Accardi Chapter 37

Genevieve followed Matteo down the stairs as he typed on his phone. She stared at his back, wondering, if anything, she should tell him about the conversation she’d just had with Alessio. Cugino? Cousin? She would have to look it up later. She pulled out her own phone and made a note to herself. 

They entered the lobby and headed for the entrance. Alexander and Leo waited for them by the door. Matteo still said nothing as he held the door for her. She followed Leo as he led them to his sedan. Matteo opened the front passenger door. Genevieve went for the door behind him. 

“Miss Sinclair,” Matteo said in a reproachful voice. She looked over the car at Leo and Alexander before looking at him. He bobbed his head at the door he was holding open. 

“Are you sure? I don’t mind sitting…”

He looked up at the sky as if begging God for patience. “Gen. Get in the front, please.”

Genevieve didn’t argue further. She got into the passenger seat and allowed him to close the door for her. She glanced over at Leo with a raised brow to which he merely shrugged. Matteo and Alexander situated themselves in the backseat while Leo pulled into traffic. 

“This meeting is important,” Matteo said from the back. 

Leo adjusted the mirror so Gen could make eye contact with Matteo. 

“I will need everyone to keep their mouths shut unless spoken to. Miss Sinclair, he will want to speak with you because of your expertise”

“Really? Isn’t it usually the PR rep who goes to these things?” she asked the mirror. “I would think you’d want Bella to…”

“You are the one I need,” he said, raising his hazel brown eyes to lock with hers. “Stay by my side at all times.” He jerked his eyes away to look at the back of Leo’s head. “Leo, you’ll meet up with Marco and Frankie once we arrive. Alexander I want you to speak with O’Brien’s assistant. Figure out whatever you can. Nothing is unimportant.”

“Yes, sir,” Alexander agreed.

“Here,” Leo announced as he pulled up to the curb. 

Before Gen could get out, Matteo was there to hold the door for her. While she got out, his eyes tracked around the area. Leo handed the keys off to the valet and the four of them walked toward the entrance of the building where they’d be eating lunch… or brunch now that the time had been changed. Genevieve recognized Matteo’s other accountant, Marco, waiting in the center of the lobby with another man that made Genevieve stop in her tracks. 

She’d never seen him before. He was shorter than every other man she’d met from Matteo’s circle but he looked far more dangerous. He had jet black hair that fell over his face failing to obscure the long, jagged scar running down his cheek. His dark eyes immediately pinned her to the spot and drug their way down her body in a manner that was far more dangerous than passing interest: it was calculating. Genevieve fought the urge to run for the door when his eyes rose back up and he smirked. Matteo’s chest suddenly blocked her view of the man. She licked her lips and glanced upward. His face softened almost imperceptibly. 

“He won’t hurt you,” he whispered. 

She raised a brow. “Normally, I’d believe you.”

“Come on, we don’t want to be late,” he said, his momentary softness eroding. 

Matteo started walking toward the lobby restaurant. Gen cleared her throat, stopping him along with his entourage. She pointed at the elevators. 

“Our meeting is located at The Sky Garden… The rooftop restaurant.”

Matteo’s eyes shot to the elevator before his face paled completely. His expression contorted in anger and he swiveled his glare on Alexander who looked as though he was about to vibrate out of his skin from sheer terror.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Accardi, I had no idea that she’d reserved the rooftop,” Alexander stuttered.

“You made *her* make the appointment?” Matteo barked.

“No, I…”

“I didn’t give him a choice, Mat-Mr. Accardi,” Gen interrupted, fighting the urge to place her hand on his forearm to calm him. “You gave me the task so I completed it by myself. Is there a problem?”

Matteo continued to burn a hole through Alexander’s head while Leo looked as though he were ready to step in at any moment. Meanwhile the man Genevieve thought she’d only ever see in her darkest nightmares started to snicker while he walked toward the elevators and pressed the button to go up. Matteo looked toward the ceiling and visibly swallowed. 

“I’ll take the stairs.”

“Mr. Accardi, the rooftop is on the seventy-fifth floor,” Gen informed him. 

Matteo shut his eyes hard at that bit of information and sighed. 

“I can call up and have the meeting moved,” Alexander said quickly as he typed out a number to call.

“No,” Matteo said, resigned. “No. That’ll make us look… No.”

Matteo straightened his shoulders and strode toward the elevator his associate had already stepped into. Alexander hurried after while Leo and Marco strode more leisurely. Matteo took a hesitant step into the elevator. He turned and held his hand up to the ones not yet on. 

“Get out, Frankie. Take the next one,” he ordered. 

Frankie didn’t hesitate. He stepped out of the elevator and slapped Leo on the shoulder as if they were old friends. The elevator door started to close until Matteo’s hand stopped it.

“Miss Sinclair,” Matteo called. She perked up and looked inside the elevator, waiting for him to yell or tell her to leave altogether. “Get in. Now.”

