by Tara Pammi
“Tell him the truth and get out of our lives while you still can.”
He bowed his head and walked away, leaving Natalie reeling. She’d have ignored his threats if not for the ring of truth in his words. That was two people who were close to him that had warned her about Massimo’s ambition.
Suddenly, she felt as lost as she’d felt the morning she’d woken up to discover her father had walked out on her. Wanting to trust and hope that things would right themselves and then being crushed by that hope. Learning to lean on no one but herself. Learning to look out for herself in the big, bad world.
Leonardo Brunetti was right.
Getting out of here without sinking farther into the pit she’d dug herself was the most important thing. She couldn’t afford to risk getting closer to Massimo, not even to save herself. She’d no idea how long his leniency toward her would last.
She had to forget that kiss, had to forget Massimo’s laughter, the way his eyes glowed when they shared a joke, the sense of challenge he issued to her. She needed to forget the shadows of pain in his eyes when he’d spoken to his father.
She needed to remember that gorgeous, complex man had only looked at her because she had thrown herself into his path by recklessly posing a threat to the most important thing to him—his company.
CHAPTER SIX
IT TOOK A few hours before Massimo emerged from the dark mood a confrontation with his father always left him in. From the quick but ugly jaunt into childhood memories.
He navigated the unlit corridors from his wing to the new guest suites with his rescue dogs, Lila and Hero, limping along by his side, without encountering any more of his family members or their unending drama. On a given day, he could only stomach so much of Greta’s relentless carping about the Brunetti dynasty, the increasingly frequent glimpses of loneliness in Alessandra’s eyes, Silvio’s penchant for spewing poison—a whole year’s worth, in a week—and Leonardo’s cynicism.
Dios mio, he should be immune to his father’s taunts by now.
Instead, he reverted to that emotional, always sick runt Silvio used to call him, would still call him if he weren’t so terrified of Leonardo.
The boy who’d been heartbroken and unable to protect her when his mother had put up with Silvio’s emotional taunts for so long just to be near him, the teenager who’d had to contend with the four walls of his home instead of the outside world and friends, the young adult who’d been terrified that each vicious asthma attack would be the last one.
Only thanks to a miracle drug in his teens had he started getting better, started seeing that he had a future.
The tech world lauded his genius, praised his innovative capabilities that had designed an e-commerce tool worth billions by his nineteenth birthday...and yet, the shadows of that boy still echoed within him.
Computers and the rationality they brought to his tumultuous life, the control and power they’d brought to his hands in a powerless situation, had been his lifeline. An escape from his father’s constant verbal abuse away from the eyes of Greta or Leonardo.
That he’d left Natalie to the pack of wolves that was his family had fractured his mood. For all of Silvio’s crude remarks, it was Leonardo who was the most dangerous of them.
He grinned, remembering Natalie had no problem standing up to him. No doubt the little minx could hold her own against them. This protectiveness he felt for her...was ridiculous. Unnecessary.
But he couldn’t arrest the pulse of excitement as he knocked on the door to her suite. Twice. He was about to knock for the third time when a muffled curse made him grin.
The door opened wide with her leaning against it, eyes mussed with sleep and dark shadows under. Her hair was in such a wild disarray that it was a cloud around her delicate face. The overhead lights she’d switched on outlined her body in caressing lines. A loose T-shirt fell inches above her knees, the neckline baring the delicate crook of her neck.
Innocence and wildness combined together, she made him want to pick her up and crawl into the bed behind her, to drown himself in all that rumpled warmth, to bury his mouth at that pulse at her neck, to discover every rise and dip...
“All the power is in your hands, Massimo.”
An uncomfortable sensation skittered in his chest.
She was right. They were not equals.
He wasn’t the kind of man who preyed on the weak. He’d never be another Silvio, not even in thought. He couldn’t kiss that luscious mouth of hers until he didn’t hold her freedom in his hands.
It was imperative that he get to the bottom of the truth. And not just so they could explore this...thing between them. At leisure. No, he needed this threat to dissolve before they could continue talks with Giuseppe Fiore.
But it didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the delectable sight she made. Or rile her up. Or pit his smarts against hers. Or needle her. To give him the truth and more. Natalie was the first woman who challenged him on every level.
He leaned against the archway and smiled at the confusion in her eyes. “Buongiorno, cara mia.”
“Massimo?” She thrust her fingers through her messy hair, which thrust her breasts up and revealed a little more of her toned thighs. Devoid of makeup or that intractable expression she wore like an armor, he was reminded of how painfully young she really was.
Twenty-two, the report had said. Cristo, he’d hate sending her to jail.
“What time is it?”
He grinned. “Four-ten.”
“Four-ten when?” she said, grumpy and cute and sexy.
“In the morning.”
She looked behind her, peeked into the corridor, then back up at him. Her hand went to the neckline of her T-shirt and tugged it up. Her knees bumped, color climbing up her cheek. “What do you want? I went to bed barely a few hours ago.”
