Chapter Three #2
‘Okay…’ She smiled what she hoped was a soothing smile as he strode in her direction to help himself to some more coffee, only to growl under his breath when he realised that it had gone cold.
‘Why don’t you sit at the table and I’ll bring you another cup of coffee?
There are also the croissants still waiting to be baked.
’ She looked at him warily. ‘Not to mention those eggs. I could rustle something up. I guess it’s been a stressful… er…time…’
‘We need to talk.’
Georgie took a deep breath and went for it.
Now that the act had dropped, she could see just how angry he was that she was under his roof.
‘I know you want me out of your house as soon as possible but I can’t return to my place yet because Alison’s still contagious.
’ Deep breath. ‘Would it be okay if I…have a couple of hours to find some alternative accommodation at the resort? It’s very busy at the moment but I know lots of people who work at some of the hotels and lodges and I might just be able to—’
‘I thought you couldn’t afford that option?’
‘I’ll have to dive into my savings.’ Georgie licked her lips and mentally braced herself for imminent sacking.
‘It would be a shame,’ she pleaded to a better nature, ‘because I’ve been doing my utmost to save for a deposit for somewhere small when I return to England but…
Look, please. If you’re going to fire me, then could you get it over and done with quickly?
At least then I can start thinking about my future. ’
‘I’m not sacking you.’
‘You’re not?’ She beamed. ‘That’s such a relief.
I can’t tell you how much this cleaning job means to me and I absolutely swear that you won’t regret that decision.
’ She made a zipping gesture across her mouth.
‘Also, I won’t breathe a word about what happened here.
’ She sucked in a deep breath. ‘So shall I head up and start clearing my stuff out? I don’t mind forking out for somewhere cheap to stay for a few days now that I know I’ll still have my job here. ’
‘No need.’
‘Really? No need? Are you sure?’ She handed him some fresh coffee without realising that she’d actually made some.
‘Sit.’
She didn’t. ‘If you’re sure I can stay for a couple more days, then I should really be heading off to work now. Pierre was a little put out when I told him that I might not make it in. He’s already having to deal with Alison out of action.’
‘You seem to think that I care about Pierre and his work schedules. I don’t.’
‘Well, actually, I do, considering it’s my pay cheque at the end of the month and, like I said, I really need the money so that I can carry on saving… Signor Barbieri. Sir.’
‘We’ve gone past the sir stage. Whatever you’re being paid there, I’ll triple it because you’re going to be taking a little more time off than you probably expect.’
‘I’m not following you.’
‘Maybe those croissants might be a good idea. And more coffee. Whisky would definitely work better than both but is probably not wise at this hour in the day.’
‘I want to know what’s going on, Signor Barbieri.’
‘Not sir and not Signor Barbieri either. Alessandro.’
‘We don’t have to be pally now that we’re no longer pretending to be some kind of item.’
‘Sit down and listen to me without interrupting. When I’m finished talking, you can ask questions.’
Georgie opened her mouth to tell him that he couldn’t order her around but then stopped because, right at this very moment, he actually could.
She was in his house and, whether she liked it or not, she was indebted to him for not chucking her out when she had nowhere to go while Alison was still contagious.
Also, for allowing her to hang onto her cleaning job.
‘Shall I get the croissants first? Or does the sitting still and listening come first?’
‘I need to make a call. I’ll be back in twenty minutes and I’ll…do my best to explain what’s going on when I get back. You can do whatever you need to do to the croissants in my absence.’
Georgie didn’t have time to answer because he stood up without glancing in her direction and stalked out of the kitchen, leaving her more confused than she had been before.
She chucked the croissants into the oven, grabbed crockery and cutlery, and retrieved some jam from the fridge.
Why had he said that some whisky would work better than coffee?
How could she possibly be involved in whatever was going on with Alessandro and his ex-wife when she’d never met either of them in her life before?
Pondering this conundrum, she only snapped out of her thoughts when the door was pushed open and she looked up to see him standing in the doorway, a vision of crazy sexiness in his black, long-sleeved tee shirt and black jeans. Her heart picked up speed.
