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.”

to vanish. “Then how do you know she is

her things to a holding company here. Why would she send her things here if she didn’t

state?”

happy to help Luca.” Roman thought about how he would feel if Blair were pregnant and then

she is ok. I have nothing, and it’s my fault.” Luca looked like his heart had been

you are staying in the states to hunt for her?”

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

nodded. “You bought Cyber10,

and it’s still

1/2

28)

Chapter 25

“I’ll be straight with you, Luca. That company needs an overhaul. They don’t update their systems enough

you haven’t looked at going else where. I

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

the culture in Cyber10 has been an issue. The women get treaded like glorified secretaries, regardless of their education.

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

held up his hand to get the server’s attention. He requested two

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

me. I have a team that has been working there for a week already. Plus a team working non stop