Page 31 of Unrestricted
"Signore Adriano won't have minded about your hair being a mess but now you have a brush and things…"
She lets the sentence trail off but I catch the drift. Now I have the means to beautify myself I'd damned well better do it.
Adriano always looks immaculate and I doubt a speck of dust would dare land in his house. That tells me something about his standards.
I guess he'll expect me to meet them. I can't yet decide if I'll try to or not.
Rosa shows me down to the dining room which, surprise surprise, is a modern monstrosity.
The walls are white and I'm beginning to wonder if it's all an undercoat and he stopped paying his decorator before they got around to applying any color.
The table is big enough for eight people. It looks like it's made from molded black plastic as do the chairs.
I take a moment to consider what type of person chooses to live in such an uninviting home before crossing the room to join Adriano.
"You cannot seriously like this house." I can't stop myself commenting.
Adriano looks up from where he's sitting at the head of the table, scrolling through his phone as usual.
Dressed in an immaculate white shirt that may or may not be from Massimo’s spring collection, and navy pants, he doesn’t have a single hair out of place.
I should have known he’d be a morning person. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I am one myself, though I never manage to look quite so put together before I’ve had my first coffee.
"What's wrong with this house?" he asks as I take a seat to his left.
"It's like living in a child's playhouse. Everything's made out of Duplo blocks or something."
Adriano raises an eyebrow. "Your objections are noted, though my decor is hardly your concern."
"Well apologies if I'm worried about your comfort."
He stares at me for several seconds. He picks up his coffee cup, takes a sip and then sets it down. That tiny crease is there at the bridge of his nose again, the one I already recognize as a sign he’s mulling something over.
"You're worried about my comfort?"
"Yes. Perhaps if you had a cushion or two you'd be more……"
"More what?"
"More not an asshole."
Adriano laughs. "Very eloquent,cara. Did it take you long to come up with that?"
His tone rubs me the wrong way.
"I'm not stupid, you know. I may have worked in cafes for the last few years but when I was with Gabriele…"
I notice the subtle tightening of the lines around his mouth.
Interesting.
He definitely does not like me mentioning my past relationship with his cousin.
"I was working in a doctor's office. They were going to put me on a management course."
"Good for you." Adriano couldn't sound less impressed if he tried. "If there's one thing the world needs it's more managers."
Huffing, I pour myself some orange juice from the jug on the table. I take a long drink, my lips puckering at the sharpness. Then I set my glass down.
