Taste of Sin

38| Regret

Chapter 38: Regret (Ace's POV)

Gianna and I were sitting in silence in my office. 

They left. They left as soon as I threatened to shoot them both dead. 

I really regret not digging more into his past deals. If I would have known that he killed Gianna's mother, I never would have tried to strike a deal with him. But even when I did try questioning other people within our circle, nobody was willing to tell me anything about their past interactions with the man. In Chicago, I had nothing to go by. So I walked into the situation blindly. Even when I should have known better. 

"Are you hungry?" I asked hesitantly.

She shook her head, still standing in front of my desk. She hasn't said a word yet. I packed up the food she brought and put the bag away. 

"Gianna, I'm really sorry. I should have looked more into him. I never even asked you about your mother's—" 

"It's okay. Really. I told you already, I didn't expect you to know. But I think you should have dug deeper into him, I agree with that. But it's not your fault. It's okay, really." 

I stared at her, biting back a frown. 

"I should get back to work." She glanced at her watch. "My lunch break will be over soon. So uh, I'll see you at home, right?" 

"Gianna, wait—" 

"I really need to get going. I have a meeting. It's Leo's wife, she's coming for a fitting. I really have to go." 

"But..." I trailed off with a sigh, reading and understanding the look on her face. 

She doesn't want to talk about it right now, she needs her time and space, and she wants to distract herself with work. That's fine, I can understand and respect that. 

I nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll see you at home. Drive safe." I stood up and walked around the table and over to her, standing in front of her. 

"Bye," she said softly. 

"Bye," I mumbled. One second went by, then three, then five. Then an entire minute. But she didn't move and neither did I. "You know, you don't have to work if you don't want to. You can go home and get some rest," I suggested, reading the exhaustion on her face. 

"I don't think I want to be left alone with nothing to do and all the time in the world to think about what just happened today," she sighed, fidgeting with her earring. 

"Then I'll go home with you. I don't have a lot to do anyway." 

"I do though." She smiled softly. "It's okay, really." 

"Then I'll come with you." 

"To... work? To my office?" 

I nodded quickly. 

She pulled her lips into a thin line and looked away, biting back a smile. "And what exactly will you do there while I work?" 

"Watch you and keep you pulled together for the rest of the day. I have to since I'm practically the reason you're feeling down now." 

She shook her head, smiling softly. "Ace, you don't have to—" 

"No. But I want to." 

She nodded slowly. "Okay." She reached into her purse and pulled out her car keys, placing them in my hand. "You drive." 

"Of course." I grabbed my own set of keys, dropping my car keys with Owen. "Please leave the car at my place." He nodded, pocketing the keys while I left with her, driving us right to her office. I stepped into the elevator with her, both of us sighing as we leaned against the wall. I grabbed her arm, tugging her closer to me.