Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
AMARA
“ M s. Amato.” One of the office assistants cracked the door to speak. The interruption was jarring.
Ciro had cleaned and returned his knife to his pocket, but the bloody chip was still resting on the corner of my desk. I whisked it into the trashcan before the assistant spied it.
“Yes?”
Ciro barely moved to let the poor girl in.
“There was a delivery for you.” She came forward and revealed a courier package.
I smiled when I saw Luka’s handwriting on the front of the box. My mood changed instantly.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Ms. Amato.” The girl hurried out.
“Should I inspect it?” Ciro offered. His voice was gruff.
“No,” I snapped. “You can go. I have work to do.” I was tired of his insinuations. Of the constant distrust that simmered between him and Luka. I didn’t like that he was trying to turn over stones that should be left alone. “Don’t you have a plane to catch?”
He scowled. “Three days. I’ll be back in three days.”
“Just go.”
Ciro paused as if he was going to say something before he left, but decided not to. I was happy for his silence.
As soon as I was alone, I circled my desk. I cut open the end flap of the envelope. A small box fell onto my desk. The small cube was tied with a velvet ribbon. I held my breath as I flipped open the lid. There was a note folded on top.
You left this behind. I thought it was time to wear it again.
I lifted the necklace from the cushion. He had kept it. I had been too afraid to ask him after the way I had stormed out of the suite. The diamonds sparkled as the pendant spun in the sunlight. I thought of all the days I had worn it. How careful I had been with it. How close it had made me feel to Luka when I had nothing else to hold on to. I fastened it against my neck, feeling the coolness of the engraved side brush just below my throat. The twinge of guilt I had for leaving it behind eased slightly. I wouldn’t leave it again. I’d keep it this time.
I blinked when I looked at the box. There was something poking out from the lining. I lifted the edge. It was a key. I flipped the note over in case I had missed Luka’s explanation for the key, but there wasn’t anything on the other side.
Before I could pick up my phone to text him, it beeped. I saw his name on the screen. I reached for it, reading his message.
Ready for your surprise?
I scowled.
Don’t you know I don’t like surprises?
I could almost hear his laugh at my response. That beautiful rich laugh that stirred something in my belly I couldn’t describe adequately.
Too bad.
I smiled at his answer.
The tiny dots flashed on the screen. I stared at the address that popped up in the text bubble. Where in the hell was that?
I waited for the next message.
Are you already in the car?
I laughed.
You think I can drop everything right now?
I know you will.
I blushed. The words shot a thrill through my body. How did he do that? I didn’t have time to shoot back something biting and sexy. Luka was waiting, and I had to change out of this dress quickly. I kept a couple of spare suits in the adjoining walk- in closet to my office. I chose a pale blue two-piece skirt with a short skirt. I discarded the dress stained with blood in the hamper. I closed the door behind me.
I held the key in my hand would let me into Luka’s destination. I tugged my bag over my shoulder and strolled out of the office.
“Ms. Amato, should I tell Ciro you’re headed out?”
I paused in front of the young assistant’s desk. She had a notepad and pen in her hand.
“No, don’t do that. I’ll be back later this afternoon. Besides, he’s going to be out of town for a few days.” Ciro was probably already interrogating someone about Luka’s past. I’d rather leave him behind than have him tag along on the scavenger hunt. “He knows how to get in touch with me.” I walked briskly past the girl. I spun on my stilettos. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember your name.” I glanced at her. She wasn’t that much younger than me. All my new hires were business school graduates. She had to be at least twenty-two and twice today I had treated her like a fourteen-year old babysitter.
“It’s Val.” She grinned.
“Val? Hmm.” I used to do a better job of remembering the names of everyone on the staff. I had let other things distract me lately. “Thank you, Val. When did you start here?”
“Two months ago, Ms. Amato.”
I pressed my lips together. “Maybe we could have coffee sometime. You can tell me what your goals are with the company.”
“Really?” Her eyes widened to the size of saucers.
“Yes. I think it would be a good idea. Let’s try to schedule that tomorrow.”
She paused as if she was about to curtsy before she was interrupted by the phone. I’d let my mentoring commitments slide. I’d let a lot of things slide since we broke ground on the Crescent Towers.
I tapped the button on the elevator door when Enzo hurried toward me.
“You’re leaving?” He looked confused.
“Yes.” I was irritated my whereabouts were suddenly everyone’s concern.
“I’ll ride down with you,” he announced, hopping in the elevator with me. I was jostled to the side.
“What is it?” I still clutched the key in my fist. I didn’t want to let it go.
“I was wondering if we could talk about something personal.”
I was surprised.
“Is it about you and Katya?” I kept my voice quiet even though we were alone.
The elevator deposited us in the parking garage.
“Yes.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Why don’t I drive you? We could talk in the car on the way?”
I hesitated. “All right.” I didn’t know how long the impromptu meeting with Luka was going to last. Talking at the office about his affair with Katya could be problematic. “Let me text you the address. We’ll take your car.”
We climbed into Enzo’s car and he synced the address with his car’s navigation system.
“Where are we going?” he asked. He turned the air conditioning up high.
I shrugged. “It’s an address from Luka. A surprise,” I admitted.
“I see.” He pulled out of the parking garage and onto the city street.
“Okay. Tell me.” I stared at him through my designer sunglasses.
Enzo cleared his throat. “Katya called me this morning. She told me that her brother filled you in on the situation. Our situation.”
“Yes. That’s true.”
“I thought you deserved to have a conversation directly from me about it.”
“But only now because I’ve been informed?”
He shook his head, slowing at the stoplight. “One of the things you taught me early on is to keep business and personal lives in separate boxes.”
I felt a small lump when I swallowed. “That can’t apply to everything.”
“There was no good way to tell you I was sleeping with Katya.”
“She’s having your baby, Enzo. How are you going to survive this exactly? When the Petrovs see that baby’s blue eyes?—”
“That’s why we want to leave as soon as possible.”
The voice in the speaker system told Enzo to take the next two right turns.
“And leave everything here?” I checked the time on my phone. “Think about what that would mean. Don’t you have parents here?”
“My mom,” he answered.
“What would she think about you taking off?”
He pulled into an open parking space. We had arrived at a tall office building. He removed the sunglasses from his eyes and turned to face me.
“I think she’d rather have her son alive than dead.” His words gripped me.
I closed my eyes. “Enzo, we’re not going to let that happen.” I tugged on the door handle.
“So, you are going to help?”
I hadn’t made a decision yet. I nodded. “Yes. I’m going to help.”
He started to smile.
“But I don’t know how,” I cautioned him. “Would you wait here while I have this meeting? Maybe we could grab a drink?”
“Yes. I have emails to send. I’ll keep the car running.”
“I have no idea how long it’s going to take,” I added.
“It’s okay. I’ll wait.”
I climbed out of the car and entered the building.