A Perfect Caress

by Nana Prah

  Shake it off. What’s done is done. Time to move forward.

  * * *

  The rest of the ride back had consisted of two hours of silent torment. Dante had tried several times to reach out to Lanelle during the interminable trip. He didn’t like the fact that she’d recoiled into herself and decided to stay there rather than share what had happened.

  It made him realize how much he didn’t know about her. Was this how she solved all of her problems? Alone? The thought of not being needed dismayed him.

  Dante returned the NICU project site manager’s emergency call once he’d found his phone sitting on the desk of his hotel room and checked his messages. One of the best workers Dante had ever known wouldn’t have called him, knowing he was on vacation, for anything trivial. “What’s going on, Alex?”

  “How’s Italy?”

  “What did you want to talk to me about?”

  Alex chuckled. “A little small talk won’t kill you. Besides everything’s fine now, mostly. We have two issues. Philip fell through one of the interior walls. The drywall they used was more like paper, so when he leaned on it, it crumbled. He landed so hard, he dislocated his shoulder. It could’ve been much worse. As always, he followed protocol and wore a hard hat. We got everyone out of there so fast we were all a blur.”

  Dante’s heart continued its acceleration. “How’s Philip?”

  “The doctor ordered him not to do any heavy lifting for two weeks after popping the shoulder back in. No concussion or other injury.”

  “If there had been patients in there...”

  Alex clicked his tongue. “A baby or more, depending on the setup, would’ve died under his weight. I’d hate to think how many other shortcuts they took during construction. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole building caved in. But our floors would remain intact. No doubt about it.”

  Dante could barely contain his rage as he squeezed the phone so hard it hurt his hand. Whoever the hospital contracted to do the work used cheap materials, but to put people’s lives at risk by not following the basic rules of construction spoke of pure irresponsibility. He detested Eliana Astacio for not caring enough to do the right thing when it came to her beloved project. He bet her home wasn’t crumbling around her. “When did it happen?”

  “A couple of hours ago.”

  While he’d been trying to figure out how to get Lanelle out of her funk, his workers’ lives had been in jeopardy. “What’s going on now?” Dante gritted out. Again angry at himself that he’d forgotten his phone. What could I have done about it other than cuss up a storm earlier?

  “I sent the crew home. And then a call came from the hospital, telling me they couldn’t reach you. They’re suspending the project.”

  Dante snorted. “Did they know about Philip getting injured?”

  “I hadn’t told anyone. Maybe they realized what a crap job they’d done.”

  “Any media involvement?”

  “None I’m aware of. I’m pretty sure the hospital will want to keep it low-key.”

  “You’ve done a good job, Alex,” Dante praised, as guilt for not reporting the shoddy workmanship when he’d first discovered it ate at his gut. “Thanks for keeping me updated.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Dante disconnected the call. Stifling a roar, he swiped a hand down his face. A punch to the wall would only end up breaking his hand. Why the hell would anyone take such a chance on people’s lives?

  He made a quick call to Philip to verify his condition and then to the hospital administrator with whom he’d been in contact when he’d gotten the bid. No answer. No big surprise. His ass was probably on fire.

  Dante could choke someone, preferably Astacio, who had approved this nonsense, but whom would it help? At least nobody had been seriously hurt, especially an innocent baby fighting for her life.

  What would happen to the project? Obviously, they’d have to redo the walls, maybe the whole wing. How long would this hold up construction on the floors and his workers’ time? Other projects sat in the wings, ready to be started. He wouldn’t even think about how it would affect his expansion and the effect on his profit margin.

  There was nothing he could do about it at this point. The stress of the job could be held off for a couple of more days. He’d be flying back tomorrow anyway; he might as well enjoy the rest of the vacation. Or at least try.

  Chapter 27

  Lanelle had taken a walk on the beach to clear her head and think out solutions to the mess she’d gotten herself in with both Dante and the hospital.

  Lanelle checked the cell phone messages she’d received. One from the secretary of the board calling an emergency meeting that afternoon tied her stomach in knots. Rather than panic, she called her only friend on the board: Hubert, a general member like her who shared similar suspicions about the project and the missing money.

  “Hi, Hubert, I got a message about the meeting. Unfortunately, I’m on vacation in Italy and can’t make it. What’s going on?”

  “One of the flooring contractors fell through a wall.”

  Lanelle’s body tensed at the same time as her knees weakened, and she slammed her behind into the chair. “Oh, my goodness. Is he all right?”

  “Yes, from what I’ve heard, but everyone’s in a panic. If it had occurred when filled with babies, someone could’ve gotten killed.”

  Fuming, she jumped out of her seat and stomped across the floor. Never had she imagined something bad would come from one of her ventures. The thought of an innocent life being destroyed because of her work made her swallow back the bile crawling up her throat.

  Lanelle attempted to stay rational. Maybe if she’d told Dante to haul his people out of the project when she’d first heard the news, then the guy wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Her head throbbed with the guilt of her cowardice.

  “I’ll call Reginald and have him link me into the meeting via teleconferencing.”

  “Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you later, then.”

  “Bye.”

