Using a spoon to twirl the noodles onto my fork, I peeked over at him. He even stared at me while he ate, shoveling his food in his mouth like a pig eating out of a trough. Red sauce slid down his chin as he stuffed another piece of cannelloni in his mouth. I kept telling myself to ignore him, that he was a damn good lawyer and that was all that mattered. We needed ruthless people like him on our side even if he came with a truckload of baggage.
After he finished eating, he slid next to me with a stack of documents in hand. He set them in front of me, moving them next to my legal pad and pen. I flipped through the pages, one at a time, until I had a sense of what we were acquiring.
“An apartment complex,” I said, perplexed. “Why would we want to own and operate an apartment building in Pennsport? Are you adding this to the Riverfront Realty deal? That was supposed to involve the acquisition of riverfront properties along the Delaware River, not some building on the verge of being condemned.”
“You’re not looking at it from every angle, Isabella.” He layered the papers between us, showing me photos of the red brick building in need of desperate repair. “This area is thriving right now, and with the help of our investors and a little work, we’ll turn a quick profit.”
I did the math in my head and cocked an eyebrow at him. “Ten floors, ten apartments per floor, at an average rate of one to two thousand per month, it will take more than two decades to recoup the investment. Not to mention, we’ll be cutting the management company in on five percent of all the rental income collected. How would this benefit us in any way?”
“Because the developer also owns several properties in Penn’s Landing. We’re looking into exploiting their current financial situation. If this deal works out, we’re likely to acquire Belmonte Developers for a fraction of what they’re worth. And, since you’re the owner of Rinaldi Realty Investments, you stand to make a fortune from the deal.”
I sank back into my chair, studying the articles of incorporation forming Riverfront Realty, LLC. “LSM Investments…we’re collaborating with a local company?”
“Yes. The owners are close personal friends of your grandfather’s.”
That explained everything I needed to know. This deal was a favor for someone else, not an acquisition for Rinaldi Holdings. I made a mental note to dig further into the corporate documents for the investment company and let Rob finish explaining the paperwork.
An hour later, our bellies were full, and my irritation level with him was at DEFCON 1. Rob’s secretary appeared by my side and handed me photocopies of the documents we reviewed over dinner. I took the papers, mumbling a quick thank you, and pushed my chair out from the table. Rob smiled, his gaze falling on my breasts. I rolled my eyes without a word and headed toward the door.
“Isabella, wait.”
I stopped in the doorway, staring into the marble and glass hallway of the legal department. The idea of looking at him brought upon the urge to spew my dinner on his floor.
“Before we close the deal, I’d like you to see the property with me. Federal Donuts is down the street, and I know how much you like their glazed doughnuts. I was thinking we could stop by Friday morning before your classes begin.”
I sucked in a deep breath, refusing to turn around to face him. “I trust your judgment, Rob. Thanks for the offer though.”
I stomped past the reception desk and into the hall where I pressed the button and waited for the elevator. The doors opened to an empty car, which was a welcome relief, and I rode to the floor below. I stepped out of the elevator and shuffled down the corridor faster than I could blink, making a beeline for my office.
Once inside the glass doors of the Acquisitions and Mergers department, Silvia jumped out of her chair and followed me into my office.
Each executive had a private reception area with a secretary outside their door, who had their ear to the ground, waiting for the next piece of gossip. I never spoke outside the concealment of my office. Over the years, the government had turned several employees into confidential informants.
“So, how did it go?” Silvia sat on the couch in the corner of my office and put her heels up onto the glass table in front of her. “What did that perv want?”
I handed the Riverfront Realty folder to Silvia. “To buy some crappy apartment building in South Philly. Grandfather wants us to work together, so I don’t have much of a choice. Rob tried to bribe me with doughnuts.”
Silvia rolled her eyes and thumbed through the pictures. “He’s so gross. I don’t get why all the secretaries wait in line for a chance to suck face with him.” She held up a snapshot of the front of the apartment building and sighed. “This place is a mess.”
