Chapter 38
Chiara
The sound of a cat yowling at the top of its lungs has me freezing on the spot. I only woke up an hour ago, and for a second, I wonder if perhaps I’m still dreaming. But then Angelo walks into the kitchen holding a pet carrier, with Kane at his heels.
The two of them look…sheepish?
“What’s going on?” This is the first time I’ve laid eyes on my husband since the incident at the hotel. Not that I expected him to check up on me after Kane brought me back here, but still. It’s a little galling that he doesn’t care enough to verify I haven’t slit my wrists in the tub.
But then all he has to do is log into the security system for proof of life.
“Angelo’s brought you a gift,” Kane pipes up with a wide grin.
My eyes narrow. “Gift?”
Angelo places the pet carrier on the floor and scrubs his jaw like he’s trying to find the best way to break some horrendously bad news. The pet carrier rocks as a very pissed-off cat yowls and scratches at the plastic.
I rush over and drop to my knees to see a cute little calico peering through the metal bars.
“Oh my god, you’re adorable!” The cat stops trying to escape and mewls pitifully. “Such a cute little baby,” I coo, not caring that I probably look like a crazy cat lady with my bed hair and rumpled PJs.
Kane snorts while Angelo rolls his eyes.
“Please don’t tell me you two kidnapped this poor kitty from a crime scene?”
“Why the fuck would we do that?” Angelo splutters.
“Because you’re both criminals and this cat could be a witness.”
My husband rolls his eyes at my stupid theory. “He belonged to our CFO, who passed away two nights ago.” Ah, the hospital visit makes sense now.
“Oh, I’m sorry for your loss,” I say automatically.
“He was our CFO, not my father.” Angelo stares at me like I’m an idiot, while Kane mutters pity under his breath.
“Fine, you gave no fucks about the poor man who died.” I glare at my husband before gasping. “Oh god, I hope you didn’t murder him!”
It’s not beyond the realm of possibility because we all know my husband is no angel. If the dead man did something bad, he might have paid the ultimate price. But Angelo rolls his eyes.
“Ronald suffered a fatal heart attack, princess. His death is a major hassle for us since he was in the middle of auditing our accounts.”
My jaw drops in shock. “Wow, such empathy.”
From the way a vein throbs in his temple, my husband’s on the verge of losing his shit with me. Again. Reluctantly deciding that acting like a judgmental bitch is bad for the cat, I smile serenely.
A poor orphaned kitty deserves a calm, happy home, not a dysfunctional one where Mommy and Daddy want to stab each other.
“So this was the man’s cat?”
“Yeah. We went to check on his house and found the cat home alone,” Kane explains. “The neighbor refused to take him, so we brought him here.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t drop him off at the nearest shelter.” It turns out playing nice is harder than I thought.
“Angelo thought you might like him.” I blink, genuinely surprised my husband had a selfless impulse, but I resist the urge to say so.
“I would love to take this pretty little kitty,” I coo some more at the cat, who has settled in his carrier.
“Have you picked up food and a litter box?” My gaze flits between Angelo and Kane, but my husband has lost interest in our new family member and is too busy stabbing his phone to bother replying.
As Kane nods, Angelo stalks away without a backward glance.
“He spent a fortune at the pet store,” Kane informs me with a grin. “Insisted on the best of everything.”
Color me shocked. “What’s the cat’s name?”
“Felix.”
I carry the pet carrier upstairs to my room while murmuring nonsense to the cat. Kane appears a few minutes later, loaded up with cat supplies. He gets the litter box ready while I scoop some food into a bowl and fill a cat fountain with water.
My new buddy has resumed yowling, but I’m hopeful he’ll calm down soon.
“Enjoy your new friend!” Kane saunters off whistling. When the door shuts, I open the cat carrier. Felix stalks out and surveys his new temporary kingdom like he owns the place, and I sigh.
Leaving is going to be impossible now that I’ve adopted a cat.
Was this Angelo’s plan all along? If so, he’s way more manipulative than I gave him credit for.
Angelo returns alone the following day. I’m busy making myself a sandwich after spending the morning cuddling Felix, who’s now fast asleep on my bed, even though he has a luxe cat bed of his own.
“Is the cat alright?” he asks while I spread mayo on one side of the bread.
“Do you care?” I don’t bother looking up to check his reaction.
“I’m not a monster, Chiara,” he huffs irritably.
“Debatable.” The weight of his glare sits heavy on my shoulders as I layer turkey breast and swiss cheese with pickles and sliced tomatoes. A final dollop of French mustard and my snack is complete.
Dominic usually leaves a selection of sandwiches for me and anyone else to pick from, but he’s off for the next two days, so I’m fending for myself. Not that it’s a great inconvenience. I’m an expert at taking care of myself, having done it since my dad remarried.
“I came to offer you a job,” Angelo says eventually through gritted teeth. I pause with my sandwich halfway to my mouth.
“Oh? Planning to pimp me out? Or put me to work as a drug mule?”
