Chapter 23
"No."
I crossed my arms over my chest, making an 'X' shape. I puffed out my cheeks until I looked like a chipmunk storing nuts for winter.
"Stephie! That is beige! Beige is the color of sadness! Beige is the color of oatmeal without sugar! We are not putting oatmeal in the Muratori Mansion!"
Stephie sighed. It was a long, dramatic sigh that ruffled her perfect hair. She was holding up a very sleek, very modern, very boring cream-colored throw pillow.
"Aleesha," she said, using her 'I am talking to a toddler' voice. "This is minimalist. It's chic. It says, 'I am wealthy and I enjoy silence.' It fits Gabriel's vibe."
"Gabriel's vibe is 'I live in a mausoleum and hate joy!'" I argued, grabbing the pillow from her and tossing it back into the display bin. "We are changing the vibe! We are doing a rebrand! Extreme Home Makeover: CEO Edition!"
I turned on my heel and marched down the aisle of the home decor store.
"Sad Squad! Forward march!" I commanded.
Behind me, three towering figures shuffled along.
Sean, Marcus, and Luca.
My three bodyguards/besties/pack mules.
Usually, they look terrifying. They wear dark suits and sunglasses indoors and have earpieces that make them look like they are communicating with aliens. But right now?
Mwehehehe.
Sean was holding five shopping bags from the Sanrio store (pink, glittery). Marcus was carrying a giant rolled-up rug on his shoulder like a bazooka. And Luca... poor Luca was pushing two shopping carts filled to the brim with boxes.
They looked like the most dangerous personal shoppers in history.
"Ma'am," Sean whispered, leaning down. He looked nervous. He kept scanning the perimeter as if a throw pillow might attack us. "Are you sure about... all of this? The Boss... he likes empty spaces."
"Empty spaces are for parking lots, Sean!" I corrected him, consulting my very long, very detailed list on my phone.
"Item Number 4: Pink Hello Kitty Wall Clock. Check! Item Number 5: Pink Frames for pictures we don't have yet. Check! Item Number 6: Floating Shelves for Gabby's boring books so they look like they are flying. Check!"
I stopped in front of the rug section.
"Okay," I rubbed my hands together. "The Grand Foyer. It is currently a black and white marble wasteland. It needs... warmth. It needs texture."
I pointed a finger.
"THAT ONE."
Stephie gasped. "Ali, no."
It was a rug. A massive, plush, faux-fur rug.
It was pink. Not baby pink. Not hot pink. It was Dusty Rose. It was elegant! It was soft! It looked like a cloud that had fallen into a strawberry patch!
"It matches the black marble!" I insisted. "Black and Pink! Like the K-Pop group! It is fierce!"
"It is a fire hazard," Marcus grunted from behind the bazooka-rug he was already carrying.
"Nonsense!" I grabbed the tag. "Load it up, boys! We are taking two! And scented candles! I want the entire house to smell like 'Vanilla Cupcake' instead of 'Old Paper and Despair'!"
We continued our rampage through the mall.
I bought pink vases shaped like tulips. I bought big indoor plants (Monstera Deliciosa!) because plants equal oxygen and oxygen lowers cortisol!
I bought stickers (to hide the scary gargoyle faces carved into the wood).
I bought table lamps because the mansion is so dark you need night vision goggles to find the bathroom.
"And finally," I stopped in the furniture section. "Comfort."
The mansion has stiff wooden chairs. They are chairs designed for people who have perfect posture and no souls.
"We need squish," I declared.
I pointed at a display of bean bags. Giant, velvet bean bags.
"One for every room!" I shouted. "Red for the living room! Pink for the bedroom! Grey for the library (compromise)!"
"Aleesha," Stephie rubbed her temples. "You bought sofas. You bought sofa beds. Now bean bags? Where are you going to put all this?"
"Everywhere!" I beamed. "I want to be able to flop down anywhere in the house and land on something soft! It is a safety measure! What if I faint from Gabriel's handsomeness? I need a soft landing!"
Stephie looked at the carts. She looked at the Sad Squad, who were now struggling to see over the mountain of pillows.
"You are insane," she said affectionately. "Gabriel is going to have an aneurysm."
"No, he won't!" I waved my hand. "He will love it! He just doesn't know it yet! Now, come on! We have to get this back to the house before he finishes work!"
★
Getting the stuff to the house was a mission in itself.
My little Aston Martin (well, Gabriel's Aston Martin) couldn't fit a bean bag, let alone a sofa. The SUV was big, but not that big.
So, I did what any resourceful project manager would do.
I rented a truck.
Or rather, I made Luca rent a truck using the company card because I don't have a license for heavy machinery (yet).
