Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
I stayed on the landing and watched her go, pissed at myself for caring in the first place. I wasn’t sure what bothered me about the situation. Was it the idea of Sofia with somebody else? Or was it the fact that my former best friend was screwing my ex-wife?
When she was at the bottom of the stairs, she stopped and looked up at me. “And just so you know, Ash was the one who helped me. Not Damien.”
22
Sofia
I called Damien. “Did you tell Hades we were sleeping together?” I couldn’t imagine why Damien would do that, but I also couldn’t understand how Hades had jumped to such a ridiculous conclusion. There was no way I would sleep with someone so soon, let alone his former best friend and business partner.
“No, but I did say something.”
I started to yell into the phone in my office. “Why the hell would you say that? I’m trying to get him back, not piss him off. What did you say to him?”
“I told him I might ask you out.”
I gripped my skull with one hand. “And why would you say that?”
“Just wanted to piss him off.”
“Well, thanks for throwing me under the bus…”
“Before you get all mad at me, think about what happened. When he thought you and I had something going on, he got mad, right?”
I got up to shut my office door because I was being so loud. “What does that matter?”
“It means he cares, Sofia.”
“Just because he cares doesn’t mean he wants to get back together.”
“No. But it does mean he thinks you’re sleeping with somebody else, so if he doesn’t sleep with you, somebody else will. Now, you’re a hot commodity. He knows what will happen if he’s not in the picture anymore. Maybe it will only make him jealous, but maybe that’s all you need to get his attention.”
When I thought about the question Hades had asked me and the ruthless way he said it, it did seem like he was upset about the idea of Damien and me being together. He’d turned red in the face and even followed me all the way to the stairs. That wasn’t how I wanted to get him back, but I would take anything at this point.
“What did you say when he asked you?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Good. Neither confirm nor deny as long as you can.”
“I’d feel like such a whore for sleeping with my ex-husband’s best friend.”
“We aren’t friends. We’re enemies. And that makes it so much worse…which works in your favor.”
Maybe this would destroy what little chance I had with Hades. Or maybe it would give me a chance at all. “Now what?”
“We’ll see what happens.”
“What if he says something to you?”
“I’ll string him along without answering his question directly.”
“And what should I do?”
“Look hot. That’s all.”
A few days later, Hades made a surprise visit at the Tuscan Rose.
I was sitting at my desk when he stopped by unannounced. Now that I was back at work, I assumed he would leave the care of the hotel to me, but then I remembered half the hotel still belonged to him after our divorce.
He stepped inside wearing a dark blue suit and tie. There was a nice shadow along his jawline, just the way I liked. His hair was styled, and he had a watch on his wrist, but it wasn’t the one I gave him.
He was such a sexy man, and I hated to think about the women who were enjoying him now that he wasn’t mine. The thought was so painful, it made me want to hurl everything I’d had for lunch. It made me so weak, I wasn’t sure I could stand in these heels.
He straightened his tie with his palm as he approached my desk, that same hostile expression in his eyes. He was behaving the same way as he had when I’d rejected his marriage proposal years ago. He treated me like he hated me, hated me more than Maddox.
I held his gaze and felt my fingertips go numb. I had to keep up the pretense of indifference because that was the only thing he responded to. That was the only thing that interested him. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“There’s a meeting with the board today. I’ve been handling all those while you’ve been gone. Do you want me to continue to do so?”
“No. This is my hotel. I can handle it.”
His mood visibly soured. “Our hotel. Half of it is still mine, and I made some changes around here.”
I knew what kind of changes he was referring to. He was drunk on power and used the hotel as a perfect base for his criminal activities. Without me in the picture, he tarnished the pure reputation of the hotel and turned it into a mafia paradise. “I can still handle it. I know you have other responsibilities.”