Page 14 of Miss Treated

I wouldn’t be intimidated by this woman. At least not so it showed. “Absolutely. Thank you for the introductions, Dominic.”

I left her office on shaky legs and gulped a big breath once I’d shut the door behind me.

Reese stood up, her eyes wide. “You all right?”

I pasted on a smile. I’d never admit it to anyone except my therapist, but standing my ground in Sophia’s office had been a major win for me. I hadn’t been intimidated by someone out to make me feel inferior. “Just fine.”

“Mm. I’d love to tell you she’s all bark and no bite, but the truth is she scares the crap out of me.” Her whisper was only loud enough for me alone to hear. “You’re hanging out with Nic a lot?”

“He’s doing the introductions.”

She sighed. “He’s so dreamy. All the women here have crushes on him.”

I wasn’t sure why she was telling me this, let alone how to respond. I settled with, “Yes, I’m getting that sense.”

Yep, definitely the Pied Piper of pussy.

Chapter Six

Dominic

Although I’d known Sophia would be hostile, I hadn’t expected to get caught in her crossfire. I was impressed by the way Kelsey had held her own. She’d remained polite despite the insults my aunt had thrown her way. It was clear my aunt didn’t give a fuck about insulting anyone, including me.

She took a seat at her desk, shaking her head. “I swear your father does this type of thing to rattle me.”

“Seems to be working. You were rude.” Especially when she’d switched to Italian to tell me she couldn’t believe my father had hired someone so inexperienced.

She shrugged, not bothered by my observation. “I have a right to be miffed. Gerard should’ve discussed this with me.”

“Because then you would’ve been amenable to it?”

She chuckled. “Fair enough. Look, it’s nothing personal.”

“Then don’t make it personal and be nice to her.”

She cocked her head to the side. “You like this girl.”

“I just met her. But using her as the target for your anger with my father isn’t fair. You know it, and I know it.”

She sighed. “Fine, fine. You’re right, of course. I’ll be nicer to her. I promise.”

“Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I apparently need to go find out from my father what else I should be doing with my time.”

I was acutely aware of how I’d gotten the job here. Hell, everyone was. But it wasn’t as if I was sitting in my office playing solitaire all day or out golfing. I was exerting myself to learn the ropes and make a difference. Today I’d met with the head of facilities to discuss renting more space for the San Diego office. I’d also worked with technology to buy a new tool for tracking projects. Consequently, I had a major headache, and it wasn’t even noon yet. It stung to hear my own flesh and blood denigrate my efforts.

“I’m sorry, Nicky. It was a cruel thing for me to say. My Italian temper has caused me to take out my displeasure about the audit on everyone. You included. Please forgive me.”

If anyone were to ask me whether going into business with family was a good idea, I’d tell them they were crazy. No matter how professional the relationship, it always got personal. “Fine. Apology accepted.”

I went straight downstairs to Kelsey’s office.

“It’s open,” she called out after my knock.

I entered, shutting the door behind me. “So, that was Aunt Sophia.”

She barely glanced up, intent on typing something on her laptop with angry strokes.

“I supposed I could’ve told you she’s my aunt, but as you could see, no one escapes her wrath. Her favorite nephew included.”