“Tell me about it. They have tenants occupying most of the units, too. It’s about two seconds from falling down unless we have an engineer reinforce the structure of the property.”
“Doughnuts? He really thought that would work?” Silvia laughed and set the papers on the table, some metal creation a local artist had created for Grandfather.
“Ugh. You should have seen him, Sil. He was practically drooling at dinner. Then, he had the nerve to suggest breakfast at Federal Donuts while his secretary was waiting on his desk for him.” I shook my head, disgusted. “Words can’t even describe…”
“I have something that might cheer you up.” Silvia beamed with delight and clapped her hands together. “Luca called your cell phone while you were with tall, dark, and nasty.”
She slid my phone across the table with a smile.
I picked it up, glancing down at the blank screen before returning my gaze to Silvia. “I don’t know what to do about him. I like him a lot. When we’re together, it’s as if we never lost touch all those years ago. He’s still the same boy I kissed when we were kids.”
“Then, stop fighting it, babe. He likes you; you like him. He’s hot as balls. I don’t see a problem here.”
“It’s not Luca I have a problem with; it’s his family. I don’t know how involved he is with their business. My family has enough problems of their own, and adding his to the equation just…” I sucked in a deep breath and let it out. “I can’t get wrapped up in anything they have going on. It’s bad enough that the SEC and FBI are constantly up our ass for alleged illegal transactions, but adding racketeering to the list or even an affiliation with a suspected racketeer could land us in jail for decades.”
“I’m sensing a but coming. So, what is it?”
I sat up straight and crossed one leg over the other, flicking my heels onto the floor and getting comfortable. “I like him a lot. I can’t stop thinking about him, and when he’s around, it’s as if my heart is ready to jump out of my chest. I’ve never felt this way about anyone so soon. I guess it could be all the sexual tension between us, but I have a feeling it’s more than that.”
“Maybe you should have sex with him—you know, test out the theory.”
“Yeah, but what if that plan backfires? We’ve done everything but have sex, and it’s been amazing. But what if we have sex, and it’s mind-blowing? I have a feeling it would be, considering our chemistry, and then there’d be no way in hell I’d want to stay away from him.”
My cell phone vibrated in my hand, a picture of Luca and me from the beach party lighting up the screen.
“I think you have your answer, babe.” Silvia said, a tiny smile tugging at her mouth.
I held it in my hand, staring at his handsome face, wondering how I’d allowed myself to get in this deep with him. He’d had me from the minute we crashed into each other in the quad, but I was too stubborn to admit it. So, I did what I had known I would do all along, and I answered his call.
Chapter Thirteen
IZZIE
On the morning of my first law test, I woke up late and pulled my curls into a ponytail. Luca had kept me on the phone past midnight, forcing me to stay up even later to study. I slapped a quick coat of concealer under my eyes and switched from slippers to flip-flops. My pajama shorts and tank top woul
d have to do until after class. No amount of coffee could lull the dull humming in my brain.
With fifteen minutes until class, I raced out the door toward Hancock Hall where, as a law major, I spent most of my time. I strolled down walkways lined with water fountains and statues that had been constructed by local artists.
Of all the colleges I’d toured, Strickland had the best campus. They captured Philadelphia and the vibe it radiated in a brilliant fashion. With an emphasis on local everything, from food to arts, it was a sprawling metropolis of city flair.
Streaks of light pushed through the canopy, searing my retinas, even through a pair of black sunglasses. Or maybe it was the lack of sleep clawing at me. Exploring the American legal system at this hour had sounded better before I’d met Luca. Now, I wished I’d chosen a later class.
When I walked into the auditorium, students occupied half of the seats. Typically, senior year classes had smaller groups. But Professor Sanderson had some attachment to this particular room. Not that I minded, given the seclusion the stadium seating provided. I took my usual desk, midway down the back aisle, set my messenger bag on the chair next to me, and pulled out a notepad and pen before settling into my seat.