“We need to get to work.”
“Now?”
“Sì.”
“Are you mad? You flew to New York, you barely slept at my apartment, didn’t even nod off on the flight and now... Massimo, don’t you need sleep?”
He shrugged.
“Well, normal mortals like me do. And that bed is...heaven.”
He kept his gaze on hers. “I’ll allow you an early night so that you can enjoy the bed some more.”
She shook her head. “I’m messed up thanks to jet lag. I barely survived that vicious attack by your family. I don’t have enough brain cells to rub together much less—”
“Sì, you will, cara mia. Keeping you out of a jail cell depends on your performance in my lab, every day. Your freedom needs to be earned. Starting now. I’ll give you thumbprint access to my lab and—”
“Your lab?” Her eyes widened. “You’re letting me near a computer?”
“I got your financials back.”
She folded her arms and leaned against the door. “And?”
“You have a lot of debt.”
White teeth dug into her bottom lip. “Do you believe me now?”
“That you didn’t do it for personal gain? Sì.” He ran a hand over his neck. “I paid it off.”
“What?”
“I paid off your debts.”
She moved closer to him, unaware of her movements, the heat from her body licking against his. The skin of her cheeks looked so soft he had to fist his hands. “You paid them off...nine thousand dollars...you paid it off...” She swayed against the door and righted herself. “Why?”
“It was no more than a little change for me. And if it keeps your loyalties directed away from—”
“You think you can buy my loyalty?”
“I’m taking away reasons for you to do something so stupid again. To decouple yourself from a person who led you into jeopardizing your future.”
“You didn’t pay it off because you felt sorry for me?”
“I’m
a businessman first and foremost, Natalie. I’ll do anything to protect an asset.”
“Not even a little bit relieved that your instincts were right about me?”
He frowned. “I took a calculated risk by bringing you here, whether you took money for the job or not. But trusting some vague instinct, no.”
“Does a cold report with numbers make so much of a difference?”
“Of course it does. Numbers don’t lie, numbers don’t make you lose objectivity. And those numbers will shut up Leonardo’s questions about whether I’m sane to be bringing you into the biggest contract we’ve ever courted.
“Numbers over everything else, bella mia, over emotions, over instinct, over weaknesses. Always.”
Her face fell. And the question hurtled out of his mouth. “Why does it matter to you that I trust instincts and feelings?”
“What if I can’t always provide concrete proof for my innocence?”
Her question came at him like an invisible punch. Reminding him that she stayed a step ahead of him. That for all that innocence in her kiss, she was always thinking of her own survival. That she was just as ruthless about protecting herself and her lies as he was with his company.
“Then I suggest that you don’t get involved in anything that might require you to prove your innocence, cara mia.” He pushed her into the room, before he was tempted to grill her about the truth, and kiss her when she lied. “Change and meet me outside. I’ll show you my bat cave.”
* * *
She was debt free—like, completely debt free. For the first time in her life.
Unless Massimo was playing games with her...
Wrapping her arms around herself, Natalie stared at the man walking in front of her, taking in the wet gleam of his jet-black hair, the thick cable sweater lovingly caressing his shoulders and the light blue denim doing wonders to his behind and... God, where was she?
No, Massimo had no reason to trick her. And, she knew, there was no point in arguing with him about paying him back.
Dawn swept into the long corridor through the exquisitely designed arches in ever increasing curtains across the cream marble floor, creeping up and up, slowly illuminating the even more exquisitely detailed murals on the other wall that reached up toward the colorful frescoes upon the domed ceilings.
Every arch and crevice spoke of elegant wealth, of subtle power.
Like he’d said, it was mere change for him.
But for her, suddenly, the world felt like it had opened up into infinite possibilities.
She reached for him as they turned the corner into another hallway. “Thanks, Massimo. I just... You’ve no idea what it means to me to be debt free.”
He tightened his fingers over hers, pulling her to his side. “Tell me.”
Surprised, she searched his eyes. “Digging for information?”
“You never stop looking for hidden meanings and agendas, do you?” Exasperation coated his words.
“I’m sorry. It comes with never having had anyone to rely on for so long.”
His gaze held hers, understanding and curiosity and so much more in it. “Forgetting your crime and my blackmailing you and all these lies...you’re a mystery to me, Natalie. I never could resist one.”
She looked away at the beautiful gardens awash in soft pink light. “It means I can start saving instead of just paying interest on my loans. It means I can get out of that dingy studio and maybe find a two-bedroom apartment in a much nicer neighborhood so that Frankie can go to a good public school. It means that I can adopt him much sooner than I had planned. Much, much sooner.”
“So you didn’t make him up?” he said, a tenderness in his eyes.
She laughed and punched his bicep. “Of course I didn’t. When you return my cell to me, I’ll show you a pic of him.”
“When did you learn about him?”
“About...three years ago.” Just the memory of the day put a lump in her throat. “I grew up thinking I was all alone in the world. Apparently, my father, after walking out on me, went and did the same to another woman and her child. This social worker who’d known me when I was in the system...she contacted me when he entered the system.
