HARPER
"Mr Faletri!" My captor sputtered, stumbling back while my eyes fixated on the delicious goodness in front of me.
He seemed close to my age—or perhaps in his late twenties. Hard to tell, and honestly, I didn't care. He was overly good-looking. Dark brown hair slicked back, a face so perfectly sculpted it almost looked fake. Straight nose. Thin lips—attractive in a way I'd never thought lips could be. High cheekbones, a jaw sharp enough to cut through metal. Okay, exaggeration, but still.
The point was: he had everything going on in the looks department. He cleared his throat, and my eyes snapped up. Heat rushed into my cheeks. Damn it. He'd caught me staring.
"Are you alright, Miss?" He said in a deep raspy voice.
A shiver ran down my spine. God. That sounds weirdly hot. "I'm fine," I said, grimacing at how small my voice sounded.
"That's good to know."
About to thank him, Clara stumbled back into view, reeking of whiskey. She clasped my hand, so delicately that it seemed as if I'd disappeared for years and suddenly appeared before her, and she didn't want to let me go.
"Hey! Where did you go?"
I scowled. Shouldn't I be the one asking that? She'd left me! Clara blinked, looked from me to the stranger, and froze. Her jaw dropped.
"Harper… is that—?"
I rolled my eyes. "Are you seriously drunk right now?"
"Maybe," she slurred, then hissed, her nails digging into my skin, causing me to wince, "because there's no way in hell I'm staring at the Nico Faletri."
I whipped my head back toward my saviour. A smirk tugged at his mouth, the kind of smile that said he knew exactly how everyone reacted to his name.
Who the hell was he? Or maybe the better question was: how important was he to make Clara look like she'd just seen a mini god?
"Pinch me, Harper," she whispered. Then, before I could do so, she pinched herself, slapped her own cheeks, and let out a squeal.
"Sweet Jesus. This is Nico Faletri!"
"Of course, he is," I mumbled. At least my captor had called him Faletri.
"A pleasure to meet you ladies," he said, one hand tucked into his black pants. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience this might have caused you."
I shot my captor a glare, as he shifted from one foot to another. His gaze cast down, refusing to meet mine. He should be the one apologizing, but he was saying nothing.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to make it up to you," Nico said.
"No, no!" Clara shook her head, a wide nonsensical grin on her face. "Seriously, we don't mind. Although you don't have to apologise for anything." She rushed out, her face red.
"Clara!" I hissed. "What the hell are you doing?"
Clara leaned into me, and my nose wrinkled as the pungent aroma of whisky slipped into my nose. But I guessed she wasn't very much drunk, maybe on the verge of it.
She let out a strangled laugh. "This is Nico Faletri, girl."
"And?" I furrowed my brows, waiting for her to continue.
Clara stared at me as if I were mad for the question I had just asked her. "Do you really not know who he is, or are you pretending to be ignorant right now?"
"If I could guess who he might be, I shouldn't be asking you questions right now," I said, sneaking back a glance at him. I realised he was waiting, and the bastard close to him was still there too.
"Oh my god, Harper, I can't believe he's standing right next to you. I still feel I am dreaming," she paced, muttering to herself.
I gripped her shoulders to stop her from moving any further. "Do you want to tell me who he is or not?" I asked a little impatiently.
Clara breathed in and out slowly, stole a peek at Nico, who surprisingly still stood there, and quickly glanced back at me, her cheeks flushing pink.
"He's the devil, Harps!"
The one she'd been talking about earlier? If Nico Faletri were the devil, then the devil indeed resembled an angel, because he was anything but evil. Besides, I thought he was someone mysterious and she hadn't seen him before. The way she had spoken about him made him feel that way.
"He's the boss here—and filthy rich. The kind of rich that could wreak havoc on Helix Biotech with just a snap of his fingers. The kind that'd make your family look middle class."
I couldn't tell if she was trying to take a dig at my family or Owen's, but the seriousness in her voice kept me from asking.
"A billionaire, then? Nothing new." I shrugged.
"No. Yes!" Clara stammered, lowering her voice. "Well, he's scary and connected in ways you don't even want to imagine."
Dangerously connected? I wanted to peek, but Clara held my head in place, and she said through clenched teeth.
"Don't look, I think he's hearing us. Gosh, this is embarrassing!" Clara groaned. I heard a soft chuckle, and I shook my head free from Clara's hand, staring even though she had warned me not to.
Nico raised his palms. "I promise I didn't hear whatever you say about me. I'm not one to listen to women's conversation."
Cocky much? I snorted. "How would you know we were talking about you?"
"Don't engage him, Harper."
I ignored Clara. She had brought me here to loosen up and experience things I had never had. This was the kind of experience I needed.
"Because I am Nico Faletri," he said with a confident smirk.
Okay, he was cocky. I hated men like this. But he had saved me. How could I hate him?
"So, my offer," he began. "Are you up for it?"
"It depends on what it is," I murmured.
"Thank you, we're fine." Clara appreciated him and began to drag me away. But I stopped, yanking my hand away from hers.
"Don't listen to my friend. She's drunk. I'm sure if she were sane, she'd want the same thing as me." I said, slapping my hand over Clara's mouth as she tried to say something.
Nico's eyes twinkled with mischief, and his lips curved upward in a smirk. "Great. Follow me."
I dragged Clara with me, following him from behind. And a few seconds later, I regretted my decision.