She backed away from him. Her shimmering blue eyes held a haunted expression. “Did you know there’s a movement within your company to ask you to step down as CEO because everyone believes you and I are lovers?”
His blood ran cold. “Violeta told you that?”
“Yes, but she didn’t say it in a mean way. We like each other. She wanted me to know the truth because she loves you and Ric. I allayed her fears by letting her know that you and I are not lovers. Furthermore I told her I’m moving to Naples by the weekend.”
Maybe he’d misjudged the situation. “In other words, you don’t have deep feelings for me.”
“Of course I do,” she practically shouted at him.
“But it seems not deep enough, otherwise you wouldn’t have flown to Naples the moment Violeta stopped by to give you the bad news. I thought we were going to do this together. Like partners, remember?”
Valentina shook her head. “We’ve been through all this. You knew I was planning to leave. What she told me helped me to get on with my plans a little sooner. Giovanni—you’re not just anybody. You’re the head of the Laurito Corporation.
“I knew we’d have to face a lot of bad publicity while we tried to do the right thing for our babies. But what I didn’t know was that the board would actually remove you from your position. You’ve worked so hard for everything you’ve achieved. I refuse to be the woman who brings you down.”
“Tatania’s father worked on Violeta to get his own way before she showed up here. Surely you must see that.”
“All I know is, I can’t stay here any longer. I’m trying to put away the guilt I suffered over my bad judgment with Matteo. But if I thought that you could be toppled by your own board members because of me, terrible guilt would consume me. This is all my fault. If I hadn’t asked the hospital for a DNA test, we wouldn’t know of each other’s existence.”
His anger flared. “If you hadn’t followed your mother’s intuition, we wouldn’t have the joy of loving two sons. Can you honestly stand there and tell me you’re sorry for discovering the truth?”
“You know I’m not,” her voice shook, “but I don’t want to be the one responsible for ruining your life! Violeta’s visit was a blessing in disguise. Just so you know, I’m going to pack everything up tonight. Rini is going to come for me and Vito in the morning. I’ll stay with him until Friday. The furnished apartment will be ready then, and he’ll help me move.”
Blind with anger over what was happening, he knew he had to get away from her in order to calm down. Gutted by the sudden change in their arrangement, he needed to channel his negative energy with action.
“Don’t let me keep you, Valentina. Buonanotte.”
He raced back inside to his room and changed into his trunks. A good dozen laps in the pool wouldn’t take away the rage he was feeling over Tatania’s father. He’d always been the ultimate manipulator orchestrating everyone’s lives, including Giovanni’s father. But the physical exercise would help Giovanni clear his head before he put his plan into action and fought fire with fire.
When the next morning came, he purposely stayed in the bedroom so Valentina could feed the babies and say her goodbye to Ric before Rini Montanari came for her. From the other guest room window at the end of the hall, he saw her get in the car with Vito and drive away.
Now that she’d gone, Giovanni contacted his pilot, who would be picking him up within a few minutes. He’d called for a morning meeting of the entire Laurito board. For the occasion he’d dressed in a formal suit and tie.
On his way out, he stopped in the sunroom, where Stanzie was entertaining Ric in his swing. She looked up.
“You just missed Valentina.”
“We said good-night last night.” He leaned over to kiss his son. “I’ll see you this evening.”
“Is everything all right?”
Giovanni smiled at her. “Things couldn’t be better.”
“But...she said she was moving to Naples.”
“That’s right. She had a lot on her mind today. Don’t worry about it.”
Stanzie frowned at him. “I don’t like it. Paolo and I enjoy her very much.”
“She holds you two in the highest regard. I’ll check in with you later to see how Ric is doing.”
A half hour later he entered his office and checked with his assistant. “Has anyone bowed out of this morning’s meeting?” It was scheduled to start in ten minutes.
“No, but your uncle Benito said he’d be a few minutes late.”
He nodded. “I’ll be making an announcement. When the meeting is over, I’ll tell you what I want you to say to the media.”
His assistant’s eyes widened, but they’d worked together too long and he knew better than to question Giovanni.
“I’m headed for the conference room now.” He left his office and started down the hall.
“Giovanni?” His father had just gotten off the private elevator.
“Papà—” He gave him a hug.
“I’ve been anxious to talk to you about something that has concerned me for the last month. After the meeting let’s go to lunch.”
“We’ll do it.”
They entered the room. Little by little most of the members of the board had taken their seats around the long oval table. As he stood to call the meeting to order, his oldest uncle came in with Tatania’s father and took their places next to Giovanni’s father.
“I appreciate all of you rearranging your busy schedules to attend this emergency board meeting. I wouldn’t have called for it if it weren’t for the most vital of reasons. After you put me in as CEO of Laurito’s two years ago, I made up my mind to bring results that would satisfy your faith in me.
“But as all of you know, I became a father very recently. The birth of our son Vitiello has been the most soul-changing experience of my entire life. I say our son Vitiello because he was the son I took home from the hospital to raise. But three weeks later I discovered there was a mistake made at the hospital. Vitiello was not our baby.
