His Intern Called Him “Bro”— Too Bad I Wrote the Pick-Me Girl Manual! Chapter 04

His Intern Called Him “Bro”— Too Bad I Wrote the Pick-Me Girl Manual! Chapter 04

The group chat blew up.

“I know Ruby.”

“She interned at my husband’s front operation earlier this year. She pulled the exact same act.”

“OMG, yes, that’s her.”

“She called every guy her ‘brother’ or her ‘buddy,’ and my husband swore she was harmless — said I was just being paranoid.”

“So what happened?” I typed back.

“Oh, it escalated. She set her sights on a capo, but his wife? She was Mrs. Donovan.”

“She showed up at the office with the family consiglieri and had Ruby thrown out like yesterday’s trash. I still have the photos of her with all her ‘brothers’ — sending them to you now, Sienna.”

Photo after photo loaded in, stitching together this girl’s whole little history. She really was a hermit crab — scuttling from one “brother” to the next, soaking up their attention and resources.

The second a wife with real power showed up, she’d vanish and latch onto the next host. Pathetic little parasite.

And Luca was clearly her latest target. I saved everything — the messages, the photos, the severance papers from her last syndicate — and filed it all away.

That night, Luca didn’t come home. Just a text. [Working late at the enterprise. Don’t wait up.]

[We both need to cool off.] I’d barely finished reading when someone in the group dropped a photo.

Luca and Ruby, tucked into a corner booth at a candlelit restaurant. He was leaning over her plate, cutting her steak.

I stared at the photo. Then I typed, “Thanks, ladies.”

“Keep an eye on them for me.”

…

The next day was our anniversary. I’d booked the restaurant a month in advance and already had his gift ready.

Things had been rough between us, and I thought maybe tonight could be a chance to sit down, talk it out, and close the distance. But when I woke up?

His side of the bed was cold, and the only thing on the nightstand was a note. [Off-site retreat in Milwaukee. Two days.]

[Don’t wait up.] The handwriting was a mess — scrawled fast, like he couldn’t get out the door quick enough.

I pulled up Ruby’s Instagram out of habit. Half an hour ago, she’d posted a photo of a boarding pass.

The destination was Milwaukee. [Off-site retreat with the crew! Feeling so safe with Luca looking out for me!]

The first like? Luca.

I laughed. A retreat for two?

That was a fucking date. Elena called.

“Sienna, it’s your anniversary with Luca today. What are you two doing?”

“He’s on an off-site retreat.”

I wondered if she caught the edge in my voice. A pause on her end.

“Oh, that’s too bad. But what can you do?”

“He’s the heir, Sienna. The family business always comes first. When you two got married, you were the one who insisted on opening your studio — said you wanted to focus on your career. And Luca let you.”

“Now he’s busy, and it’s your turn to be understanding.” I almost laughed.

As expected. Three years of marriage, and she’d never once stopped reminding me that I was not a traditional mob wife.

She never stopped asking why I hadn’t settled down and given the family an heir. “Sienna, why don’t you come over for dinner tonight?” she added, though it didn’t exactly sound like she meant it.

“Elena, Ruby went too. She’s just a front-office intern. She wasn’t even on the original list.”

“Luca added her himself.” I let that land.

Silence for a few seconds. “What story are you making up in your head now?”

“It’s a business event. What’s wrong with her being there? Luca isn’t that kind of man.”

“You’ve known him for years. You can’t even trust him that much? He’s exhausted from running the syndicate every day, and then he comes home to a wife who’s jealous and suspicious of everything. Can you blame him for pulling away?”

“That’s all I’m going to say. Figure it out.” She hung up.

I stared at an old photo of Luca and me on my screen. His arm was around my shoulder in the picture, his smile warm and real.

Back then, I really believed he’d always be on my side. Now I could see the truth. I’d been out of the game so long, they’d nearly forgotten who I was.

I wasn’t some naive wife drunk on her own fairy tale. I was Sienna Vale.

I’d built my name on seeing straight through every mask the syndicate families ever wore.

And now it was time for Luca to remember what that looked like.