Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Sofia didn’t cop an attitude like she normally would.
“We had no idea,” Charles said. “Congratulations.”
I buttoned the front of my jacket. “Thank you.”
“Does that mean you’ll be running the hotel from now on?” Tim asked, unable to mask his eagerness.
“No. My fiancée can do a much better job than I ever could.” All she wanted was her family’s legacy, to take pride in her work. Her gender had made that impossible, but that was all about to change. “If anyone has a problem with that, I suggest you sell your stake in the company and excuse yourself. Otherwise, your family can inherit your share instead. Do we have an understanding, gentlemen?” They knew exactly what I was capable of, and death threats weren’t handed out as jokes. I’d killed men for much less. I scanned the faces of every single one of them, seeing them go rigid as my threat seeped deep into their bones. “I asked you a question.”
“Yes,” Charles barked.
Tim straightened in his chair and pivoted his body toward Sofia.
One by one, they took their attention off me and focused on my fiancée at the front. With eager eyes, they waited for her to continue her presentation.
I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at the beautiful woman standing at the front, so sexy in her jeans and blouse that it was hard to take her seriously. How could a woman so stunning be so intelligent? Be a strong leader for a company as big as this? But she could. I had no doubt about it.
Now Sofia could witness my influence firsthand, how I could step into a room and make shit happen. If she had cold feet about marrying me, I was sure those doubts disappeared. I could give her exactly what she wanted.
She gave me a slight nod then turned back to what she’d been saying before I’d stepped inside.
Like I’d never been there at all, I walked out.
I sat on the balcony and watched the sunset. A bottle of wine sat in the ice bucket, and there was a single red rose in the small vase in the center of the table. I was in a black t-shirt and jeans, my muscular arms stretching the fabric. She liked me in a suit, but I knew she preferred this dressed-down look, where my ripped physique was truly noticeable. If it weren’t completely inappropriate, I would be naked.
Helena let Sofia into the bedroom a moment later.
She was in jean shorts and a black tank top, choosing to go casual too. At work, she dressed more formally, but this look was much sexier. The shorts went all the way up to her thighs, showing off her sculpted muscles and her tanned skin. Her curled hair hung down her shoulders, and her black tank top showed off her nice cleavage and her flat stomach.
Fuck. I could picture her in just that tank top, getting fucked with her ankles locked around my waist.
She stepped onto the balcony, her posture rigid like she was recalling the last time she’d been there. She probably noticed the bed had been changed out and that some of the furniture in the room had been replaced. She looked at the splashes of color in the sky before she took a seat.
I didn’t get up and greet her, and I didn’t make small talk either. It was nice that we didn’t have to do that, that we could survive the heated silence without getting unnerved by it. I opened the wine and poured two glasses right before Helena came outside and dropped off the appetizers.
When she left, Sofia spoke. “I’m glad Helena is still here.”
“I’ll never let her go.”
“I guess it’s something for me to look forward to…”
Among other things.
She placed a few pieces of bruschetta on her plate before she took a small bite, the bread crunching under her small teeth. She washed it down with a sip of wine.
Hypnotized, I stared at the beautiful woman across from me, feeling the desperation roar inside my chest. I’d never been infatuated with a woman like this, so obsessed that I could barely think straight. I’d been with beautiful women all around the world, but none of them compared to Sofia Romano. Her perfect skin, her full lips, that dark hair…I wanted all of it. I’d wanted her since the moment I saw her, and I never stopped.
When she grew uncomfortable by my stare, she looked away. “Thank you for what you did today. I wish I could handle it all on my own, but you definitely made my life a lot easier.”
“I’ll fix all your problems. That’s my job.”
“But I wish it weren’t your job…” Her eyes filled with self-loathing, like she’d lost self-respect because she couldn’t control those assholes.
“It’s not you, Sofia. It’s just the way men are.”