14. The Little Golden Box
CORRADO
14
Nearing the end of his life, my ancestor lost his wealth and power. All his friends betrayed him, and most of his cousins could no longer be trusted because their spouses came from traitorous parents or were traitors themselves.
To save his immediate family who were still innocent and young, my ancestor fled Italy for Switzerland, and after he died, his son followed the formula for wealth and formed another investment bank.
Since his son learned the lessons from his father, the new bank could only be used by members who swore their allegiance to our family. And this wealth management bank, unlike the one before it, operated in secret. Today, the members who receive our services enter the Serpentine Order of which my brother, sister, and I are called the Head. The members make up the Body.
The Trentino family isn’t in the Body and never has been, so I’m certain Michela’s a bird. And that’s not the only refreshing thing about her. She seems uninterested in power. Or money, for that matter, which puts me at ease when I’m with her.
Most of the power struggles in the Order happen over money, and most times when families from the Body seek out a marriage with someone from the Head family, it’s because of cash. Since I found a woman who wants neither and is willing to fake the marriage with me, I feel like I’ve been given an angel, and there’s no way I’m giving her up without making her an offer she can’t refuse.
Everyone wants something.
If not money, she’ll want something.
I just have to figure out what that is.
There’s my angel now. Descending the steps of the pathetic building in which she lives. Michela wears a bright red dress and fiddles with a leopard-print purse as her high black heels stomp down the steps. All I can think about is her not paying attention to where she’s stepping. While I’ve seen women run in six-inch heels, I would still prefer Michela watch where she steps for fear she’ll tumble down the stairs.
When she reaches the ground and her ankle wobbles, I tense. Michela doesn’t even flinch. Smiling, she stops before me. “Hi, Corrado.” She openly checks me out. “You look nice.”
“Not as nice as you,” I say, even though a warmer shade of red would suit her even better.
When we get into the back of the car, she turns her knees toward me, not away from me. Instead of looking out the window, she looks at me, eyes bright and excited. “Where are we going?”
“The Icon.”
She whistles. “Same as last night, then.”
“Different. There’s a restaurant on the roof of this hotel.”
“I mean, we’re going to a super-nice place, same as last night.”
“You’ll like this one more,” I tell her.
“I’m sure I will.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because you chose it.”
I chuckle. “What’s that say about me choosing you?”
Eyebrows drawn down, she thinks about the answer. “I don’t know. What does it say?”
“That I have excellent taste.”
“Are you complimenting me or yourself on your good taste?”
“Both.”
She swallows. “Thank you.”
“Welcome.” The soft perfume she’s wearing, along with the way the little dress rides her thigh, makes my gaze linger on her bare skin. I want to touch her, and so I do.
While watching her for reaction, I rest my palm on her thigh and run it down to her knee, where I hold firmly, waiting to see if she’ll protest. Red colors her cheeks, and her chest rises and falls as Michela ever so slightly parts her legs.
I look down at the see-through red panties covering a bare mound.
Lazily, I lift my gaze. “Cute.” I pinch her cheek. “You’re cute, you know that?”
Michela turns bright red. She seems uncomfortable with her decision to part her legs, but she did it anyway. I like that about her. She puts herself out there, consequences be damned. People without a sense of adventure bore me. She excites me more than I care to admit.
I sit up and widen my legs to give my dick room to grow.
“How was the rest of your day?” she asks.
“I spent it reading.” The reports I requested on her and the guy named Tino arrived. Turns out the Tino who Michela mentioned in the car the night before is Tino Bianci. His mother, Agatha, married a Benvenuti, which makes Tino a cousin of a Benvenuti family don. While Tino is a bird and not associated with the Benvenuti family business, he served a short sentence for domestic abuse.
A year after his release, his wife passed away. Her sister found her cold in their marital bed. I suspect foul play, as did the detectives who worked the case that was later proclaimed a suicide. Domenico Benvenuti, the family’s head, might’ve hidden the evidence or paid off the cops. Either way, if Tino becomes more of an issue, I’ll have someone from the Body who works in the agency reopen the case.
Judging by the way she speaks of him, Michela is aware of Tino’s unpredictable temper, but I doubt she’s aware of how far the man will go. Currently, he’s out of town and not due back for another few months. By the time he returns, I’ll have spoken with Domenico about his cousin. He’ll appreciate the opportunity I’m giving him by warning his relative to stay away from my wife.
“The man you mentioned the other evening. Tino?” I say.
Michela’s eyes widen. “What about him?”
“He won’t bother you anymore.” As soon I secure Michela’s agreement tonight, I’ll speak with Domenico.
She touches her mouth. “What did you do to him?”
“Nothing.” Yet.
“I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“I’m happy you did.”
“Please don’t mess with him.”
Annoyed, I roll my shoulders. “I didn’t think you cared about what happens to him.”
“I care about people not getting hurt over me.”
I lift my hands. “I won’t touch him. The man is a bird, anyway. Birds are of no interest to me.”
She frowns. “You think he’s like a bird?”
I nod. “A duck, probably.”
She’s quiet for a while. “Ducks are cute.”
Motherfucker. “Cute, but they’re no eagles.”
“You’re right. Eagles aren’t cute. They’re majestic birds, but I have to say they seem lonely.”
“They’re alone, not lonely. Speaking of lonely…” From my front pocket, I pull out a little golden box.
“No way! That’s Trivo’s.”
Michela instantly recognizes the luxury brand by its box. This pleases me. Since I’ve not known Michela for as long I’d like to know someone I’m actually marrying, I made Stephania Trivo sort through her inventory for two hours, despite the fact she came to me with the ring she thinks Michela would wear.
I picked a different one. A slightly larger diamond that Stephania ordered with a promise it would arrive in a few days. Meanwhile, I needed a set of wedding bands, which Stephania provided. I’m offering Michela her band now.
Stephania didn’t protest the larger price tag of the bigger diamond I ordered, but she did mention that my wife seemed modest and that she might not enjoy wearing it. Thing is, if my ancestor had been a modest man, he never would have created such generational wealth.
Modesty is a virtue glorified by the poor and supported by the wealthy so the poor remain poor. It has a place in the world. It just has no place in my world. Michela will wear the ring I picked out for her, and she will like it.
Having never proposed to a woman before, and most certainly won’t now in the car to a woman I’m faking a marriage with, I find myself in unfamiliar territory. Unaccustomed to uncertainty or asking someone for their opinion, I don’t know why I seem to wonder if she’ll like the ring or not.
Her soft smile tells me she’s touched by the gift, but she’s not reaching for the box. In fact, she’s scooting away as if I’m offering her a crown of thorns.
“Thank you, Corrado. I appreciate the gesture, but I can’t accept it,” she says.
“You don’t even know what it is.”
“Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s beautiful and the very best in its class.”
She knows me better than I know her. “True.” I nudge it toward her with two fingers.
She pushes it back. The middle seat between us feels like some sort of neutral ground.
“It is too much.”
“Too much of what?” I ask.
“Everything.”
“Try to be more specific,” I say, my tone sounding as irritated as I am.
“It’s too much money.”
Ah, right. I’m certain my relationship with money differs from hers. “Is that your only objection? That it cost too much money?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
“Figure it out.” I turn toward the window. “We’ll be at the hotel in ten minutes.”
I nudge the box toward her again.
She pushes it back.
I flick it.
She flicks it back and hides a smile that pulls on her lips by looking away, but I caught it in the reflection in the window. My gesture makes her happy, but she won’t accept it. I must conquer her by breaking her in. The very thought of breaking her in makes me hard.
I grip my cock through my pants and give it a squeeze.
She pretends she didn’t catch me doing it.