Her Venice Affair (The Albury Affairs)

by OW, Christina

“No buts.” He stood up, placing her on her feet as he exchanged money for the full bag the vendor handed him. “Say gratzie to the nice couple and let’s continue with our day.”

  Riana felt chided like a child but she thanked the couple with a smile and followed Allan when he took her hand and led her away. They walked quietly for a while before Allan stopped them and turned to face her.

  “You are angry with me?”

  Riana exhaled loudly. “I’m not mad, I just don’t want you to feel obligated to buy me stuff.”

  Allan smiled. “You are a unicorn.”

  “What?”

  “Most women jump at the chance to spend my money. But you just don’t care, as long as we are having fun.”

  She quirked her brow, feeling a little confused. “But that’s a good thing, right?”

  He wrapped his arms around her and drew her close to him. “The best. I’m just not used to seeing it in the women I’ve dated.”

  Riana was annoyed at the mention of the other women. “Well, the women you’ve dated are only interested in your money.” She winced, that came off harsher than she’d meant. She looked up at him, hoping she hadn’t offended him, but Allan just laughed, shaking his head.

  His arms tightened around her. “And what about you? What about me do you like?”

  She blushed. “I like you for you. Though you can be bossy and pushy, I still like you.” His lips parted ready to speak but Riana pressed her finger to his lips. “But you have to cut it out, especially when I say no to you spending hundreds of dollars on me. You didn’t have to spend so much. I’ll probably wear half the things in that bag.”

  He kissed her finger. “It only cost me fifty dollars.”

  She lowered her finger. “Oh.”

  He chuckled. “But I understand. I’ll try not to bee too bossy or pushy on one condition.”

  She had a feeling she wasn’t going to like it. “What?”

  “We are going to dine out at every city we hit and that means designer clothes and shoes. You will buy them, with no argument. Agreed?”

  One designer dress and a pair of shoes, what would it hurt? And Loraine would call her an idiot for going to the shoe capital and not get at least two pairs.

  She reached up and pressed her lips to his. “Agreed. Oh and, could you teach me some Italian?”

  * * * *

  The rest of the day went well, and, as promised, Allan didn’t buy her more stuff. Their final stop was the Pantheon. It was a beautiful structure with Corinthian columns and gigantic dome. It was so romantic especially with the full moon shining down at them through the skylight in the dome. He kissed her, gently, sweetly, unlike when they were at the Colosseum, and then they stood wrapped in each other’s arms looking up at the moon.

  They went to Trastevere to dinner and as Riana went on and on about how wonderful the day was between bites of linguine, Allan just stared at her with a smile and a faraway look in his eyes.

  He seemed distracted and in a hurry to get to the hotel. She was sure it was for work and didn’t mind ending the night early. Her feet were beginning to hurt and they had one more day in the romantic city.

  But the moment she toed her shoes off, Allan showed her exactly why he was in a rush to get back to their suite. Before she realized it, her dress was on the floor, she was thrown over his shoulder and carried into their bedroom. He made quick work of her underwear and his clothes and was inside her before she could register what was happening.

  Their coupling was frantic and fast like on the jet but he made each time last longer, taking the time to explore her body between taking her. He made her soar in a haze of pleasure with his hands on her body, his fingers inside her and his mouth between her thighs and on her breasts.

  Riana didn’t mind acknowledging it again. Steve didn’t hold a candle to Allan’s love making.

  But what warmed her heart was how he held her once they’d come down from the clouds after he’d joined their bodies. She felt cherished, sleeping in his arms and trusted when he didn’t bother with condoms. But that would have to change in a month. She was scheduled for another injection then, but being in Italy was going to make it impossible.

  * * * *

  It was their last day in Rome and Riana stood in front of the full-length mirror in their closet, admiring the transformation. She looked different, sophisticated, a lady Allan would actually date.

