handsome Italian , “isn’t the way to go about it. You should at least have found someone more believable.” He shook his head at Marco, “No offense, Mr. Genovese, I’m sure you’re accustomed to women throwing themselves at you, but, she really shouldn’t have involved you. It’s utterly ridiculous, and I’m terribly sorry she’s dragged you into the middle of it. I know you wouldn’t be involved in a scheme like this if you actually knew what was going on.”
Mina couldn’t believe Ethan’s audacity. She opened her mouth to tell him off, but he talked right over her, scolding her like a naughty child.
“Do you have any idea what kind of damage you could have done to Mr. Genovese’s reputation? How much damage you’ve done to my reputation?” Ethan leaned forward in full lecture mode. “I’ll admit it—I can partially understand your being upset, but your behavior the other night at Carlito’s got back to the office, and you and Mr. Genovese were the topic of several conversations.” He raised his eyebrows and looked down his nose at her. “Very distasteful conversations.”
Speech escaped her. She couldn’t believe he was serious. He fucked his assistant, called her horrible names, crushed her self-esteem, drove her to drink and debauchery, and she was distasteful? He was unbelievable.
It was all more than she could bear. Tears threatened to fall and she struggled to calm herself. She would not give Ethan the pleasure of seeing her cry. Marco, still silent, seemed to sense her problem and pulled her forward, sliding her in front of him, allowing her to lean back against his strength, gently wrapping her in his arms. She took a deep breath and centered herself; Ethan was just pressing her buttons—again. She’d done nothing wrong, and no one, especially not an egotistical bastard like Ethan, could make Marco Genovese do anything he didn’t want to do.
“The only distasteful conversation concerning me is this one,” she finally said. “You should leave. I don’t want to fight, and you’re making a spectacle of yourself.”
She did want to fight, actually, but Ethan wasn’t worth it. She wasn’t going to waste a single minute more than she had to on him.
“I don’t want to fight either,” he said, eyes narrowing as he watched Marco’s hands as they rubbed soothing little circles on Mina’s arms. Marco said nothing, just continued his lazy exploration of the skin beneath his fingers. “But you’re the one making a spectacle. I wanted to give you a chance you reconsider your hasty decision to move out. I know you’ve moved in with Ivy, but you can’t stay there indefinitely. You need me, and I figure it’s only fair to let you change your mind, even if you’ve managed to cause a storm of trouble.”
Mina was contemplating the storm of trouble she’d like to cause when a deep voice emanated from the man holding her.
“You are even more of an imbecile than I originally thought, Masters,” Marco drawled lazily, contempt thickly accenting his words. “Considering the fact that my opinion of you was incredibly low to begin with, that is almost impressive.”
The insult shocked Ethan out of his typical smugness, and an ugly mottled red crept out of Ethan’s collar and up his neck. “I don’t believe I was speaking to you, Genovese,” he glared at the man inexplicably holding his prize. “You can run back to your supermodel girlfriends, now. This isn’t any business of yours. The jealousy thing isn’t working, and this is strictly between Mina and me.”
A predatory look crossed Marco’s face and Ethan instinctively stepped backwards. “ Anything concerning Mina is my business, and there is nothing between you and her anymore.”
Marco slid his hands under Mina’s arms, splaying his fingers across her middle, making his claim clear. He watched confusion bloom on
Mina couldn’t believe Ethan’s audacity. She opened her mouth to tell him off, but he talked right over her, scolding her like a naughty child.
“Do you have any idea what kind of damage you could have done to Mr. Genovese’s reputation? How much damage you’ve done to my reputation?” Ethan leaned forward in full lecture mode. “I’ll admit it—I can partially understand your being upset, but your behavior the other night at Carlito’s got back to the office, and you and Mr. Genovese were the topic of several conversations.” He raised his eyebrows and looked down his nose at her. “Very distasteful conversations.”
Speech escaped her. She couldn’t believe he was serious. He fucked his assistant, called her horrible names, crushed her self-esteem, drove her to drink and debauchery, and she was distasteful? He was unbelievable.
It was all more than she could bear. Tears threatened to fall and she struggled to calm herself. She would not give Ethan the pleasure of seeing her cry. Marco, still silent, seemed to sense her problem and pulled her forward, sliding her in front of him, allowing her to lean back against his strength, gently wrapping her in his arms. She took a deep breath and centered herself; Ethan was just pressing her buttons—again. She’d done nothing wrong, and no one, especially not an egotistical bastard like Ethan, could make Marco Genovese do anything he didn’t want to do.
“The only distasteful conversation concerning me is this one,” she finally said. “You should leave. I don’t want to fight, and you’re making a spectacle of yourself.”
She did want to fight, actually, but Ethan wasn’t worth it. She wasn’t going to waste a single minute more than she had to on him.
“I don’t want to fight either,” he said, eyes narrowing as he watched Marco’s hands as they rubbed soothing little circles on Mina’s arms. Marco said nothing, just continued his lazy exploration of the skin beneath his fingers. “But you’re the one making a spectacle. I wanted to give you a chance you reconsider your hasty decision to move out. I know you’ve moved in with Ivy, but you can’t stay there indefinitely. You need me, and I figure it’s only fair to let you change your mind, even if you’ve managed to cause a storm of trouble.”
Mina was contemplating the storm of trouble she’d like to cause when a deep voice emanated from the man holding her.
“You are even more of an imbecile than I originally thought, Masters,” Marco drawled lazily, contempt thickly accenting his words. “Considering the fact that my opinion of you was incredibly low to begin with, that is almost impressive.”
The insult shocked Ethan out of his typical smugness, and an ugly mottled red crept out of Ethan’s collar and up his neck. “I don’t believe I was speaking to you, Genovese,” he glared at the man inexplicably holding his prize. “You can run back to your supermodel girlfriends, now. This isn’t any business of yours. The jealousy thing isn’t working, and this is strictly between Mina and me.”
A predatory look crossed Marco’s face and Ethan instinctively stepped backwards. “ Anything concerning Mina is my business, and there is nothing between you and her anymore.”
Marco slid his hands under Mina’s arms, splaying his fingers across her middle, making his claim clear. He watched confusion bloom on
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