Weston gave my shoulder a pat. “How’s Vic?”
“Snarly.”
My father, Victorio Rossi, who, up until a couple weeks ago, had been the CEO of Rossi Motors. He’d been doing the job more than twenty years, since his father had stepped down. He’d have held on to the title for another twenty.
I wouldn’t have had a problem with that.
His heart had other plans.
Elliot’s normally impassive expression grew sympathetic. “It can’t be easy to go from ruling a Fortune 500 company to being told what to do, down to what he can eat. I don’t think any of us would handle that well.”
“Hell no,” I agreed. “I just wish he wouldn’t take his anger out on my mother. She’s waiting on him hand and foot, like always, and he’s being a dick to her.”
One sunny morning, my father had a heart attack in the middle of a board meeting. Our family gathered at the hospital, waiting hours to see if he’d make it out of surgery alive. The first thing he wanted to do when he woke up was check his emails.
My mother’s sobs had flipped his switch, though.
He’d retired almost immediately, much to everyone’s shock and his doctor’s delight. That meant I went from vice president—which had been a cushy title allowing me all the freedom I desired to pursue my passions and, as Elliot had put it, debauched lifestyle—to running my family’s company.
And we weren’t some mom-and-pop small business. Rossi Motors was the largest producer of motorcycles in America.
“I’m surprised Vic is capable of being a dick to Angelina,” Weston said.
“Me too.” I shoved my fingers through my hair. I’d been so busy talking I hadn’t even broken a sweat yet. “He’ll regret it when he comes out of this fog.”
My parents were disgusting. They were always kissing and laughing together. He pinched my mother’s butt whenever she bent down, and she sent him off every morning by straightening his tie and whispering secrets in his ear.
My sister and I used to gag at their public displays of affection, but as our friends’ parents got divorced, or worse, stayed in toxic marriages, we saw how lucky we were.
Which made my father’s treatment of my mother even harder to bear. She was his treasure, but he was acting like she was his jailer.
The pulse slammed behind my eye, and I was done. Done working out, done thinking about this, done talking. Circumstances were what they were. Fighting against them wouldn’t make anything easier.
I accepted who I was. Luca Rossi, CEO of Rossi Motors, soon to be the owner of the loneliest dick in Denver.
Chapter Five
Saoirse
Today was the first day in a long line of first days. I never tired of the anticipation of walking into a new office where anything could happen.
I flattened the V neckline of my cream silk blouse and smoothed down my leather pencil skirt, turning to the side to examine my reflection. Elise pushed into my room while I was in the middle of considering my outfit.
“Is leather office appropriate?” I asked her.
She stood behind me in one of her cute tops with a bow tied at the throat and a pair of smart trousers. I almost burst out laughing at how different our workwear was. Elise had honed her style years ago, and she rocked her librarian chic look. It helped that she was all curves and made pretty much anything look hot.
She tapped her chin, taking my question seriously. “What kind of company is this job at again?”
I turned to face her, my dearest best friend since we were randomly assigned as roommates our freshman year at CU Boulder. She’d moved back to Denver from Chicago a few months ago, and we’d joined forces once again, sharing an apartment like old times.
Except her boyfriend, Weston, occupied the penthouse, and she spent a considerable amount of time up there. But Elise was Elise, and she made sure we shared at least one meal a day together so I wouldn’t feel abandoned, which I never did.
I was a West-and-Elise fangirl. I didn’t begrudge even a minute they spent together. It didn’t hurt that when he sent Elise flowers, he also sent a small bouquet for me because Elise had once told him how much I liked them.
“Didn’t I tell you?” I shoved an earring through my lobe. “I’m in the marketing department of Rossi Motors. Maybe I’ll finally get to meet the elusive Luca.”
Her hands shot to her hips. “Um, no. I think I’d remember if you told me you were going to be working at Rossi.”
I shoved the second earring through my other lobe, wincing at how painful it was. Note to self: wear earrings more often so I don’t have to draw blood to get them in.
“I only got the call last week, and I was finishing up my last job. One of their marketing assistants had her baby early, so they needed me to start right away.” I twisted back to my reflection. “You never told me if leather is okay. I thought yes since they make motorcycles, but now I’m worried this is a little too on the nose.”
She stood next to me, eyeing the mirror. “You look hot, yet professional. I’m a big fan of the skirt. You know how I feel about your legs.”
I grinned. “The same way I feel about your tits. Too bad we can’t donate a couple inches to each other.”
We’d had this conversation many, many times, and I loved that about us. My life was a constant whirlwind of changes, but my friendship with Elise had remained constant for nearly a decade.
“I’ll have to text Luca to look out for you.” Her mouth twisted. “You probably won’t see him, though. He’s pretty much buried with taking over his new position.”
“I didn’t figure I’d be chilling with the CEO, but maybe I’ll spot him exiting his limo.”
Elise laughed. “Luca doesn’t ride in a limo.” Then she grabbed her phone. “I’ll text him anyway, just to let him know you’ll be in the building. If he has time, maybe he’ll introduce himself so you both can finally put a face to the name.”
Luca Rossi was good friends with Weston and Elliot, Elise’s older brother. Stars had never aligned for us, and our paths had yet to cross. Mostly, I was curious about the third member of the “Hot Boss Musketeers.” I’d heard Luca’s name in passing for several years, and I’d always wondered if he lived up to his charm-the-pants-off-anyone reputation.
“Sure. If it happens, it happens. I’ll be there at least a month.” I smoothed my skirt again and nodded, decision made. “This will do.”
My first week at Rossi was everything I wanted in a temp job. Loads of interesting work, good snacks in the break room, friendly coworkers. Since my positions were always temporary, sometimes I found no one could be bothered to get to know me, but that wasn’t the case at this job.
I’d even been invited out for happy hour on Friday.
There were ten of us crammed around a small table on the patio of a bar near the office, seven women, three guys. Someone had shoved me toward Charlie, the single guy of the group.
Not very subtle.
Charlie leaned closer to me, his beer resting on his knee. “Where did you work before this?”
Charlie smelled good, even after a long day. He had a full head of thick, floppy hair and tattooed forearms I imagined stretched into full sleeves beneath his clothes. Thin and rangy, he was perhaps an inch or two shorter than me, which wasn’t a deal breaker in terms of attraction. Charlie was good-looking, for sure, but I didn’t feel any kind of spark of interest. These days, I listened to my initial gut feeling. Charlie was a coworker and a potential friend, but no more.