  Taking a moment to release some of the tension before speaking to the president of the board, Lanelle downed a bottle of water. That’s when it hit her. Dante would be hunting down Eliana Astacio. No time to analyze how much more he’d hate her or how she’d lost any chance of ever being with him.

  She made the call to the board president, arranging her involvement in the meeting. As soon as she finished, a knock sounded on the door. She looked through the peephole to see Dante pacing in the hallway. Her first reaction was to ignore the summons and slip out of Sicily like some kind of thief in the night. A mental slap cured her of the ridiculous idea.

  As a distant descendant of the kings of Spain, albeit through a more illegitimate side of the family, she had a duty of pride and honor to sustain the Astacio name. Every one of her father’s Spanish ancestors had probably turned over in his or her grave at how she’d denied who she was to a man she claimed to love.

  Opening the door, she stepped back as he rushed in. Obviously he’d heard about what happened at the hospital.

  “Remember I told you about the NICU project my company is working on?”

  Lanelle swallowed hard and nodded.

  “I told you the contractor had used inferior products, but I didn’t think anyone would get hurt. One of my crew members fell through a wall.” He brushed his hands over his pants, then flexed his fingers. “A wall!” he exclaimed. “Do you know how cheap the bastard would have to be to use substandard drywall?” Seemingly spent, he sat on the bed, propped his elbows on his knees and held his head. “What if a baby had been in there? One thing I never sacrifice with my work or my staff is safety. Nobody should die because of inferior quality.”

  “I agree. Dante...” How could she tell him?

  He looked at her with slits for eyes as his jaw
clenched and unclenched repeatedly before exclaiming with a fist in the air, “If I ever get my hands on Eliana Astacio...”

  Lanelle stepped back, a true fear now residing in her chest. He wouldn’t hurt her physically, but words could be just as damaging. She’d lost him even before she knew the greatness she’d found in having such a man at her side. Time to face the consequences of her lies. “The NICU is my project.”

  He sprang to his feet, his brow furrowed. “Your contractors did the work?”

  “No. Hell, no.” If it had been up to her, she would’ve chosen Brad to construct the wing. None of this would’ve been an issue. “I’m a board member. I came up with the idea for the new NICU. I even donated millions to ensure it happened. Unfortunately, I was tied up with a pressing issue with my father’s company. The whole family had been called in to deal with a crisis that my father couldn’t trust anyone else to deal with, so I had no involvement with who got chosen for the bids.”

  The tension in the room built as she swallowed. “All I wanted was to build a high-tech facility to provide wonderful care for premature babies.” She sighed, recalling her own innocent children. “All in memory of the ones I lost. Who knew someone would take it and twist it around?”

  His voice came out gravelly. “Did you say the project is yours?”

  Lanelle nodded.

  He took three steps backward, only to bump into the wall. “You.” His eyes went wide as he repeated the question he’d asked in the car. “Who are you?”

  The moment of truth had arrived, and yet she still didn’t want to face it. “I never meant to lie to you. At first I didn’t think you needed to know. I’ve lived my life as Lanelle Murphy, previously Gill, to protect me from being hounded by the press.”

  “Who are you?”

  At his raised voice, she jumped. “It’s kept me safe all these years. And then you had this prejudice, and I didn’t think anything would happen between us. But then I wanted to tell you last night, but I got—” her voice lowered “—scared. I swear I was going to tell you in the car.”

  His growl prompted her to rush out, “My full name is Eliana Lanelle Gill Astacio Murphy.”

  The anger he resonated stood at complete odds with the smile that had appeared on his face. She ignored both and looked into his eyes. A pain so deep she felt it in her belly resided there. What had she done?

  “I can’t believe this,” he said to himself more than to her. “Of all the people on earth I could’ve fallen in—” Her gasp stopped him midsentence. And then he looked at her—no, through her. “It had to be a liar.”

  She had it coming. “Dante, I’m sorry.”

  He snapped up a hand. “Now you know why I hate your people so much. You’re so selfish that even thinking about others goes beyond your concept of reality. Sure, you give money to charities, but those are faceless, nameless schmucks you don’t have to interact with. You don’t get your hands dirty like the rest of us.” He hauled in a deep breath. “And you certainly don’t have true relationships with the common folk, either.”

  Now livid, no longer at just herself, she came to her own defense. “Your singular experience with your spoiled ex-fiancée,” she spat out, “has biased you, and I won’t let you apply it to me.”

  He poked a finger into his chest. “Are you blaming all of this on me?”

  Shrinking into herself a little, she realized how wrong she’d been.

  Before she could respond, he raised a brow in a much too condescending manner. “What are you going to do, Ms. Astacio?” Her last name came out with so much contempt she winced. “Call me a liar? Oh, wait. That’s you, isn’t it? A coward, a liar and a dirty dealer.”

  She’d rather contend with his yelling than his disappointment at her actions. When he stomped toward the door, panic claimed her and she gripped his arm. He wrenched it out of her grasp. “Please, Dante. I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “About everything.”

  After opening the door, he froze, then he turned to look at her with his eyes bright, as if another idea had manifested. “The phone call in the car, who was it from?”

