EIGHT

C H A P T E R - - - E I G H T - - - - R E I D A N

The following morning, Reidan was unable to get at the office quickly enough. In the past, if he was summoned home, he would often put off going home as long as he could to make sure he was spending as little time as possible with his mother and brother. However, because he was going to meet Selena again today, his heart was racing so quickly that it seemed as though it may spring cleanly out of his body.

He was eager to meet her in order to determine whether their time together had affected her appearance from the day before. He was aware that they had not yet kissed, fucked, or engaged in any other sexual activity, but he was nevertheless curious as to whether she had undergone any changes. If she felt more liberated, content, or just better now that she had signed the contract—the same way he had felt ever since he had seen her name scribbled on that last page the previous evening.

Before entering his father's former office, Reidan grinned and bowed to the numerous workers already present in the compound. As he did so, he felt his chest lighten as he caught sight of Selena's back. She had seated herself at her desk. Reidan smiled, Well, at least our new arrangement hasn't affected her punctuality.

As he closed the office door behind him, he began to say, "Good morning—," but stopped himself when he saw the other person in the space. Matteo. A sly grin appeared on his face as he sat at Selena's desk's edge. Reidan walked around to Selena's desk and turned to face them both, thinking,

"Fucker," as he suddenly felt all the happiness leave his body.

“What exactly is going on here?

Before finally fixing his sight on Selena's face, Reidan spoke in a strong and forceful manner. She bit down on her lower lip and gazed up at him with wide, concerned eyes; her brows were wrinkled in anxiety.

But Matteo's expression stayed the same. Standing on the edge of Selena's desk, he appeared content as a clam, but something else gleamed in his eyes—a smug, contented sense of triumph, as if he had just defeated his foe. Reidan clenched his hands into fists and glared down at his stupid younger brother who was bothering the woman he had been wanting to rape for over a year.

Matteo shrugged, "We're just talking, you know, hanging out."

Reidan snarled, "Yeah, I can see that. He may have restrained himself or been courteous to his younger brother on any other day, but following his father's passing, he had little to no tolerance for such nonsense.

"This place needs improvement. Matteo, this is not a time to play."

Matteo shrugged once again, appearing unconcerned by his brother's stern demeanor.

"All right, it makes sense."  He turned to Selena and said, "I suppose I'll chat to you later, dear thing," before leaping over the edge of the desk and running for the door.

Reidan observed Selena wriggle uncomfortably in her seat, which increased his fury. Reidan felt a fire beginning to boil at the base of his throat. How might Matteo be made to learn a lesson, though? Reidan refrained from outright declaring that Selena was his property. He could genuinely not afford for anyone to know about their relationship. He was unsure of Selena's comfort level with their little arrangement, so it would further confuse matters. But it was obvious that Matteo needed to learn about boundaries. We couldn't allow this kind of behavior to continue.

Before his brother could leave the room, Reidan stopped him with a simple, "Matteo" command. "All right, follow me to my other office. We must talk about a few issues.

"Okay," Matteo murmured hesitantly, standing still as Reidan moved cautiously away from Selena's desk. Selena worriedly peered up at Reidan, maybe fearing that he might put a possessive claim on her or something similar, but Reidan eventually turned and escorted his brother out of the room before heading down the hallway to his former office.

Just to be sure that no maids or other staff members scurrying about might listen, Reidan shut the door behind them. On this, he had to exercise caution.

“What’s up, brother?"  Matteo sat down on one side of Reidan's dust-covered desk, which had been empty for more than a year. He inquired.

Reidan made a snap judgment while looking down at his brother's squirmy, almost apprehensive, small face. He refused to directly address Selena. He couldn't, for one thing, afford to tell Matteo that he planned to fuck her. He would never hear the end of it, to start with, because Matteo had "called dibs" on her months before, as if he were simply waiting for their father to pass away so he could have her for himself.

Second, he didn't want Matteo to gossip about them to their mother. Forgiveness was not one of Mama Bianco's many qualities. She was adamant that Selena had been cheating on her husband before he passed away, and she would be furious to learn that Reidan was doing the same.

Reidan cleared his throat, trying to be as cool and courteous as he could, "I simply wanted to chat to you about the funeral.” He didn't want Matteo to become his foe. In light of the fact that, all things considered, he knew the industry about as well as Selena did, he may be beneficial..

Matteo said, relaxingly laying back in his chair, "I guess Mama's planning that." He seems to understand that he wouldn't be screamed at.

Reidan invented the discussion as he went, "Right, that's another issue.  I have some concerns about her. Is she coping well with Dad's death and everything else? ”

Matteo made a little frown. "I realize it's difficult to say. The old man always keeps a close eye on her. I haven't seen her cry or anything, but you know how she is. She's probably breaking down in private, away from prying eyes."

When Reidan thought about his mother, he slowly nodded as a little pang of remorse started to sear in his lower abdomen. Really after months and months of not speaking to her, he had not even actually written to her after his father's passing. She may have been a bit of a b*tch, continually reminding him what a disappointment he was in comparison to his younger brother and bossing him about, but she was still his mother. She had been completely ignored by her eldest son for the last year, and she deserved better than that.

Reidan promised to assist in planning the funeral. Resources was code for Selena, but he wasn't about to speak her name and start a can of worms with his brother. "I have the resources right now to commit to it."

"Are you certain you should utilize those... resources, really?

Matteo cocked an eyebrow in skepticism. "Well, considering what our mother thinks about them? ”

Both of them remained silent for a considerable period of time, leaving Matteo's query unanswered. They were arguing about Selena, but neither of them wanted to confess it out loud or even admit that she was the subject of their conversation.

After another long minute of stillness, Reidan bit his tongue instead of opening his mouth, carefully contemplating his words before speaking. If you get my meaning, "I guess what Mama doesn't know won't hurt her"

While contemplating Reidan's assertion, Matteo clicked his tongue from behind his teeth and rolled his eyes up in the back of his head. "Good enough. However, you should speak with her directly, you know. She is still your mother."

A brief moment of shame was followed by a tense indignation that Matteo was evaluating him. What was he aware of his mother's connection with him? It seemed unlikely that he could ever fully comprehend. He had not had the pressure of his mother's expectations on him his entire life. If Matteo failed, that was alright. He was only the younger sibling. In any case, he was never intended to be a member of the dynasty.

Reidan wanted to scold his brother, but he restrained himself and gave a tight smile instead. "I perceive. So, start working. Even though Dad isn't in the grave yet, we can't afford to let up, he laughed and motioned for Matteo to get up from the chair and join him back into the compound's main room.

Reidan grabbed Matteo by the shoulder and brought him inside to whisper into his ear before returning to his father's former office. "Just... be cautious around the workplace, okay? You don't want to develop the kind of name that your father did at the end of his life".

He observed Matteo flushing a little and briefly closing his eyes before opening them again. Matteo responded, "Got it," before giving his brother a wink and leaving.

The two brothers agreed to keep their differences between them quiet for the time being by refraining from bringing up the cause of their hostility. But the chat had made Reidan feel better. The word that Selena was off-limits appeared to have gotten through to his brother, and furthermore, Reidan had more authority over his younger brother than ever before now that he was in charge. Matteo was the one who, if anybody, needed to be concerned about his position in the company under the new management.

Reidan saw his younger brother leave the room, but a niggling voice in the back of his head kept saying, "Watch out for that one."

The voice was pushed to the furthest reaches of Reidan's consciousness. Right now, he couldn't afford to worry about his brother. He needed to focus on more important tasks, like controlling the lady with the wild heart who had signed herself over to him.