Valentina #2
I try to change the conversation, looking for something nice to say before excusing myself, and my eyes drop to her wrist, where a beautiful gold bracelet catches the light.
"You have great taste in jewelry," I say carefully. "Ms..."
"Oh, please call me Mia." She touches the bracelet self-consciously. "And it was a gift from Mr. Vitale."
The floor seems to tilt beneath my feet. This conversation is not going in the direction I would like.
"Oh." I keep my voice steady. Professional. "Does he give all of his staff jewelry?"
Her smile is thin. "He's just very generous to those who serve him well," she says softly. "Mr. Vitale and I have a special relationship."
I freeze. A special relationship?
What the hell? What does she mean by a special relationship? Is this woman serious right now?
I think about the door closing the other night when we were sleeping. The soft click that woke me for just a moment before I drifted back off. The way Salvatore's breathing never changed, like he hadn't noticed. Or like he had, and chose not to acknowledge it.
"Can I ask you something else?"
"Sure, ma'am."
"When was the last time you were here?"
"I'm not sure." She won't quite meet my eyes now. "I come so often, I don't remember the exact days."
So often.
The words echo in my head.
I want to write it off as nothing, but I'm not a fool. My intuition has never failed me. The way she stands here, in his bedroom, like she belongs. Like she has every right to be emerging from his bathroom with her hair mussed and her uniform half-unbuttoned.
"Mia, you do know that Salvatore and I are getting married, right? I just don't want anything weird between us."
I don't know why I say it. I can't tell if it's jealousy and I'm letting her know he's mine, or if I'm trying to spare her a heartbreak, but her response is so unexpected I almost don't even know what to say.
"Oh, Mr. Salvatore isn't the settling-down type, ma'am, but yes, I know about your… arrangement. Is that all, ma'am?"
Wait, did she just dismiss me?
I hate to be the type of woman who accuses another woman or attacks her for her man's betrayal, but she is not making it easy on me.
"Mia, the other night, it was you, wasn't it? Were you here the entire time?"
She smiles, but there is so much hidden behind her smile it almost feels like a threat.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I do have a few more things to do."
"Well." I step aside, clearing a path to the door. "Let me get out of your hair then. I'll head to my room and you can just... do whatever it is that you need to do."
"Oh, I'm finished here, ma'am." She moves toward the door. "Unless Mr. Vitale needs anything else, of course."
Of course.
She pauses at the threshold, looking back at me with an expression I can't quite read. Pity? Triumph? Warning?
Then she's gone, pulling the door closed behind her with a soft click.
I stand there, alone in his room, staring at the space where she'd been standing.
The bathroom door is still open. I walk toward it slowly, like I'm approaching a crime scene.
Everything looks normal. Pristine. The towels are folded. The counters are spotless, but then I see a towel, folded beautifully like a swan near the bathtub, and on the side facing the tub, she left a kiss. The same bright pink shade of lipstick she’s wearing, just there, waiting for him.
What the hell?
My vision tunnels. She left him a kiss. A promise. A claim.
My hands are shaking.
I think about the bracelet. The "special schedule." The way she buttoned her uniform when she saw me.
I come so often, I don't remember the exact days.
When he needs me.
He's very generous to those who serve him well.
The pieces click together like a puzzle I didn't want to solve.
But even as I think it, I know. I know.
I agreed to stay. To marry Salvatore, to play his game. I even let myself fall for him, but I will not sit here and act like the scared, blind woman who puts up with bullshit. I will ask him about it, but I won't let it go for another day. I quickly open the door and call out to Mia.
"Can we talk?"
She walks back toward the door.
"I don't want you in Salvatore's room again. You can work in other parts of the house, but not in here."
"I don't work for you." She says it flat, matter-of-fact.
"Mia—"
"I've worked with him long before you came, and I'll be here after you leave."
I blink. "What?"
"You heard me."
"Mia, you're dismissed. Leave."
"Again. I don't work for you."
She turns and walks out, smug, like she just put me in my place.
I stand there, shocked, trying to figure out my next move when I hear him.
"Mia." Salvatore's voice echoes in the hallway. I didn't even see him enter. "My fiancée has asked you to leave."
"But Sally?"
Sally?
"Now!" he commands. "Elio, I want a meeting with the entire house staff today."
I walk away, leaving her standing there.
"Valentina?" Salvatore calls out to me, but I ignore him. I walk to my room and lock the door.
Am I surprised Salvatore is sleeping with other people? Not really. But I am pissed.
A few minutes pass, and he's knocking on my door. I ignore him. "Valentina, please let me in."
"Oh, please, it's not like you don't have a key. Leave me alone… Sally."
He pauses.
"I don't want to use my key. I want you to let me in. Please?"
I wait another minute before getting up to open the door, then return to sit on the chaise in my room.
"Valentina." He closes the door behind him. "What happened out there?"
"Oh, nothing, just me and your employee making dinner plans."
He moves closer, studying me. "Don't lie to me."
"That's rich." I laugh. "Coming from you."
His jaw tightens. "What happened?"
"What happened with your housekeeper with the special schedule?"
Recognition flickers in his eyes.
"She was coming out of your bathroom when I got back from my room." I tilt my head, watching him. "Adjusting her uniform. Buttoning up her shirt. Wearing a very expensive bracelet that you apparently gave her."
"Baby, it's not what you think."
"Really? Because from where I'm standing, it looks exactly like what I think. And I think you've been fucking her and lying about being faithful, and last night… You said you loved me. Was that a lie, too? Wait, what am I saying? Of course it was a lie."
"Valentina, listen.”
"No."
I step closer, forcing him to meet the fury in my eyes.