“I went to see him and Frankie—he was six and so scared. When I held him, I felt as if the universe had done something right in my life for the first time. He...is this adorable, funny, cute little guy. I told him right there that one day he’d come live with me.
“Until then, I’d just drifted from minimum wage job to job. I took out a loan the next day, enrolled in a couple of classes at the community college and...realized it wasn’t going to be as easy as I’d thought it would be.”
“You had no one to help you?”
She hesitated. The tightening of his jaw told her she’d betrayed herself. The last thing she’d needed after Vincenzo had already loaned her money to get her off the streets when she’d turned eighteen was to beg him for another loan so that she could get a degree.
“No. I didn’t. But now...when I get out of this mess, I... So, yeah, thank you.” She looked away from him at the wall in front of her.
The wall stretched out far in both directions, reaching up into the domed ceiling. There were murals detailed on the wall, tall, aristocratic figures looking down their long noses—shared by both Massimo and Leonardo—brows drawn together, almost as if sneering at a mere mortal like her walking their hallowed hallways.
Her frown deepened as she spied someone who resembled Leonardo, then Silvio and then Leonardo himself. But no Massimo.
“You’re not here,” she mumbled, searching for his familiar face among the stern, boorish ones.
“I hadn’t earned my place with them when Leonardo invited the artist.”
“And now?”
He didn’t turn but she saw the tightening of his shoulders just as they reached a building separated from the main villa.
She kept thinking he was part of all this...this dynastic family of his, this alien world that dined on caviar and champagne. But the tension between him and Leonardo, Silvio’s thoughtless comments... What if his childhood had been just as awful as hers had been, even in this magnificent home? Even surrounded by family?
The odds he must have had to overcome to build something like BCS when he’d been so sick, when he’d been constantly told he wouldn’t amount to much...
She rubbed her face—all traces of sleep gone, confusion roiling through her. Even knowing that Vincenzo hadn’t really asked her to steal anything, she didn’t want to give up his name. Not after he’d helped her get out of a destructive spiral that would’ve ruined her life.
Not when he’d never asked for anything in return. Not when he’d been keeping an eye on Frankie’s foster situation in the past two years.
Her loyalties, as they were, did belong to Vincenzo.
The very thought while she stood here thanking Massimo for his generosity made her faintly nauseous.
* * *
A huge metal door with an electronic thumbprint-access console guarded a huge stone structure that seemed to be built with pure mountain rock. Natalie watched with wide eyes as Massimo pressed her thumb against the console and pushed the door open.
They stood on a ledge with stairs leading down. A thick scent of...grapes lingered in the air as Natalie followed him down. “It smells like...oak and grapes and—”
“It used to be a wine cellar,” Massimo said, before he pushed open another glass door. “Leonardo had it designed for my exact specifications. We took out the old stone fireplace, added temperature control and left the original stone structure intact.”
Her mouth fell open as Natalie took in the glory of Massimo Brunetti’s tech lab. The rock structure provided a magnificent contrast to the high-tech servers stored to the left, while more than three stations on her right housed state-of-the-art supercomputers and glossy monito
rs she’d only dreamed about. Because of the dark background provided by the rocks, the light from the overhead fixtures gave the whole lab a golden glow.
On the other wall stood a gigantic whiteboard with a leather couch, a snowy white cashmere throw hanging on it and a stand with tech magazines thrown haphazardly. Through the narrow corridor, she saw a small kitchenette with a refrigerator and a small wine rack.
“Wow, this really is your...bat cave. Like the hub of your tech genius.”
Teeth digging into his lip, hands tucked into his pockets, he somehow managed to look painfully gorgeous and adorable like a little boy showing off his biggest toys. “You could say that.”
“I did wonder at the strangeness of you living at the villa, with your family,” she said, laughing. “Doesn’t it put a damper on your...extracurricular activities?”
He burst out laughing. “How is that you can strip a layer off even Leonardo but can’t speak plainly about sex?”
She hoped the soft light hid her blush. “I’m a complex modern woman.”
“That you are.
“I have a flat in Navigli that I use for my...extracurricular activities. Bringing a woman to the villa would only confuse matters.”
“Ah...what with the expiry dates and all?”
He shrugged. “I did consider moving out almost a decade ago. When my tech was released and turned into a billion-dollar revenue generator, I had been on a high, raw, so full of myself. I partied so hard,” he said with a smile, and she couldn’t help but get swept away by his energy. “Very keen to cut my association with my father and Leo and just...the whole lot. But Leo convinced me otherwise. Also, since he was the one who brought in the capital to scale it up in the first place, he had ownership of the IP, too.
“Keeping BCS under the umbrella of Brunetti Finances, Inc. was imperative for Leonardo.”
She heard that faint whisper of resentment in his words, the whisper of a boy who’d been measured and found wanting against his older brother. Was he even aware of it?