Delucca's Marriage Contract

by Abby Green

  The longer Keelin stood there though, the more he could feel the ice thawing in his veins, being replaced by heat. He curled his hands around his desk behind him and gripped it so tight he heard his knuckles crack.

  Damn her. Why wasn’t she moving? He felt something surge inside him, something terrible and wild. Uncontrollable. ‘Get out, Keelin.’

  She seemed to come out of some sort of shocked trance and she looked as if she might say something, and without even knowing what he was doing, Gianni found himself standing in front of her feeling nothing but pure rage. He told himself that it stemmed from having been betrayed professionally, but he knew that it stemmed from a much more personal betrayal.

  If possible she went even paler. But then she stepped up to him and said very deliberately, ‘I told you that you don’t scare me. You’re not your father, Gianni.’

  She turned then and left, and Gianni caught sight of his reflection in a mirror. For a moment he almost didn’t recognise his own twisted features. He looked at his hands and noticed that they were shaking.

  Why had she just done that? Said that? Had she seen it on his face? And known that he might see himself and think the worst?

  Damn her. She knew too much, that was all, and right to the last was trying to distract him with smoke and mirrors.

  Three weeks later

  ‘Signor Delucca can’t be disturbed.’

  Keelin tried to maintain a calm facade in the face of the frosty reception she was receiving from Gianni’s staff. She hadn’t got as far as the lift today before someone had stopped her. She had no doubt that her husband had left very clear instructions where she was concerned. Namely, not to admit her under any circumstances.

  It didn’t go unnoticed that Lorenzo, the doorman, was gone. Had he been fired for letting her into the inner sanctum? Somehow when Keelin thought of Gianni on that last day, she wouldn’t doubt it.

  ‘I’ll wait.’

  The sleek efficient-looking brunette was disapproving. ‘Miss O’Connor, I really can’t recommend—’

  Keelin felt irritation rise. ‘It’s still Signora Delucca, and I said I’ll wait. Grazie.’

  She went and sat down in one of the plush chairs near the receptionist’s desk, staring straight ahead, her hands on her leather briefcase. She felt hot and prickly at the thought of seeing Gianni again, but determined.

  She’d arrived in Rome from Dublin a short time before, dressed as if she was going to an interview in a sober dark grey trouser suit and court shoes, hair tamed into a chignon.

  Keelin heard the woman on the phone, presumably to Gianni, speaking in low hushed tones and too fast for her to make out any words. But of course there was no sign of him.

  To her chagrin, she couldn’t get moments of their time together out of her head, like a bad movie running on a loop. And as time ticked on, Keelin became more and more determined, anger at Gianni festering like a ball of acid in her belly. She could absolutely understand why he was so livid with her but there was no evidence to support his accusations of her involvement. It merely proved how duped she’d become—believing that something had changed between them in Umbria.

  He’d played her like a virtuoso—especially with that whole letting her go so that she’d come back act. He’d known her better than she had herself. Damn him. But he would never guess how she felt. She’d come today because, in spite of everything, she owed him. Her father owed him, but he was too much of a mess to sort anything out.

  She would do what she’d come to do and then go back to Dublin and pick up the pieces of her life. A life where her family business no longer existed. To her surprise, all she’d been feeling in relation to that news had been a sense of liberation.

  The receptionist was packing up her stuff for the day and Keelin looked at her watch in despair. But just then the phone rang and the girl picked it up. She looked at Keelin and then appeared to pout slightly before replying and hanging up.

  She came over to Keelin and said, ‘You may go up to Signor Delucca’s office. He will see you now.’

  Keelin stood up and made her way to the lift, muscles stiff after sitting for so long. When the elevator doors opened to admit her to his floor she held her breath in case he was on the other side again, breathing fire.

  But the space was empty. Keelin stepped out and approached his door when it swung open suddenly, and he was filling it. She just about held in a gasp. He was seriously dishevelled and his jaw was dark with the growth of a beard. Hadn’t he shaved since she’d seen him? And did he look tired or was that just her imagination?