Professor Sanderson, a plump, balding man, stood behind the podium, shuffling papers. He checked his watch as the door slammed shut, and then he loosened his tie and lowered the microphone to his mouth. “Welcome. The test will begin in five minutes. Please check your name off on the sign-in sheet making its way around the room and pass it forward.”
For a few minutes, I flipped through my notes, doodling on the corners of the pages as I studied them. I sank lower into my chair, so my head rested on the wooden back and propped my elbow on the table attached to the left arm. My eyes fluttered, and I caught myself falling asleep by the time I heard someone clearing their throat. A boy with buzzed hair waited at the end of my row, fanning himself with a sheet of paper. I blinked a few times and realized it was Hunter. My choice in wearing PJs all of a sudden seemed like a horrible idea, especially when Luca tapped him on the shoulder and took the paper from his hand. My jaw just about hit the floor as he slid into the desk next to me.
Luca winked at me and placed his arm behind my chair. “Morning, beautiful.”
I tilted my head to get a whiff of his scent, oranges mixed with laundry detergent, making me want to nuzzle my face in the crook of his neck. He flashed a panty-dropper smile that forced me to slap my thighs together.
“What are you doing here?”
Disappointment registered on his face but only for a second. Luca glanced down at the sign-in sheet and checked my name off with the pen nestled between my fingers. His touch sent a ripple of electricity through my body. My cheeks flushed, the warmth spreading down my neck.
He squeezed the pen back between my fingers, touching my hand for longer than necessary. “Breakfast?” Luca’s playful smile had a torturous effect on me. “I was thinking, pancakes.” He shrugged against his chair. “Maybe an omelet.”
I stared at him, slack-jawed. My brain working slower than my body, I finally nodded. “Okay, both sound good.”
How was it that I could be so comfortable around him yet so terrified at the same time? Late nights on the phone or lounging around his living room seemed natural. But, when he looked at me as though his world gravitated around me, I couldn’t breathe. My tongue would stick to the roof of my mouth, and I’d find it impossible to squeak out another word.
As friends, Luca treated me like gold. He’d been keeping his distance from the frat groupies, as promised. But I feared what would happen when we stepped out of the friends-with-benefits zone. We couldn’t live somewhere between friends and dating forever. I already wanted more, but I was too afraid to scare him away. He wasn’t known for having repeats with women, and I didn’t want to give in to him and set myself up for disappointment.
“Good. I’ll wait for you outside.” Luca gave my hand a quick squeeze that made my heart race. Then, he set off down the aisle to hand in the attendance sheet.
All eyes were on me as he strutted away from me, broad-shouldered and graceful in a pair of navy track pants and white fitted T-shirt. I heard a few girls whisper his name, their jealous stares aimed in my direction.
The first few days had been the hardest, trying my best not to crumple under the pressure of being Luca’s friend. We were the talk of the campus, as was everything Luca did.
Twitter and Facebook feeds were dedicated to the extreme hotness of frat bros. Stalkers, if you asked me. But I never looked, not once, because I knew my face along with his were plastered on the Internet for the world to see. I had zero interest in finding out what angry frat groupies thought of me. I also avoided it because of my family—my mother in particular. As a debutant and the only daughter of the richest man in Pennsylvania, she would often grace the social pages. Half of the time, I would see my mother only in the newspapers, not in real life. I stayed offline for that reason alone.
When Luca reached the podium, Professor Sanderson beamed with delight. “Mr. Marchese, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
Luca handed him the paper and shifted his stance as he pointed in my direction. “It turns out, you have the prettiest girl on campus in your class.”
Professor Sanderson wrinkled his nose and glanced at the back of the room where Luca was still pointing his finger at me. “Oh, is that so, Mr. Marchese?”
Everyone turned around, and since no one was within a fifty-foot radius of me, it was obvious Luca was talking about me. I blushed ten shades of red as they watched me like a specimen under a microscope.
