"Sky! Wake up! Your phone has been ringing for the past fifteen minutes. How can you not hear it?" Luca grips my shoulder and mercilessly shakes my stiff body. This instantly unlocks the nasty pain in my head. I growl in protest. He does not seem bothered at all and yells louder. "It's your boss. Come to life and pick up, or I'll do it for you."

   "No!" I groan and try to open my eyes. The bright light pouring in from the floor-to-ceiling window magnifies the pain threefold. Once, I thought it was an awesome idea to have a glass wall in my bedroom. Now, I consider it the worst one that has ever crossed my mind. My mouth is dry. My breath is acid. I am snuggled up in bed with all my clothes on. The belt buckle cuts painfully into my skin. I pull the phone out of my brother's hand and whine, "Close the curtains. Oh, my God! I feel terrible. I think I am going to puke."

   "Don't you dare!" He shoves a glass of water in my other hand, waving a large white pill in front of my face. "Open your mouth. A few drinks, and I am forced to save your ass from a total meltdown. Grow up. Take it like an adult person. Booze leads to unpleasant consequences, but it won't make us fold when necessity requires it. Besides, there are no curtains. Can't help you with that."

   "Press the green button on that panel," I barely hum, trying hard to swallow the sour tablet, which is stuck to my palate and won't budge, and keep all the food in my stomach at the same time. How could I quaff all that whiskey? Luca is to blame, of course. He knows very well that I can't hold much liquor. 

   "Ah, awesome!" He cheers without a shred of sympathy in his voice when the outer roller blinds slowly slide down, hiding us from the dazzling rays of the morning sun. "Better?"

   "Nothing can make me feel better," I grumble. "You are a bad influence and..."

   No more time to complain as the phone starts ringing again. God, I hate it. I deeply sigh and pick up. 

   "Skylar, what are you doing?" Jason's voice is jolly and enthusiastic. Can't relate. "I expected you to call me last night to confirm that you have reached home safely?"

   "I am a grown man," I spitefully hiss. "As you can imagine, I have used taxi services before. Why wouldn't I reach home safely?"

   "Whoa! You're grumpy." He starts to chuckle, which annoys me even more. "Not a morning person, I assume. Well, I guess no one is happy to hear their boss's voice at eight a.m. Sorry about that. You will have to come a bit earlier today."

   "Why?" I rub my puffy eyes and somehow manage to crawl out of bed and follow Luca to the kitchen. The aroma of freshly brewed espresso makes me feel a little better.

   "You are meeting Mauricio today," Jason explains with even more zeal. I am not delighted with the news and barely stop myself from telling him that I already know about it. He apologetically adds, "However, there is a small issue. He is in Civitavecchia* and is only free until twelve. You will drive for an hour and better leave as soon as possible.

   *Civitavecchia - a coastal town, 50 miles from Rome, a major cruise port

   "Oh?" I grab the steaming cup from Luca and take a sip. It is scorching. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

   "I admit that this is kind of unexpected," Jason mumbles. "But don't you think you are overreacting?"

   "No! Sorry!" I leave the cup on the table and glare at my brother who only nonchalantly shrugs. "I did not mean the trip. Just burned my tongue with hot coffee."

   "I see." Jason chuckles again. "That really sucks. Anyway, I am coming with you. Can you pick me up from Via della Conciliazione in half an hour?"

   "Umm... I apologize, but that won't be possible. I mean, I do not have a car." I glare at Luca one more time and get absolutely the same reaction. 

   "Didn't you mention something about a brand new sports car yesterday?" Jason asks in surprise.

   "Yeah, I did." I carefully try to sip some more coffee. It is not as hot as before, but I taste nothing. The receptors on my tongue are obviously not working anymore. "Someone...uhm... my brother... long story short, the car is smashed... ugh... out of order at this point."

   "Wow! Is he ok?" Jason asks.

   "He is fine and not ashamed at all," I answer, accusatory glancing at Luca. He only grins and shows me the thumb up. "I can take a company car."

   "No way," Jason instantly protests. "Where is the fun in that? I'll drive. Tell me your address."

   "I... umm... live in a really crowded neighborhood, narrow streets, and everything." I hate to lie. Why do I always find myself in situations that leave me with no other choice but to say things that are not true. The sweat is trickling down my temple. "Listen, I can be in front of the office building in half an hour. Is that ok? It will be much better."

   "Yeah, sure! I'll meet you there." With this, he hangs out. 

   I take a deep breath and point a finger at my brother. "You will pay for everything you did since you came here."

   "What have I done?" he innocently says. "You should thank me. Your crush wants to spend a full hour in a car with you. What's wrong with that?"

   I answer nothing and head to the bathroom. My headache has eased a bit, but not enough to deal with Luca's bullshit. I contemplate for a while whether I should throw him out right away and never give him the keys to any of my properties again, but finally decide that it will take too much energy which I obviously lack. There are many pressing issues that I can not ignore, too. How do I stop the nausea and not give the impression that I am about to pass out at any moment? What to wear? How do I prevent my hair from looking like I have just been electrocuted? And the most important one, which is how to achieve all of that within less than thirty minutes?

   I have no idea how I did it, but the magic somehow worked. I am standing at the main entrance in a casual shirt and jeans and gazing at the busy street, trying to guess which of the approaching cars is Jason's. The air is already humid and hot at eight thirty. My stomach angrily growls. I am not in the least inclined to give in to the urge and put any food in my mouth. I can not believe I am so silly. Having a blast mid-week can be qualified as nothing other than utter foolishness. It is only Wednesday. I am seriously concerned about my existence until Friday. I need some survival techniques in this corporate, fashion, and family jungle.

   Wait! What? Oh, no! Really? Fuck!

   "Heyyy," Jason beams, handing me a helmet. "You look as if you've seen a ghost. Relax! This will be an awesome ride."

   I paid little attention to the hot biker on the sleek, black Moto Guzzi until he pulled up in front of me and turned out to be my boss in outrageously tight ripped jeans and a sensational Armani leather jacket. If I ever steal or commit any other crime, it will probably be only to get one of those jackets... or this man. 

***

A/N

Hello, at the end of Chapter 23.

Thank you so much for reading and supporting ❤️❤️❤️

Jason seems full of surprises.

Do you think he appeared on the motorbike in an attempt to impress Sky?

Share your thoughts, criticize if you think it is necessary, and don't forget to vote and comment if you liked the chapter.

Love: Anny