  ‘You’re not going to leave, are you?’

  She shook her head. ‘Five minutes, Gianni, that’s all I ask. Please.’

  For a long moment he just stood there and then he stepped back, indicating silently for her to come into his office. He didn’t move out of the way completely, so when she walked through, her body brushed against his and she had to repress a shudder of longing.

  He closed the door and she turned to face him. His face definitely looked more lined and Keelin felt a pang and immediately quashed it, putting it down to business concerns and nothing more personal.

  She hated that she looked so obviously wan and tired. She couldn’t bear to be under his disdainful scrutiny for longer than necessary so she said in a rush, ‘I’ve just come to show—’ She stopped and amended, ‘Well, to give you something.’

  Gianni moved into the office to come and stand behind his desk, arms crossed. Keelin had been keeping up with business news and had been relieved to see that while her father going into receivership had undoubtedly hurt Gianni, it looked as though it was mainly a PR disaster and not necessarily a financial one.

  She’d winced to see the rumours abound about why he’d got involved with O’Connor in the first place. And the resurgence of all the old speculation about links to the Mafia.

  Keelin put her briefcase on a chair and opened it up, taking out a sheaf of papers. When she looked up Gianni was completely impassive. She steeled herself and put the papers on his desk and drew herself up tall, eyeballing him bravely.

  ‘This is a contract, signed by me.’

  ‘Divorce papers?’ he asked hopefully, and then, ‘You really didn’t have to come here personally.’

  Keelin swallowed the flash of irritation. ‘No, I’ll be signing those next week once my solicitor has changed them so that I receive nothing from you.’

  His brows snapped together. ‘What—’

  She put up a hand. ‘That’s not why I’m here anyway. I’m signing over almost sixty per cent worth of shares in O’Connor’s to you. It’s enough to try and negotiate with the receivers to let you take control and build it up again, should you so wish.’

  Keelin answered his unspoken question. ‘You’re probably wondering how I got the shares?’

  He nodded, giving nothing away. She took a breath. ‘I started buying them up as soon as I knew what had happened, with my savings. And I persuaded my mother to sign her shares over to me. She’s never had any interest anyway and my father isn’t capable of much at the moment. All of his board have lost confidence in him. They’ll never accept him as CEO again.‘I’ve also given you a complete set of the most recent accounts and all of our contacts for clients.’

  Gianni was stony. ‘Why are you doing this, Keelin?’

  She forced herself to endure that black gaze a little longer. ‘I’m doing it because you didn’t deserve to be brought down with my father. He was dishonest about the extent of O’Connor’s problems. And I know if anyone can turn it around again, it’s you.’

  She fought not to show any emotion and unconsciously hitched up her chin. ‘I’ve realised that my obsession with wanting to be a part of the business really stemmed from wanting my father’s attention. He loved the business and I believed that if I could be part of it he
’d love me too.’

  She smiled but it was brittle. ‘It’s pathetic, I know. And it’s not that I’m not interested any more but I know I’m not qualified to take this on, on my own.

  ‘You’re welcome to it, Gianni. And for what it’s worth, I truly didn’t know what was going on. I’m sorry, you didn’t deserve this, but neither did I. I was as much of a pawn in my father’s machinations as you were.’

  And then she took off her wedding ring and put it on the table, on top of the papers.

  She picked up her briefcase and walked quickly to the door, her throat tight. She reached for the door handle but found that she couldn’t just turn it and walk out. An unstoppable urge was rising within her and it galvanised her to turn around again.

  She blurted out, ‘I know this marriage was only ever a business contract to you, but it became something else for me when we were in Umbria. I know that you were just trying to make me believe a marriage could work but for a short time I thought it might. I was wrong. In any case, you helped me see that I can be strong enough to withstand the worst thing of all, and it wasn’t what I always imagined it would be, losing my inheritance for good.’

