Tempted by Her Boss: The Renaldis, Book 1

by Karen Erickson

  “What about Stasia and Gavin?” She inclined her head in their direction.

  “They can find their own ride home. I’m sure Rafe and Vince can take care of them. I want to get you home and in my bed.” Breathing deep, he glanced around, her hand still cradled in his. People were watching them, he could feel their curious gazes on their table, and when he cast his gaze about the room, many of them looked away.

  Gossips, most like, looking for an interesting story. He knew others would be curious about Paige, but he didn’t think everyone would be this blatant. He almost didn’t want to leave her when they had to go up on stage.

  But he did, albeit reluctantly, offering her a quick kiss on the cheek before he stood along with his sister and brothers and went on stage to accept the award. He gave a quick thank-you speech, his gaze roaming the room, finally settling on Paige, who sat straight up in her seat, her hands clasped together, the smile on her face so big it could probably light up the entire room.

  That bubbling excitement, the obvious happiness, was all for him and his accomplishments. Just seeing her face made his chest puff up with pride.

  He never wanted to let her go.

  “I can’t believe you attacked me like that,” Paige said hours later as she lay naked and sprawled across Matteo’s sweat-dampened body in the middle of his bed.

  He smoothed the hair away from her face, smiling up at her. “It’s all you. I take one look at you and all I can think about is how fast I can get you naked.”

  She smiled and shook her head. “You’ve been…beyond insatiable these last few days. I’m completely exhausted.”

  “Do you need to rest?” he teased. Slowly he rolled over so they lay side by side, his arm slung around her, holding her close. “Want me to leave you alone for a few days?”

  “No, I love it when you act like this.” She kept her head bent, a little shy, which he adored. “Tonight was a very special night for you and your family, Matteo. Thank you for taking me with you. It was an honor.”

  “You by my side, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.” He kissed her forehead, breathed in the light floral scent of her hair. “Thank you for coming with me.”

  “And thank you for letting me borrow the necklace.” She still wore it. He refused to let her take it off when they came home, wanting to see the diamond slide across her naked skin.

  “I didn’t let you borrow it, Paige. It’s a gift. The necklace belongs to you.” The woman was ridiculous. Did no one ever give her anything?

  She touched the pendant, her fingers sliding over the shiny stone. “I couldn’t keep it.”

  “Why not?” He was incredulous. Was she refusing his gift?

  “I’m sure it’s worth a tremendous amount of money. Wouldn’t you rather sell it? I know it’s a one-of-a-kind piece, Stasia told me.” She looked nervous, his foolish, silly girl.

  “You are worth more than all the gold and diamonds in this universe,” he told her with utter sincerity, his gaze locked with hers. “I could afford to give you one hundred diamond pendants just like that. So don’t worry about how much it’s worth. It belongs to you and only you.”

  Tears sparkled in her eyes and she threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. “Thank you, Matteo. Thank you so much for…everything.”

  “You’re welcome.” He slipped his arms around her, resting his hands on her bottom, pulling her in to him. Already he was hard and hurting for her again. “I need you to know how much you mean to me, Paige,” he murmured, his heart in his throat.

  She looked up at him. “You mean a lot to me too.”

  He touched her cheek, ran his index finger across her lips. “You’ve captured my heart completely, bella. I’ve fallen in love with you. I’m yours, if you’ll have me.”

  Her lips parted, and a single tear slipped down her cheek. He stopped it with his lips, absorbing the salty drop into his mouth. “Of course, I’ll have you. I—I love you too, Matteo.”

  Sweet pleasure rippled through him at hearing those words, filling him near to bursting. He pinned her beneath him, ready yet again to show her exactly how much she meant to him with his body.

  God, he loved her so much. More than he had loved any other woman in his life, including Lucia. If all went as he planned, this woman would soon be his wife. Mother to Matty and their future children, the woman who would be by his side for the rest of his life.

