by Laila Amber
MILLIONAIRE ROMANCE
Hooked By Her
By Laila Amber
Copyright © 2015
DESCRIPTION
Matteo Ruiz was always the kind of man to be loyal, kind and thoughtful. Even though he was a self-made millionaire, he always kept an essence of humbleness to him.
That’s why, when his friends came to him, saying that it was time to propose to his girlfriend, Matteo complied, even though he didn’t love her.
Destiny stepped in even before Matteo could pull the ring from his pocket and intervenes in the form of a young pretty girl, Mary Green.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Description
Chapter One: Ups and Downs.
Chapter Two: An Interrupted Proposal.
Chapter Three: A Much Needed Adventure
CHAPTER ONE: UPS AND DOWNS.
Matteo Ruiz propped himself up with his defined muscular against his stainless steel fridge. He slowly sipped at his regular morning black coffee. He looked out of his New York City apartment window. The apartment was expansive and luxurious. It had been worth so much that just one floor above him, lived one of Hollywood’s most sought after celebrities. The expensive apartment had been no problem with Matteo’s salary. He was patently awaiting a promotion to partner at his law firm, but even now, his paychecks were so large, that he had to deposit them into two separate bank accounts. He had worked so hard in his younger years, and now, at the age of only twenty five, he found himself so wealthy that he had no idea what to do with most of it. Even after he donated to charity, and paid all of his bills, and his families, it still left him with an over flowing wallet and a full account.
The problem was much better than the ones that he used to face as a child. Matteo was born in an Italian orphanage, where his teenage mother was forced to give him up for adoption by his biological grandparents. His mother was only sixteen when she got pregnant, and his family was already completely broke. There was a time in Matteo’s life that he only wanted to know about his mother. He spent so many man hours, and so much money trying to open the closed adoption. When he finally did find her, he felt nothing. He wasn’t astounded by her, or immediately in love with her. He was unimpressed. He had spent so many nights in the orphanage dreaming about her. In his mind, she was a woman who lived such and thrilling and dangerous life, that she couldn’t put his life in danger too. Even when the parents that he knew now adopted him, he still day dreamt of his mother. Meeting her was disappointing, she was a woman who was illiterate and meek. She didn’t speak for herself or even have anything interesting to say. Within minutes of meeting her, Matteo left in tears.
Matteo decided to focus his attention on the better things in life, besides his past. He listened as the streets began to buzz with the morning traffic. People were going about their normal lives, just like every other day. Matteo on the other hand, was contemplating what would undoubtedly amount to the biggest decision of his life. He pulled the engagement ring from his pocket to admire it. The ring was a huge diamond on a bright and brilliant white gold setting. Three princess cut diamonds sat on the top of it and bounced light back at Matteo’s face in such a way that it made the ring look even more impressive. Matteo knew that Vanessa would love it. She would say yes right away. The thought of that didn't please Matteo like it would most men. Even after five years of being with Vanessa, Matteo couldn't say that he loved her. He also couldn't say that he didn't either. Matteo wasn't honestly sure about what love was. All that he had to go on was his best friend’s thoughts. Matteo thought about that fateful night and the dive bar when his friend Christian convinced him to confine himself to Vanessa forever. .
“Five years is too long to wait Matt. If you wait any longer, then Vanessa is going to leave you. Women need commitment." Christian said. "Why are you dragging your feet anyway?” He asked. "Vanessa is so sexy." Chris said as he took another shot of whisky. Even while drunk, what Chris said made sense.
That was something that Matteo couldn't help but to agree with. Vanessa was tall when a lean frame. She kept her caramel hair cut on a medium splice. She always wore the most expensive designer clothing that made her look extravagant. She would dress herself up to showcase her body and the most flattering way. Her face was explicitly defined and her eyes were striking green that looked like emeralds that had just been freshly cleaned. She was the kind of woman that many men would be grateful to be with. That's not to say that Matteo wasn't, he just wasn't sure that he loved her, or even that she loved him. Still, he had agreed with his friends. Five years was a long time to not take the next step in a relationship. In Matteo’s mind, if he hadn’t wanted to marry her, he would have broken up with her long ago. He made the decision that night to propose marriage to Vanessa. He was reminded by his drunken decision when he woke up and found the ring in his pants pocket. The receipt had nearly made him fall over when he saw it. The tiny ring had cost him over a million dollars.
The engagement was fit for that night. Matteo had set up an extravagant dinner at her favorite restaurant. He wasn't sure why part of him had hoped that she would saw no, but Matteo chalked it up to nerves. Matteo headed out to his office after he dressed himself in one of his designer suits. He was so close to becoming a partner at his law firm, that he could taste it. Today, would be the big day that he found out rather or not if he got it. Matteo walked through his law firm doors. He was greeted by his dear friend Christian popping champagne in front of his face.