The three men left behind gave her a look of pity as she cautiously walked forward. She stepped beside Matteo and faced the doors as they slowly closed. She watched as the men on the other side started to chuckle, seeming to understand something she didn’t. The doors closed and Matteo deflated. He took two staggering steps back and sank back against the wall. He gripped the railing behind him with both hands. His knuckles whitened as the elevator lurched upward. 

Genevieve watched him as the elevator dinged with each passing floor. By the fourth the realization hit her like a smack to the face. He lived in a fifth floor walk-up even though he could afford an expansive penthouse. His business was on the fourth floor of a tall skyscraper. He only ever took the stairs…

“You’re afraid of heights,” she whispered, shocked beyond belief. 

Matteo scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Matteo, you’re paler than a sheet and your forehead is sweaty.”

He ground his teeth together and shut his eyes hard. “I’m not afraid of…” He gasped as the elevator shook slightly. 

Gen watched him struggle for another moment until she realized what she had to do. She stepped in front of him and ran her hands up the seams of his lapels. 

“What are you doing?” he growled, his eyes still shut. 

“Distracting you,” she whispered. She ran her hands down the knotted planes of his arms. “You said this meeting is important. You can’t go in there looking terrified.”

“I’m not…” 

The elevator shook again causing Gen to snicker. His eyes shot open to glare down at her. “I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “Maybe you should stop trying to deny it. Seems God has a wish to prove you wrong.”

Matteo’s eyes moved to where the light indicated which floor they were on. He groaned and shut his eyes again. The skin beneath her hands trembled as the ding continued behind them. The best she figured, they had two more minutes before reaching the top. Not long to make it appear he was thrown off his game for other reasons. 

Gen ran her hand down to his belt and started to undo it. 

“Genevieve,” he warned. 

She stood on her toes and trailed her lips down his neck, making him shiver for a completely different reason. “Trust me,” she whispered against his ear as she unfastened his belt and unbuttoned his pants. 

His breathing was short and sharp. One of his hands unlocked from the rail to fasten again on the arm she used to glide her hand inside his pants. She ripped his shirt from his waistband. His breathing shallowed out as her hand returned to the inseam of his pants and dipped inside. She felt the velvety smooth skin of his dick and found her own breathing stop altogether as she smoothed her palm against him. His cock started hardening immediately. She heard a low growl vibrate through his chest. 

In one swift motion, Matteo shoved right, switching their positions. His free hand wound around her throat as he held her pressed against the elevator wall. His eyes were wild, lost in the mingling distraction of her touch and the fear of the ever present ding behind them. 

“Good,” she breathed in a voice that said she was close to forgetting where they were. “Now kiss me.”

“You have no idea what you’re doing, Miss Sinclair,” he warned her, his grip tightening. 

“I do,” she wheezed past his hand. “Now they’ll think you’re flustered from not finishing what we started rather than…” His grip tightened further for only a moment, just long enough to prevent her from saying it. “All that’s left,” she said, looking at the number behind them entering the high 40s. “Is the physical evidence. Your choice. Where do you want me to mark you: lips or neck?”

Matteo’s nostrils flared as his eyes shot to her lips. In the next moment, she had her answer. Matteo’s lips met hers in a violent display of possession. His teeth nipped and sucked while she tried to keep up with his demanding touch. His hand left her throat only to clasp her right thigh and hike it up to his hip so he could press his throbbing erection against her core. His lips left hers, allowing her to breathe. Her head hit the elevator wall as his mouth ventured down to the pulse point of her neck. 

The ding of the elevator shifted to something longer, indicating they’d reached their floor. She felt the cool air from the door opening just as his hand tightened against her thigh, no doubt leaving marks behind. He pulled away from her only when someone cleared their throat. His hazel eyes darkened as the realization of what she’d done sank in. She scrambled out of his arms, putting on a grand show of fixing her top and her hair. He stood there motionless, watching her with anger simmering under his skin. 

“Pardon us,” Genevieve whispered, stepping off the elevator. 

Matteo followed, allowing the shocked older couple to get on. She spied the man they were meeting standing a few feet away, watching the exchange with great interest. Genevieve stood in front of Matteo and helped him to fix his pants and tie. She brushed the pad of her thumb across his lips where her lipstick marked his face. She bit her lip, trying to stifle the laughter at the expression on his face. 

“Well, at least you don’t look afraid anymore,” she whispered. 

His eyes darkened impossibly further and narrowed down at her. “You’ll pay for that.”

“For what?” she asked. “Saving your ass?”

She turned to walk toward Mr. O’Brien when his hand stopped her. “We’ll discuss this later, Genevieve.” His mouth dropped to her ear. “Go to the restroom and get cleaned up. You look like someone who was seconds away from getting fucked in an elevator.”