by Mandy Rosko
“Shut the hell up. It’s not sexism if I want to make sure you don’t get bugs,” Isla said, “and I wouldn’t smear your name over cleaning up after you. You already had me sign a contract to not say anything about our… arrangement.”
Arturo kept on smiling at her. “About our arrangement, yes, but I never added anything in that contract that stated you have to clean up after me. Next thing I know, you’ll be baking me cookies, and then I’ll really be in trouble.”
“You can be such an asshole,” Isla laughed.
“Yeah, I should cut it out or else you might actually fall for me.”
“I’m going to throw something at you, I swear to God.” And the closest thing to her hands was an empty, stained coffee mug.
Arturo shook his head. “I appreciate the idea, but I’ll get someone to come in and do that for me. You don’t have to clean up. Go have fun. Accept my apology bribe and go shopping.”
“It actually is kind of sexist to assume I would want to shop.”
“I thought it was more sexist to make the assumption that no women liked to shop.”
“I’m confused now,” Isla said. “You’re actually confusing me.”
“I’m always confused by what is and isn’t offensive.”
Isla nearly shot back that he needed to work on that, but then she closed her mouth.
Arturo was… well, he was attractive. She was drawn to him, even if she didn’t want to admit it. And a lot of the reason why she was so drawn to him was because of the way he acted. He was a man’s man, and he took charge and took what he wanted. She had always thought she would be more attracted to a man who was more in touch with his feminine side, but none of the boyfriends she’d ever had lasted long.
Arturo wouldn’t last long either, but the attraction was there, and she just knew it was because he wasn’t a feminine guy. His masculinity was drawing her in, even when he was tired and in desperate need of a shave and a change of clothes.
He was looking at her, waiting for her to say something. Shit. She had to say something. “Why haven’t you just gotten someone to come in here and clean up?”
“That would require us to slow down and get out of the way. I have an enormous headache and so does Orlando, and no one wants to listen to a vacuum cleaner while we read over the stupid shit Vincenzio is claiming.”
That made sense. “It’s not sanitary in here. Just take a half hour break. I can get all this sorted up. I won’t even touch your desk, just take out the trash and tidy up.”
He didn’t exactly look convinced.
“Arturo, you’re going to get sick, and you need a catnap anyway. Just a quick break.”
“You don’t actually want to clean up in here,” Arturo said.
“Would you agree to a cleaning no matter who did it? I’m trying to protect you from mice or something.”
Could a building like this even get mice? Didn’t seem likely, but that didn’t mean caution shouldn’t be given.
Arturo sighed and looked around. Then he crinkled his nose in distaste, as though just seeing the mess around him for the first time. “It is something of a disaster in here.”
“Okay, good. That means you’ll get this place cleaned up. Now, only because I actually don’t like cleaning, I’ll call in a cleaning lady or something, maybe two of them so things go faster and you can get back to work.”
“I knew you didn’t want to clean up,” he said, smiling at catching her.
She tried her best to ignore him. “I will be bringing you your food.”
“We’ve been ordering in fairly successfully on our own.”
“Yeah, and it’s all garbage. You’re going to destroy your digestion. At least let me get something from your house. Martina is always worried about you. She’s probably sad that she hasn’t gotten the chance to cook for you lately.”
The second that suggestion was out of her mouth, she wished she hadn’t said anything.
She wanted to help Arturo relax and get his work done, but she wouldn’t be cleaning for him, she wouldn’t be cooking for him, she essentially wouldn’t be doing anything.
She really wished she knew more about the law, or about actual business, but her only talents were in sales and in making her jewelry.
Arturo didn’t make fun of her for it, though. He just had that same half smile on his face. “All right. That sounds… nice. Orlando would appreciate having something home-cooked from Martina instead of Chinese food again.”
“Good.” She pulled out her phone, as if being the delivery girl was her new official job. “Tell me what foods he likes best, and I’ll let her know.”
“Martina already knows. You don’t have to worry about it,” Arturo said, but he was giving her a different sort of look now. She couldn’t place what it was or what it meant. Probably because of the way his cheeks were so sunken.
Either way, her throat felt weirdly thick all of a sudden. She had to force herself to swallow just to get her tongue working and put some moisture in there so she could speak. “Well, that’s great then. I guess you’re not coming back home tonight?”
Shit. When she said home, she wasn’t giving off the impression that she thought it was her home, was she? She hoped not. That wasn’t her intention. Looking like some clingy girlfriend who already thought she was living with him just because she had a room at his place wasn’t what she wanted to do at all.
Arturo shook his head. If he was thinking about it, he didn’t mention it. “This is going to take a couple more days. I’ll try to be back soon, and I’ll count this toward the four weeks we agreed to. I won’t ask you to stay longer because this shit came up.”
Like before, Isla found herself believing him. She wanted to make things as safe as possible while he went through this. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours then. Don’t go anywhere.”
Isla shut her eyes and sighed when she said that.
What was it with her lately and the stupid comments?
