by Lily Zante
“No,” he lied, then double tracked. “Yes,” he admitted, a little uncomfortably. “I saw you coming out of the Casa di Giulietta and I’m certain you looked upset. I was worried. I followed you. I’m sorry.”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t see me,” said Ava, taking up her glass of wine and almost downing it in one. “You were making eyes at an elegant blond woman,” she said lightly, trying to make light of the situation.
“If I didn’t know you any better, I would say you sound almost annoyed, Ms. Ramirez.”
Ava stopped eating once more and coughed. She nearly choked on an olive and reached for her glass of wine. “You flatter yourself. If I’m annoyed it’s because I want to enjoy my lunch in peace and you’re not letting me have any. Peace that is.” She summoned the waiter and ordered another glass of wine.
“Would you mind if I joined you?” asked Nico unexpectedly. His hands were clenched into tight balls by his side.
I do mind, thought Ava slamming her fork down again. But as the mouthful of salad melted in her mouth, her attention immediately turned to her next forkful, heedless of the fact that she hadn’t given him an answer.
“It’s wrong of me to impose. I’ll wait for you back near the car. Enjoy your lunch.” He lingered a second longer than he should have before turning to take his leave.
Relenting, Ava said. “Stay Nico. A bit of company might do me some good.” After all, he was only acting out of concern for her. Obviously she had not been as successful in walking past him and his lady friend as she had hoped. But if he had caught up with her here at the restaurant, it meant he must have followed her the entire way. It meant that not only had he left his lady friend but that he had followed her for just under a mile. He had been worried about her, since he obviously knew that she had been crying. She didn’t have the heart to tell him to go away, as much as she was starting to enjoy being alone again.
“Stay, Nico. You’re welcome to join me.”
“Are you absolutely sure?” he asked. And when she nodded, he sat down, his jaw relaxed again and his wide shoulders eased down.
As soon as he sat down a waitress came rushing over.
“Good afternoon Mr.-“
“Thank you I’ll have the same please and a Coke.” he said, cutting the eager eyed waitress off immediately. Ava watched him as she carried on eating.
“Have you had an enjoyable visit so far Ms Ramirez?”
“Please don’t call me Ms. Ramirez. We’ve shared a couple of car journeys and now lunch. I think you can call me Ava now.”
“So, how has your day been so far Ava?”
“Interesting.”
“Did you like Juliet’s balcony?”
“It was average,” she replied, taking a sip of her wine.
Nico lifted an eyebrow in surprise. “Most interesting.”
“What’s so interesting about that?”
“Most women love the romance of the whole story behind Juliet’s balcony.”
“I am not most women.”
“I’m beginning to see that.”
“Though I confess I am a hopeless romantic at heart. When I admit to it.”
The waitress soon arrived with Nico’s food.
Ava polished off the last of her salad and then sat back replete and content to watch Nico eating. As she looked around she noticed that the women who walked past their table often stared at Nico. But he was too busy eating his food to notice.
“They were getting ready for a wedding at the house. At Juliet’s house,” she said after a long silence.
“I see.” Nico stopped eating for a moment and looked at her. He stared so intently at her that she felt his dark eyes were trying to look into the windows of her soul.
“So I didn’t really get to see anything. I left.”
Please, please don’t ask me why I was crying.
He drew in a deep breath and said nothing.
“I think I’d like to spend the rest of the day to unwind. It’s been a tough day. All the walking around.”
“Of course Ava. I understand completely.”
They sat for a few minutes, enjoying the afternoon sun. Ava wondered about what she would do later that afternoon. Maybe she would take a short nap. Perhaps go for a walk near the hotel and see what the local area had to offer.
Nico was silent for a while and ate the rest of his salad. When he had finished, he pushed his plate away and the waitress came running to clear it from the table.
“I finished before you and she certainly didn’t come running for me,” said Ava noticing, now that it had happened so many times, that Nico seemed to have this effect on people, mostly women, around him.
“Are you jealous?” he asked cheekily, his eyes daring hers and at the same time his lips breaking out into a playful smile. He had taken his suit jacket off and wore a white shirt underneath which made his olive skin look more tanned.
Ava almost laughed out loud. “Jealous? Who me?” her gray-blue eyes surveyed him with interest. “Certainly not.”
I hope you’re not flirting with me, she prayed, taking a sip of wine again, because she needed to do something with her hands.
Nico rested his elbow on the table and placed his index finger across his chin. As he leaned in towards her, she suddenly caught sight of his Breitling watch. It was almost two o’clock. He smiled at her again, watching her as he often seemed to do.
He is flirting with me. Ava took another sip of wine then realised her glass was empty.
This made him smile even more. She was vaguely conscious of the outline of his biceps through his shirt. It occurred to her that he probably met a wide range of women in his choice of profession and being charming to hotel guests must be something he excelled at. “Why do the women around here turn to jelly whenever you’re around Nico?” she asked innocently enough.
He stared at her face for what seemed like the longest time then replied, “I don’t know.” Changing the subject, he asked quickly, “And what brings you to Italy Ava?”