  He needed to find a ring and do this right as soon as possible.

  It was the least she deserved.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Carolyn Leonard saw the first photo of the woman who ruined her marriage early on a Thursday morning. Looking through the newspaper, she stopped at the article covering the annual fashion gala that had been held at the Met last night. She scanned the photos of all the beautiful people in the fashion industry who were in attendance as she sipped from her first cup of coffee, sitting at the kitchen table. More than a few faces she recognized. Plenty of stars were there, though some of those featured she didn’t recognize.

  One face popped out at her. The face of her worst nightmares. The woman who lured her husband into a quick but messy affair that resulted in said woman being fired as their nanny.

  Paige fucking Stewart.

  Rage boiled inside of Carolyn as she stared at the picture. The skinny, ugly redhead was on the arm of Matteo Renaldi, CEO of Renaldi Accessories. The dress she wore was gorgeous, the necklace with a fat diamond dangling from it looked expensive.

  Carolyn wanted to tear her apart, rip every single stupid red hair from the girl’s head—she hated her that much.

  After wadding the newspaper into a ball, she tossed it, then grabbed her cell phone, Googling Matteo Renaldi’s and Paige Stewart’s names together. A list of photos from the previous evening popped up, every one of them enraging her further. The complete adoration on Paige’s face as she gazed up at the handsome, rich-as-hell Matteo and how he looked at her as if he was madly in love.

  Carolyn snorted. More like lust—just like her husband and what he felt for the stupid, simpering bitch. Oh, fine, the kids had loved her, but she thought Paige Stewart was a wimp. A suck-up.

  A whore.

  Her husband had sniffed around their ugly nanny like a dog in heat for months. Carolyn had ignored it at first—what man could resist a younger woman living under his roof? She laughed it off as some sort of innocent crush, though deep down inside, she worried. And after a while, she started to suspect there was more going on. Just like last time.

  The man she married was an absolute pig, no matter how much she tried to ignore it.

  When she confronted Paul, he denied everything, trying to convince Carolyn that she was crazy. Why would he be so stupid as to have an affair with a woman who lived in their house, for the love of God?

  His logic was sound, but he was a man who’d been led by his dick more than once, and she knew it. So she’d spied on Paige, noticed how overly sweet she was to their children, working her best to win them completely over, and figured the girl was trying to move in on her territory. Why, she wanted to steal both her husband and her children, and Carolyn refused to let the bitch win.

  So she lay in wait, ready to catch the two of them in a compromising position.

  She hadn’t waited long.

  Ever since that one time she caught her husband with his hands all over Paige, Carolyn had suspected Paul of fooling around with an endless string of women. Not that she ever caught him. The bastard was too sneaky for that. His phone was clean, his credit cards had no unusual activity, no records of him chatting with anyone suspect, no spending money on another woman. Nothing.

  But she knew. Deep down in her heart, she knew he was still doing her wrong, she just couldn’t prove it. It was all Paige’s fault. She pushed the downward spiral of her husband further. Taught him that it was easy to fool around with another woman, and he’d become addicted.

  She hated Paige Stewart with every fiber in her being. The girl had ruined her marria
ge. Ruined her children for any other nanny. Why, they still said they missed Paige and wished she would come back. It had been months, they’d been through three nannies since then, and her brats still weren’t satisfied unless they had Paige fucking slut Stewart as their nanny once more.

  Carolyn was going to make that bitch pay.

  “Whatcha doing, sweetheart?” Her husband sauntered into the kitchen, a big smile on his face, acting as if everything was right in his world. Asshole. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d had sex, yet he looked like he’d just gotten freshly laid.

  “Reading,” Carolyn mumbled, not in the mood to talk. She watched as he poured himself a cup of coffee and grabbed a bagel, tearing it apart so he could slip it into the toaster. The kids were already at school, he should be at work, yet he was still here. Up in her business, annoying the shit out of her. “Why aren’t you at work?”

