The man was asking me to marry his daughter and imagined I had more important things to do today?Not your problem.“At the moment, I can’t think of anything more important than this.”
It didn’t seem possible that his smile could widen any further, but it did.“Do we have an agreement?”
Who would say no?Obviously, he knew a lot of things about me, just like I knew all there was to know about him.His impoverished background in Sicily, his first job as a valet when he was eleven years old.How he worked his way up in the ranks, managing that first seaside resort by the time he was twenty-two, saving his money until he and his young bride came to California, where business contacts he’d made overseas assisted in the purchase of his first hotel.His wife had died in childbirth, and he’d never remarried.All his energy had gone into his business and maybe the woman now staring daggers at him.
I knew enough about him to know this had to be a test.There was no way in hell the man was about to hand over his entire company and his daughter along with it to a guy he’d only met thirty minutes ago.It didn’t matter how much he knew about me or how much research his team had conducted.
If I were in his place, what would I be looking for now?Calm.A measured response.If I approached a man with this sort of arrangement and he jumped at the opportunity without taking the time to learn the details, I would immediately discount him.He’d be out of the running.
With that in mind, I chuckled, holding up both hands.“Respectfully, I would appreciate a day to look through the agreement with my legal team and to consider the outcome.This is about more than absorbing your brand,” I pointed out as evenly and as gently as I could.Then, with a glance toward Mirabella, I added, “It’s about joining our lives.That’s something I take seriously.”
Her eyes shifted.She didn’t roll them, but she came damn close.It was as much of a reaction as she felt like giving me.Until now, most of her rancor was reserved for her father.
“By all means,” he urged.I had passed the test.The man was practically glowing.“I appreciate your reticence.Still, we both know there’s a time for caution and a time for striking while the iron is hot.Don’t let the iron cool too much.”
“Like I said.Just a day.”Reaching across his desk, I shook his hand.“I know a good thing when I see it.”
“I like you more and more every minute.”He clasped my hand with both of his, and I noted his thin skin, the blue veins forming a map beneath his spotted skin.He was a man doing everything he could to protect what meant most to him—his legacy and his daughter.Too bad she didn’t see it that way.
I turned in time to catch her scowl.A shame.She had a great face, but not when she was busy coming up with ways to murder me.Like it was my fault her father didn’t want to give her the business, which was obviously the bigger issue on her mind.
“I’m looking forward to seeing you again,” I offered since it would’ve felt a little too much like spiking the ball in celebration if I went for a handshake or tried to draw some friendly conversation from her.I had never exactly been known for my kindness and generosity, but that didn’t mean I had to be a complete bastard.
“I’m sure you are,” she replied in a tone that dripped acid.She was smart, though, cutting herself off before she could finish the thought.I can’t say the same.How did I know that’s what she was thinking?It was written across her face, from her sneer of revulsion to her scornful gaze.
A gaze that held my imagination in its grip long after I left the Rinaldi offices, finally sliding into the back seat of my Porsche Cayenne.“The office,” I murmured, cueing my driver to pull away from the curb.
Those sharp, fiery eyes danced in my memory as I pulled out my phone and made a call to my friend, Spencer Collins.
“Hey,” he answered.“How did that meeting with Rinaldi go?It was today, right?”
Over the years, I had come to appreciate his memory for things like this.I might have mentioned the meeting a week ago, maybe two weeks, during a night shared with my friends over a few drinks.Somehow, he remembered and thought to ask about it straightaway.
“The jury is still out,” I replied, since getting into it would take too long, and time was one thing I didn’t have much of.Besides, he would never believe it when I told him the outcome of that meeting.I could hardly believe it myself.“What’s the number of that guy you use to look into people’s backgrounds?I need some work done immediately.”
“Is there a problem?”
Yes, a curvy, fiery problem I had never counted on.“No, but I need to know all there is to know about somebody, and time is of the essence.”Because I would be damned if I’d marry a woman without knowing exactly who she was, what she did, whether she was secretly psychotic or a liability in another way.Was there another reason Rinaldi was so desperate to marry her off?A paranoid thought, but I wasn’t a man who took chances.
“I’ll text you his contact info,” Spencer offered.“Let him know you’re coming from me, and he’ll prioritize you.”
“I appreciate it.”
One thing I’d become comfortable with over the years was sacrifice.No fucking way could I have gotten as far as I had without it, sacrificing what I wanted in the moment in favor of working toward my ultimate goal.Nights out, dating, and even the luxury of hanging out over beers and a football game.I had left all of it aside in favor of focusing on my goal.
What I wanted now was to be left the hell alone to enjoy my life as I always had.On my terms, in my own time, with nobody to answer to but myself.
If getting my hands on the respected, even venerated Rinaldi brand meant gaining a wife along with it, I’d have to make the sacrifice.
Though the memory of those flashing eyes and that pouty mouth made me wonder how much of a sacrifice it would be.
2
MIRA
This had to be a joke.
Maybe a nightmare?No, I was definitely awake.The shoes I was wearing were hurting my feet, the sort of thing that didn’t happen in a nightmare.Even the worst ones didn’t get that detailed.Which meant I was definitely, for sure, a hundred percent being offered as a prize.A piece of property with a big, red bow tied to my ass, ready to be awarded to the highest bidder.