  Keelin turned again and found the doorknob and turned it, pulling the door open. She heard nothing from behind her, not a word to stop or wait. So she swallowed her grief and kept walking, into the lift, down to the lobby and out of Gianni’s building and out of his life, for good.

  * * *

  Gianni looked at the closed door for a long moment. Had he just dreamed it? Keelin walking in? Giving him the papers, effectively signing over her family business? The business she’d entered into a sham marriage for?

  He looked down and saw the sheaf of papers and the wedding ring on top. It had happened. That uniquely floral scent on the air wasn’t a mirage. Mocking him like the torrid dreams he was having whenever he closed his eyes for more than five minutes.

  He sank down into his seat, feeling as if someone had just punched him in the belly. Her words came back to him as if through a fog: I know this marriage was only ever a business contract to you, but it became something else for me when we were in Umbria.

  For the past three weeks Gianni had been hauled over the coals and roasted alive by his peers and clients and future clients. A dozen deals had fallen through. People looked and whispered in public. People mentioned Mafia, and sins of the fathers. Even his mother had been concerned enough to come to visit him. It was his worst nightmare come to life. But did he care a whit about that?

  No.

  He’d been consumed by something else. And that something else was five foot eight with red hair and curves that had looked dramatically less just now. And she was walking away from him because she believed he never wanted to see her again.

  And he’d told himself he hadn’t. But it wasn’t the truth. Because suddenly everything was crystal clear and Gianni found himself taking his first proper breath in weeks. And it was so heady that it hurt.

  Galvanised far too late, he left his office and went down to the street, heart banging against his chest. But of course she was gone.

  * * *

  ‘Lamb for table one, ready to go.’

  ‘I’ve got it,’ Keelin said, shoving her order book back into the pocket at the front of her apron and stabbing the pen into the bun on the top of her head. She reached for the plate and deftly balanced it with another one for the same table.

  When she was walking back to the hatch area she rolled her neck tiredly. Every muscle was screaming with fatigue but she welcomed it because it kept her brain numb and she needed to feel numb. Because if the numbness went, then she’d fall apart.

  The manager called her over and handed her a menu, ‘A guy just sat down on table three without waiting to be seated. If we weren’t having a slow night I’d say something but he’s so gorgeous that we’ll forgive him.’

  Keelin smiled at her old college friend who had happened to be looking for waiters for her new business when Keelin had bumped into her two days ago when she’d arrived back from Rome.

  ‘Leave it with me. I’ll try not to scare him off.’

  Keelin walked over, taking the menu with her, her mouth open and ready to list off the specials for the evening, when she stopped in her tracks and her mouth stayed open.

  Gianni Delucca was sitting at the table, dominating the space around him and standing out effortlessly in the small hipster Temple Bar eaterie. For a second she felt so light-headed she thought she might faint. But Gianni must have seen something on her face and was half standing as if to help her.

  She rushed over, grating through the waves of shock, ‘What are you doing here?’

  He sat back down looking entirely unrepentant. ‘Looking for you.’ Now he was grating, ‘Why the hell didn’t you let your solicitor know where you’re staying?’

  Keelin flushed. ‘Because I’m in a hostel until I can afford somewhere of my own.’

  If Gianni had come to crow, then now would be a really good time. Keelin was hot, sweaty and making a pittance an hour and living in a hostel. He should feel that justice had been served.

  ‘We need to talk.’

  Keelin blinked. She noted that he looked more like himself than he had the last time she’d seen him. His hair was neat again, he was clean-shaven. Even if he still had a more lean look than usual.

  Angry that she was noticing him, when evidently Gianni wanted to punish her some more, she snapped, ‘Well, I can’t just leave. My shift doesn’t end for at least two hours.’

  She turned to go, taking the menus with her, but Gianni caught her arm, and the seismic reaction to his touch in her body made her stop. She turned back. ‘Let me go.’