We pulled up to the scary iron gates of the Muratori Estate.
Creaaaaak.
The gates opened. The Sad Squad drove the SUV and the rental truck up the long, spooky driveway. Stephie and I followed in the sports car.
When we parked in front of the fountain (the sad, dry fountain), Stephie stepped out and took off her sunglasses.
"Whoa," she breathed, looking up at the gray stone fortress covered in vines. "Okay. I see what you mean. It's giving... Haunted Mansion meets Batman's vacation home."
"Right?" I hopped out. "It needs love, Stephie! It needs us!"
I turned to the boys.
"Okay, Team!" I clapped my hands. "Listen up! Gabby is in his office in the city. He usually comes home at 7:00 PM. That gives us exactly five hours to transform the Foyer and the Master Bedroom. Can we do it?"
Sean looked at the massive double doors. He looked terrified. "Ma'am... no one is allowed inside. The Boss... he has rules. Strict rules. Only family."
"I am family!" I pointed to my ring. "I am the Wife! And you are my friends! So you are honorary cousins! Loophole found!"
"I don't think that's how loopholes work," Marcus muttered, but he grabbed a box anyway.
"Come on!" I ushered them. "Stephie, grab the plants! Luca, back the truck up! Let's go!"
★
I learned three things in the next four hours.
1. The Muratori Mansion is huge. Like, echoes-when-you-sneeze huge.
2. Furniture is heavy. Especially sofa beds.
3. Sean, Marcus, and Luca are surprisingly good at interior design.
We started with the Grand Foyer.
It was the saddest room. Just cold marble and shadows.
"Okay," I directed, standing on the bottom step of the grand staircase like a conductor. "Roll out the rugs!"
Marcus and Luca kicked the rolls of pink faux-fur. Whoosh!
They unrolled across the black floor, creating soft islands of pink in the sea of darkness.
"Yes!" I squealed. "It softens the edge! Now, the sofas!"
We had bought two plush, velvet charcoal-gray sofas (I compromised on the pink sofas because I didn't want Gabriel to go blind). We arranged them on the rugs, facing each other, creating a "conversation pit."
"Plants!" I yelled.
Stephie dragged the giant Monstera plants in. We placed them in the corners, hiding the creepy shadows. We put them in the pink ceramic pots I bought.
Green and Pink and Black. It was a vibe! It was Blackpink in your area!
"Lamps!"
We set up the floor lamps. I plugged them in. Click. Warm, golden light flooded the room, chasing away the gloom.
"Oh my gosh," Stephie whispered, wiping sweat from her forehead. "It actually looks... cozy."
"I know!" I beamed. "Now, the finishing touches!"
I ran around placing the throw pillows. Red ones. Pink ones. A fluffy white one.
I put the scented candles on the new coffee table. I lit them. Strike.
Immediately, the smell of 'Vanilla Cupcake' began to battle the smell of 'Ancient Dust'. Vanilla was winning.
"It looks like a lounge," Sean said, looking around with genuine admiration. "Like... somewhere you'd actually want to sit."
"Exactly!" I high-fived him. "Now, the Bedroom!"
We ran upstairs.
The Master Bedroom was easier. We didn't change the furniture (Gabriel likes his big scary bed), but we accessorized.
I threw the pink bean bag into the corner near the window. "Reading nook!" I declared.
I arranged the floating shelves. I put up the pink frames (currently empty, but I will put pictures of Primrose in them later).
I put a vase of fake pink peonies on his nightstand.
"He's going to hate the flowers," Marcus warned.
"He will learn to love them," I said ominously.
By 5:30 PM, we were done. We were exhausted. We were sweaty.
But the house? The house looked alive.
"Food break!" I announced.
I ordered pizza. Two large boxes of pepperoni and cheese.
We went back down to the Grand Foyer. We couldn't sit on the new sofas (we were too dusty), so we sat on the new pink rug.
Me, Stephie, Sean, Marcus, and Luca. Sitting in a circle on the floor of a billionaire's mansion, eating pizza.
It was surreal.
"This is the life," I sighed, taking a bite of pepperoni. "Renovating creates an appetite."
"Ma'am," Sean said, sitting cross-legged next to Stephie (mwehehehe, I saw that!). "You have... a vision. I'll give you that."
"Thank you, Sean!" I grinned.
I watched them. Sean was leaning a little closer to Stephie. He was telling her something funny because she was rolling her eyes, but she was smiling. A real smile!
"You know," Sean said to Stephie, pointing at his own face. "I usually charge for this view. But for you, it's free."
Stephie groaned. "Wow. Generous. Do you accept returns?"
