The CEO, the Puppy and Me

by Jennifer Faye

  The floor was finished.

  Three days later, Gia stood in the center of the spacious kitchen and turned around. They still had a lot of details to work on, like the backsplash, the fixtures and the cabinet pulls. Things that would make this house a home. Lucky for them, the leaking pipe had been caught before it caused any major damage.

  A smiled lifted her lips. This place had an old-world feel but with all the modern conveniences. Though the long center island did give the room a more modern vibe, she’d weighed need over authenticity. But they’d made sure the island matched the look and feel of the cabinetry. All in all, anyone would be lucky to have this kitchen. She’d certainly feel that way if it were hers.

  She couldn’t help but wonder if Ric would change his mind about the place and move in once it was completed. After all, he’d grown up here. It was a part of his past—

  “There you are.” The sound of Ric’s voice came from behind her.

  She turned to him. “You were looking for me?”

  “I’ve been calling you and texting you. Didn’t you get my messages?”

  “Sorry. My phone is in the other room.” She couldn’t help but worry that something was wrong. It wasn’t usual for Ric to track her down in person. “Is something wrong with Gin?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “He’s fine. He’s at home with Mrs. Rossi.”

  “Then what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing is wrong. Not exactly.”

  “You aren’t making any sense.” And her anxiety was climbing with each passing moment.

  “It’s about your father—your biological father. Nate called—”

  “He figured it out?” Excitement flooded her veins. “He knows the man’s name?”

  “No. I’m sorry. He wasn’t able to uncover any additional information from the pages we scanned to him. But he has an idea that might lead to more information about him. However, it’s going to take your agreement.”

  “What is it?” She was getting desperate. She couldn’t stop now. She felt as though they were very close to finding out his name.

  “Nate needs the actual journal to run some tests on. He might need to remove a page or two.”

  For the briefest moment, Gia hesitated. She worried her bottom lip. It was her mother’s final words. If anything happened to it, she’d be miserable. But her siblings had given their blessings for her to do with the journal what was necessary to locate her biological father. Maybe the risk was worth it.

  “Okay. Do it,” she said in a rushed breath before she could take it back.

  Ric arched a brow. “I know how protective you are of your mother’s journal. Are you sure? I don’t know exactly what he’s going to do with it.”

  “I’m sure.” She wasn’t. Not really. But her mother used to say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. “It’s back at your place.”

  “Can you leave now? Nate has some time this afternoon.”

  “I...uh, yes. Just let me have a word with the contractor.”

  “I’ll meet you at the car.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Gia thought of the scratched-out lines in her mother’s journal. She’d always wondered if her mother regretted what she’d written. Or had she been afraid that someone else would read it?

  Either way, this was it. She was certain they were going to get some answers now.

  * * *

  No matter the results...

  Everything was about to change.

  Ric wanted Gia to find her biological father and learn the answers to all her questions. And yet there was another part of him that didn’t want her journey to end—not yet.

  He was just getting used to sharing his apartment with her. And then there was the puppy. Who’d have thought he was a dog person, but he was. If it hadn’t been for Gia, he’d have never figured that out.

  He’d also learned that he enjoyed having someone to share morning coffee with. Not just anyone, Gia. She was talkative at all the right times. And when he just needed some companionable silence, she seemed to recognize that and leave him to his thoughts.

  After stopping by the apartment for Gia to clean up and grab the journal, they headed off to the other side of the island. The trip was quiet as each was lost in their own thoughts.

  What would happen when she learned the true identity of her father? She would leave. There would be no reason for her to stay. Sure, there was the villa to finish remodeling, but her plans were already written down. There was no reason someone else couldn’t follow them. There would be no pressing reason for her to remain. And that thought dampened Ric’s mood.

  He parked at a research facility and followed his friend’s instructions to the fifth floor where they were to meet Nate in the lobby. Ric checked the time. They were a few minutes early.

  He told himself it would be good to get back to his solitary life. He could work as late as he liked. He could get up whenever he liked, but then again, he never slept in, no matter how late he worked. He wouldn’t have to eat on a schedule. He could walk around his apartment in as little clothing as he liked—

  “Are you sure Nate said to meet him here?” Gia’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

  “Um, yes, he did.”

  Just then Nate, a tall lanky man with sandy blond hair, rounded the corner. His gaze met Ric’s. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” He kept moving until he stopped in front of Gia. He held his hand out to her. “Gia, at last we meet. I’m Nate, and it’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too.” She flashed him a brilliant smile.

  Was it Ric’s imagination or did Nate hold Gia’s hand longer than necessary? And the way he was smiling at her, it was like he was flirting with her. Who could blame him? Gia was a knockout. But they were here to get some work done.

  Ric cleared his throat and stepped closer. Gia pulled her hand back, but her face was flushed and she was still smiling. Why didn’t she act like that around him?

  “We should get to work,” Ric said, wanting to move this along.

