10. Matteo
Sunday arrives,and I’ve set everything up the way I want it at the house. I’m going to bring Renata here, and I have tasked the staff with preparing a wonderful meal. She mentioned the other day that she likes to eat Tapas style, so that”s what I”m going to do for her. We’ll have a pleasant afternoon, and then I will get called away on urgent business. I”ll tell her to stay here as I”ll only be away for an hour. I”m going to make sure none of my staff are around and that my study door is not only unlocked but left ajar.
On the desk will be papers that show our organization is in financial trouble. My hope is that Renata, being the curious person that she is, will sift through the paperwork and collect false information.
I imagine at some point her parents will ask her to report back on how things are going. Of course, I already have my spy, Angela, in their organization, who is feeding any information that she gets from them back to me.
I”ve set up a dummy corporation, and I want them to start buying shares in it, in the hope that they think they”ll be avenging what my father and uncle tried to do to their business. Except the corporation has nothing to do with us, and it”s nothing but a set of traps. It”s a money sink. By the time they realize, they”ll be far too deep. There”s also nothing to link this corporation back to me in a paper trail. My plan, if that isn’t enough to sate my desire for revenge, is to get the tax department involved next, and at this point the Andretti family may find themselves under investigation. With the amount of money they need to wash, this will be disastrous for their bottom line.
At that point, business and revenge wise, I won”t really need Renata anymore, but it will piss them off even further if I”m still seeing their daughter despite them realizing I have tricked them.
Plus, I want her in my life, and if her family hate her, where will she have to turn but to me? It’s a trap within a trap. A hornets nest that she’s going to step into if she shares that information.
Nico will absolutely loathe it, and I can”t wait to see his face when he finds out it was a trick all along. I won’t take too long for me to persuade Renata that we can become a couple. Hell, she’d do it for shits and giggles. Anything to twist the knife the knife deeper in her family’s backs. At that point, I”ll have all the power. The power to ensure an investigation of the Andretti family, or not, according to my whim. The power to dissolve the company and lose them millions. And ultimately, I will have the power over Renata. I’ll take back what she took from me when she slept with Duncan and left me with my insipid, plain wife-to-be and no nice, pretty distractions.
Clifford stalks into the dining room and stares in disdain at the carefully laid table. “Do we have a visit planned this afternoon from one of those beautiful home magazines that I wasn”t informed of,” he says.
“Drop the sarcasm. Renata is coming over. I have things ready in the study to trick her and her family into thinking we are in financial trouble, and I”m hoping she”ll take a look in there when I have to leave on urgent business.”
“Yes, urgent business.” He makes air quotes around the phrase. “What if she doesn”t go looking? What if, she”s actually a decent person these days? Perhaps she’ll sit in the living room with a glass of wine, leaving all your dirty little fake secrets where they belong.”
“I guess then it”s a test, isn”t it?” I leave my hands on the back of the chair and watch him as he walks around the table adjusting some of the cutlery. “If she doesn”t go looking for my secrets, and my plan doesn”t work, then that proves she”s a better person than she used to be. If she does go looking through my secrets and gives them back to her family, then she”s somebody I can”t trust.”
“Yet you’ve baited the trap to get her to look,” he says. “Her family sent her into your arms for that exact reason, no? The fact she’s here at all means she is going to look.”
“Maybe, or perhaps she’s here because of my personal charm.”
He scoffs.
“If she doesn’t look, will you let her go back to her life because she’s a good person? She hasn’t betrayed you or played the game you set in motion, so you walk away? Leave her be?”
I don’t answer. He nods as if my silence is an answer in itself, which it is.
“All of this is completely crazy,” Clifford says. “There are easier ways to bring the Andretti family down. You’ve devised this ridiculous scheme as an excuse to get that woman back into your life.”
My hands have tightened on the back of the chair and are now gripping it as if I”m trying to throttle the wood itself. “If I wanted her back in my life, I”d simply take her.” I laugh, and it rings fake in my ears.
“No, you wouldn”t, cousin. You know why? Because she”s the one who got away, and she”s the one who made a fool of you. Letting you admit that you want to try it all over again, would be far too much vulnerability. Instead, you”ve concocted this fucked up plan, so now you can pretend not only to me, but to yourself, that you”re doing this for business reasons. Or for reasons of family honor. All of that is crap. You are doing this because you want her, and you’re too chicken shit to accept it.”
The back of the chair snaps off in my hand, and I stare at it in shock.
“Yeah, you”re completely in control of this situation.” Clifford rolls his eyes. He strolls up to me and pats me on the shoulder.