The waitress hovered around them and Ava grew more disgruntled, more so now that he was prying into her personal life. It was bad enough that he had encroached on her lunch.
“Ava?” Nico was still waiting for her answer and she had drifted off on other thoughts.
Boy, you’re nosy for a hotel driver. There was one thing to be said for making this a pleasant and personal experience. It was entirely another to be so forward and so interested in her personal affairs. She would make sure to mention this in the hotel questionnaire survey which she had seen on her table back the hotel, before she left.
“Business and a bit of a rest. As I already told you.”
“Yes, you did. A working holiday you said. It’s peaceful here and the people are friendly. You’ll come to peace here.” His face expressed sympathy and Ava wasn’t sure where this conversation was going.
“I’m actually looking to source a few products. I have a business that sells organic products for children.”
“You sell these products yourself?” Nico asked.
“I sell children’s things, and baby things. Pretty things, things you can’t always find easily in the big stores. Unique and different things. Stuff like feeding bottles and bowls that stick onto portable tables that fasten easily to the back of the drivers seat, so that moms can feed their babies if families are going on a long trip. Rucksacks that become car seats, stuff like that. Its got to be functional and looks good too. I’m always on the lookout for new products.”
Nico listened and watched as Ava gushed about her store. She came alive when she talked about her business and the passion she had for it was easy to see.
“You’ve put your heart and soul into this store, no?”
“Absolutely,” replied Ava, rubbing the palms of her hands together. She was passionate about her store and her passion showed in the way she talked animatedly about her it, unable to sit still.
“I have just the place for you,” said Nico when she had fi
nished. His voice carried a hint of excitement. He arched his eyebrow and glanced at her with expectation; he felt sure she would enjoy this. “I’ll take you to Montova.”
Ava tried hard to conceal her wariness. She didn’t want this smooth charmer taking her anywhere. It was bad enough that he had followed her all morning, and then invited himself to her lunch and now he wanted to take her to this strange sounding place with him.
She rested her index finger against her mouth but Nico carried on, unfazed by her lack of enthusiasm. “There are many factories and outlets there that you might like. The products are all authentically Italian, so naturally, with the usual Italian flair for style, you’re going to find some wonderful products here. I guarantee it.” He looked so pleased with himself that Ava found it difficult to turn him down straightaway.
She could see from the fire in his eyes that he was super excited by this new idea of his. But she had been looking forward to having a day to herself to explore, all alone. After all, this had been the whole purpose of her trip to Italy. To collect her thoughts and to be alone.
The excitement in Nico’s eyes waned when he saw her muted reaction.
“Too much too soon?” he asked dejectedly.
Ava stared at the man before her. His calm posture belied the twinkle in his jet black eyes.
“Well….” She hesitated, putting her glass down slowly. She was here on vacation and perhaps she could look around. If he was taking her to an industrial place, she might as well see if she could get some unique products for her business. Why waste the opportunity?
He waited for her to make up her mind but her answer knocked his composure.
“Won’t your boss get angry at you? I mean, is it alright for you to drive me all over the place? Don’t you have work to do or something?”
Come to think of it, why was he so intent on showing her around? Him giving her so much personal attention didn’t seem right. Perhaps Rona was right about Italian men after all.
“I have a meeting late tomorrow morning so I am going there anyway. I thought it might be good for you to have a look since I’m going that way. You don’t think I’m going out of my way especially for you do you?” He ran his hand through his hair again.
“No, no of course not,” said Ava quickly. How presumptuous of her to think he was doing all of this just for her? Now it was a case of her flattering herself with the notion that this handsome looking man was going out of his way doing things for her.
Feeling silly, and not wanting him to think what she had been thinking all along, she asked, “Is it far? It is easy to get to?” Maybe she could secure exclusive distributor rights if she found the right product. It wouldn’t do any harm to go and see, now that she was here anyway. Would it? Her heart started to beat faster.
“It’s less than an hour away. I can take you there and back easily.”
“Alright, tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow then,” he said, looking at his watch. “I admire people who have their own businesses. I know how hard it is to do that.”
Ava looked puzzled. “But you’re just a hotel driver.” She blurted out before she could stop herself.
“Yes. I am. But I’m hoping one day to run my own hotel. You have to start somewhere.”
“And for now your boss is happy for you to run around and drive me here and there?” she asked playfully. She was starting to enjoy this little banter that they had going.
“Our mission statement is to ensure our guests have the best perfect experience in a home away from home. And I hope, by doing my little bit, that I’m helping you to have a great time here in Verona at least.”
“A hotel driver with a mission statement,” replied Ava, looking at Nico’s chiseled face for more clues.
“You see how seriously we take our business here in Italy?” said Nico, turning around to grab his jacket from the back of the chair.
It was then that Ava realised the Breitling watch he wore was very expensive. She knew it must have cost upwards of thousands of dollars. And the reason she knew this was because Connor had always wanted one.
She wondered how well he was paid in order to be able to afford one of these?
Chapter 11
As soon as they arrived back at the Casa Adriana, Ava was busy on her phone. She walked distractedly up the stairs to her room, still flicking buttons rapidly.