  “Right. This way.” Nate led them down a hallway and up a flight of steps. “I have a friend with a lab and some special equipment that should help us uncover what’s crossed out in your mother’s journal.” Just outside the lab, Nate turned to her. “You do realize this might be a futile effort. This might not lead to any clues about your biological father.”

  “I understand.” Gia had a certainty in her eyes. “But I have to do whatever is necessary.”

  “Even if it means removing the pages in question from the journal?”

  Gia momentarily hesitated. “Even then.”

  Nate nodded in understanding. “Then let’s do this.”

  Inside the lab, they shook hands with a shorter, older man. Gia was very quiet. Her hands tightly gripped the journal. And the smile had disappeared from her face.

  “May I have the journal?” Nate asked.

  Gia handed it over and then wrung her hands.

  Nate quickly located a page with some crossed out writing. “I’m going to see if I can hold it up to a very bright light to see if we can make out the original writing.”

  They struggled to hold the journal up to the light. It quickly became evident that this process would work better if the page was removed from the journal. With a sharp knife, Nate sliced the page from the book near the spine.

  And so they worked through a process starting with a bright light and then applying a blue light. Neither was able to distinguish the handwriting from the scratch-out marks.

  Next, they tried applying some heat to warm the paper to see if it would make a difference with the ink. Again, it didn’t work.

  Finally they ran the page through a high-resolution scanner that was equipped with image editing software that was able to discern the different inks by applying a cont
rast. As the two men worked to get the contrast just right to display the text, Gia rubbed her hands together.

  One look at her rigid shoulders and clenched hands let Ric know her whole body was tense. This just had to work. He wasn’t sure how much more she was up for. She’d already endured so much when she lost her parents.

  He moved close to her and draped his arm over her shoulders, drawing her to his side. He wasn’t sure how she’d react, but the next thing he knew, she was leaning into him. He welcomed the warmth of her body. Her head landed against his shoulder. He leaned his head to the side, resting his cheek against her silky hair. He breathed in its floral scent from her shampoo.

  He wasn’t sure how long they stood there quietly waiting and watching. Gia didn’t move. Neither did he. He wanted to be there for her—to be the pillar of strength she’d need if this experiment didn’t yield the desired results.

  “We got it!” Nate projected the image on the large monitor.

  Gia let go of Ric as she rushed forward. “I can’t believe it. It worked!”

  “It did,” Nate said. “It really helped that your mother used two different colored pens.”

  Ric moved to stand with them. His gaze focused on the words now revealed.

  I’m so mad at Aldo. Why does he have to be such a jerk about the inheritance? His stupid pride. It always comes back to the money. I wish I’d never inherited it.

  Ric wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but he was certain it was of no help in finding Gia’s biological father. He turned his attention to her. Her momentary excitement had deteriorated into a frown.

  “I’m sorry it’s not what you were hoping for,” Ric said.

  “Do it again.” There was determination tinged with desperation in Gia’s voice. “Whatever it costs, I’ll pay it.”

  And so they did it again with another page.

  And again, they uncovered her mother being upset with Aldo—for forcing a separation.

  But it was on the third try that they uncovered something useful. Gia stood front and center, staring up at the screen.

  Ric positioned himself behind her. His height enabled him to look over her to the words on the screen.

  Stupid. Stupid. How could I have let this happen? Too much anger—too much wine—and a sweet-talking man. Now I’m pregnant with Berto Gallo’s baby.

  When I went to tell him, he never gave me a chance. He turned me away without letting me say a word. He said if I came back, he’d have me arrested. Arrested!

  Oh, what a colossal mess.

  The last words were blurred even with the high diagnostic equipment. It looked as if water had been spilled on the page, but just a couple of drops. Tears?

  This man didn’t sound like a good guy. Far from it. Ric felt really bad for Gia. He knew that she’d imagined a happy meeting with her biological father, and now it wasn’t to be. He was ready to do anything to console her when she turned to him with a smile. A smile?

  “This is it. We have his name.” Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “Now I can track him down.”

  He couldn’t tell if those were tears of sadness, relief or was it possibly she was truly happy about this discovery?

  “Are you sure you still want to go through with—”

  “Of course I am.”

  Ric opened his mouth, then, thinking better of it, he wordlessly closed it. At the very least, she was in shock. He couldn’t let her continue on this journey alone.

  He would be there to cheer with her if it worked out with her biological father. To dry her tears if it went awry. No matter what, she wasn’t getting rid of him.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ANY DAY NOW...

  Any moment...

  A couple of days had passed since the discovery of her father’s name. Nate had promised to call when he had information about her father. Her gaze moved to the phone in her hand. Nothing. But soon.

  She glanced over at Ric as he sat behind the wheel of his sporty coupe. “Ric, where are we going?”

  A smile played the corners of his sexy mouth. “It’s a surprise.”

  Hope bubbled up within her. “Did you find my father?”