"You got it.” Christian said as everyone clapped, filling the room with joy.
"Really?” Matteo asked.
"Yes, go in and see Mason now.” Christian said as he patted Matteo on the back.
The doors leading into Mason's office were heavy oak. They had always reminded Matteo of the doors that led out to the stadium floor of an old Athens’s Viking battle. Matteo slowly creaked open the door before he saw Mason motion him in. The older man sat behind his large mahogany desk with a friendly smile that didn’t cross his face often enough.
"I'm sure you've heard.” Mason said as he handed Matteo a contract and a pen.
Matteo found himself a little numb what was happening, just like when he met his mother. He had been working so hard for so many years to achieve this piece of paper. Now, he held it in his hand, ready to be signed, he didn’t feel anything. He didn’t even feel like he was in his own body. As he laid his name on this paper, he would become a partner to a very high-profile law firm, and still he just couldn't feel excited for it. Still, he signed it.
“Great. Come Monday, this law firm will be known as Gomez and Ruzi.” Mason said as he left the room. Christian came up behind Matteo and patted him on the back.
"Why aren’t you happy?” Christian asked, seeing the blatant disregard on Matteo’s face.
"I think I just over thought it in my head. When I thought that I would get this piece paper, I just thought that something in my life would change. Everything still feels the same." Matteo said.
"Well, maybe you'll get that feeling tonight when you propose Vanessa.” Christian said, wanting to be kind.
Matteo hoped desperately that Christian would be right. After all, asking someone to marry you is the same as asking them to spend the rest of their lives with you. Matteo tried to keep that in mind as he prepared himself for tonight's dinner. He wanted everything to go perfectly.
Matteo knew that the proposal story meant so much to most women, and kn
owing Vanessa, he knew that it would mean a lot to her too. She was the kind of woman that held people’s opinions in the highest regards. Sometimes, it felt like she cared more about the people that she didn't know than about Matteo. Vanessa would constantly be blowing off Matteo in order to deal with her real estate clients. Matteo did admire the fact that she worked so hard, but, there should have been a limit.
Matteo always did everything he could to give Vanessa his undivided attention. If he failed, Vanessa would ignore him and shut him out. Matteo couldn't count how many days he had been late for work because he was busy picking up Vanessa coffee, or getting her dry cleaning. He tried not to think about all of that right now, however. All that he wanted to do was to get tonight over with.
Matteo didn't do much outside of just existing during his partner acceptance party. He noted all of the effort that went into it. He made sure to complement Lisa on her brownies, brag about Ryan's decorations, and also thank everyone for coming. Matteo couldn't help himself but to think about all of the things in his life that he had really wanted to do. He had always wanted to go skydiving, parasailing and base jumping. He always wanted to travel. Yet, he had never seen much outside of New York. He wanted to know how tall the St. Louis Arch really was, or how deep the Grand Canyon was. He couldn't help but feel like he was wasting his life. At the same time, he felt ungrateful for all of the things that he had. He had a wonderful job that took care of him and that has made him a millionaire, he had someone to share his bed at night with, and he had an amazing apartment. Still, those weren't the kinds of things that he was after in life. Matteo desperately wanted adventure, excitement and fun. He wanted to experience new things in life. Every day for him was the same. He would wake up, drink his coffee, take a taxi to work, work until five, have dinner with Vanessa, and then fall asleep. Even his days off weren't very exciting. He would generally prepare things for Monday, or finalize things from Friday. His life had become one giant predictable blur.
Matteo hadn't known if the lack of excitement was one of the things that inspired him to propose to Vanessa, but he was sure that it would at least offer a little bit of something new. His days would be filled with wedding planning and talking about the future. Matteo couldn't help but sigh as he headed back to the apartment. He continued to check his watch as he dressed himself in Vanessa's favorite suit. He looked at himself in the mirror. He was handsome, that was undeniable. His deep red hair was parted off to the side. It helped to accentuate his emerald eyes. His chin was chiseled and defined as it tapered off into a square jaw line. He took a breath as he prepared himself for the night ahead.
CHAPTER TWO: AN INTERRUPTED PROPOSAL.
Matteo waited patiently but anxiously as he looked for Vanessa. She was over thirty minutes late, and Matteo was sure that she had blown him off. It wouldn’t be the first time that she left him alone in a restaurant. As he stood up and brought his sports jacket back over his shoulders, she came through the door. She walked up to Matteo and kissed him on his cheek, not even bothering to take her eyes off her phone. She waited for him to pull out her chair.
"Why we're you late?" Matteo asked.