"Ouch," Sean laughed, clutching his chest. "You wound me, Stephanie."
"It's Stephie."
"I like Stephanie. It sounds elegant that I could not bear to shorten it by even a single letter."
Oooooh! I wiggled my eyebrows at Marcus. Marcus just shook his head and ate his pizza crust.
We talked and talked. We laughed. For the first time, the Muratori Mansion sounded like a home. There was noise. There was the smell of cheese. There was friendship!
And then...
Rumble.
A low, deep sound vibrated through the floorboards.
We all froze. Pizza slices paused halfway to mouths.
Rumble. VROOOOM.
The sound of a powerful engine getting closer. The sound of tires crunching on gravel.
My eyes widened. I looked at the giant grandfather clock (which I hadn't replaced yet).
"WAAAAAHHH!" I screamed, dropping my pizza crust. "HE IS EARLY!"
"The Boss!" Sean scrambled up, his face losing all color. "He's here! Why is he here?! He never leaves before six!"
"Guys! Guys!" I shouted, jumping up. "Hide! Hide the evidence!"
"Hide the furniture?" Luca asked calmly, looking at the sofas. "We can't hide sofas, Ma'am."
"Not the sofas! YOU!" I pointed at them. "He doesn't know you are inside! He will be mad! He hates people!"
"Where do we go?!" Stephie asked, looking around frantically.
"Behind the plants!" I yelled.
"We are full-grown men!" Marcus hissed. "We do not fit behind a plant!"
"MAKE YOURSELF SMALL!" I shoved Marcus toward the giant Monstera. "Be the leaf, Marcus! Be the leaf!"
I pushed Sean and Stephie behind the other plant. Luca dove behind the sofa.
"Stay down!" I whispered loudly. "Don't breathe! Don't sneeze!"
SLAM.
The sound of a car door closing outside.
Heavy footsteps on the stone stairs. Thud. Thud. Thud.
My heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. Thump-thump-thump.
I smoothed my pink dress. I grabbed the pizza boxes. I sat down on the pink rug, trying to look "casual" and "natural."
Hehehe... just a wife eating pizza... nothing suspicious here...
The handle of the massive front door turned.
Creaaaaaak.
The door swung open.
And there he was.
Gabriel.
He stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the twilight. He was wearing his black suit, crisp and imposing. His tie was perfectly knotted. His face was a mask of cold indifference.
He stepped inside.
"I am home," he announced to the empty hall.
Then, he stopped.
He froze.
His obsidian eyes scanned the room.
They widened. Just a fraction. But for Gabriel, that was like a scream.
He looked at the pink rug.
He looked at the gray sofas.
He looked at the warm, glowing lamps.
He looked at the giant plants (where I could see the tip of Marcus's shoe sticking out).
And finally, his gaze landed on me.
Sitting in the middle of his new pink rug, holding two greasy pizza boxes, smiling like a maniac.
"Hehehe... Hiii!" I squeaked.
My voice was an octave higher than normal.
Gabriel didn't speak. He closed the door behind him with a soft click.
He walked toward me. Slowly. Deliberately.
His footsteps were silent on the new rug.
He stopped right in front of me. He towered over me, casting a long shadow.
I looked up at him, blinking rapidly. "Welcome home, Gabby! You are... early! So efficient!"
I lifted the top box.
"Pizza?" I offered. "It is... slightly cold. But cheese is cheese!"
Gabriel looked at the pizza. Then he looked at the room again. He did a slow 360-degree turn.
"What," he asked, his voice deceptively calm, "is this?"
"It's pizza!" I said innocently. "Pepperoni!"
He looked back at me. He narrowed his eyes.
"I am referring to the interior of my foyer, Aleesha."
"Oh!" I giggled nervously. "That! Well... I was bored! And I thought... it needed a little touch! Just a sprinkle! A dash of Aleesha!"
"A little?" he repeated.
He looked at the massive rug. He looked at the sofas that weighed 200 pounds each.
"Yes!" I nodded vigorously. "See? I didn't make everything pink! I respected your goth aesthetic! The sofas are gray! It is a compromise! It represents our marriage!"
Gabriel stared at the sofa.
"Where did this furniture come from?" he asked.
"The... store?"
"And how did it get here?"
"A... truck?"
"And who moved it?"
I froze.
I can't tell him about the Sad Squad! He will fire them! I have to protect them! I am the Leader!
"I did!" I blurted out.
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "You did."
"Yes!" I nodded so hard my head felt dizzy. "I moved it! All by myself! I am very strong! I have adrenaline! Waaaa-cha!" I did a weak karate chop in the air.
"And the truck?" he asked softly.