  The smile fell from his face. “Not yet. I’m sorry, Gia. I have people working on it.” He reached out and took her hands in his. “It’s a common name. And so far, he doesn’t appear to be on the island. But we’ll keep looking. But in the meantime, I have something to take your mind off the search.”

  He was so supportive and thoughtful. She wanted to smile—to be excited—but she was struggling. “What is it?”

  “I can’t tell you. Remember?”

  “I know. It’s a surprise.”

  “Right.” There was a twinkle in his eyes, and she noticed that twinkle only appeared when he was up to something—something unexpected.

  So what was he up to? She had no clues. All she knew was that it was a surprise. That’s all he’d told her since that morning when he’d mentioned he had plans for them. He’d asked her to get all dressed up in her finest clothes.

  It was a little black number because a black dress worked anywhere. It dipped low in the front, giving a hint of her cleavage and it left most of her back bare. She’d paired it with diamond earrings and a diamond pendant that her parents had given her on her twentieth birthday. For her feet, she’d selected a pair of silver-and crystal-studded heals.

  When she’d packed for the trip, she hadn’t any idea what clothes would be needed once she met her father. She certainly hadn’t expected to meet someone like Ric, so she was glad she’d had the foresight to pack an outfit like this. Life certainly worked in mysterious ways.

  Gia glanced around as the city faded into the background.

  Ric’s luxurious midnight blue sports car glided over the roadway. He was in a particularly good mood. They’d both been working so hard that they hadn’t been able to spend much time together. And when the evenings rolled around, they’d both collapse on the couch with Gin between them. Just like one big happy family.

  Not that they were a family by any stretch of the imagination. Okay, maybe the thought crept into her imagination now and then. Was that so wrong? After all, once you got past Ric’s prickly exterior, he was warm, thoughtful and fun. Any woman would be lucky to have him for a husband—

  Not that she was thinking of him in that way. Suddenly the air grew warm. Gia’s mouth grew dry as she chanced a quick glance in Ric’s direction. His attention was focused on traffic instead of paying attention to her self-imposed discomfort. Thankfully.

  The farther they got from downtown, the more she wondered what he was up to. “You do know that most of the restaurants are behind us?”

  “Don’t you trust me?”

  “I do.” The automatic admission surprised not only him, with his raised brows, but also herself.

  When did they change from being strangers to pleasant acquaintances to trusted friends? She didn’t know, but she knew without a doubt that it was true. She trusted him.

  “Good.” He reached over and squeezed her hand. “I trust you too.”

  His response warmed a spot in her chest, but she refused to dwell on it. “Good. Now that we’ve established that, tell me where we’re going.”

  “I can’t.”

  She sighed. “Why not?”

  “Because it’d ruin the surprise.”

  “What surprise? It’s not my birthday.” And then a thought came to her. “Is it your birthday?”

  “No. And that’s all I’m telling you.”

  She huffed and crossed her arms. She wanted to be mad at him but she couldn’t. He was too sweet and thoughtful. He’d been spending every free moment to help her track down her father. He’d used his technology to help her hotel. And in turn, he’d given her a way to help pay him back by letting her help fix up his uncle’s estate.

 
Her experience with remodeling her parents’ villa and changing it into a boutique hotel had definitely come in handy. She’d learned so much the first time around, and she was learning more through this process. She was starting to wonder if the hotel business was really what she wanted to do with her life. She liked working with her hands, getting dirty and designing beautiful homes.

  “Hey,” Ric said, “you didn’t have to go all quiet on me.”

  “Sorry. I was just thinking about your uncle’s, or rather your, villa. It’s come a long way. You should be able to put it on the market soon.”

  “The more you work on it, the harder it’s going to be for me to part with it.”

  “Really?” She narrowed her gaze on him. “Or are you just saying that to make me feel good?”

  He cast her a quick glance. “Would I do that?”

  She didn’t hesitate. “Yes, you would. You might fool other people with that occasional growl of yours, but not me. I’ve seen your soft side.”

  He laughed. “You have, huh?”

  “I have. You’re a softy.”

  He nodded. “I wonder if my assistant would agree with you.”

  “She would.”

  “You sound confident. Have you been discussing me with Marta?”

  “Perhaps.” She hadn’t, but she’d let him wonder about that one.

  “We’re here.”

  She glanced around at the marina. This wasn’t just any marina. The boats docked here weren’t “just a boat.” These beauties were big and expensive yachts. She’d never seen so many in the same spot.

  She was confused. “What are we doing here?”

  “Having dinner.”

  “Dinner? Here?”

  He got out of the car without an answer, not that she was expecting one. She was still sitting there taking in the impressive view when her car door swung open. And there stood Ric in his black tux with a black tie and white shirt.

  He held his hand out to Gia and helped her to her feet. As she placed her hand in his, his fingers wrapped around hers, sending a wave of energy up her arm. It set her heart pounding.

  She told herself to calm down. This was probably another business dinner. No big deal. She would do her best to help him sell his technology. It was the least she could do after all he’d done to help her find her father.