Arturo just laughed. Any other woman might have felt like she was being laughed out of his office. Isla already knew him well enough to know he just thought she was funny, even if it was unintentionally so.
* * *
Since Isla made it her own personal job to deliver food to and from Arturo’s office for him and his two brothers, she decided she wasn’t just going to do it. She would do it like a champion, dammit!
Sylvia gave her something of a concerned look when Isla left the office, and Orlando and Silvio seemed to have vanished.
“Where did they go?” she asked.
“To stretch their legs, and I think to grab a shower in the gym downstairs,” Sylvia replied. There was genuine worry in her eyes as she looked toward the elevator, as though expecting it to open and for Orlando and Silvio to come out at any second. “I feel bad. I want to do something for them, but Arturo just keeps asking me to order him food.”
“Oh, well, I convinced him to get his office cleaned. You can probably call for a couple of maids to come in. The faster they can get that mess cleaned up, the better. Oh, but no touching the papers on the desk. In fact, any papers that are on the floor should probably be put onto the desk.”
If anything important got thrown out, Isla would have a hard time forgiving herself, through probably not as hard of a time as Arturo.
Sylvia nodded and quickly pulled out her phone, presumably to give the right people a call. “Will you be seeing to things from here on out?” she asked.
“Oh, well, yes, I will.”
It was strange having Sylvia look at her as though she was the one with any authority around here. It was also a welcome change.
Sylvia’s bunched shoulders relaxed, as though that was the exact thing she’s wanted to hear. “Good, Mr. Calendri wouldn’t listen to a word I said. I could barely get in the door to get him his food order.”
“That seems like him.”
“Anyway, things were starting to get desperate. I was going to call Martina and have some clothes brought
over, but you’re here now, so you can do it.”
“Oh, I’m only going back to Arturo’s house, though.”
“That’s okay. Orlando and Silvio have rooms there from when they were kids, and they have some suits there for when they stay over. I can send Martina a text and let her know to pick something out for you to bring back.”
“Sure, that’s a great idea,” Isla said.
Sylvia didn’t seem like the sort of woman who was intimidated by her boss. The last time Isla had seen her, she had seemed pretty comfortable around Arturo. Friendly even.
Isla didn’t know the full extent of their relationship, but the fact that she’d been worried about even contacting Martina just reinforced how serious this was to Arturo and his brothers, especially if they’d been that determined to not be disturbed.
And what did that mean that he’d allowed Isla to see him? To take up a good twenty minutes of his time when he could’ve been working with his lawyers, trying to keep his father in prison?
Isla didn’t need many more instructions from Sylvia other than that. She just had to send a quick text to Sam that she was getting ready to leave and wanted to go back to Arturo’s house.
The first thing she did when she got back was collect the sandwiches from Martina, who had started preparing healthy foods for Arturo, Orlando, and Silvio the second Sylvia had called her.
There were turkey sandwiches on fresh bread, potato salad, garden salad, water bottles, fruit salads, and another container of assorted deli meats and cheeses.
It made Isla hungry just looking at all of it, and none of this was even for her.
“Did you put all of this together while I was driving back here?” Isla asked.
“And while you were on your way to the office. I had a feeling you would need these,” Martina replied. “Are you sure you want to drive back with Sam? Someone else can be called to deliver this.”
No. That just wouldn’t do. Isla wanted to do it. She practically needed to do it, which was strange, but that was just the way it was. She needed to do her part, however small it was, to make this easier for Arturo and his family.
She hadn’t forgotten her original promise to herself. She was going to get Arturo to like her. He didn’t have to love her. In fact, she would prefer it if he didn’t since that would just make things messy. The little flutter he caused in her stomach was already bad enough. At the very least, she wanted to walk away from this knowing she didn’t have an enemy. She wanted Arturo to… think fondly of her, she supposed.
“Anyway, this all looks great. It’s like a picnic in here,” she said, noting the plastic plates and forks that were in the giant container as well. “They’ll also need a change of clothes,” Isla said.
Martina’s eyes widened in horror. “Of course, I should have thought of that.” She turned and waved to another servant girl, about to send her off to collect the things.
Isla had to stop her. “Actually, there’s something else I want her to get. I think this will help him when he’s working.”
29
Arturo didn’t come back for ten days. When he did, Isla didn’t even know he’d shown up for several hours.
She had no idea he’d walked into the mansion until Martina had said as much with a smile on her face while she poured Isla a mango juice to go with her breakfast.
“He’s back?”
Martina nodded. “Late last night. Or early this morning, I suppose. Mr. Calendri and his brothers walked through the doors and went to their respective rooms. We’ve been given strict instructions not to disturb them. I hope you don’t mind waiting a little longer for Mr. Calendri’s company. He’s usually a better host than this.”
“I don’t think his guests have a habit of staying for several weeks,” Isla said, and then smiled at the older woman. “Besides, you make things fun here, too.”
Martina’s cheeks actually darkened a little, her expression softening ever so slightly. Maybe she just wasn’t used to receiving compliments like that.