  “Can’t a man stay home for the morning so he can spend time with his lovely wife?” He flashed her a smile and she wanted to slap it off his face.

  Suspicion rose within her. What did he want? What the hell was he up to now? “You never want to spend time with me.”

  “I’m trying to remedy that.” He leaned against the kitchen counter and she dropped her gaze back to her phone, scrolling through the pictures with that redheaded skank in them. “What are you looking at?”

  “An article about the fashion gala last night.” She kept her voice perfectly nonchalant. “Looking at all the photos. Saw a few that were very interesting.”

  “Oh yeah?” He didn’t sound interested whatsoever as he turned away from her to tend to his bagel.

  “Definitely. In fact, look at this.”

  She went to him, thrusting the phone in front of his face, and he glanced down quickly, doing a double take when he realized who was in the picture. He grabbed the phone from her, staring at the screen. “Well, no shit.”

  “Don’t you ‘no shit’ me!” She smacked him on the arm, earning a loud ow from her husband. “What is that bitch doing with him?”

  “How am I supposed to know?” Paul rubbed his arm, his bagel forgotten. “Though I did run into her at a restaurant about a month ago and I think she was there, with that guy. Well, and with his kid.”

  “What restaurant? When? Why didn’t you tell me you saw her?” Shit, the man was going to drive her crazy with his secret-keeping.

  And he did it on purpose, as if he wanted to make her crazy.

  It was working.

  “I was at a business dinner meeting, I can’t even remember with who.” He averted his gaze, as he was wont to do when he lied. The bastard. “I know she was with a little kid because I saw her walk him to the bathroom. And I’m almost positive she was with that guy in the picture, plus a few other people.” Paul snapped his fingers, as he had a major realization. “I bet she’s his nanny.”

  “What’s he doing taking his nanny to a gala? Is he that hard up for a date?” she sneered, snatching the phone out of her husband’s hand so she could stare at the picture yet again.

  If she could, she would toss her phone and watch it shatter into a million pieces on the costly Italian tiled floor. But she wasn’t about to destroy her very expensive phone over a stupid whore bitch man-stealer.

  “I guess she can’t help herself. Maybe she finds handsome fathers attractive. Maybe he seduced her.” Paul shrugged.

  “You son of a bitch.” Carolyn punched him in the arm again, disgusted by his observation. Leaving the kitchen, ignoring Paul’s shouted complaints, she scrolled through the page of pictures again, locating a contact number in the sidebar of the webpage.

  Carolyn tapped it, waiting for her phone to process the call. “Hello? Yes, I just saw the pictures you have on your site of Matteo Renaldi and his mystery date? Well, I might have some very interesting information for you regarding the woman he took with him last night…”

  “What is this?”

  Paige glanced up from the magazine she was looking at to find Matteo standing over her, a trashy tabloid newspaper clutched in his hand. She frowned. When had he come home? It was still late afternoon, Matty was peacefully playing in his room while she sat on the couch and flipped through a magazine for a bit. “What is what?”

  “This…filth in this article.” He held it out to her and she took it from him, her eyes widening when she saw the headline.

  Renaldi’s Nanny Girlfriend’s Secret Past!

  Her heart dropped to her toes and she glanced up at Matteo again, saw that his jaw was clenched, his eyes dark and full of fury. “I—I don’t know what this is.”

  He flicked his chin at the newspaper in her hands. “Read it.”

  She did so, her eyes skimming the article. It went on about her being Matteo’s new love, a mystery woman he refused to discuss when they’d been at the gala two nights ago.

  Her frown deepened. So had the media asked about her and he refused to discuss her? That hurt more than she cared to admit.

  The article went on to talk about how a source had contacted them and let them in on her secret past. That she had been involved in a heated affair with her previous employer and their involvement was the reason she’d been fired. The last paragraph alluded to the fact that she appeared to be repeating history.

  God. She swallowed down the bile that rose in her throat. She thought she might throw up.