“It”s these chairs,” I say between gritted teeth. They are spindly pieces of shit.”
“Seventeenth century, spindly pieces of shit. And one of the few pieces of furniture you kept when your father left for Italy because you like them.” He points at the wood in my hands and shakes his head. “Is this what control looks like to you?”
I bare my teeth at him, just about managing to refrain from staking him with the wood. Clifford merely laughs and strolls out of the room.
He tosses a final piece of wisdom over his shoulder. “Going to cost a fortune to repair that chair, cuz.”
I look at the wood in my hand and wonder what the hell I”m going to do now? I can”t exactly super glue it back into place when it”s a rare, expensive piece of French renaissance furniture. I place the wood on the seat and go fetch a throw to place over the back of that chair. We don”t need to use it today anyway; there are seven more to choose from.
Clifford got under my skin with what he was saying. Deep down, in a part of myself I don”t want to acknowledge, I know he is right. Have I been acting rationally at all since I saw her again in that stupid bar, singing that song in her throaty voice? No.
There”s no point dwelling on things like that because I”m already partway into this plan now. I spent ages getting Angela situated in the Andretti household. I”ve spent a fortune on having Renata tracked and spied on, and the same for the Andretti family. If I back out now, that”s a lot of time and money wasted. Anyway, I”m curious as to whether she will go and look through that information or not. I”m even more curious as to whether she”ll give it to her family.
If she does, will I see that as a betrayal? I ponder the question and realize that I wouldn”t. After all, if I was in the Andretti home and saw information that could help my family, I”d give it to them no matter what my feelings for Renata were.
Clifford pops his head around the door again. “I”m heading out now, to go and make sure everything”s running smoothly at the club. Oh, and the missing shipment? Some Greek fuckers, but it’s handled.”
“Handled how?”
“Broken limbs for a few people, and a person missing from the gang. They’re street level pricks. Hopefully this has put the fear of God into them.” He picks up one of the scented candles the housekeeper is always placing around the house and takes an inhale of the scent. “You do know that Romeo and Juliet was a tragedy, right?” He chuckles to himself. “It wasn”t a life manual, cousin. It ended badly. Very, very, badly. Remember that.”
He leaves, and I walk to the dining room window to watch the cavalcade of three cars tearing down the drive. Clifford always rides with a security detail in front and back of his car. I tend just to have the one car behind me. I”m not as paranoid as he is. Then again, I don”t go around cutting up as many people as he does.
By the time I’m sitting in the car outside Renata’s apartment waiting for her, I’ve already convinced myself that this is a terrible idea. Clifford’s words are eating away at me, and I think he is correct, and I’m losing my damn mind. I ought to put a stop to all of this. Turn around and drive away. Send her a text saying that I’m sorry, but something came up. I won’t, though.
Clifford is correct in another thing too. Romeo and Juliet was a tragedy, but it was a beautiful one. Perhaps there is only tragedy for Renata and me at the end of all this. Coming from two such opposing families, what else could there be? But I don’t care. I’m far too curious to see what happens between us to put a stop to this. I’m too deep into the thought of a repeat of what happened in my bathroom to stop it. I think I’d take a bullet for a chance to be inside her again, and that right there should be the reason I drive away right the fuck now.
She steps out of the elevator, and I stare, my dick hardening as she walks to the doors of her building. She’s wearing a long, strappy sundress, and her tits look incredible. I don’t think she’s wearing a bra underneath as it’s low cut at the front, and the straps are tiny. I can’t stop staring at her and imagining her tits in my hands, as I fuck her hard. She can ride me this time, I think. Yeah, I’d like to see that.
Her hair shines as she steps out onto the sunny street. God, she is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
When we were young, Renata was insanely pretty, but she’s matured into a truly breathtaking beauty. As she walks toward me, two men walk by her and once past her, they both turn and let their gazes rake over her body. I want to burst out of the car and shoot them. Teach them not to fucking ogle what is mine. What was always really mine.
I pull myself up at those thoughts. No, she isn’t mine. She’s the enemy, and I will use her until I don’t need her anymore, or until I’m bored of her, and then I’ll toss her back to her pathetic, lonely life. Or I’ll keep her, and she’ll be grateful because I burned down her world, and I’ll be her only solace. Whatever. I shrug to myself as she approaches the car.
She slides into the passenger seat and turns to me. Her face is serious. A little bit drawn. What the hell happened?
“I think I’m being followed,” she says.
“What?” I glance around us, worried for a moment.
