Skylar Jones was adopted into an old Italian aristocratic family when he was ten. His life goes under the strict control of his stepfather, Count Massimiliano De Angelis. Sky is a good boy and obeys the rules. One thing only he keeps to himself, his...
"Elvis has left the building," Luca triumphantly announces, grinning like a Hallowing pumpkin. He instantly fishes out an outrageously big cigar out of his pocket and adds, "Well, in our case, The Big A has left the penthouse. Thank God for that! The guy can cook like a pro, but he is also totally capable of driving me nuts in less than five minutes."
"Don't you dare!" I yell, but it is too late.
My brother has already managed to light the cigar before I could even try to snatch it out of his hand. He puffs a cloud of smoke in my face and smugly points the smelly thing at me. "Let me see if I got this most extraordinary situation right. Jason Marchetti, huh? I kind of feel I have heard the name before... Hmm, I can't quite remember. Why does it sound so familiar?"
I ignore his manipulative questions and open wide the sliding doors to the vast pool terrace. "Out!"
"Va bene, fai con calma, fratellino. (Fine. Take it easy, bro.)" Luca lazily drags his feet towards the nearest lounger and blissfully stretches out under the warm autumn sun. "Honestly, I do not understand you, people. Missing out on the best things in life just in the hopes of extending your existence by a few more years. To tell you the truth, I don't give a shit if I live to be a hundred years old since it will be no fun after ninety."
"I am not in the least concerned about your health right now. This thing stinks to high heaven. I do not want it in my house," I retort.
Luca indignantly snorts. "You have no taste, my dear. Fifteen years, and you obviously learned nothing from your big brother."
"I guess I am not a very good student." I shrug. "But I am glad you don't plan on stopping the party until you become ninety. This means I have plenty of time to improve."
We look at each other and burst into laughter.
"All right, all right, you win. I will smoke only outside. I promise," Luka generously agrees. He glances at me cheekily and holds out his open palm. "Keys."
"What keys?" I ask, gazing at him in bewilderment.
"All of them," he answers with annoyance in his voice, as if it is unimaginable that I could not get it the first time. "Dad needs me for a few more days until we sign all the contracts. You know I do not like staying in hotels. I hate using taxi services either. So, I am crushing at your place for a couple of nights. I will also need your car."
"And what is wrong with the family estate in San Pietro*?" I bellow.
*San Pietro/Vaticani district - one of the most beautiful and historically significant residential areas in Rome neighboring Vatican City.
"Nah, too close to the Pope," he cuts me. "Have you ever noticed that the most indecent thoughts start to pop into your mind just when you should be behaving properly? I can't control it. It sucks the life out of me. I am religious and do not want to make a bad impression."
"You are crazy." I start to giggle. "Believe me, the Pope does not care about what is going on in your head. I haven't heard of him being a telepath either. As long as you don't break any laws, you are perfectly safe."
"Yeah, but dad does," Luca retorts, letting out an exhausted sigh. "He is worse than the Pope."
"Ugh, don't get me started." I flop on a lounger next to my brother and bury my fingers in my unruly hair. "What am I going to do? How could he give me such a task."
"That sucks, man," Luca agrees. "Hiding your true identity is one thing, but doing it while snitching on your employer is a whole other level of shittiness."
"No. If dad had asked me to report to him on Jason's decisions, it wouldn't have been so bad." I start to scratch my head in worry. My heart sinks only talking about it. "Can you imagine? He wants me to make sure that the advertising campaign will be successful and take all the necessary actions to stop any reckless choices my boss might make. What the fuck? Have you ever heard of a secretary controlling a marketing director. How the hell am I supposed to do it? You know nothing about Jason, but I am going to tell you. He is uncontrollable."
"Hey, calm down." My brother puts his hand on my shoulder and slightly shakes me to stop the growing panic. "If dad thinks you can, then you are surely capable of influencing the development of this project. It is a big compliment. He believes in you. I will not comment on his methods, which are pretty questionable as always. Running multi-billion companies is sometimes a dirty business. But have in mind that this deal is huge. Father obviously trusts you and Jason immensely to let you run it."
"I thought I was going to type and make coffee," I mutter. "Luca, I really do not want to do this. It is not in my nature to be a businessman."
"But you will anyway, so there is no point in sulking," he concludes. "Speaking about your boss... You are still in love with him, aren't you? How often does fate do us favors? This is your second chance. Don't miss it."
"My second chance for what?" I stubbornly ask. "He did not notice me for five years. Why would he pay any attention to me now? Have you seen him by the way? It's like pairing a wolf and a lamb."
"Yeah, I saw him." Luca smirks, totally unimpressed by my rant. "Seems perfect for you. You do need a bad boy to rock your world."
"Mind your own business," I grumble. "If you do not want to sleep a few blocks away from the Pope and a few doors down from his scarier counterpart aka signor De Angelis."
"Ah, you have learned something from me after all." He grins and starts clapping his hands in an exaggerated applause. "If you feel pushed against the wall, bite. Good job, fratellino. I said what I had to say. The rest is up to you. Now, where are the keys?"
"Over there, in the wicker bowl next to the clock... Oh, my God!" My eyes go wide upon seeing what time it is. I jump up and rush to the door. "Dad will kill me. It's five past nine. See you later."
"Si, si! Ti sento. Non c'è bisogno di urlare (Yes, yes! I hear you. There is no need to scream.) You are a bundle of nerves. When was the last time you had sex?"
My brother got the finger for a second time in an hour. My father is probably mad. I myself am officially late for work on my second day.
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Vatican San Pietro Rome panorama
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A/N
Hello, at the end of Chapter 10.
Thank you for reading and supporting ❤️❤️❤️
Will Sky succeed with his father's challenge?
And will Jason do something that requires his assistant's intervention?
Do you think Sky is in trouble for being late for work?
Here is today's surprise. The POV will change every ten chapters in this book.
So get ready to see what is in Jason's mind. 😉
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