Beneath Her Bastard Boss

Roman rested back against his chair, taking a sip of his scotch. Their meal had been excellent. They had turned down dessert. They had both requested a vintage scotch on ice. He looked at his friend. There was something definitely going on with him. Lines were etched into his forehead and around his mouth, and he had lost weight. “Luca, what’s going on with you? You seem distracted and you look tired.”

Luca rubbed his hand across his face. “I’m not in the US just for business. I’m here hunting for a woman.”

Roman leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Why? I thought you were marrying the Bruno heiress.”

“That’s not happening now. I… I was involved with a woman before my father made me promise to marry Elena Bruno. I didn’t want to. She is just a child, only turning eighteen last month.”

“Why did you promise to marry her then?” Roman set his drink down on the table. No one made Luca do something he didn’t want to do.

Luca looked down into his own glass, staring at the amber liquid. “My father was on his deathbed and about to have a triple heart bypass. He made me promise I would marry her before the operation.”

“I’m sorry about your dad but you said in your last email he is fine and recovering now. But I thought you married Elena Bruno. I was very disappointed I didn’t get an invitation.”

“There won’t be a wedding, not to Elena, anyway. I really fucked up.” Luca took a big sip of his drink.

Roman frowned at this. It wasn’t like Luca to admit he had made a mistake. “What happened?”

Luca frowned, clearly upset over it even now. “After agreeing to marry Elena to make my father happy and have his operation. I flew home to break it off with Audrey, my girlfriend. She told me she was pregnant. Let’s just say I didn’t believe her. I called her a liar and left.” Roman could see there was a lot Luca wasn’t telling him. “It wasn’t until a week later I found out something that put her pregnancy in a different light and I realized she was carrying my child.”

“So she is here in the US?” Roman asked. He would do anything to help his friend. “Do you want my head of security to help with the search?”

“That’s just it. I have hired the best in the business. It’s like she has just disappeared. Audrey packed up her apartment in London and vanished.”

This made Roman frown. It was hard for anyone to vanish. “Then how do you know she is in the US?”

“She sent her things to a holding company here. Why would she send her things here if she didn’t plan on moving to this

state?”

“I’m happy to help Luca.” Roman thought about how he would feel if Blair were pregnant and then vanished with his child. “I can’t imagine what you are going through.”

“The worst thing is, I don’t know if she kept the baby or not. If she is ok. I have nothing, and it’s my fault.” Luca looked like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. “I think she called me once, but I’m not completely sure. She didn’t talk. The number traced back here.”

“Is that why you are staying in the states to hunt for her?” Roman asked.

Luca nodded. “It’s part of the reason I asked to talk to you. I’m buying up companies in the US to expand. It gives me a reason to be here and to keep me busy. Until I find Aubrey and my child.”

Roman nodded. “You bought Cyber10, didn’t you?”

Luca wasn’t surprised he had guessed. “Yes, and it’s still embargo until Monday week, where I will officially take over.”

28)noveldrama

“Well, thank fuck,” Roman said, relieved. “I’ll be straight with you, Luca. That company needs an overhaul. They don’t update their systems enough to stop the latest cyber attacks. We almost got caught not long ago.”

“I know the current CEO told me. I’m hoping you haven’t looked at going else where. I would really like it if you stay with Cyber10.”

“I will, because I trust you. Blair’s sister works there.” Roman let him know. “Sutton is on reception. But from what Blair tells me, her talents are completely wasted. She went to MIT and only dropped out to work to support her younger sisters. But answering the phones seems a waste of her time for someone that went to MIT.”

“Does not surprise me, honestly. The word is the culture in Cyber10 has been an issue. The women get treaded like glorified secretaries, regardless of their education. That will be the first thing to change.”

Roman scoffed at the challenges women still faced. “I can’t believe some men still live in the dark ages.”

“I agree. My right–hand man is a woman. Nicole, you have met her.” Luca held up his hand to get the server’s attention. He requested two more glasses of scotch.

Roman didn’t say anything about Nicole. He personally didn’t like her. She reminded him too much of Jessica with her calculating looks. It was like she was assessing the angle of everything. Plus, Roman thought she had her eye on Luca. His friend was a big boy and needed to see it for himself. “Well, I think you have your work cut out for you and I’ll stay with Cyber10 because you bought it.”

“Thank you. That means a lot. If the biggest customer that Cyber10 managed was to leave, it wouldn’t reflect well on the company. It means a lot the faith you have in me. I have a team that has been working there for a week already. Plus a team working non stop to upgrade their systems. We are planning to have everything worked out over the coming weeks. The culture and staffing issues could take longer.”

“That’s great news. It would be good having you in the country.” Roman gladly took his glass from the waitress as she brought the drinks back to their table.

“Now tell me all about Blair.” Luca settled back.

“Let’s just say it’s serious. I need to convince her that she belongs with me.”

“What? She isn’t won over by your

charm.”

Roman snorted. “Anything but. She called me a few choice names, even on the first night. Blair will need some convincing that I want her. I want to ask her to marry me, but I’m worried she will run for the hills. She just got out of a relationship with a cheater.” Blair was wary of anything serious. She was finding her feet sexually and he would do everything and anything to keep her with him without doing her harm or getting creepy.

“Marriage wow. Well, congratulations man. She seems really nice.” He left unsaid a far cry from the bitch Jessica. “I’m planning on the same as soon as I find Audrey. If she kept the child, he will carry my name if it’s the last thing I do.”

Roman felt his friend was going to have a hard road ahead. His ex–girlfriend must really hate him right now. The fact he had thrown her aside to marry a family friend’s daughter. Choosing that over his child. He really hoped it worked out for him. Because Roman could see the toll it had taken on his friend not knowing.

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