“The courageous mother who went home with her baby realized something was wrong, and DNA tests were done. It turns out we had each other’s babies. The hospital arranged for the mistake to be rectified. Our birth son, Riccardo, was returned to me, and her son, Vitiello, was returned to her. But not without a lot of agony because the bonding between parent and child took place before the mistake was caught.
“I now feel as if I’m the father of twins. I love both babies with every fiber of my being. I never knew how wonderful it was to be a father. It has crystallized my vision of the future in a new way. In order to be the kind of father my sons deserve, I’m stepping down as CEO, effective by the end of the day.”
The gasps he’d expected were louder than even he had imagined. Both his father and Tatania’s father looked like they’d had a coronary.
“What I would like to do is be the head of our marketing department, but that will be up to the new CEO.” He eyed his second cousin, who’d been considered as the pick before Giovanni had been installed. “Never question that my loyalty will always be to Laurito. But it’s a privilege to be a father and I want to be there to enjoy as much of it as possible.
“That’s all I have to say. Thank you for coming to this meeting.”
He left the room and headed for his office to talk to his assistant. “You can tell the press I’ve stepped down as CEO to devote more time to my family. Between you and me I hope to be given a lesser position in the corporation that suits my needs.” His assistant looked so crestfallen he added, “Don’t worry. If I’m given another job around here, I’ll want you with me.”
Before there was a stampede to his office, he texted his father.
Meet u at Alforno’s, Papà. Come alone. We need to have a long talk.
* * *
&nb
sp; Valentina set up the swing in the kitchen for Vito while she cooked dinner. Having moved out of Giovanni’s villa, she felt like part of her had died. He’d done nothing to prevent her from leaving. In fact he’d stayed away while she’d gotten up this morning to feed the babies. She’d thought he might come downstairs and try to persuade her not to go, but of course he didn’t do that.
The only remedy to her heartache was to keep busy. She told Bianca to take the night off. Valentina would fix Rini’s dinner herself. He liked her veal-filled cannelloni with white sauce, a recipe their mother often cooked.
She turned on the radio while she stuffed the pasta. Her favorite news station was RAI1, and she half listened to the Tuesday evening news. In the midst of cooking, she bent over to kiss her baby’s precious face. She put the pacifier back in his mouth. “Next week I’ll be taking you to the doctor for your next checkup. You’re such a good eater he’ll probably tell me you’re getting too chubby.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks to realize she wouldn’t be living with Ric or Giovanni anymore. She knew he’d been upset over Violeta’s visit, but he’d made it clear that he honored Valentina’s decision to move out.
What did you want him to do? Take you upstairs and make love to you?
She didn’t dare answer that question and put the dinner in the oven. The news was still on as she set the table for Rini.
“Today the country is stunned by the announcement that Giovanni Laurito, the dynamic CEO and entrepreneur of the Laurito Corporation, has stepped down from his position to devote more time to his family.”
What?
With her heart thudding she rushed over to the radio to turn up the volume.
“The corporation’s spokesman has shed no other light on the resignation, but already the announcement has negatively affected the stock market. Members of the board have declined comment at this time. But there’s speculation that due to his divorce from Tatania Corleto, the daughter of Salvatore Corleto, one of the pillars of the company, certain internal domestic problems forced him to make this unexpected decision.”
“No—”
“His two years as head of the corporation have shown unprecedented growth in a market that has catapulted Laurito to the top of medical machines technology throughout Europe. His reputation for—”
Valentina turned it off, not wanting to hear any more. Tears streamed down her face. “Oh, Giovanni— Look what I started—I can’t bear it.”
“Valentina?” She jerked around to see her brother walk in the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”
“Have you heard tonight’s news?”
Lines darkened his face. “It was on the noon segment. Everyone at Montanari’s was surprised.”
“It’s my fault, Rini.”
“Of course it isn’t.” He hugged her. “Whatever he did has nothing to do with you.”
“Yes, it does.” She pulled away from him. “None of this would have happened if I hadn’t called the hospital about getting a DNA test.”
“You can’t blame yourself for wanting to know if Ric was your son!” He drew Vito out of the swing and hugged him. “Because of what you did, you have your birth son home with you.”
“When I tell you what happened yesterday, you’ll understand why I feel so fragmented by the news.” Wiping the tears from her cheeks, Valentina recounted the conversation with Violeta.
After she’d finished, he said, “So because of what she said, you think Giovanni Laurito fell on his sword because of you?” He sounded incredulous.
“Yes! I stayed with him for a few weeks and because of that, he had to step down.”
Rini shook his head. “I know enough about his character to promise you he doesn’t do anything unless he wants to. He asked you to live with him for the babies’ sakes. It was a joint decision, Valentina.”
“I should have known better.”
“Where is all this guilt coming from?”
“You know,” she mumbled and walked over to the oven.