  “Is it true?” Matteo’s growling voice broke through her thoughts.

  Paige glanced up at him. His anger was more than apparent. He looked ready to tear someone apart. And for one scary moment, she wondered if that might be her. “I can’t believe you have to ask.” His doubt dumbfounded her.

  Hurt her.

  “Tell me, Paige. I have a lot on the line here. My family has been through enough scandal already. I don’t need to add to it.” He ran a hand through his hair, a thoroughly frustrated gesture. “I can’t put my son through this sort of thing again, you know. His own mother had been neglectful, careless. The stories that surround her death to this day make her sound like a lousy excuse for a human being. It hurts me to know that someday Matty will read those articles and discover the truth.”

  He’d just implied he believed his poor dead wife was a lousy human being. Would he someday think the same of her? All because of a bunch of lies printed in a newspaper?

  She knew he had to protect his son. She knew that he had to protect his family and the business too. But what about her? Where did she fit into all this? He’d only declared his love for her a few nights ago. Were his words nothing but a bunch of lies? “I didn’t have an affair with my former boss.”

  He studied her and she noted the tick in his jaw, the irritation in his eyes not lessening in the slightest. “There are a lot of details in this article. Intimate details about your involvement with—him.”

  “None of it’s true.” She knew this with absolute certainty because she’d lived it. After months of making suggestive comments and inappropriate touching, Paul Leonard had finally lost it and attacked her. He’d slipped his hand down her pants and the other hand up her shirt, his disgusting mouth meshing against hers for the briefest second as she struggled and pushed him away with all the strength she could muster.

  At that very inopportune moment, his wife walked in, catching them in a seeming embrace. Paige had denied the woman’s accusations. Paul had merely hung his head and took the verbal abuse, not bothering to argue, which infuriated Paige to no end.

  She hadn’t been a willing participant in his callous attack. And she certainly hadn’t asked for it. There had been no flirting like Carolyn had accused and she definitely hadn’t carried on with the disgusting man for months in a sordid affair, as it was implied in the article.

  Devastation crashed through her and she pressed her lips together, desperate not to cry. She was the innocent victim in all of this yet she was the one painted to look like a complete whore for all the world to see.

  The entire world. That realization stunned her brea
thless, but Matteo didn’t seem willing to console.

  More like willing to accuse.

  “There are other articles online that are filled with speculation, all in the same vein as this one. All of them trying to paint you and me in a terrible light, as if our relationship is a fraud and you’re nothing but a gold-digging bitch.” She flinched at his choice of words and he immediately looked contrite. “I’m sorry. I’m not the one who said it—whoever the original source is did. This doesn’t look good, Paige. The press is having a field day with this. Renaldi’s name is getting splashed through the mud.”

  Right, and forget about her name and reputation, since it didn’t matter? God, he was being so callous, so cruel. “I don’t know what to say. Do you want my apology? Is that what you’re looking for? Because I have nothing to apologize over—I didn’t do what they’re accusing me of,” she said firmly. “I wouldn’t do that. Ever.”

  “So it definitely isn’t true, then.” His voice was calm, the fire in his eyes anything but.

  How dare you? she wanted to yell at him. How could he even think she would have an affair with her former boss? She’d told him the circumstances. Rather vaguely, but still.

  Of course, she was having an affair with her current boss, so…

  “Is this because of what’s happening between us?” She tossed the tabloid off her lap onto the couch and stood, glaring at him. “Do you believe I became involved with my old boss too, because of how easily I fell for you? That this is some sort of pattern for me? Do you really think our relationship is that meaningless?”

  “Paige…”

  “No, answer me,” she interrupted. “Do you really think that low of me, Matteo? That I’m some sort of dumb slut who falls under the spell of her latest magnetic boss and spreads her legs for him at any given notice?”

  “Stop talking like that,” he snapped, his voice firm. “And don’t put words in my mouth.”