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“Might I suggest you do try?”
“I’d have more luck taming a barrel of snakes.”
“That wouldn’t achieve what we want, however.”
“You’re suggesting I flirt her into the sale?”
“I’m suggesting you show her what a good guy you are,” Dante said with another soft laugh. “And if she happens to fall for your act, and it makes your job easier, then so be it.”
“Believe me, I’d flirt with her if I thought it would achieve anything.” Maddie’s soft, gentle curves flashed into his mind’s eye; his body’s response was as instantaneous as it was unwelcome.
“I thought you liked a challenge.”
“She’s not just a challenge: she’s Everest.”
“Good. It was getting a bit easy for you, wasn’t it?”
Rocco leaned back in his chair. He knew what his family thought of him—and not without reason. He liked women. He liked the first moment of seeing a woman he desired, then he liked the chase, the victory, the possession, the sensual heat. Then, he grew bored and moved on.
It wasn’t something he’d actively planned, but Maddie had been right the night before, when she’d accused him of changing women more often than he changed underwear. A slight exaggeration, but only by a little.
“I didn’t call to talk about the Hamptons.”
“It’s coming up on crunch time, though. The planning approvals?—,”
“I’m aware.” Jack Young had been a pain in his ass on this thing from day one, but now he knew why. It wasn’t Jack, so much as Jack trying to look out for his granddaughter. If Rocco could win over Maddison, then he’d get the house. He sat a little straighter, his gaze focused right ahead.
She wanted him out of her life?
What if he did the opposite and got a lot more into it? What if he got to know her, to understand her, and why the house meant so much to her? Everyone had their price, maybe hers just wasn’t financial. Maybe what she wanted, and needed, was the freedom to step away from the house, to realise it was just a property, and that the world was waiting for her. Maybe he could give that to her, at the same time as achieving his ends. He stood up, energized, convinced that unlocking Maddie was going to be the key to this.
If he could win her over, he’d get the house.
It was just that simple.
“So?” Dante prompted. “You didn’t call to talk about the Hamptons. So, what’s up?”
“I just got an email from Ares.”
“As in, King Ares?”
“Yes.” Their friend since childhood, Rocco rarely used Ares’s title, even though he’d been ruling the prosperous Mediterranean country for many years. “He’s commissioning the redevelopment of a coastal part of the city, including the addition of a high rise that he intends to be one of the tallest in Europe. He’s asked us to put in a tender.”
Dante let out a low whistle. “That’s good news.”
“Not necessarily.”
“Oh?”
“He’s asked the Valentinos to tender as well.”
“You can’t be serious? Why the hell would he ask them?”
“Have you seen their work lately? They’ve been busy in the high-rise space.”
“But they’re—he knows how we feel about them.”
“I suppose he can’t be seen to play favourites. His parliament is involved in the decision making process, too.”