“I went out yesterday and noticed a big, black SUV following my route. I thought, at first, I was being paranoid, so I took a ton of turns, and the car did too. I’m sure I was being followed, Matteo. I thought you ought to know. What if it is the cops?”
I bark out a laugh. “Renata, why would the cops follow you?”
“Uhm, because of my family?” She raises her brows.
“They won’t follow you. You aren’t involved in the business in any way. See, this is why Nico, for all his faults, is right on this score. You can rest assured that you’re not being followed by the police because there is no reason for them to do that.”
“Okay, well, that’s even worse then, as it means I’m being followed by someone who might mean to hurt me.”
“They aren’t going to hurt you. They work for me.”
“What?” She turns to me in her seat, her eyes narrowed. I know that look. The famous Andretti temper. “You”ve had me followed? Matteo, what the hell? How dare you!”
“It’s a security detail,” I say. A security detail that will be getting the sharp end of my wrath for being spotted by her. I told them to stay far back and be discreet for God”s sake.
Her narrowed eyes slowly widen, and her mouth slightly parts. “You gave me a security detail?”
“Yes. I was worried about you not having protection.”
“I”m not really sure what to say to that.”
“How about, thank you, Matteo,” I suggest with a smile.
“I don”t know whether it”s creepy or hot.” She shakes her head. “Perhaps it’s a little bit of both. That”s kind of a full-on forceful move on your part, Matteo.”
“Look at it this way. While we”re spending some time together, you”re going to be completely safe. I suggest you use that time to speak to your piece of shit brother and ask him to make sure you have a security detail of your own. Or,” I add. “Use some of the money you have yourself, to get yourself some security.”
“You sound like my brother,” she grouses. “So how long do I have in order to organize my own security detail?”
I pull out onto a main road, blending with the traffic.
“What do you mean?”
“You said that I have my security detail for as long as we”re doing this, whatever this is.” She waves her hands in the air between us as if to indicate what she”s talking about. “As soon as whatever is going on between us stops, I presume you will take your security detail back. So, I”m just asking; how long do I have to sort this out? A week, a month, maybe two or three?”
“I don”t have a crystal ball,” I say. “Who knows how long this could last?”
Those words, though, and the idea of this ending, even though its barely begun, fills me with a pang I was not expecting. It’s deep, and it pisses me off because it’s another sign that my obsession is winning out any rational ways to play this to win.
I”m starting to think that I need to change my plan. Clifford’s words of earlier echo in my mind, and I know that he”s not wrong. All of this is a cover up for the fact that basically I want Renata. Will it kill me to admit that?
I want her to be mine.
I want to own someone so beautiful and feisty and downright hard to tame. She’s a prize that any man would be proud to have on his arm. So why not make sure that she is mine? I can still bring her family down, and in fact, if she”s with me, if she”s my wife, she will be protected from the fallout to a much greater degree than if she was alone.
“Would you care if you never saw any of your family again?” I ask her.
“What kind of question is that? Are you planning on spiriting me away to a private island or something? Is this a kidnapping? Do I need to tell Babbo to get the ransom money ready?”
She”s a little bit close to the bone with that joke, so I shake my head. “No, I was just wondering. You said that you dislike them, and honestly, I wouldn”t care if I didn”t see most of my family again, except for Clifford. I”m just asking how you would feel if they all decided to go and live in Australia, and you never saw them again.”
She tosses her hair behind her shoulder. “I don’t know. Maybe in some sick and twisted way I”d miss the weird dynamic we all have. Perhaps I”d be pining just to hear my mother put me down one more time. Don”t eat desert, Renata, your hips can”t take it. Oh, Renata, how long since you had your roots touched up, I think you”re starting to show some gray. Renata dear, why don”t you just go upstairs and let the grownups talk.”
I grit my teeth. “Jesus. I”m sorry to say this because I know there”s that old maxim about how anyone can say stuff about their family, but no one else can, but your mother sounds like a real piece of work.”
“Oh, she is. Trust me. I swear she could cut a queen down to size with one of her pithy remarks and barbed insults.”
It makes me want to tear her parents apart that they did such a number on her. We talked when we were younger, of course, but all teenagers spend a great deal of time being angry at their parents. Plus, we often avoided the topic of family back then as it was so loaded. Hearing her words now and realizing her mother scarred her in ways that still resonate, even though she’s a grown woman, makes me feel a deep sympathy for her. It’s not a feeling I’m used to, and I’m once more disturbed at how evidently not in control I am here. I change the subject to a movie I saw the previous night.
