Ruined By My Brother's Best Friend (by Silverwriter) novel Chapter 29

Discomfort

Mbreathing slowed as I stared at him, his face blank, giving no visible expression as he held my gaze. His words finally registered in my head, reminding me that he’d heard us calling out to him.

I blinked, forcing away any unwelcome expression or discomfort caused by his overwhelming presence before forcing out an answer. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I stated dismissively, my voice sounding far more composed than did internally.

I felt his stare linger a second later before he shifted his gaze to my left, undoubtedly staring at Sierra. My best friend shifted uneasily beside me, and I didn’t need a fortune teller to tell me she was uncomfortable. I wasn’t surprised. The man’s eyes were so intense, when you ståred into them, it felt like you were going to be consumed by a well, its depths threatening to swallow you whole.

Archie was the first one to speak, oblivious to the tension between me and his best friend. “So,” he started, looking from me to Sierra. “Did I hear you two right?” He sounded perplexed. I didn’t blame him because, quite frankly, I was too. I still found it impossibly hard to believe that Alvise was now my boss.

I shrugged, faking a calmness and composure I knew I didn’t have at the moment. “Yes, you did. Your best friend,” I pointed at Alvise, “signed a merger with my company. He’s technically my boss now.”

I could now feel those icy blue eyes return to me, but I purposely kept my gaze trained on my brother.

“Not technically.” His cold voice spoke lazily, drawing my attention to him. “I am your boss.”

“Well, congratulations!” Archie said, sounding surprised. “Why am I just hearing about this, man?” Archie leaned back in his seat. “You didn’t even bring it up.”

Alvise’s eyes remained on mine, but his words were aimed at Archie. “The company’s barely anything special. I don’t count it as a win whatsoever,” he said blankly, like it was a chore for him to even talk about it.

I don’t know where the burst of confidence came from, especially since I was never able to say much in front of him, let alone question him, but I suddenly felt the need to challenge him. I couldn’t bring myself to sit back and let him ridicule my company. It felt like a jab at me. “And then you were so charitable to accept?” I rolled my eyes. “If you weren’t getting something beneficial, why sign the contract?”

“Now, let’s order something to eat. I’m quite hungry,” Archie said and grabbed the tablet attached to the table, scanning through the menu. He read it out for us, and everyone ordered what they wanted.

While we waited for the food, Archie didn’t seem to be done with the conversation from earlier as he turned to Alvise. “So, man, why did you end up merging with them?”

“Nothing in particular. I want to test the waters with them and see how it goes,” he said, his eyes still on his phone.

I could feel it, definitely so, that he wasn’t telling the truth. I couldn’t bring myself to think that Alvise Valerio would waste his time trying to test the waters with a company he obviously didn’t hold in high regard. I pondered it carefully, stealing glances at him to read his body language and get to the bottom of whatever fucked–up thing was going on in his brain.