23
“T here has been absolutely nothing on Rafael’s phone so far, and he doesn’t use it to communicate anything, not even in code words. He must be using two phones.”
Remo’s voice pierces through my heart that is dipping in guilt and disappointment.
Every day I think about how I could turn this around, and every time I come up empty-handed.
When I saw Remo at the party in the ballroom, I knew what was going to go down. When Remo’s eyes fell on me, he did his part in acting like he didn’t know me. He warned me beforehand that Rafael’s attendance at an event usually results in a mess.
And indeed, was he right.
What kind of man is Rafael? Working with him all these months has made me realise that he has been showing me the carefully crafted exterior he uses for the public, but something in Greece made him drop it.
Ever since then, he has been unmasked around me. Which one is the real him?
“He even cut off the electricity to my office building for a full day. How fucking petty of him.”
A laugh threatens to spill out of me, but I keep it in. Remo would not appreciate that at all.
It’s funny how Rafael acts sometimes. While he can be quite lethal and ruin someone’s career, as I have witnessed firsthand, he can be quite hilarious without trying, like messing with Remo for the fun of it just to make him aware that he can touch him but won’t.
Remo understands their similar power balance; their wealth and influence are a crucial part of their similarity. While Remo invests in new technology and is the biggest wine manufacturer, Rafael is a land developer and famous luxury hotelier that expands to many countries worldwide.
They both sit at the top of the Elite circle Remo briefly told me about. Alan Group comes in third and Gustav Industries is in second place, but with Gustav Industries’ business ventures surpassing Remo’s, it is bound to sit on the top in terms of finance.
“You need to get into his home, Venezia. The radar Helia downloaded needs to be turned on inside the house so he can check for anything abnormal about his electronics. Ask about his parents so we can compile a list of potential passwords.”
My throat closes at his words.
How have I become so weak?
“I’ll be late soon, so I need to hang up. I love you.” I cut the call before he can answer and head out of the car and walk into the building. The morning sun is covered by the invading clouds that have cast the city in darkness.
“Venezia.”
My head snaps up to see Rafael standing outside of his office door. He tilts his head to his office, and my heart instantly drops.
Did he find out?
Will he think I accepted his confession because I am spying on him?
With trembling hands, I walk inside. The door slams shut behind me, and I get pushed against it. My purse drops from my hand, and I look up, wide-eyed.
Rafael’s hair falls into his eyes as he towers over me, his gaze dark and swimming in amusement.
Lifting his hand to my face, he runs his knuckles across my cheek. My eyes shut of their own accord at the soothing touch. My heart calms to a slow pace, my body almost shutting down, knowing Rafael is close. A net of safety forms around me creating a warm feeling inside me.
His hand wraps around the base of my neck, then he tilts my jaw up. My eyes collide with his while he lowers his lips, desire overriding every emotion. He steps closer, his body plastered against mine to the point where I feel his every breath, every inhale and exhale.
“Rafael,” I whisper, my heart pounding in my eardrums and blood rushing to my head.
He skims his lips across mine once, inhales, and then kisses me. My hands weave through his hair, and it turns frenzied and crazy. It turns fast and lustful. His hands dip into my scalp, angling my head expertly. He picks me up, and my legs wrap around his waist.
He kisses me like a crazy man, like he has discovered what breathing is, like the very second he lets go, he will realise that everything he wants is right here. And I don’t want to feel guilty for it.
Ever.
And yet I do, but I push the emotion away.
“I want you so much,” Rafael hoarsely whispers, his forehead set on mine while his eyes beg me to never let go.
“I’m irresistible,” I mutter against his lips. I skim my lips across his cheek and down his jaw to his neck.
I wrap my arms around his neck and rest my head on his shoulder. His strong arms wrap around my waist, our shuddering breaths in sync.
I want to just be in the moment with him right now.
“How do I ever believe you would want someone like me?” I whisper, my hand at the nape of his neck.
“Not someone, I want you. Just you. Fuck, after just meeting you once, my family is entranced by you. How could they not be? Those who haven’t met you now love you.”
Confusion overtakes me, but I brush it away.
“I have work to do, and so do you,” I whisper.
“Truth or dare?” Rafael asks.
My smile against his neck is inevitable. I brush my lips against his ear, and a shudder passes through him as I whisper, “Dare.”
“I dare you to let me take you out on a date.”
I reel back to find Rafael’s expectant expression, his brows raised as he searches my eyes.
Why, heart, did you have to go crazy over someone so forbidden?
“About time you asked. I was going to quit the job if you kept it up. I expect a good date.”
A deep laugh spills out of Rafael, and my smile widens.
