“Sit.” He commanded. I hesitated for half a second before obeying. The son ofwhoever gave birth to himwas always demanding. “Don’t you think I deserve an explanation after sending my most important client away?”
“Sorry?”
“We couldn’t discuss business in the office with a woman snoring like a dying dog.”
“I don’t snore,” I said defensively.
His brow lifted. “Does that sound like an explanation?”
What did he mean by… did he turn away an important client so I could sleep? I exhaled, choosing my words carefully. He watched me, his eyes cold.
“In my defense, I was waiting for you to show up, and I ended up napping.”
He leaned back in his chair, studying me. “Napping?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Hmm.” His fingers reached for the glass on the table beside him, and he took a slow sip, eyes still on me. “A nap is a brief sleep. It shouldn’t last for hours, should it?”
“You’re right,” I admitted.
“So, tell me, Alessia,” he continued, setting the glass down with a deliberate clink. “If I went out, attended a meeting, and returned to find you still sleeping, does that count as a nap?”
My gaze shifted to the window. The sun was blinding, its heat radiating through the glass. That wasn’t morning sun.
Shit. “I—I can explain,” I stammered.
“Good. Explain why you were sleeping in my office instead of the quarters.”
Panic pricked my skin. He always took matters into his own hands, and who knew what he would do if he knew the girls had locked the door? I couldn’t let something happen, so I thought of a believable lie.
“It’s… confidential,” I said, twisting my fingers together. His expression didn’t change, but the way he lifted his glass again told me he wasn’t buying it. “You see, I like to be alone during my period.”
He stared at me over the rim of his glass, but I kept a straight face. Without warning, he slammed the empty glass onto the table, the sound slicing through the quiet.
“What color are your eyes, Alessia?”
Thrown off by the sudden question, I blinked. “Hazel.”
“Light or dark?”
“Uh … light,” I murmured. I had no idea where this was going.
“Interesting.” He studied me for a moment. “They get darker when you lie. Ever noticed that?”
“No,” I lied again. “That’s not true.”
“So I’m lying?”
“Well… as much as you claim to hate lies, you live in a world of lies.”
What the hell are you doing, Alessia?
A slow smirk curled his lips. “Really?” He leaned back, stretching one arm over the couch. “Tell me more.”
“You live with people who lie to your face, which makes you a liar by association,” I said carefully. The temperature in the room dropped, and his expression darkened. I couldn’t hold his gaze anymore, so I dropped my eyes to my lap. “And about the deal, I feel you used my drunken state to manipulate me. Although I don’t know what the deal is.”
“You see,” he leaned closer, his elbow pressed on his knee. “A deal is a deal, Little Gem. You and I made one.” He studied me. “I don’t back out of deals. I hold up my end. And soon enough,you’ll hold up yours.”