  Dammit. Couldn’t she catch a break? She backed away, no longer able to anticipate how he’d react. “It was Brad. After you told me about the inferior material they’d used on-site, I had him do an inspection of it. He gave me the results today.”

  He slammed the door so hard when he stepped back in that it sprang open. “You knew and you didn’t tell me to get my workers out of the decayed piece of garbage you call a building?”

  She swallowed her fear. “I contacted the project manager to inform you.” The explanation sounded lame even to her ears.

  “So Philip falling through a wall rests on your shoulders. Both as Eliana Astacio and Lanelle Murphy. You two really are one in the same. Self-centered to the core.”

  She had no response as his eyes shot daggers at her. She’d been too wrapped up in her own fear of how he’d react to the news to even contemplate something bad happening at the site. Her apology came too late, but she still had to get it out. “I know you won’t believe me, but I’m sorry. For everything. I’ll do my best to rectify the situation.”

  He waved a hand between them. “As for you and me, it’s too late. But I know you’d better damn well do something good about the NICU. It was a worthy project. Too bad someone better couldn’t have done the job.”

  He stormed out of her room, leaving nothing behind but the soft click of the door closing as her heart proceeded to shatter.

  She squared her shoulders and let the Astacio sense of duty fill her. “No time to break down. I have work to do.” The first thing on her list was to let her parents know the extent of the mess she’d gotten herself into. Second would be her accountant to see if he’d come up with any answers to the procurement fraud with the forensic accountant and Brad’s help.

  The last call would be to the most difficult person to deal with in the world: her brother Leonardo. Of course he’d rub her face in the situation, but he’d help her. He might not be the nicest person to deal with, but he was damn good at his job, and corporate law suited him. She had a feeling that before the mud cleared, she’d need his services more than anyone else’s.

  As for Dante, she’d had her chance and lost him. She’d cry over him later. After all, she had the rest of her life to live without him.

  Chapter 28

  Her escape to Italy had been the best time of Lanelle’s life, up until it all got shot down into the pits of hell. Two weeks had passed since she’d landed on American soil, and she hadn’t stopped running since. The busy nature of the meetings hadn’t allowed her to miss Dante as much. At least, not until she got home in the evenings and memories of him overwhelmed her. That’s when she’d crumble into a ball of snot and tears, knowing she’d never love another man as she had him.

  Another night of misery awaited her as she stepped into her apartment. At least this time the day had been filled with excellent news. She tossed a newspaper onto the coffee table, kicked off her heels and flopped onto the couch. The headline made her angry and happy at the same time: Six Caught in Procurement Scandal at Livingstone Hospital.

  What the article didn’t state was who the team consisted of. Two of the bastards were on the board. One of them owned the construction company that had built the wing. Motivated by greed, they’d stolen from a project from which maybe one of their own family members or friends may have one day benefited. Toshia had been right: no matter how much a person had, some always wanted more and would do anything to get it.

  The camera-shy Eliana Astacio and her need for justice were mentioned in the article as playing a key role in discovering the fraudulent activities. Would they be able to retrieve all of the stolen money? Unfortunately no, but Lanelle was happy they’d get the majority of it back.

  She’d make sure the companies that had don
e such shoddy work on her project never built anything else in Ohio again. If she had the power to extend the blackball beyond her home state, she would.

  She rubbed her chest to abate the pain that had taken up permanent residence over the past two weeks. Using what energy remained, she got up and went to the kitchen. Triple chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream had definitive healing properties, but she couldn’t sustain such therapy without fat-inducing consequences for too much longer. How could she remedy what she’d done to Dante?

  She jerked her head up at the rattle of keys. Other than her, only Toshia had a set.

  Her best friend spoke before she’d crossed the threshold. “I’m tired of you being too busy to stop by my place or hang out.”

  Lanelle ignored her and switched the channel.

  Toshia shoved Lanelle’s feet off the couch. “You left me for two weeks, sending me some flimsy postcard and one phone call, sounding happy as hell. And then you come back running all over Cleveland, making absolutely no time for me. What the hell is going on?”

  “Italy—”

  “I’ve been there. Gorgeous landscape and people, and the most delicious food.” Toshia assessed Lanelle from head to toe. “Judging from your chunkier stature, which looks good on you, I’m sure you can attest to the food. What I want to know is what happened with the hot piece of dark chocolate who footed the bill.”

  It didn’t take much to call forth a blasé tone. Her excitement over Dante had diminished, knowing she’d messed up. “I fell in love with him, we had sex, I almost got one of his workers killed and when I told him I was Eliana—” she ate a spoonful of the ice cream and spoke around it “—let’s just say I deservedly got chewed out and he left me.”

  Toshia sat on the couch and patted Lanelle on the head. “You know I don’t do outlines. Give me more details. By the way, congrats on nailing the assholes who were stealing from the hospital. Eliana came off as one kick-ass righter-of-wrongs.”

  Lanelle gave the most genuine smile she’d been able to deliver all day. There was nothing like a best friend to know what she needed. She explained everything that had happened in Italy.