16. Matteo
Chapter 16
Matteo
I ’d had little to smile about since Nora came to visit so hearing her announce her imminent departure was music to my ears. I was tired of having her around. I couldn’t stand the way she spoke about me and her obvious desire to pair me up with her daughter. It angered me to have her fawn over me. Five years ago, she was revolted by the very thought of me being with her daughter. But during this visit, she all but offered her daughter up to me as a sacrifice. I hated the fact that she only treated me this way because of money.
There are more important things to consider when choosing a partner for your daughter. She never once wondered if I was kind and compassionate, loyal and honest. Those things didn’t matter to her. All she cared about was money.
She and Joseph were willing to marry Amelia off to Lucas simply because he had money. I was fairly certain they knew nothing of his character and if they did, they simply didn’t care. Such things were irrelevant to them. The only thing of note was the size of his bank account.
I downed the rest of my coffee and forced a regretful smile onto my face. “You will be missed.”
That was all I said before walking out of the kitchen. I looked forward to the moment when her strong citrus scent would be out of my house for good.
I’d given Eddie the day off because I needed some time to think. I sent him a message last night telling him not to come in to work today. I sent the message right after I received the news from Kayla. Fitzroy Corp had managed to sign a deal with Ryx Cement. It was a smaller deal than what my company had with them but it still brought Fitzroy Corp a step closer to taking over.
I spent my breakfast staring at a picture of Alberto shaking hands with the head of Ryx Cement, Daniel Lee. I was so annoyed when I saw it but then Amelia spoke and my anger washed away. I was surprised by her ability to decipher my mood but then again, I didn’t exactly do a good job of hiding my annoyance.
It was difficult to hide the way I felt about Alberto. I was tired of him constantly looking for ways to copy my brand. I found it offensive when he received credit for ideas that were mine. While my company did better financially, his enjoyed a level of popularity that was a result of his father’s name.
Because of this, he often received praise for ideas he stole from me. There was no patent on these ideas because I never saw a need to put one. I welcomed emulation but Alberto always took it too far. It was as though he didn’t have a working brain of his own. He simply copied whatever I did.
I was sitting in traffic when I received a text from Agnes. It was a picture of a baby. My brows knitted in confusion as I waited for the follow-up text that would likely explain what I was looking at.
My granddaughter just arrived!
I sent Agnes a congratulatory text message and told her to take the rest of the month off to go be with her family.
Thank you, sir.
The cars began to move so I tossed my phone onto the passenger seat. I was pulling into the driveway of my office when I realized something crucial. Nora and Agnes would both be out of the house. That meant Amelia and I would be left alone.
I didn’t know how I felt about that. I didn’t have time to dwell on it because I had to get to work. I spent the next few hours dealing with the Fitzroy Corp issue and working on a few upcoming building projects. I had a team of professionals to handle most of this but I liked to work on at least a few projects at a time just so I wouldn’t get bored.
I loved running my company but the never-ending meetings were quite tedious. I needed something that would stimulate my mind more which was why I kept working on building projects even when I didn’t have to.
When I returned home that evening, the house was strangely quiet. I expected to hear Agnes’ singing. She typically sang something whenever she cooked. That was when I remembered that I wouldn’t be hearing that sound for a while because Agnes wasn’t here.
With a sigh, I tugged at my tie and walked deeper into the house. Amelia walked out of her room just as I was about to walk into mine. I paused at my door and so did she.
For a moment, we just stared at each other. I felt an undeniable urge to reach for her and kiss her. I tightened my hand around my briefcase to stop myself from doing that. “Where’s Nora?” I asked.
“She left already.”
“I thought she said she would be leaving tomorrow.”
Amelia shrugged. “She changed her mind.”
I did my best to hide the joy I felt over that news. “Did you see her off at the airport?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Okay.”
She fidgeted with her fingers and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Her mouth opened as though she wanted to say something but she pursed her lips instead. Finally, she said, “Agnes told me about her granddaughter.”
“Yes.”
“It was nice of you to give her the rest of the month off.”
“Yes.”
I couldn’t seem to get words out, kept looking at her mouth, unable to stop thinking about kissing her.
Amelia nodded and walked off in the direction of the kitchen while I walked into my room. I predicted that awkward conversations like that would become the order of the day now that we would be alone in the house.
Thankfully, we both worked which meant we’d rarely be home. That way we could avoid having to speak to each other. I thought that was what we both wanted so I was surprised when I heard a knock on my door a few minutes later.
I pulled the door open and found Amelia standing there, still fidgeting with her fingers. “I… um… I bought dinner. I figured since Agnes won’t be around. Anyway, I left yours in the fridge.”
“Thank you.”
She went to her room after that. I stared at her closed door for a while before I walked to the kitchen. I knew Amelia didn’t know how to cook because she’d never had to learn. I appreciated her thoughtfulness in buying me dinner as well. I sat at the kitchen counter, eating and deliberating my next steps for the Fitzroy Corp issue.
The following day, Amelia and I sat at the counter together drinking our morning coffee. It was strange knowing that we were alone in the penthouse. I had to constantly resist the urge to kiss her.
Amelia stood and placed her cup in the kitchen. She was walking out of the room when it dawned on me that she’d been taking public transport when I could just give her a ride like I’d done on the day of her interview.
“Amelia. Wait.”
She paused and turned to me. “Is there something wrong?”
“No, not at all. I was just wondering if you’d like a ride to the office.”
“That would be great,” she said with a smile. I couldn’t help smiling in return.
From that moment, we fell into a routine of going to work together. I would drop her off at the consulting firm before going to my office. I didn’t mind the longer commute. The real issue was being in such a small space with her and not being able to kiss her.
On days when Eddie wouldn’t be driving, Amelia and I would sit in front. Me in the driver’s seat and her in the passenger’s seat. Today was one such day.
I glanced over at her where she sat with her head turned towards the window. We were sitting in traffic, so she’d been staring at the same spot since. It wasn’t hard to decipher that she was simply trying to avoid looking at me.
I suppose I should be grateful for her efforts to keep things neutral between us. There was no point going down that road again because it would only lead to one of us hurting the other one. Things were better this way.
It took us a while to get here but we were finally cordial with each other even though there were moments when I wanted to kiss her and shift from cordial to sensual. My grip on the steering wheel tightened until my knuckles turned white.
Thankfully, traffic moved, and focusing on the road helped me take my mind off Amelia. I only hoped I would be able to keep this up for the rest of her stay.
My life would certainly be easier that way.