Wrong for Me

35|one night

DANTE MANCINI—SEPTEMBER

IMPATIENTLY, I BOUNCED MY leg under my desk as I waited for the door of my office to crack open. Usually, I wasn't one to partake in conflict, but with an multi-million dollar business in my hands and a reputation to uphold, I had no choice but to be stern when necessary.

Sadly, I had never thought that my authoritarian side would need to come out in the office in order to defend my relationship, yet these past couple have months have proven to me just how unpredictable my life could be.

Just as I was about to send Danielle yet another email, the door to my office cracked open and she stepped through the gap with a timid expression on her face—a look I had never seen on her before.

"You asked to speak to me, sir," she affirmed in that saccharine voice of hers, sashaying over to my desk as if she was clueless as to why she would have possibly been beaconed to my office. "I have the reports completed if that's what you need."

I shook my head, the metal ring on my finger clicking against the desk as I drummed my fingers against the mahogany. I wasn't sure if it was my apprehension regarding this conversation or the nerves of knowing that Danielle could ruin my reputation—most importantly my relationship—in a few short words and a click of the finger that was making me act this way.

"Please just take a seat," I spoke instead, clearing my voice after I realized how meek I appeared. When she was seated, I continued with, "I wanted to talk to you about Naomi and I's relationship. As I'm sure you know...since it's in the employee handbook that you signed when you took your position, there is nothing forbidding relationships between coworkers. Including superiors. While it may seem inappropriate to you, it is in fact allowed."

When she opened her mouth to reply, I held up a hand to halt her. While I had started off with being docile and gentle with her, there was no way I would be letting off when it came to Naomi.

"In addition to that, I wanted to add that I will be sharing the details of my relationship with other employees later today. I also wanted to remind you that sharing personal information...of all kinds ...about your coworkers' permission is prohibited."

A smirk grew on her face and I felt my heart race as I waited for her reply. I had been anticipating this all along, but now that she was truly about to bring the topic back up, I wished I could backtrack.

"Why are you telling me this? Scared I'll send around that little video of us? Is it sharing personal information about a coworker if I'm in the video too, Mr. Mancini?"

My breath hitched in my throat as my heart felt like it had been torn straight out of my chest. How was it that I knew exactly what she would say and yet I was still having such a visceral reaction to it?

"You won't," was all I could respond with at the moment, unsure of how I could fix this situation. Finally, I settled on adding, "We both know it was a mistake from years ago...there's no reason for it to be brought up when I've moved on...and I'm sure you have too."

A sneer appeared on her face for so short of a time that I wasn't even sure if it was really there. Thinking back, I realized that I had been blind all those years ago to believe that Danielle was a sweet person—it was all a façade that managed to trick me.

"Fine, Dante," she spoke, all of the gentility dissipating from her voice. "I won't tell Naomi, but if your relationship with her isn't a problem, why were you trying to hard to hide it? And if it's so healthy why are you hiding your past from her?"

Bile rose in my throat as the blood coursing through my veins froze in place. How was I supposed to respond to that? It wasn't like I was ashamed of Naomi and I's relationship—sure the age gap and our work connection was problematic, but I had never been one to truly care what people thought of me. I was protecting her, and that included hiding a part of my past life from her.

I hadn't lied to her when I admitted that there had been a time in my life when I slept with a bunch of women out of my own pain and emptiness, yet I had chosen to leave out the fact that Danielle was one of those women for good reason. Not only would it hurt her beyond belief, but it was a regret that I never wanted to relive.

When I didn't respond, she stood from the other side of my desk and made her way back to the door. With her hand lingering on the knob, she turned back to face me once more and muttered, "I'm ashamed that you think I would tell anyone. I have nothing against Naomi...it's you."

With that, she narrowed her gaze once more before finally stepping out into the rest of the office space. As soon as she was gone, I couldn't help but to run a distressed hand through my hair as I let myself fall back against the chair.

Years ago, I hadn't thought that one night that was so insignificant would come back to haunt me in this way. To make matters even worse, I would have to face Naomi in just a matter of hours and act as if nothing was wrong when all I could think about was the fact that our relationship could come tumbling down in a matter of days. That just a few words and bruised feelings could put an end to something I had worked so hard for and changed myself for.

I was starting to wonder if I was really as different from my parents as I made myself out to be, but I seemed to ruin everything I touched in the same way they did.

a/n: all i can say is....PLOT TWIST. what do you think is on the video that danielle has with dante? how do you think naomi would react? do you think he's wrong for not telling her?

thank you so much for reading and being patient. love you guys!!! i hope you enjoyed <3