
“I’m no threat to anyone,” I protested. “Besides, even if we end up sleeping together, it would never get to that point. I’m sure he has plenty of women to choose from. I’m not even in the running for ever meeting his mother.”
“Okay, well just keep it in mind. Before you so much as think about touching him, you should also know that he’s been told since he was a little boy that he has to settle down with a nice Italian girl. That’s not you.”
“Thanks for pointing out the obvious, but it doesn’t matter. I’m not looking to settle down with Marco or anyone else.” All I wanted was to do well enough at my job to be able to travel some more when I had time off. Okay, and maybe an orgasm or two wouldn’t hurt.
Elena gave me a meaningful look but dropped the subject. It was clear she didn’t think I was being honest, even with myself.
“If you say so,” she said eventually. “Anyway, I have to go to work after this. Do you want to come with me? We can have a few drinks when I’m not on.”
“I’ll pass, thanks.” My one night at the club had been more than enough for me. “We can take a rain check on those drinks. On your next night off, it will be my treat.”
She raised her wineglass in my direction. “I’ll take that rain check. Now that you’re going to be making the big bucks, I have no problem with it being your treat.”
I laughed but nodded as I clinked my glass against hers. “Let’s not get carried away. I had a great first day, but we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.”
Chapter 13
Marco
I slid the last file I’d need over the weekend into my laptop bag and surveyed my desk, making sure I hadn’t missed anything. Satisfied that I had all the urgent work packed, I nodded and was heading for the door when it opened.
Addy stepped into my office, looking as fresh and energized as she had when she’d arrived this morning. Her blue eyes were bright and happy, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
She’d put her golden hair up into a messy bun secured by a pencil at some point during the day, and it exposed the graceful curve of her neck. As she walked
