know to never ask a woman what she needs at the drugstore.”
He grinned. Reaching for his phone, he unlocked it and then pressed a number into the phone. “Jeff. We will be ready for pickup in about five minutes. Check the car for some Advil or Tylenol. If there isn’t any, go grab some. We’ll see you in the valet area in a bit.” He hung up the phone and returned to his steak.
“I could have picked up my own medicine.”
“We’re already short on time. They’ll wonder what’s been keeping you.”
“Scared of Sheila?”
He grinned again, looking up from his steak. “Terrified. That woman is worse than my mother.”
His steak was already half-gone, and the remaining bit didn’t have a chance. The man didn’t believe in wasting time. Mimmo appeared at my side.
“Ms. Campbell. I’ve taken the liberty of wrapping a few of our house truffles for your enjoyment later.”
How does this man know my name? I nodded my thanks and placed the small, exquisitely wrapped package into my purse.
He left, taking a handful of our plates with him. De Luca stood, shoveling a few more pieces of meat into his mouth, and then reached for my hand.
“Let’s go.”
I stood quickly and grabbed my purse. “Shouldn’t we wait for the check?”
“I have a house account. They know what to tip.” He wiped his face with the cloth napkin and tilted his head, indicating that we should leave. I allowed him to lead me out, but pulled my hand free as we approached the front doors. A doorman held the door for us, and we exited into the hot summer air.
The town car sat in front, Jeff standing by it. As he opened my door, he handed me a small plastic bag. Giving me a casual smile, he gently shut the door once I was fully inside. I peeked into the bag and pulled out a small bottle of Advil and a bottle of water. Sweet salvation. My headache jumped up and down, cheering. I twisted open the Advil bottle, popped three in my mouth and sucked down half the bottle of water.
De Luca spent the ride back to the office on the phone. I leaned back in the seat, the heavy food and wine making me sleepy. We were back in the garage before I knew it, and I glanced around before reaching for the door handle.
“Relax.” De Luca spoke from the other seat, having disconnected his call. He reached over and grabbed my knee, trying to reassure me—I think, but the connection of our bodies was a shock to my system, and I stifled a gasp.
I swatted his hand away. “If Broward finds out I—”
“Do you always do as you’re told?”
I gave him a death glare, but his demeanor didn’t waver one bit. “Yes, I typically do.”
“You should learn to bend the rules.”
“You should learn to follow them!” I retorted, smiling a bit. “Good afternoon, Mr. De Luca. Thank you for the ridiculously expensive lunch.”
“I enjoyed it.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that, and opened the car door. Jeff was standing there, and I gave him a small smile and rushed to the elevators. I pressed the button and waited, glancing back at the black car. It stayed there, idling, Jeff once again in the driver’s seat. The bell dinged and the door opened. Thankfully, the elevator was empty. I entered, pressed the button for the fourth floor and leaned against the wall. I felt as though I had dodged a bullet, had skipped across glowing coals and then had tied myself securely to the tracks of an oncoming train. The bell dinged, sounding eerily like a far-off train whistle.
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