“The circumstances with Matteo were entirely different.”
“When I called the university to see about classes, I found out by accident that Matteo is no longer teaching there. Because of mistakes I’ve made, he has gone elsewhere and now it has cost Giovanni his position at Laurito’s. I’m the loose, unmarried woman who—”
“Valentina—” He cut her off. “I don’t ever want to hear you talk like that again.”
His anger surprised her. “What are you saying?”
“I thought you made the wrong decision to go with Giovanni, but have since changed my mind. I’ve seen a remarkable change in you. I’m proud of you for doing what you thought was right. Anyone can see both you and Vito are thriving. Being with Giovanni has done that for you.”
“You honestly believe that?”
He nodded. “I wasn’t in your skin or Giovanni’s. You both followed your intuition. Good for you.”
She took the cannelloni out of the oven, hardly able to believe her ears. “If you’ll sit down, I’ll serve you.”
He reached for Vito and sat on a chair at the table. “This little guy is worth everything you’ve gone through.”
Valentina nodded. “I adore him.” She put Rini’s food and coffee on the table, then plucked the baby from his arms and sat down across from him.
“This tastes delicious. You’re not eating?”
“I couldn’t.” She looked at him. “Rini? I’m so upset I can’t think about going to school right now. A job is all I can handle. I don’t want to work at a restaurant or a department store. There’s an opening at one of the university bookstores. The hours are good and it’s close to the apartment and the day-care center. I’m going to arrange for an interview tomorrow.”
“At least that’s an environment you’re familiar with, but since you’ve decided not to go to school, there’s no hurry for you to see about a job.”
“Yes, there is. It’s time you led your own life.”
He shook his head. “I do.”
“But there’s more to life, brother dear. You need your privacy to make that happen. Excuse me while I bathe Vito and put him down with his bottle. Thank you for being my rock.”
“I wish there were more I could do.”
“If I can fly to Naples with you on Friday, I’ll move in the apartment and leave Vito at the day care while I see about that job at the bookstore. I really do need to be on my own. This has nothing to do with you.”
“Little sister? I’ve never been more proud of you than I am at this moment.”
She stared at him, knowing in her heart he meant it.
In another hour she’d put Vito to bed and went to her room, but she was so racked with pain over Giovanni, she couldn’t stand it any longer and phoned him. It rang a long time before going to voice mail.
“Giovanni? I—I heard the news on the radio this evening,” she stammered. “Please call me when you get an opportunity. Please.”
She clicked off and clutched the phone in her hand. Where was he? What was he doing? Valentina could only imagine the storm he’d created at the corporation after an announcement like that. He was so young to step down from a career of such magnitude. What would he do if he left the company outright?
Absolutely sick about it, she phoned Stanzie. They’d shared phone numbers when she’d been living at the villa in case of an emergency, but Valentina had never had a reason to call her.
Not until now...
“Pronto?”
“Stanzie? It’s Valentina.”
“Ah—I’m so glad it’s you. His family has called and called. His mamma is worried sick about him.”
Valentina heard the anxiety in her voice. “I tried to reach Giovanni. Where is he?”
“He came home for the baby earlier and took hi
m out on the cruiser. They aren’t back yet. By the things he took, I think maybe he’ll be gone for a long time. But he shouldn’t be alone, not after giving up his job.” Stanzie sounded shaken. “You need to come. You are the only person who makes him happy.”
“That’s not true.”
“I know what I see. When you came in to this house, everything changed. Why did you leave?”
She could hardly swallow. “So I wouldn’t be the one to cause trouble for him at his work.”
“If his work were that important, he wouldn’t have given up the position. Nothing is as important to him as the babies. You come tomorrow and Paolo will help you find him. All the time you were here, I heard you two talk like he has never talked before. Talking and laughing. He was a different person with you. Please come, Valentina. He needs you.”
Stanzie clicked off before Valentina could say anything else.
He needs you.
She sank down on the side of the bed with her head in her hands. Heaven help me. I need him.
Quickly, before Rini went to bed, she hurried to his den, where he usually worked after dinner. She knocked on the door and he told her to come in.
He looked at her tearstained face. “What’s wrong?”
“I just got off the phone with Stanzie. She says Giovanni has gone out on his cruiser with Ric and doesn’t know when he’ll be back. His family is terribly concerned about him. She wants me to come because she’s worried, too.”
Rini gazed at her through veiled eyes. “You’re in love with him.”
There was no hiding anything from her brother. “Yes.”
“Has he told you he’s in love with you?”
“No. We’ve never even kissed.”
“Why not?”
“Because he knows how guilty I feel after what happened with Matteo. He promised me he wouldn’t touch me unless I wanted him to.”
“That’s it?”
“No. He asked me not to leave. I did it so he wouldn’t have to face the board. They were going to force him to step down because of me.”
“But he was one step ahead of them and faced them anyway knowing what it would cost him. What does that tell you?”
The Billionaire's Baby Swap Page 12