On the journey back she seemed to have a lot of things to handle over there, wherever “over there” was. Nico had listened in on her conversation and it was obvious that the business was going well and she had a helper, someone called Kim, covering for her. After the call she had seemed sad again. What terrible bad luck for Ava to have witnessed the preparations for a wedding taking place at the Casa di Giuletta. It was no wonder that she had been crying when he had seen her.
The sight of Gina coming towards him in a hurry, interrupted his thoughts.
“Mr. Cazale, Nico – your father called from Rome asking to speak to you.”
“Why didn’t he just phone me on my cell phone?” said Nico in a fit of frustration.
“Because he obviously expected you to be here at the hotel, taking care of things in his absence.”
“I was taking care of things,” said Nico slowly letting out a sigh of annoyance. Gina looked at him curiously.
“I hate lying to him Nico. But I see you are doing your best to prove yourself.”
“What did you tell him?” asked Nico impatiently, moving over to the desk behind reception and flicking through the diary.
“I told him you were out at the back overseeing the supplies delivery,” said Gina dutifully following him. She winced as she looked at the crestfallen expression on Nico’s face. She knew only too well how hard he tried to prove to his father that he was capable of being the man that his father once was. The problem was that Nico’s previous playboy reputation preceded him. She also knew that the tragic death of his mother affected him more deeply than he cared to admit. Nico’s father, Cazale Senior himself, was having problems dealing with life after the death of his beloved wife but Gina felt he was not thinking things through properly, especially when it came to the future of his hotel empire. She felt that he was being too hard on Nico.
“Where’s Alphonso?” Nico asked with a hint of irritation in his voice. “My father knows that’s not something I would do.”
“He’s off sick again,” said Gina quietly.
Nico flicked his fingers through the diary, his brow tightened and his eyebrows pushed together angrily. “He called to remind me of the three o’clock meeting with the new suppliers,” said Nico slowly reading from the book.
“Thank goodness you’re here then because it’s a quarter to three now.”
Nico’s brows relaxed. It was purely by luck that he had returned.
How could he have forgotten this important meeting? It was something that he had set up himself. How embarrassing that his father had to remind him.
“Thank you Gina. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Neither do I.” said Gina, busying herself with the staff timetable.
Nico walked over to her. “Another thing that Alphonso hasn’t taken care of?”
“I’m not expecting him in today. And probably not even tomorrow. The rota is done. We’re fine. I took care of the deliveries too.”
“You are the main reason we are so efficiently run,” said Nico appreciatively.
“Your father also asked for you to check the mail in his absence and there are a few phone calls that need your immediate attention. The list is on your father’s desk,” Gina continued, undeterred by his praises.
“Thank you Gina,” said Nico walking away, lost in thought again. He slipped into the office at the back, to prepare for the meeting. He had problems getting his father to see things from his point of view anyway. No matter how hard he tried, his father always thought Nico was not capable of running the business. A few years ago that might have been true. But since the death of his
mother from cancer five years ago, Nico had known that he didn’t want to squander his time away. He wanted to leave a legacy. And he was lucky enough that his father had a legacy to leave him. There was no bitterness here. His parents loved him and they had wanted to pass things down to him. But up until his mother had fallen ill Nico had never been the type of man to think about the frailty of life. He was too busy enjoying it instead.
Her death forced him to take a step back and to look at his life and what he had been doing with it. How he wished she had been witness to the type of man he should have become. Of course he loved his father, but it was his mother he wanted to show what he was made of. And by the time she passed away, it was too late.
He owed it to himself, if not to her, to make up for his fickle past.
His eyes flicked along the list of people who had called. Many of them would only deal with his father. These men where the big players, owners of large hotel chains and they had an eye on the Cazale group of hotels. Of course, it was to be expected. Ever since his father had leaked out suggestions that he might be interested in selling parts of his empire for the right price.
Nico grabbed the letter opener and ripped open the letters that had arrived for his father. Sorting them out into degrees of importance and throwing away the junk mail. He skimmed through the rest of the letters. Again, there was nothing that he could reply to right now. His father hadn’t expected him to deal with anything, but only to alert him to any potential urgent business that needed his immediate attention.
He sunk into his father’s executive chair and clasped his hands together, resting them on his stomach. He felt useless because he couldn’t do anything. His father hadn’t given him the reins to make any business decisions at this level. His father needed evidence first that Nico wanted to work in the hotel business at all. Just because he was the only child of Edmondo Cazale, did not automatically give him the keys to the empire.
Nico understood that. He knew he had to prove himself; he had never expected an easy ticket to everything that his father had worked so tirelessly to create. But he wished his father would trust him more. How could he prove himself fully capable if his father didn’t relax his reins a little? Although the Cazale hotel business was chugging along, there were bigger chains everywhere. Now that the news was out, the eight hotels that the Cazale family owned up and down the length of Italy were being furiously sought after by these bigger groups. It was his choice now to convince his father not to sell up, but to let him, Nico, take charge and lead the company to better shores. In a year he had done many things and the results were slow to show, but nonetheless, the results were looking good.