Chapter Thirty-One
Ambling through the countryside, the late afternoon sun cast a warm, golden light over the rolling hills of Umbria and Tuscany, turning the landscape into a picturesque scene right out of a painting. Fields of sunflowers and vineyards stretched out as far as the eye could see, dotted with charming farmhouses and ancient stone walls.
“Let’s switch seats so you can look out the window as we talk. You’re enough of a view for me, and I don’t want you to miss a moment of this trip,” Fernando said, standing up and moving to the aisle so Sophie could vacate her window seat, making room for him to sit down. Resettling, this time with Fernando next to the window, turned slightly in to see Sophie and Sophie in the aisle seat, turned to face Fernando and the window, he began.
“Okay, so you already know my brothers and I pose a pact each year to challenge each other. The whole point is for the annual pact to make us better in some way, but Enrique often uses his turn to propose pacts for other things. They often seem frivolous and materialistic on the surface, but I think that down deep, they mean more to him. ”
“In what way?” Sophie asked, confusion knitting her delicate brows together.
“In our early twenties, we made a pact to become successful businessmen. We wanted to own our own companies and treat our employees with respect. We wanted to never have to rely on another for our survival again. With Gabriel’s Midas Touch in investment banking and real estate and Anthony’s business savvy, we all had a leg up on making this dream a reality. But, some of us took longer to find our niche and make that success a reality. Enrique posed a pact that we become billionaires and get blinged-out watches once we all made the big B. The BBC is never happy being good enough. We want to be the best. I think deep down, Enrique was trying to push us to be more, not rest on our laurels when we became successful, but to push to be at the top of the food chain. The watches may seem like a status symbol to most, but for Rique, I think it’s a daily reminder of who helped him get where he is. A reminder that he has family and he is loved. That he isn’t doing life alone. In a way, it keeps him grounded, humble.”
Dumbfounded, Sophie scoffed, “How does a $200,000 diamond-encrusted Rolex Pealmaster 39 remind him of those things?”
Slipping off his Rolex Day-Date 40, which Sophie knew set him back a whopping $150,000, Fernando turned it over so she could see the inscription on the back.
“We all agreed to have this engraved on the back. Our Journey. Our Success. BBC Knights Forever. To remind us of all we had accomplished and our brotherhood.”
“Does the knights part remind you to be heroes or something? To protect the innocent and help the weak and weary. You were all heroes to me that day, for sure.”
Fernando chuckled, “No, although it does play a part. When we adopted each other, we took on Gabriel’s name, Knight, so we all had a name in common. I was adamant we not give up our last name because I didn’t want us to forget where we had come from and what we had overcome. Only Gabe had a middle name, so taking Knight made sense. He wouldn’t lose anything, and we would all gain something in common. On the other hand, I had read them a plethora of medieval tales with knights in shining armor, like “Ivano,” “Le Morte D’Arthur,” and “The Three Musketeers,” so Knight had another layer of meaning for us.”
“So, how did you all wind up in my store in California and not in a store in New York since that is where your pacts usually take place? I haven’t ever heard you mention a BBC gathering outside of your New York hometown.”
“You really have been paying close attention to the details of my family, haven’t you?” Fernando asked with a warm smile. This was just one more example of how much she cared for him.
“Of course, I wouldn’t be a very good personal assistant if I didn’t,” she said defensively, but Fernando could tell there was more to it by the blush rising in her cheeks.
“No one will ever be able to accuse you of being anything less than devoted. As to how we came to be in the watch store, who so wisely employed you and then stupidly chased you off, that was all Julio’s doing. First of all, you need to understand that this pact was not met in a year.”
“It wasn’t? I thought they all had a 365-day time limit.”
“Nope. Some of them are longer-term goals or things we don’t want to happen, like babies outside of marriage or jail time. This was a challenge for those in the family who had reached a comfortable level of wealth and might stop before reaching their full potential. At the time, only Gabriel and I had achieved billionaire status. Gabriel far outpaced me and had reached thirty billion already. I had just broken ten billion. Anthony was close to a billionaire but slowed down as his family grew. Enrique and Julio were both in the millions. It took almost two years before the others broke the big B, and the watch pact needed to be fulfilled. Julio had missed yet another annual gathering, and we all agreed the watch shopping needed to be done together, so we waited. He called us up and let us know he was coming stateside and would be at Camp Pendleton in San Diego teaching some training course if we wanted to put this pact in the BBC books. I, of course, was already living there, so the others jumped on Gabe’s jet and headed west. Two days later, we walked into Sovereign Luxury Watches and Fine Jewelry, and my life has never been the same. I think all my brothers would agree that finding you was the greatest gift of the day.”
“Aww, that’s sweet of you to say. I still can’t believe my colleagues shunned you guys because you were dressed like everyday men. The way you all walked screamed confidence to me, but since you weren’t in thousand-dollar suits, they didn’t think you were worth their time. They just about had a heart attack when you pulled out Black Cards to pay, and my commission was on a sale of over half a million dollars. Add in the diamonds you purchased for Hannah, and it was pretty darn close.”
“Your turn. How did you land in the watch store, and why were you getting evicted from your home?” Fernando asked, intertwining their fingers and resting them on his bent knee.
“The watch store was my second job. The only reason I was hired was because I was pretty and spoke Spanish fluently. The store received a lot of business from international travelers, so when their previous Spanish-speaking associate quit, they were desperate. The fact that I had a nice body worked in my favor. ”
Fernando was dumbfounded. “Don’t tell me someone actually said that to you?”