"I drove it!" I lied. "Hehehe. Yes. I rented a truck. And I drove it here. Vroom vroom! I am a very good driver! I learned on... YouTube!"
I am a manipulator. I am a liar. I am a genius.
Gabriel stared at me.
He didn't look angry. He looked... intense.
He dropped his briefcase on the floor. Thump.
Slowly, very slowly, he lowered himself.
He sank to his knees on the pink fur rug.
My breath hitched. Hic.
He was now eye-level with me. He was close. Too close.
He put his hands on his thighs. He leaned forward.
"You drove a truck," he murmured.
"Yes," I whispered, clutching the pizza box like a shield.
"You moved two sofas."
"Yes. Heavy lifting. Good for the glutes."
He leaned closer.
And closer.
Until the tip of his nose touched the side of my neck.
I froze. As in, turned to stone.
WAAAAHHH!
What is happening?! Is he smelling me?! Is this a prelude to... to the thing?! Right here?! On the rug?! With Sean and Marcus hiding behind the plants?!
NOOO! SCANDALOUS!
I felt his warm breath on my skin. I shivered.
He inhaled deeply.
"Vetiver," he murmured. His voice was a low rumble against my pulse point.
"Amber..." He moved his nose slightly, tracing the line of my jaw. "Cedarwood..."
He moved to my other side. I was paralyzed. My heart was doing jumping jacks in my throat.
"Caramel..." he whispered into my ear.
He pulled back just enough to look me in the eye. His face was inches from mine. His eyes were dark, swirling pools of knowledge.
"You smell like my security team," he stated.
...
Oops.
"And Stephie," he added.
Double oops.
He looked at the pizza box in my hands.
"Tell me, Aleesha," he said, his voice silky smooth. "Who did you invite into my house?"
I gulped. The sound was loud in the quiet room.
"I..." I stammered. "I just... tried different scents today! I was bored! I went to the perfume counter! I wanted to smell like... a forest! And... candy!"
Gabriel stared at me. He looked unimpressed.
"You cannot drive a toy car without crashing into a wall," he reminded me.
"I have improved!"
"You cannot lift a suitcase without wheezing."
"I have hidden strength!"
"You rearranged my foyer," he said, glancing at the sofas. "This required at least three men."
He looked toward the corner. Toward the giant Monstera plant.
"You can come out now," he said to the plant.
Silence.
Then, slowly...
"Sorry, Boss," Marcus's deep voice rumbled from behind the leaves.
Marcus stepped out. Then Sean stepped out (looking guilty). Then Stephie stood up from behind the fern (looking annoyed). Then Luca popped up from behind the sofa.
"Hi," Luca waved weakly.
Gabriel didn't look at them. He kept his eyes locked on mine.
"You lied to me," he whispered.
"It was a white lie!" I defended, shrinking back a little. "To protect them! I didn't want you to be mad! I just wanted to make the house pretty! And cozy! For us!"
I looked at him with big, watery puppy eyes.
"Are you mad?" I whispered.
Gabriel looked at me. He looked at my fearful face. He looked at the pink rug beneath his knees.
He looked at the "Sad Squad" standing awkwardly by the plants holding pizza crusts. He let out a long breath. He reached out and took the pizza box from my hands. He placed it on the floor.
Then, he reached for a slice.
He took a bite.
"It is... acceptable," he said, chewing slowly.
He looked at the rug. He ran his hand over the pink fur.
"Soft," he noted.
"Yes!" I gasped, hope rising in my chest. "It is! Do you like it?"
Gabriel looked at me. A tiny, barely-there smirk touched his lips.
"It is loud," he said. "Chaotic. And pink."
"Like me!" I grinned.
"Yes," he said softly. "Like you."
He stood up. He looked at the squad. They all snapped to attention.
"Good job," Gabriel said.
They all blinked. Their jaws dropped.
"Dismissed," Gabriel added. "Take the truck back."
"Yes, Sir!" They scrambled toward the door like mice fleeing a cat.
"Bye guys!" I waved. "Thanks for the heavy lifting!"
Stephie blew me a kiss and ran out.
When the door closed, it was just me and Gabriel. On the rug.
"So..." I twiddled my fingers. "You're not mad?"
"I am adjusting," he said.
He held out his hand to me.
"Come," he said. "Show me the bedroom."
I took his hand. I smiled.
"You're going to love the bean bag," I promised.
He pulled me up. "I highly doubt that."
But he didn't let go of my hand as we walked up the stairs. And even though he pretended to be grumpy, I swear I saw him looking at the pink flowers in the vase with something that looked a lot like... peace.
Or maybe he was just hungry for more pizza.
Either way, I count this as a win.
Mwehehehe.