MATTEO
The contract in front of me represented a three-billion-dollar deal with our Singapore partners. I was reviewing the final terms when my phone buzzed on the desk.
Mom
I stared at the screen, watching it ring once, twice, three times before I finally picked up.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk to my mother. I loved her. But every conversation with Claire Moretti came with a guaranteed percentage of disagreement, and I wasn’t in the mood for it today.
“Mom.”
“Matteo! Finally. I’ve been calling since yesterday.”
I leaned back in my chair, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’ve been busy.”
“Too busy for your mother?”
“Never. What’s going on?”
There was a pause. Then she spoke, “I saw the photos. Everyone saw the photos.”
Of course.
“My friends have been calling nonstop s