  She ran her hands down her sides, caressing her first designer dress. It was, Versace, a white, figure hugging dress that sparkled when hit by the light, and she matched it with four inch Nila&Nila silver slippers and clutch bag. She’d straightened her hair for dinner and it fell to the middle of her back, with the ends curled inwards. She didn’t wear any jewelry; the dress shimmered enough. She’d insisted on not having an entire cosmetic store on her face and the makeup artist had done a great job, using earth colors and keeping the look natural.

  After just half a day of sight-seeing, he sent her away with a stylist with strict instructions to spoil her and dress her for dinner, while he used those few hours to attend to some work. Riana didn’t mind the spa, shopping and the makeover until she spied the bill. Then the stylist reminded her of her promise and she had to swallow her protest.

  The sooner she learned that Allan was going to spend as much as he wanted on her with or without her approval the better. She just worried he’d start seeing her like he did all those other women who wanted the company of his Visa card more than him.

  Well, she just hoped he liked what he saw.

  Riana took a deep breath to get rid of the butterflies in her belly and rolled her shoulders to relax. “It’s show time, Riana Albury. Don’t mess this up.”

  Chapter Six

  Allan rolled his stiff neck. The owners of Casa Italiano, the Torino family, had found out that the other shareholders had sold to him and were now putting up roadblocks to keep him from completely taking over. They held forty percent and after that afternoon’s sale, he held sixty. That was great if he intended on keeping them on, but he didn’t. He wanted all of it.

  A week of their ignorance, that’s all he had needed to buy their debt from the bank. But someone had alerted them and they now—somehow—had gotten two months’ extension on their loan. That meant accumulating additional interest at a higher interest rate and more money for him to shell out if they faulted.

  Mr. Torino wanted to meet in Venice in two days’ time. Allan didn’t respond because he had no intention to. He had less intention to change his plans because Mr. Torino was desperately trying to hold on. He’d give him two months to sweat before he swooped in to take the load out of his hands.

  He’d have to call his accountant soon to discuss the hiccup and how much more it would cost him.

  “Allan.”

  He turned around, the hand on his neck slowly dropping to his side. For the first time in his life, he was speechless.

  She turned full circle, exhibiting her hourglass figure in the flowing dress and her straight hair. “Do you like it?”

  Allan opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. His tongue lay dead in his mouth from the shock. She cantered her head to the side and stared up at him with a raised brow. “Allan are you alright?”

  “You look beautiful,” he breathed out.

  “Thanks, you clean up pretty well too,” she returned, her eyes moving slowly up and down his form.

  He was dressed in the dinner suit the stylist he’d hired sent to the boardroom. It had arrived right in the middle of the meeting he was holding with Torino’s lawyers. He hadn’t paid much attention to it until his own lawyer, from one of the largest firms in Italy threw his hands up in exasperation after bickering for hours. That’s when he stood up, took the Gucci suit, and walked out without a word or a backward glance. He went to their suite and changed in the extra room while she was being pampered in their room and went down to the bar for a few drinks. He wanted to be in a good mood before he met her for dinner.

  But h
e was now in the best mood ever after seeing her. Damn, she was a beauty.

  “Signore, your car is ready,” the concierge spoke, pulling Allan’s eyes away from Riana for just a moment.

  “Thank you.” He took Riana’s hand and placed it on his arm. “Let’s leave before I change my mind.”

  Riana blushed. She lowered her head, her hair flowing down like water to shield her face from him. He took a breath to calm his raging hormones. Yup. If they intended on going anywhere they had to leave immediately. It was a good thing the restaurant was just ten minutes away.

  Alan knew Riana would appreciate where he was taking her just by her reaction to the hotel’s décor. L’Archeologia was a warm, welcoming restaurant with open fires, and the best part being the walls lined with their finest wines. Since it was summer, dinner was going to be served in the beautiful garden with its three hundred year old wisteria and Roman remains. He knew Riana would definitely love that, but he’d booked a table inside. With most of the diners outside, it would grant them some sort of privacy.