  ‘No. Not unless you agree to come with me. Now.’

  Keelin opened her mouth to argue but something in his eyes stopped her. She recognised that steely look too well.

  ‘Fine, I’ll ask. But if she can’t let me go, then you’ll just have to wait.’

  He finally released her arm and Keelin had to fight the urge to rub where he’d touched her as if he’d burnt her skin. Damn him.

  She went back over to Susan and explained the situation reluctantly. Her friend’s eyes widened. ‘He’s your husband?’

  ‘Soon to be ex,’ Keelin said hastily, thinking of the divorce papers she’d signed just yesterday.

  Her friend said dreamily, ‘Somehow I don’t think you’ll be coming back for more shifts, but it’s okay. I totally forgive you.’

  Keelin rolled her eyes and hated that her heart lurched at that. Gianni was here to talk to her about O’Connor’s, no doubt. She took off her apron and got her bag from under the counter and went straight out the door, not even bothering to see if he was following her.

  He caught up with her easily and said, ‘We’ll go to my hotel, it’s private.’

  Keelin stopped and looked at him. She was very conscious of being in her waitress’s outfit of a black skirt and white shirt, smelling distinctly of eau de kitchen.

  And it was seriously disconcerting to see Gianni in Dublin against the dusky sky. ‘Where are you staying?’

  He named a hotel which was naturally the most exclusive and expensive in Dublin, and suddenly Keelin had a vision of them in a sumptuous private space and she balked at the thought.

  She shook her head and said firmly, ‘No, there’s a coffee shop in my hostel, and it’s closer. We’ll go there.’

  Gianni’s mouth tightened but he said nothing and then eventually, ‘Fine, lead the way.’

  Ten minutes later they were entering a very rustic and hippyesque lobby of one of Dublin’s busiest hostels. Keelin went into the coffee shop part of it and asked for two coffees, acutely aware that all the tourist backpackers were blinking at this glorious specimen of masculinity in their midst.

  She almost regrette
d coming here, but then had to admit to some sense of satisfaction when she saw Gianni lower himself gingerly onto a very threadbare-looking chair beside hers.

  She wrapped her hands around her coffee and cut to the chase. ‘Why are you here?’

  Gianni responded a little incredulously, ‘You really want to do this here?’

  Keelin nodded, now more than ever, because the more it sank in that he was here, the more she wanted to reach out and touch him.

  Gianni shrugged minutely under his pristine jacket and took a sip of coffee before putting it down. He speared her with that black gaze. ‘I owe you an apology.’

  Keelin went still. ‘You do?’

  He nodded, looking serious. ‘I automatically assumed you were in on the downfall of O’Connor’s and I shouldn’t have. You gave me no reason to believe that you would collude with your father, anything but.’

  Something deflated inside Keelin. ‘You spoke to my father? Or you figured it out because I’m not mentioned anywhere?’

  Gianni shook his head. ‘No, I didn’t check anything. I didn’t need to. Once I could see clearly again I knew the truth but I jumped to the worst conclusion because it was easier than dealing with my emotions.’

  Keelin felt a little dizzy even though she was sitting down. She frowned. ‘Emotions, what do you mean?’

  Gianni sighed and ran a hand through his hair, a sign of his inner agitation. He looked at her. ‘I need to know what you meant just before you left that last day when you said that the marriage had become something else and what you meant about losing O’Connor’s not being the worst thing.’

  Keelin said faintly, ‘It’s not enough that I gave you everything?’

  Gianni shook his head, resolute. ‘I need to know.’

  Anger surged inside Keelin to think that he was going to take her feelings and use them to torture her. She put down her coffee, and clenched her hands, saying fiercely, ‘Damn you, Gianni Delucca. I wish I’d never set eyes on you. Everything was so much clearer before you came along. I knew who I was and what I wanted.’