The fact that they were now alone in his splendid chalet suddenly made her redden with a rush of illicit thoughts.
‘Is everything okay? Hang on, I’ll get the croissants from the oven. They’ll be ready.’
‘I’ll get the croissants. You may clean my house but you don’t have to serve me.’
‘Are you sure? I do realise that I’m probably not your favourite person at the moment and I want to thank you again for—’
‘Remember what I said about keeping quiet while I do the talking? Question-and-answer session to follow? Let’s say the silence begins right about now.’
Alessandro looked at her while grappling with how to expand on his explanation of why she had been roped into playing a part she hadn’t anticipated playing.
He hadn’t given her much of an explanation in the first place because he hadn’t seen the need. But now?
He hadn’t predicted this. A simple charade would be over and done with in a matter of hours and then he and Georgie would go their separate ways. That was what he had predicted.
Now, however, Sophia had done her worst and put him in a bind.
She knew that he had never, not once, introduced any woman to Flora.
On principle, he abhorred the idea of his daughter becoming fond of any woman who was not going to be on the scene for longer than five minutes.
That was something he had always made clear, to allay any fears of the very thing Sophia had now decided to use against him.
His relationship with Flora was sacrosanct and that was how he liked it. No threat of any woman thinking that there was a wife and mother substitute vacancy in need of being filled and no potential for Flora to get too attached to anyone.
As far as Alessandro was concerned, one failed marriage was enough to put him off the institution for the rest of his life.
Sophia was well aware of that and would have known that, key to chalet or no key to chalet, he would have stuck to the playbook and not introduced Georgie to Flora.
But circumstances had conspired to rouse her jealousy and malice.
She had misjudged his intentions badly, only realising what was afoot when it was too late for her to catch a flight back to New York.
She had found herself with an ex-husband who was no longer prepared to indulge her because she was the mother of his child and she hadn’t liked that.
Nor was he interested in rekindling anything at all with her.
She hadn’t liked that either. Sign the papers or stringent controls would be placed on her extravagant spending.
In return, she had been forced to allow him, in writing, unfettered access to his daughter with a schedule decided in advance rather than occasional access depending on her variable moods.
And then to have met Georgie…unexpected and upsetting the apple cart when it came to all the relationships he had had since their divorce.
Georgie with the keys to his chalet, Georgie who had stocked the fridge with food, Georgie who was so physically different from all those women he’d dated in the past.
Sophia had reacted accordingly and now…
Alessandro brought the croissants to the table and sat facing Georgie, who tactfully said nothing.
‘You’ve been caught up in something,’ he began, ‘that has nothing to do with you. It was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.’
‘I think I got that.’
‘You’re wondering what’s going on.’
‘I am, although, of course, if you don’t want to say anything then that’s fine. Perhaps it’s a case of the less I know, the safer I am?’
‘This isn’t a movie about the Mafia, Georgie.’ His eyebrows shot up and he shote her a sudden amused smile. ‘I hadn’t expected to find anyone here.’ Alessandro stated the obvious and raked his fingers through his hair.
‘Yes, I know.’
‘Least of all a woman.’
He broke the tension with the shadow of a smile.
‘My divorce hasn’t been the most…agreeable.
A short marriage followed by a bitter divorce.
Sophia was pregnant when we married. We were both young and, if I’m honest, we would never have married if she hadn’t been pregnant, but there’s no point arguing with the past. Lately, things have become complicated and, essentially, I came out here with Sophia and two lawyers in tow so that certain… difficulties could be put to bed.’
‘You mean the documents that needed signing?’
‘I mean the documents that needed signing,’ Alessandro agreed.
There was no way that he could avoid a complete explanation of a very personal situation and it occurred to him that this was a place he had never visited.
He had never discussed his private life with any of the women he had dated in the past and many of them had tried hard to entice him into sharing confidences.
But his past…if the bare bones were there somewhere on the Internet, then the flesh on those bones remained locked behind closed doors.