  With great difficulty for Allan, they’d managed to reach the restaurant without him attacking her in the limo. The host—part owner of L’Archeologia—gave them a tour of the restaurant and Allan had to bite his lips shut to keep from laughing at Riana’s reactions. She oohed and aahed and squealed like a little girl in a candy store when they toured the Roman remains. It was wonderful to watch, and Allan noticed the host kept on puffing his chest out with pride.

  Owning a restaurant like this, with very few people appreciating the surroundings, who wouldn’t feel proud with a guest like Riana?

  Riana had seemed disappointed for just a moment when Allan said no to staying for one more day. He knew she’d wanted to paint the wisteria and the remains, but there was no way she was going to do it all in one day. She got back her giddy school girl joy when he promised to bring her back at the end of their trip. The host had been pleased with that, too.

  They were escorted back to their table where the host, who served them personally, listed their specialties of excellent grilled meat served with a wide range of sauces using olive oil from the Sabine hills and a selection of cheese, salami, vegetables and seafood in their pasta dishes. By the time he was done, he had them both salivating.

  Allan had been surprised by the attention and the free, very expensive red wine that accompanied their meals until the host addressed him as ‘Mr. Sinclair’. He’d reserved a table under Riana’s name.

  Allan was well known in Rome. Partly because of the famous Italian women he’d dated and also because of his business ventures. The worst thing that could happen was if his acquisition of Casa Italiano became public knowledge.

  He had to speak to his lawyer about that.

  They were well into dessert after talking and laughing about their two wonderful days in Rome when she asked him a question none of his dates had ever cared enough to.

  “What exactly is it you do for work?”

  Yup. She’d asked him what he did, and not how much he raked at the end of the month. He was impressed.

  “I buy manufacturing companies that are bankrupt or leading toward that, break them down into independent, functioning pieces, and sell them to other companies who need them.”

  Riana was silent, her eyes spaced out in thought.

  Surely I didn’t say anything worth deep thought? Allan was about to question her IQ when she blinked a few times and turned her eyes back to him.

  “So you don’t acquire businesses then tear them down and throw the pieces to the hyenas for a quick buck?”

  Admitting he was shocked at that moment would have been an understatement. “Excuse me?”

  She shrugged her bare shoulder. “Those were Loraine’s words. So what happens to the people who worked there, once their employment has been fed to the hyenas?”

  Allan noticed that her voice had grown as hard as her stare. Almost like she resented what he did, like he was some kind of villain terrorizing helpless people. He didn’t like it and almost found himself apologizing for it, except he had nothing to feel guilty about.

  He stiffened his back and sat up straight, instigating the same reaction from her. “It’s nothing personal, just business.”

  “Huh!” She sputtered a few times. “It is personal for those parents who can’t provide for the families because you’ve taken apart their place of work like it was nothing but a game of legos and monopoly!”

  Allan clenched his fist to quell the anger building inside him. They’d already drawn enough attention from the nearby tables with her loud exclamation. If she went on with this crusade, she was going to make a public spectacle of them.

  “You don’t know what you are talking about!” he hissed.

  She leaned back, arms crossed under her breast, propping them up and exposing more flesh and his body tightened in response.

  Allan hissed and looked away from her. “Riana, this discussion is over.”

  “I don’t work for you, Allan Sinclair, so don’t think you can just dismiss me.” She leaned forward and pressed her hands on the table. Allan let out a heavy sigh of relief then turned back to look at her. “Did you ever stop and think about all those families you are making suffer, because of your ambition and lust for money?”

  Allan jerked back like she had just slapped him. In fact, she had, with her words. No one had ever questioned his integrity, ever, and she wasn’t going to be the first!

