Page 7 of Legacy of Deception

Chapter 3

we’re the only lucky ones

Brooklyn

“This is your office?” I asked, taking in the space.

Four empty walls.

An empty bookshelf.

A lonely laptop sitting on an otherwise empty desk.

It was drab…boring…lifeless. It didn’t fit the man. In fact, it seemed in direct contrast to Marco.

At six foot two, he looked like the epitome of a blessed male model I wouldn’t have just lusted after in a magazine but pulled out the page and hung in my closet when I had been a teenager. Far from drab, boring, or even lifeless.

With broad shoulders, defined biceps, and a chiseled face complete with dark, bushy eyebrows, dark-brown eyes that were almost obsidian, and suave hair of the same color, he always stood out among his brothers.

Yet, none of that negated the fact that the prospect of us pretending to be together twisted me up inside.

A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as he sat down behind his desk, the corded muscles in his chest visible through the white shirt that clung to him. “All one hundred and fifty square feet are mine, making me the luckiest bastard around. Wouldn’t you say?” His thumb reached for his pinky finger, rolling the gold and onyx initial ring on it absentmindedly. I’d seen it before on his brothers’ fingers.

“It’s—” I searched for the right words. Unfortunately, I came up short. “Whatever.”

“Articulate.”

I narrowed my gaze, choosing to ignore his comment in favor of getting on with far more important topics that would guarantee this little meeting would soon be coming to an end. “I think we should address a few topics.”

“Related to our imminent union?” he asked, standing and starting to undo the buttons running down the front of his crisp white shirt.

“Yes, I—” My eyes followed him as he moved with purpose. His bicep flexed with the motion of him reaching for a hanger behind his door to take the shirt that hung from it off, my eyes getting caught on the ink on his forearm. He was tatted with black birds, beautiful black birds that I wanted to see come to life and take flight right off his sculpted arm, etched with precision. “What are you doing?” Did he have any others? Involuntarily, my gaze fell.

I wasn’t sure when it had happened, but he had eaten up the distance between us. Snatching my chin with his index finger, he lifted my gaze. “Up here, bella.”

My stomach bottomed out, my ears burning. Fixing my purse for no good reason but to try to focus on something else, I diverted my attention. For him being the boss’s son and an heir to the fortune, I would have thought he’d have more than this sad state of affairs as an office. It appeared Santo had favorites, and Marco didn’t make the cut. Well, maybe doing this so Santo could land himself my father’s company would change that. Although, if Santo was like my father, not one thing in particular would be good enough. The final grades only came after a lifetime of sacrifice. At least, that was what I was left to assume.

“I have someplace to be after this meeting. This spontaneous meeting, might I add,” he said, sounding nonplussed.

“Yes, well, I—” Didn’t know I had to get on his calendar. Now that I knew who I was meeting, maybe next time I could call his assistant ahead of time. Except there wouldn’t be a next time because this was the end of the line. I didn’t see how I could give much more for my family, how I could continue to fix my father’s screwups. And I had no doubt he would make more. This had to be it, though. After this, he’d have the money, the reputation. So, I’d be done. It’d be on him to save himself.

He rolled his eyes. “I always thought my wife would be well-spoken,” he said earnestly and unapologetically. All the while, he pulled the structured knit shirt on over his head, each arm only slipping through the holes once it was slung around his neck. “Well, what are these topics you have on your mind?”

Indignation coursed through my veins. “If you weren’t so rude, then you might know,” I said, shifting my weight and crossing my arms. “If you want to marry me, you’re going to have to propose first.”

“Too bad the want is what’s vital, and it’s not there for me.”

“Well, I still deserve a proper proposal.”

He cocked his head, smirking. “You’re not wrong, but it isn’t going to be from me.” Clearly, being a gentleman was off the table. It was a small thing to ask since I was sacrificing something that had always been held to a high standard—a proposal, leading into an engagement, and then a magical wedding day and romantic life. “Plus, what we deserve is often at odds with what’s forced upon us. Wouldn’t you say?”

I stared back, blinking as I uncrossed my arms. “I’d say a lot of things.” Like how whether he liked it or not, this was going to happen, and I would’ve liked to be able to make some nice memories in the meantime. Even if they started with me demanding a proposal from a man who I’d only ever known as Capri’s older brother.

“If your voice mattered, which it doesn’t.” He half sat on the edge of the top of his desk, one foot touching the floor. His eyes scanned me, like I was a puzzle he was trying to solve. He was the inscrutable one. Out of all of his brothers, I couldn’t get a good read on him. Surmising was always an option, but it would only get me so far. From the stories and the things I’d noticed, I felt I knew a few things about him.

He wanted more, that was for sure.

He used his sarcastic wit as a weapon.