“For fuck’s sake, Chiara, you’re my wife! Why would I do either of those things?”
I shrug. “You married me against my will. As far as I can tell, nothing is off the table.”
He mutters something rude under his breath before exhaling slowly.
“I understand you have a business degree.”
My eyebrow shoots up while a spark of excitement flares. Are my days of watching reality TV about to end?
“I never finished it, but yes. Why? Is the IRS on your case?”
“No, but there are some…anomalies in the accounts, and with Ronald unexpectedly dying, I need help to figure out where the problem lies and who’s responsible.”
I force my face to remain disinterested, but inside, I’m bursting with excitement. I love this sort of shit. Solving puzzles and hunting for clues makes me happy. And the thought of being given an actual job to do is thrilling.
“I guess I can’t testify against you if you’re arrested, so having me look at your accounts is low risk.”
He nods.
I hum thoughtfully. “But what happens if I funnel all your cash into an offshore account and blow it on online poker and flaky crypto investments?”
“Then you’d die in an unimaginably brutal way.”
“Really, Angelo? I expected a slightly more imaginative threat.”
A vein throbs in his temple as we engage in a staring contest. Not going to lie. I want this job. Anything to relieve the tedium of doing nothing every day is good, but the thought of being given access to the family accounts? That’s way more than good.
“Okay,” I say with a shrug.
His eyes narrow in suspicion. “Okay?”
“Okay as in yes, I’ll look.” I fix him with a glare. “I expect to be paid for this work at the same rate you’d pay a financial consultant. And I also want to work from your offices, so I have access to all the information I need when I need it.”
“Fine,” he grits out. “But you will have guards with you at all times, just in case you feel like running away again.”
I ignore his sneer. This opportunity is an unexpected lifeline. And besides, we both know I’m not going anywhere now that I have Felix.
My new job starts sooner than expected. Like, the next day.
Angelo arrives at stupid o’clock and says it’s time to earn my salary. What salary isn’t clear since I haven’t seen a contract or been party to any discussion about remuneration.
Knowing him, there won’t be a salary or any financial compensation for my time, but I’m not worried about that right now. No, I’m too excited about being given an opportunity to flex my brain cells, even if it means leaving Felix on his own.
“Mr. Di Rossi, sir,” the brunette in the tight red dress says in a voice so breathy she probably has a side hustle as an OnlyFans content creator. “Your nine a.m. is waiting on the line for you.”
“Thanks, Cecelia. Can you tell him I’ll be there shortly? Oh, and bring me some fresh coffee.”
“Of course, sir. Is there anything else you need?” She licks her lips and thrusts her tits out.
Not once has the bitch spared me a look. It’s as if I’m invisible.
“No.” Angelo turns away to focus on his phone. The woman finally looks at me before dismissing me with a faint sneer.
I sense her watching me as Angelo steers us through a second doorway and down a corridor. We walk into an office where a youngish man wearing a surprisingly expensive suit sits hunched over a keyboard.
“Brandon, I’d like to introduce my wife, Chiara.”
The man freezes in surprise. “Wife?”
“Yes, Brandon. My wife.”
“I’m well now,” I announce, in case Brandon is aware of my backstory. From Angelo’s clenched jaw, I guess not.
Angelo pushes me forward. “Can you show Chiara how things work? She’s here to look over the books and see if she can figure out what’s going on.”
A flash of annoyance crosses Brandon’s face before he forces a smile. The poor guy probably thinks Angelo is casting aspersions on his professional abilities.
“Of course, sir,” he says after a pregnant pause.
“Great. I’ll see you later.” Before I ask how long Angelo expects me to stay in this office, he disappears. I wait a minute, ignoring Brandon, before stepping out into the corridor.
Kane leans against the wall with a wide grin.
“Sorry, kitten. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this building is a fortress, so get any ideas you have about absconding out of your head right now.”
“Seriously? I was looking for the ladies,” I huff crossly. “I have really bad cramps because Auntie Flo’s arrived, and I might be leaking.” That kind of oversharing would normally send a man running away in horror, but Kane just rolls his eyes.
“The ladies’ bathroom is through that door there. Let me know if you need any supplies, like tampons, chocolate, or painkillers, yeah?”
My mouth gapes in surprise before I rally and force a smile. “Um, thanks.”
“No problem.” He smirks. “Best hurry before I have to call a Code Red and ask the janitor to fetch the carpet cleaner.” He winks and I scowl. So much for acting all sweet and caring.
“Hilarious.” His laughter follows me all the way into the bathroom, where I discover, as suspected, that my period has arrived right on schedule. Which is good because even though Luka brought me a Plan B the day after our accident by the pool, it’s not one hundred percent effective.
When I return to Brandon’s office, there’s a bar of chocolate waiting for me, along with a note.
Let me know if you need anything else, K.
Kane might look and act like a tough, scary gangster, but inside, he’s soft as a marshmallow. Any woman would be lucky to have him. So why does the fact it won’t be me make me sad?