For the rest of the journey, we make small talk, and I learn that her favorite films are either a gory horror, or old school Hollywood musicals. It”s a jarring juxtaposition, much like the woman herself. When we arrive at the house, I usher Renata inside, and one of the awaiting staff steps forward with two perfectly chilled glasses of champagne on a silver tray.
She takes the glass, and I show her into the dining room. The table is groaning with food, that the staff have put out while I was picking her up. There are platters of cold meats, and plates piled with all kinds of different cheeses. There are a variety of salads, perfectly crisp asparagus, bowls of olives placed around the table, and in the center off the table there is caviar resting on ice.
I glance at her, and her stunned expression makes me smile.
“Wow, this is fancy. Is this how you eat every day?”
“No, some days I miss out the caviar,” I quip. “On a serious note, I know you don”t like seafood as such, but I wasn”t sure if you liked caviar. I took the risk. Feel free not to have any.”
“I love it,” she says. “It’s the texture of things like oysters I can”t stand. They remind me of slugs. Caviar is a totally different matter, and it is delicious. Especially with champagne.” She raises her glass and taps the edge of it against mine.
“We should have a toast,” I say.
“To old friends reunited,” she toasts.
I nod and toast to that. “Yes, indeed.”
“Or, perhaps, old enemies. Who knows what we are?”
“Are we enemies, Renata?”
“Our families are.”
“Does that mean we need to be?”
She shakes her head. “No, but it’s hard to be anything else when your families have been at war for years. There’s no way anything between us could end well.”
I think back to what Clifford said about it. He was right, of course, and so is she, but there is a way it can end well. I destroy her family and take her as the spoils. She’d be pampered, wealthy, and I wouldn’t damn well leave her without security.
As we dine, I mostly enjoy watching her eat and don’t take much myself. Renata eating is strangely erotic. She bites into a thick stem of asparagus dripping in butter and licks her lips after. I want to lick them too and taste the butter from her skin.
My staff pour more champagne, but I don’t drink as in a while, I’ll be driving, called away on a fake business emergency.
My phone rings right on cue. I sigh as I listen to the message, delivered deadpan by one of my men. “I have to go. Work emergency. I’m sorry.”
I dab my mouth and stand.
“I understand.” Renata starts to push her chair back, but I hold my hand up.
“No. Stay. It won’t take more than thirty or forty minutes to sort, I hope. Stay and make yourself at home. When I return, we can try the dessert the staff made.”
She glances around the house as if the ghosts of my family are still here, ready to attack her the moment I leave. “Honestly. Please. Sit in here and keep nibbling. Or go and make yourself comfortable in the den. Only kitchen staff are here today, and I’ll tell them to leave you alone unless you ring for them.”
I show her the control panel on the wall. “Ring the bell marked kitchen if you want anything; otherwise, make yourself at home.”
One of the huge Rottweilers that patrol my property slinks past the window. Renata jumps as she stares at the dog.
“Don’t go outside,” I add. “I haven’t introduced you to the dogs yet. Once you’re introduced, you’ll be entirely safe in their company. They’re highly trained, but as they don’t know you yet, it’s safest to stay inside.”
She shivers. “How many are there?”
“Eight.” I smile. “That’s Lulu.”
She snort-laughs. “Lulu? I’d have thought she’d be better named Beast or Killer.” Another of the female dogs comes to join Lulu.
“That’s Ice,” I say. “Because she’s as cool as.”
“How do you tell them apart?”
“It’s easy when you get to know them. Their markings might be slightly different, or one is a bit taller than the other. Plus, they all have different color collars. The boys are bigger, of course, so you can tell the three boys easily.”
“I don’t think I want to meet any of them,” she says with a shiver.
“They’ll lick you to death once they know you.” I tip her chin up and take her mouth in one brief but soft kiss. “Wait for me. Watch a movie. Take a bath. Explore. Whatever. I won’t be long.”
I leave and climb into my car. The driver’s side mirror is down and for a moment I stare at myself, feeling something akin to self-hatred. Why the fuck am I playing these games with her? She’s shown me some of her vulnerabilities, and here I am piling more shit onto her.
Then I recall what she did to me. Screwing Duncan, giving him the precious gift of her virginity, and I get new resolve. Closing the mirror impatiently, I roar out of the drive. The SUV is behind me as always. There are still security guards at the house, though. Patrolling the grounds. Between them, the cameras, the drones, and the dogs, Renata is safe.
I commence driving around uselessly for around ninety minutes and wonder what my little morsel is getting up to in my absence.