"Matt, you know how it is. I was busy." Vanessa snapped.
"Can you put your phone away please?" Matt asked, not wanting to lose his patience.
"No. Actually I can't. I'm working Matt." She said, again losing herself in the black screen.
"Put it away Vanessa. Now." The abnormal behavior stunned and shocked Vanessa. She didn't know Matteo as a man that stood up for himself or demanded anything.
"Fine. Are you happy?" She asked as she slid the phone into her purse.
"I am, thank you." He said. Matteo began to finger the ring in his pocket. He cleared his throat as he began the speech that he prepared. "Vanessa, we've been together for a long time. Almost five years today, actually. I've enjoyed the past five years, along with your company." Matteo was interrupted by a man almost screaming at a waitress. The waitress held the wrong order on the tray. She bowed her beautiful baby face into her large breasted chest and her striking blue eyes were down turned. The sight was pitiful. She looked like an abused puppy.
"I'm sorry, sir." The waitress apologized. "I’ll bring you back a steak." She said embarrassed as she returned back to the kitchen. Matteo looked at the man whom had been screaming at her. He was obviously wealthy by the suit that he wore. His stomach bulged and his thin skin was smothered in liver spots. Matteo couldn't help but smirk at the gluttonous man.
"You were saying something?" Vanessa said, getting his attention back on herself.
"I was." Matteo said. He had just barely begun to continue asking Vanessa to marry him when the waitress came back out with an appetizing looking steak. Matteo couldn't take his eyes off of her, he knew that disaster awaited. He knew that there was nothing that the young waitress could do to satisfy him. The man had probably had some type of bad day at his job and just needed to take it out on someone. Of course the innocent and unsuspecting waitress was chosen. Matteo had spent years in the service industry, and knew just how it really was. People were awful to working staff. You always caught everyone on their worst days, and even the kindest people didn’t hesitate but to blow up on you. She sat down her tray and handed the man the plate with a smile. She had obviously been crying before she put on a brave fake smile and came back to him. She took her tray and tried to leave as the man called her back. Matteo could see every fiber in her being shutter as the man’s voice creeped back over her and demanded her attention.
"You will watch me eat this miss." The man demanded with the snidest voice Matteo had ever heard. She nodded her head confused. The request was strange.
"Yes sir." She whimpered.
The man dug his knife and fork into the chunk of beef. He didn't even put it in his mouth before he stood, and screamed at the young girl’s face. His face turned red, and he towered over the short girl by nearly a foot. She had to feel intimidated.
"How hard is your job?" He screamed. "I said medium. This is overdone. Pathetic." The waitress took the plate back and placed it on the tray. Matteo could hear her hands shaking the tray.
"I'm sorry sir. I'll bring you a new one." She said.
In one movement, the fat man lifted her tray, pushing all of the uneaten food onto the unsuspecting girl. She fell to her knees as the large man shoulder checked her. Matteo couldn't handle himself, he lost control as the beautiful young girl held her shaking hands to her face and began to cry.
"You should be ashamed of yourself. You're a monster you awful man!" Matteo yelled at the man as he left. Matteo helped the beautiful girl off her knees. Vanessa was behind him, pulling at him.
"Matteo stop. You're embarrassing me." Vanessa said looking around at all of the eyes that they had attracted to them.
"You should be embarrassed Vanessa. You're just as awful as that man. I'm sitting there trying to propose to you, and your glued to that phone. You're a privileged, rude and ungrateful woman, Vanessa." Vanessa's eyes widened larger than they ever had before. She turned on her stiletto heel before leaving the restaurant in a puff. Matteo turned his attention to the young woman.
“It’s over Matteo, have fun with your charity.” Vanessa spat.
"Are you okay?" He asked the girl softly.
The young girl looked up at Matteo with her large blue eyes the pleaded with Matteo to relive her pain and embarrassment.
"Yes, thank you very much." She said as Matteo helped her to her feet.
A man came out then wearing a black dress shirt and a pair of black slacks. He grabbed the girl by her arm and walked her into the kitchen. Matteo followed them to the door, but it hadn't been necessary. He heard the man's loud booming voice and the woman's quite whimpers. The last words that he heard was the man scream.
"You're fired!" Matteo heard. The girl came back from the doors practically running with her hands to her face. Matteo quickly ran behind her. She ran from the front doors and down the street. Matteo did what h
e could to keep up with the woman’s quick feet. She slowed when she noticed his presence. She turned to face Matteo.
"Thank you for what you've done, but please let me be." She said. “I’m so embarrassed.”
"I want to know if you're okay." Matteo stuttered.
"I’ll be okay. It's just a bad day." She said with an honest smile.
