Chapter 10
“What’s this?” Ava asked her assistant, Sandy, when she walked into her office the following morning.
She lifted the box carefully, frowning quizzically at how light it was.
It seemed almost too light for its size.
The box was sturdy, wrapped in plain brown paper, offering no clues as to what was inside.
Sandy glanced up from her notes and shrugged. “It came by courier this morning,” she said, clearly not finding the package particularly noteworthy. “So did these papers,” she added, handing Ava a large manila envelope. “But not by the same courier.”
Ava flipped the envelope over, trying to suppress her growing curiosity—and perhaps a little anxiety—bubbling up inside her. Then Sandy paused, as if remembering something important. “Oh, and a man called, asking if you could meet with Luca Bernardi for lunch.”
Ava’s stomach twisted slightly. Thankfully, she was able to keep her expression carefully neutral, trying not to let any surprise or emotion slip through. “Luca Bernardi?” she echoed.
Sandy’s wide eyes showed genuine confusion. “Isn’t he the man who owns half of the Vegas Strip?”
Ava took a deep breath, mind racing. She didn’t want anyone in her company to know about her negotiations with Luca.
Not yet, anyway. Yes, Luca was helping her with the intimidation from whoever was behind the recent threats.
And, yes, it was actually a relief to come into work and not have to deal with another vandalism or sabotage issue.
But her relationship with Luca was... personal.
Private. Talking about him felt like giving away a piece of herself, something she wasn’t ready to share with anyone, even Sandy.
Besides, what if everything went south? What if, the next time Luca spoke to her, he decided that she wasn’t worth the effort? Or something more important came up and he had to push Ava aside to deal with that other issue?
Ava knew her flaws all too well. She could be stubborn—painfully so.
Sometimes it worked to her advantage, but other times it backfired spectacularly.
She could be a little too headstrong at times, doing the opposite of what people told her to do—just because.
And, truth be told, she had a tendency to lose herself in her work, staying late to finish up projects or develop new ideas. But that wasn’t the worst part.
Ava sometimes relied too heavily on her friendships with Leone and Franco.
The three of them had been inseparable since elementary school.
They understood her in a way no one else could.
They were the reason so many of her romantic relationships had failed over the years. No one could measure up to them.
And over the past year, she’d shunned all romantic entanglements because the men who had asked her out…well, they hadn’t been Luca.
That thought made her heart flutter a little. Luca was different. Luca made her feel things she hadn’t felt in years. And she couldn’t help but wonder—was it worth the risk? Was she ready to open up to someone again, someone who was already so much more than she could’ve expected?
She snapped herself out of her thoughts, her hand still resting on the manila envelope. "Would you mind calling Mr. Bernardi back to let him know I'll meet him for lunch?"
Sandy, ever the professional, nodded without further comment, but her eyes lingered with a hint of curiosity.
Ava felt the weight of the moment pressing down on her as she turned back to the box, still unsure what she was supposed to do with the emotions that were tangled up in her chest. For the first time in a long time, she was faced with something she couldn’t control.
And she wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.
“Ava?” Sandy’s voice was soft, breaking through Ava’s thoughts.
Ava turned her head, startled that she’d lost track of time. The box was still on her desk and the envelope in her hand, while Sandy stood there, waiting expectantly.
“Yes?” Ava replied, shaking off her mental fog. She had been lost in thought, trying to process everything that had been happening lately. Sandy’s question had reminded her of something she had been avoiding. She had been asking herself the same thing: What exactly was Luca’s role in all of this?
“Are you okay?”
Ava saw the concern in her assistant’s eyes and smiled, trying to reassure her. “Yes, Mr. Bernardi is assisting me with some issues,” she said, her voice steady.
Sandy looked horrified. “So, you’re going to solve the vandalism problems coming from one gang by hiring another gang?”
Ava snorted, unable to help herself. “Luca isn’t in a gang.”
Technically, he was the head of a gang, she silently corrected.
Or rather, the head of an entire mafia empire.
She was pretty sure that was worse. But.
.. was Luca really all that bad? Ava didn’t know.
Maybe. But she didn’t want to know what he’d had to do to get to where he was—on top of that empire.
It was a line of thought she didn’t want to entertain. She had her own battles to fight.
Most corporate leaders were just as unethical as the head of a crime syndicate, weren’t they? That was an interesting mental dilemma she didn’t have the energy to explore right now.
“What’s in the box?” Sandy’s voice pulled Ava back to the present.
Ava blinked, then glanced down at the box still in her hand. She was cautious now, wary of whatever might be inside. After the vandalism and the mess that had been made of her life lately, she wasn’t about to let herself get caught off guard again.
“I don’t know,” she replied. She set the box down on the corner of her desk, her fingers lingering for a moment.
“Aren’t you going to open it?” Sandy asked, leaning forward with curiosity burning in her eyes.
Ava considered that question briefly before shaking her head.
“No. I think I’ll leave it alone for now.
I didn’t order anything, there’s no return address on it so it’s not from one of our vendors, and it’s not my birthday.
” She rested a finger on the box, eyeing it as if it were a vicious serpent, waiting to snap at her.
“I saw a video once where someone sent bugs to someone as a prank,” she said, tapping the box with her finger.
“I think I’ll leave this alone for now. Maybe I’ll open it outside. ”
Her caution was the main thing driving her actions today. She couldn’t let herself be reckless, not with so much hanging in the balance. She’d bring the box when she went to see Luca later.
The thought of seeing him again sent a rush of excitement through her, a nervous flutter in her stomach.
That wasn’t good. Not at all. Ava needed to keep her head clear.
She had to treat this marriage as she would any other business arrangement—cold, calculated, and cautious.
She couldn’t afford to let her heart get involved. Not with him. Not yet.