“And the smartest,” Luca added. “She’s a Penn Scholar.”
Professor Sanderson scratched his bald head, glancing in my direction. “Miss Rinaldi has a very bright future ahead of her.”
I slid further down in the chair, wishing teleportation were a real thing. Now, everyone would label me not only as Luca’s plaything, but also as the rich bitch. I never advertised my name, out of fear of creating a new set of problems, and if anyone could understand that, it was Luca.
We were friends—or so I kept telling myself. But the truth was, he’d declared his intent to pursue me the day we met.
Luca shook the professor’s hand and swaggered down the aisle.
Somehow, he’d won me over even though he walked and talked like a Preston. On his way out the door, he grinned at me, and with that, he was gone.
The classroom erupted into chatter, eventually dying down when the professor tapped the microphone. I spent the remainder of class with my hand shielding my face from wicked stares. Girls were so vicious when it came to boys.
When class ended, I handed in my test and rushed out the door before anyone could get a good look at me.
“I’m seriously going to murder you!” I yelled at Luca, who was waiting on a bench outside of Hancock Hall, surrounded by a flock of girls.
In that moment, I wanted to elbow the blonde bombshell hovering over him.
Damn, I was jealous. I had an ache in my stomach, a foreign concept I’d never experienced before. Luca made me crazy with all his female companions following him around all the time.
He stood and slinked through the crowd, closing the distance between us. “Ready, babe?”
“Don’t you babe me,” I snapped, turning on my heels, which garnered a few stares from onlookers. “What was that all about?”
Luca glanced over his shoulder and pointed at the girls. “They came up to me. I was just minding my own business.”
Irritated, I headed in the direction of the SAC.
“Bella,” Luca called out.
But I kept walking. He was at my side within seconds. As he laced his fingers between mine, I fought the urge to throw him into a statue of Ben Franklin. But I liked touching him too much to deprive myself of his warmth.
“Not sure what I did, but whatever it is, let me make it up to you.”
I stopped mid step and turned to face him. “What did yo
u have in mind?”
He sucked in a deep breath, neither one of us pulling away from the other. We were holding hands in the middle of campus. The looks I got could have set me on fire, suddenly making my jealousy evaporate.
“Have dinner with me tonight.”
I laughed, and we continued walking. “I’m not going on a date with you.”
“It’s not a date. Just two friends eating food, like any other night.” Luca led me by the hand through the front doors of the SAC. The bustling hub of our campus buzzed with energy, a steady stream of coed voices echoing off the high ceiling.
We swerved to the right, my feet almost failing me as I tripped over an empty soda can.
“Okay,” I mumbled. “As friends.”
“Sweet.” Luca let go of my hand and walked up the stairs, a wry smile on his gorgeous face, and I followed behind him. “You might want to change,” he said, once we reached the top landing.
I looked down at my shorts and tank top and sighed. My cheeks flushed when I realized I’d forgotten to put on a bra. Shit! No wonder everyone was staring at me.
“Thanks to you, I was half-asleep when I left Jefferson,” I said, defending my stupidity.
“Nothing I haven’t seen before.” Luca hooked his arm around mine. “Your tits are amazing. If school doesn’t work out, you could model lingerie.”
He deserved the punch I landed on his bicep. “Asshole.”
Luca shrugged, stopping in the entrance of the cafeteria. His nose was tipped to the ceiling, as though he were taking in the scent. “What are friends for?”
I noticed Silvia flagging me down from the left corner of the room, her black bob moving along with her.
Luca acknowledged her with a wave and tapped me on the shoulder. “Go ahead. What do you want to eat?”
I smiled. “Surprise me.”
Between Penny—who looked like she had the worst hangover on the planet—and Alex, I found Silvia. She had taken a liking to the sorority girls more than I’d anticipated. Penny and Alex were both down for a good party, so I didn’t mind hanging out with them. I’d even hooked Penny up with an internship at Rinaldi Holdings for the remainder of the school year.
Corrupt Me Page 11