“It was implied during the interview, but Tony told me straight out when he literally stole a commission from me. I was desperate, or I wouldn’t have taken the job. It turned out to be part of a bigger plan, though. Before taking that job, I was a pushover. Working there taught me confidence and how to stand up for myself against male chauvinists. Emotionally, it was draining, and I wasn’t going to last very long. When we signed the lease on the house, four of us were working full-time jobs, and my brother and stepdad had two jobs. Mom stayed home and kept things running smoothly there. Not two weeks after moving in, my stepdad was injured in a car accident. He brought in over half the household income, so I had to make up the difference. I was already a server at a high-end restaurant and did well, but I needed a second job that paid more than minimum wage. I saw the ad for the jewelry store and applied that day. I opened the jewelry store at 7 am and closed the restaurant at 1 am, but with most of my commissions being taken by my ‘trainers’, I wasn’t making up the difference, and we were about to lose our home.”
“How did you manage to hold onto the commission from our watch sales?”
“That was all Anthony. He and Enrique picked up on my work dynamic right away. When the sales started to be rung up, one of my ‘trainers’ decided you all were suddenly worth his time and stepped up to process the sale. Anthony put his foot down hard. Enrique had asked me if I was still in training, as my professionalism and knowledge told him otherwise. I said not really, but they kept me at that level so they could ‘share’ the commissions on any of my sales. He asked if I had to ‘share,’ and when I said no, but it didn’t seem to matter to my male colleagues, who took it anyway if they could run it through the register, he and Anthony started whispering. The next thing I knew, my colleagues were glaring daggers at me from the other side of the room but left me and the BBC alone for the rest of the afternoon.”
“That sounds like my brothers. They never would have stood by and let a woman be taken advantage of. I’m sorry I wasn’t more aware that day. I was too busy focusing on you and trying to ignore Gabe’s whispers.”
“No worries. Anthony put them in their place. Before he left, he made sure they understood that I had five billionaires in my corner and all I had to do was call, and they would be back, and my colleagues wouldn’t like it. I heard him drop some employee conduct and workplace laws as well, so my manager, who was in on all of the mistreatment, was duly warned. Things improved, and the commission check caught us up on our back rent and gave us some breathing room. What did you mean by Gabe’s whispers? What was he saying?”
“My brothers had been pressuring me to get an assistant. I was not managing my life or business well, as you noticed when you came on board. Gabriel spent the afternoon pointing out all the qualities you possessed that would make you excellent for the job. By the time you rang up my purchase, I was sold in more ways than one, so I dropped my card and offered you the job. Honestly, I was worried that your appealing looks would get me into trouble, so it took a little convincing on Gabe’s part. I had been interviewing little old ladies for the job prior to offering it to you, but they didn’t work out well in my fast-paced world.”
“No, I can’t imagine a granny doing well working your kind of hours or keeping up with your scattered tendencies. You keep me on my toes. I haven’t noticed an attraction, though. Not ever!”
“I worked really hard to keep it hidden. Eventually, I convinced myself my attraction wasn’t a thing, and then one day it wasn’t anymore. Mind over matter can be a powerful tool. Julio taught me that. You were my lifeline, and I wasn’t going to do anything to mess that up. Keeping myself buried in my work helped; I didn’t have time to think about anything else.”
As the bus rolled along the scenic route, Alicia took the microphone and began her presentation about Tuscany. “Welcome to Tuscany, the heart of Italy. This region is famous for its rolling hills, vineyards, and medieval towns. Historically, it has been a center of art, culture, and politics. The Renaissance, a cultural rebirth that swept through Europe, began right here in Florence.”
Fernando and Sophie paused their conversation to gaze out the window as the bus passed through picturesque landscapes. The fields were a patchwork of greens and golds, interspersed with tall cypress trees lining the roads. Vineyards stretched into the distance, their neatly ordered rows basking in the late afternoon sun. Occasionally, they spotted charming farmhouses and grand villas.
“Tuscany’s architecture is a blend of ancient Roman, Gothic, and Renaissance styles,” Alicia continued. “In Florence, you’ll see the magnificent Florence Cathedral with its iconic dome designed by Brunelleschi, the Palazzo Vecchio, and the Uffizi Gallery, home to masterpieces by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Botticelli.”
Sophie glanced at Fernando, her excitement evident. “I can’t wait to see all that. Imagine standing where these great artists once stood.”
Arriving in Florence, as the sun dipped towards the horizon, the bus navigated through the narrow streets of the city. They passed elegant palaces with their stone facades, intricate ironwork, and large wooden doors that hinted at the grandeur inside. The streets were alive with people, locals and tourists alike, all drawn to the city’s historical charm and vibrant energy .
After settling into their rooms, they reconvened for dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. The view was breathtaking, with the city’s iconic landmarks silhouetted against the evening sky. They enjoyed traditional Tuscan cuisine—fresh pasta, succulent meats, and rich, flavorful sauces—all paired with local wines.
“This is truly a feast for the senses,” Fernando remarked, savoring each bite of his meal.
As they lingered on the rooftop terrace, watching the sun set behind the iconic Duomo, Sophie felt a sense of contentment wash over her. “This is perfection,” she said softly, leaning against Fernando’s shoulder.
He smiled, wrapping an arm around her as they watched the city come alive with the glow of streetlights and the sounds of laughter drifting up from the streets below. In that moment, surrounded by beauty and immersed in each other’s company, Sophie knew this journey was just the beginning of their adventures together.