Isla didn’t want to embarrass the woman, so she continued on. “Besides, now that he’s back, I might be able to finally give my dad a date for the dinner I’m supposed to have with him. If Arturo is finished with… what he was working on.”
It felt strange to actually call it what it was, and Isla couldn’t do it. The fact that Arturo was back here probably meant he felt things were safe enough for him to take a break, but she wanted to be sure.
Martina nodded, a smile on her face that could only be described as proud, the sort of smile a mother would reserve for her children. “Mr. Calendri is confident in his father’s place in the world. These things do tend to happen from time to time, however, and they require a lot of Arturo’s attention, as well as the attention of his brothers. That you had the idea to send their pillows and sleeping clothes to the office was a good one. I’m sure it allowed them to work well for all the hours they had to stay.”
Isla blushed at the compliment. “Oh. What about Sebastian?” Isla had noticed he certainly hadn’t been in that office during any of those times when she had gone to drop off their food.
“Ah, Sebastian is… how shall I say… not difficult, but he does not always think of himself as Arturo’s brother, or even a Calendri man.”
“Because he was raised by different people?”
Martina nodded. “Yes. His parents, his mother and the man who adopted him, were killed in a terrible accident when he was nearly fully grown. He had no knowledge that he was a Calendri until then. Vincenzio Calendri took Sebastian from the hospital that day with the promise of providing a home. I remember him then, so… different. He was nearly fully grown by then, but he seemed small, a mouse even after the deaths of his parents, afraid of the world he found himself in, and nothing like the angry lion he can be now.” Martina was quiet a moment. “He became that man in this house.”
“But why does he hate Arturo and his other brothers so much?”
Martina pressed her lips together, silent for only a moment while she thought. “Perhaps he sees them as being responsible in some way? When Vincenzio took him, he made the promise to see to the burial of his parents. Sebastian was unaware that he would not be able to attend the funeral. He did not know it had happened until days later.”
Isla’s heart clenched. She actually flinched at the news. “That’s really terrible.”
Martina nodded. “Sebastian might believe that Arturo knew of this, but of course, he didn’t, and neither did Orlando and Silvio. He certainly believes that I knew of it, considering my position on staff at the time and now, but I did not know of it then either. Had I known, I would have told him and prepared a car to take him.”
“I believe you.”
Martina’s gaze was something sad but grateful. “It is not you who I must ask forgiveness from. There was… another incident, but that’s not for me to discuss.”
Of course, that got Isla’s curiosity booming even more, but considering how Martina looked now, she didn’t dare ask what the incident had been. She could’ve been talking about the murder for all Isla knew. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Martina shook her head. “I should not even be speaking of this with you. It’s a private matter between Mr. Calendri and his family.”
“Right, sorry. I didn’t mean to pry,” Isla said quickly.
She knew better than to take offense. She wasn’t part of the family, after all. Not even a friend. Not yet, at any rate, and even then it still wouldn’t be any of her business.
She was just kind of… falling into all of this.
“I was not blaming you for speaking to me, but it is unprofessional for me to be speaking like this to you,” Martina said, looking very disappointed with herself.
Isla smiled. “I might have that effect on people. I always talked like a regular person to Peggy. You can blame it on that.”
Martina returned her smile, though it was softer, somewhat guarded. “Is there something else I can get for you, M
iss King?”
“No, I’m good… thanks.” She’d almost asked when it would be expected that Arturo would wake up and come to see her, but there were too many different meanings behind a question like that. None of which Isla wanted Martina to assume.
Martina nodded and left Isla to enjoy her breakfast and check her e-mail on her tablet.
Isla barely read anything, and she could hardly even focus on her food before it got cold.
Why had she wanted to ask that about Arturo? What did it matter when he got up? She wasn’t going to go and see him, so she didn’t need to know when he’d be ready for her.
If he even wanted to have sex with her at all. He could still be tired after he woke up and not in the mood for a five-star romp.
And what was that weird tightening in her stomach when she thought about that? The sex was good, but it was nothing to feel sorry for if she couldn’t get it.
Sure, it had been a little boring around here, not knowing when Arturo would be coming around and thinking about how good it had been when he’d put her over this very table and had his way with her.
Isla’s face still burned when she thought about how he liked to keep her legs around his thighs, and it was kind of nice. The orgasms were pretty great. Okay, spectacular, and when she’d finally taken Arturo up on his offer to go shopping, even taking Jane with her for the fun, it still hadn’t been enough to take her mind off it.
Whatever it was.
The next time Isla had gone out, she’d had to go without Jane because she’d honestly just been sick of all the questions, asking her if she was all right. Was she sure? Was Arturo hurting her? She had also suggested maybe there was a good lawyer they could get to make him pay for the bullshit contract.
Isla had thought about the lawyer bit for about two whole seconds before she dismissed the idea. Not because she thought she didn’t have a case, but because she didn’t want to sue for her family’s company back and she definitely didn’t want to accuse Arturo of sexually abusing her when she was here of her own free will.