Page 257 of Merciless Daddy

“You’re bringing breakfast upstairs. You’re feeling guilty.”

“I have done that before.”

“Twice. Once when I had the flu and once after I threatened to murder a director before nine in the morning.”

“Well, he deserved it.”

“What was his crime again? Oh yes, he moved a meeting without asking.”

“Exactly.”

Sal placed the tray across my lap and kissed my forehead.

“Eat.”

I looked at the eggs, yhen at him.

His face had settled into careful neutrality. That alone confirmed a crime was underway. I narrowed my eyes.

“What are you hiding?”

“Nothing.”

“That sounded almost convincing.”

“You wound me, Lena.”

His mouth shifted.

He sat on the edge of the bed and handed me the coffee first. Correctly. I drank, watching him over the rim.

He watched me take a bite of toast. Also suspicious.

“Happy?” I asked.

“Very. Thanks for asking.”

“No. I meant now that you have verified I can chew.”

“You know, I always had confidence in you. I knew you could do it.”

I batted his arm. “You were staring.”

“I enjoy looking at you.”

“That is an evasive answer.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

I ate half the toast. Sal gave a small nod, as if a negotiation had concluded to his satisfaction.

We were due at Mezza Notte that evening for the reopening. It had taken months to restore the restaurant after Gianni’s attack. Longer to persuade Tonio that structural engineers were more qualified than he was to decide whether a fire-damaged wall could remain standing.

The opening should have consumed the day. Instead, my schedule was empty. So was Sal’s.

I had checked three times.

“You canceled my call with the employee council,” I said.