That’s the second time he has laughed in my presence.
“You seem hard to please,” he narrows his eyes.
Untangling myself from him, I walk around towards his desk and sit on the edge of it. Rafael turns to me and pockets his hands.
“Problem with that?” I lift a brow.
Rafael walks towards me and leans down, placing both hands beside me on the table.
“None, don’t you know I am ready to give everything to you?”
I tap a finger on my chin, putting on a thinking face. “No, I don’t,”
Holding back a smirk at his frown, I look away towards the papers and files on his desk.
“You didn’t finish—” a kiss on my neck stops me.
My words fail me when another is placed just below the first one. And another. Rafael steps closer and stands between my legs and I finally look up at him to find his eyes dark.
“Give me motivation to finish the work,” he suggestively says, his eyes dipping to my lips and then down my caged breasts in my dress shirt then back up to my lips.
Biting back a smile, I lift my lips.
As soon as his lips brush mine, I push at his shoulder and jump off the table laughing.
“Focus on your work mister.” I throw a wink over my shoulder at him, catching the sight of his tongue poking through his cheek with a smirk before I shut the door.
The rest of my evening plans of taking a long bath crash, and Danyi shows up with bags of noodles and a horror movie of my choice. Though, I should have known trying to hide my excitement wouldn’t go unnoticed by her.
“Tell me right now what has made you look this happy.” Danyi stops eating her noodles and turns to me on my sofa.
“What?” I look away from the movie to find her lifting a brow.
“You know exactly what I am talking about. Out with it. Who is the mystery man?”
Looking away from her, I lift the blanket up to my chin, but Danyi grabs my blanket and pulls it away from me.
“Danyi! Stop it. I swear it’s no one.” I laugh, then instantly stop.
Silence overtakes us.
Danyi tilts her head as if saying, ‘see?’ and I just roll my lips in, looking away.
“It’s nothing.” I shrug, clearing my throat and keeping my eyes on the paused screen of the TV.
“There has to be someone, Venezia. Ever since you started working at Gustav Industries, you have felt gloomy, like the damn weather, and now? Now you are lost in another universe, giggling, smiling, and laughing more freely. If that isn’t love’s effect, I don’t know what is.”
I force a laugh and roll my eyes. “Oh no. You got me. What will I do now?” I say with a straight face.
Danyi pushes me with a laugh. “You idiot. Go on. We aren’t watching the rest of the movie until you tell me.”
“It’s…” I look at her but stop once I see her determined expression. She won’t let this go.
“Okay, yes, I’ve met someone, but the first date is a couple of days away. I don’t know how well it’ll go, but I know him very well. We have come quite far, too. So I guess we’ll see how it goes.”
“Why are you nervous, though? You are Venezia. My Venezia doesn’t get nervous or choked up about a date. So what is stopping you?”
I look up from my hands to meet Danyi’s eyes. It feels like she can see right through me like an x-ray.
“I’m not supposed to like him, Danyi. Not because of our roles but because of who we are. We can’t be, ever, and yet I’m too weak to make my heart let him go, to not see if he could forgive me at the end.” I take a deep breath that seems to take far more effort than normal.
“Why?”
“Because I may destroy him. No, I will destroy him, and I can’t even begin to think about how much we will both suffer.” Tears fill my eyes, but I blink to keep them at bay.
A warm hand clasps mine. I look at Danyi to find her smiling.
“If he likes you even a percentage of how much you like him, then you may get your happy ending. What is love without a struggle?” She tilts her head. “Want to know how I know this?”
I nod.
“My sister went against my parents’ wishes to marry the guy she loved. She had to wait ten years for them to come around. She longed for our parents, who gave birth to her, fed her, taught her to love and grow, to love the woman she is today. But they weren’t against them because they didn’t like him but rather because they were forbidden. He was her supervisor at university when she went there to get her masters.” She laughs, as if she finds something funny. This isn’t funny.
“What do you know, he turned out to be our business rival’s son. So it was even more messy.” She shakes her head with a laugh, making me smile, too.
“Your sister chose well, it seems.”
Danyi laughs harder at my comment.
“Oh, she will kill you for saying that, but I’m glad our parents have finally come around now. She suffered without their love for far too long. See what I mean? What is life, what is the journey of finding your happy ending, without a fight?”
I nod, take a deep breath, and strengthen my heart for the date with Rafael soon.
“Want to go shopping with me for an outfit for the date?”
Danyi’s eyes widen, and she engulfs me in a big hug, making me lose balance and fall on the sofa.
“I thought you wouldn’t ask. Yes, of course! It also feels like you are proposing to me right now.”