  He rose from the table, pulled money out of his jacket pocket and dropped it on the table. The entire time his eyes holding hers in a livid gaze. “You don’t know me, Riana Albury. And having sex with me when the urge warrants doesn’t entitle you to question my integrity. You can take the limo back to the hotel. Don’t bother waiting up for me; I’ll be using the spare room tonight.”

  Her expression grew stricken. “Allan, I didn’t mean—”

  “I don’t care,” he said harshly. “Goodnight, Miss Albury.”

  * * * *

  Riana felt her body tremble at Allan’s anger. She fought the urge to stand up and run after him as he stomped away. She’d never seen such anger in his eyes before and the fear of rejection kept her where she was. She didn’t even turn around to watch him leave.

  She just sat there, with her head bent and her shaking hands in fists on her lap. She hadn’t meant to offend him, she just found his line of work and what it did to people inexcusable and had hoped what Loraine said wasn’t entirely true.

  But when she’d practically called him a vulture feeding a pack of hyenas and he’d responded with ‘it’s nothing personal just business’ something inside her just snapped. She had been one of those families that were left stranded when the textile factory her mother worked at was taken apart. Allan may not have had anything to do with it, but from the cold way he’d said ‘it’s nothing personal just business’ she couldn’t help but let him—a member of the vulture clan—have all that anger she’d felt when she was just twelve years old.

  The two years following had been some of the worst out of their lives. Her mother had had to work three jobs just to keep the roof over their heads and Reno, still in high school, had had to get a job exclusively to put food on their table. She was left to look after herself, only catching glimpse of her brother and mother when they came home. Mom to change her uniform for another and Reno to get something to eat and leave his books before they left me alone again.

  Riana blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay. It was a long time ago but she still felt the pain, the loneliness, and the guilt. It was for her they were working themselves to the ground. So she learned to always smile and laugh the few moments they were together and she cleaned, cooked, and washed dishes to spare her mother. And once she was engulfed by the dark loneliness again, she would cry out her frustration, cursing their father for not caring enough to help.

  Nothing had changed. She still felt the same pain, guilt, and loneliness.

  Riana drew in a strangled breath, a tear e
scaping and running down her cheek as it dawned on her. What have I done?

  * * * *

  Riana paced in the living room, wringing her fingers worriedly. It was midday and Allan wasn’t back yet. All the worst possible scenarios had already filled her mind and she’d spent half the night crying and praying he was safe wherever he was.

  She’d come home and gone straight to the spare room to find it empty. A spark of hope filled had her as she rushed across to their room only to find it empty. So she changed out of the dress and wore one of his shirts, hoping to seduce him into forgiving her. She’d waited, battling sleep until it won only to wake up a few hours later, curled up on the couch alone in the suite.

  Disappointed and hurt, she packed their few belongings into a suitcase, leaving out an outfit for him to change in to once he came back. Then it occurred to her that maybe he didn’t want to continue with the trip, that he may come back to the suite to announce he’d booked her a flight back to the States and she was to leave immediately. The thought frightened her and made her tear up but she prepared herself just in case he sent her away.

  But once morning came and he hadn’t made an appearance, her heart grew heavy with fear. She couldn’t call anyone to ask and she’d been too star struck to get Allan’s cell number.

  “Allan where are you?” she cried, rubbing her cold arms.

  Then she heard the door jiggle and the handle bend and relief flooded her. She ran to the door and pulled it wide open. “Allan, I’m so—you are not Allan?”

  “No, Signorina Albury, I’m not.” The stranger responded with a smile.

  Instinctively, Riana stepped back, her arms coming back up around her frame. “Who are you?”

  “Signore Sinclair sent me to fetch you. The train leaves in an hour.”

  Riana nodded. “And where is Mr. Sinclair.”

  “He just left for the train station, Signorina.”

  “He left me behind,” Riana whispered, hugging herself tighter. Her heart ached like it never had before. Why it would hurt so much that a man she barely knew had left her behind puzzled her, but it didn’t change the fact that it did.