Chapter 5 - The Woman His Family Expected
Victor Hale waited in the library.
He was sixty-one, silver-haired, impeccably dressed, and smiled the way men smile when they believe they already own the room.
Luca entered first.
I followed.
Julian stayed near the door.
Victor glanced at me.
“Ms. Bennett.”
“Mr. Hale.”
“This is unfortunate.”
“Interesting,” I said. “I was going to say suspicious.”
Julian coughed to hide a laugh.
Luca didn’t.
Victor’s smile thinned.
“The company has policies concerning executive relationships with direct reports.”
“We are aware,” Luca said.
“Are you?”
“Yes.”
“Then perhaps you’ll explain tonight’s spectacle.”
“It was personal.”
“Nothing involving Moretti Holdings’ CEO is entirely personal.”
Luca’s eyes chilled.
“That sounds like your problem.”
Victor placed a folder on the table.
“I received an anonymous complaint this afternoon.”
“This afternoon?” I asked.
“Yes.”
Before Luca had even announced our relationship.
Interesting.
“What did it say?” Luca asked.
Victor opened the folder.
“That you and Ms. Bennett have maintained an undisclosed romantic relationship for several months.”
“That’s false.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
Victor looked toward me.
“Ms. Bennett?”
“It’s false.”
“Then your appearance together tonight is coincidental?”
I looked at Luca.
This was the trap.
If we admitted the relationship was fake, his family situation collapsed.
If we claimed it was real, we strengthened the complaint.
Victor knew it.
Luca knew it.
I knew it.
Victor smiled slightly.
“Exactly.”
Luca’s voice became dangerous.
“Who sent the complaint?”
“Anonymous.”
“You know.”
“I don’t.”
“You came here during a private family event instead of waiting until Monday.”
“Because I thought you deserved warning.”
“No, Victor.”
Luca stepped closer.
“You wanted to watch my reaction.”
Victor’s smile disappeared.
“The board has obligations.”
“So do you.”
“To shareholders.”
“To the truth.”
The two men stared at each other.
There was history between them.
More than business.
Finally Victor picked up his folder.
“Monday. Eight a.m.”
Then he left.
The moment the door closed, I turned toward Luca.
“We tell them the truth.”
“No.”
I stared.
“You would rather risk an ethics investigation?”
“I won’t let my family use you as collateral damage.”
“This is not only your decision.”
“I know.”
“Then stop making it alone.”
His expression tightened.
Before he could answer, Julian spoke.
“There may be another option.”
We both looked at him.
“What?” Luca asked.
Julian hesitated.
“Grandmother.”
Luca almost laughed.
“No.”
“She controls part of the trust.”
“She also invited the Rinaldis.”
“Because she thinks marriage will stabilize things.”
“She thinks manipulation will stabilize things.”
Julian shrugged.
“She raised us. Same thing.”
I should not have laughed.
I did.
Even Luca’s mouth moved.
The moment of humor disappeared when Alessandra entered the library without knocking.
“I am old,” she announced. “Not deaf.”
Julian straightened.
“Grandmother.”
“Leave.”
Julian looked offended.
“Why?”
“Because I gave birth to your father, and therefore I have earned the right to dismiss his children.”
“That logic seems weak.”
“Julian.”
“I’m leaving.”
He left.
Alessandra turned to Luca.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“Sit.”
Luca Moretti, feared by executives across three continents, sat.
I nearly smiled.
Then Alessandra looked at me.
“You too.”
I sat.
She remained standing.
“What exactly have you two done?”
Luca answered.
“Nothing.”
“Incorrect.”
She pointed toward the ballroom.
“You made Carlo Rinaldi look like a man whose yacht sank.”
“Good.”
“Do not be childish.”
“He tried to arrange my marriage.”
“And you responded by declaring your devotion to your assistant in front of half of Manhattan.”
Alessandra turned toward me.
“Was that planned?”
“No.”
“I suspected.”
She looked back at Luca.
“Idiot.”
“Grandmother.”
“Idiot.”
He sighed.
“Can you help with the board?”
“Yes.”
Hope appeared.
Then she added, “But I won’t.”
My stomach dropped.
Luca’s gaze hardened.
“Why?”
“Because you created this problem by refusing to tell the truth.”
“I did tell the truth.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“Partly.”
Her eyes moved toward me.
“You told the room Emma was the woman you would choose.”
“Yes.”
“But you did not tell Emma why.”
I froze.
Luca’s expression became dangerous.
“Enough.”
“No.”
Alessandra looked at me.
“My grandson has been in love with you for nearly two years.”
Silence.
Actual silence.
I laughed because surely I had misunderstood.
Nobody joined me.
I stopped.
“What?”
Luca stood.
“Grandmother.”
She ignored him.
“Possibly longer. He became unbearable around the time you dated that architect.”
I stared at Luca.
“Daniel?”
Luca looked furious.
At his grandmother.
Not at me.
Alessandra continued.
“He attended three charity events he had no interest in because he knew you were there.”
My mouth opened.
“He told me those were donor obligations.”
“They were not.”
“Grandmother.”
“He stopped dating completely.”
“I was busy.”
“You were jealous.”
“I’m leaving.”
Alessandra smiled triumphantly.
“Sit down.”
He didn’t.
I looked between them.
Then at Luca.
“Is that true?”
His silence became the answer.
Every memory of the past two years rearranged itself.
The late-night dinners.
The way he remembered Daniel’s name though I had mentioned him twice.
The unreasonable amount of work he found whenever I attempted to leave early for a date.
The gifts that were always technically from the company.
The way he watched me across conference rooms.
The way he had looked at me in the red dress.
“Luca.”
He looked at me.
And for the first time since I had known him, Luca Moretti looked uncertain.
Not afraid.
Never afraid.
But exposed.
Alessandra walked toward the door.
Before leaving, she said quietly,
“The board is not your biggest problem.”
Luca frowned.
“What is?”
She looked at me.
“Emma deciding whether she can ever trust you after discovering you brought her into this without telling her the most important truth.”
Then she left.
I remained seated.
Luca stood across the library.
“You’re in love with me?”
He exhaled slowly.
“Yes.”
The word landed harder than the declaration on the staircase.
“How long?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Almost two years.”
I stood.
“And you never told me.”
“You worked for me.”
“That didn’t stop you tonight.”
“Tonight was supposed to solve one problem.”
“It created ten.”
“I know.”
“Did you choose me because you loved me or because you needed protection from your family?”
His answer came instantly.
“Because I love you.”
My chest tightened.
I hated how much I wanted to believe him.
Then the library doors opened again.
Isabella stood there.
Her face was pale.
“What happened?” Luca asked.
She closed the door quickly.
“My father just called Victor.”
Luca’s expression hardened.
“What did he say?”
“I heard enough.”
She looked at me.
“They’re going after your job, Emma.”
My stomach turned.
“Why?”
“Because if the board removes you from Moretti Holdings, they can force Luca to choose between defending you publicly or protecting the company.”
Luca’s eyes went cold.
Isabella swallowed.
May you like
“And my father believes he already knows which one Luca will choose.”
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