Liv headed to the marketing area while Emilia put her bag in the temporary office that had been set up for her and then went in search of her father.
Walking up to the conference room, she could see her father through the large, plate glass window. Refreshments had been placed on the large oval table and her uncle walked in behind her, closing the door.
Her uncle greeted her, “Lia, I hope you had a good meeting with Alexander Armati.”
Her father gave her a kiss on the cheek and offered her coffee.
She politely declined and had a seat at the table.
Her uncle began the meeting. “There is much to discuss. We won’t be able to make payroll next week if we don’t get an influx of cash.”
Her father looked worried. “Things have changed. It isn’t easy to be in business these days. Berceto is facing hard times and after looking at all the possibilities, the offer from Alexander is a good one.”
Emilia met both of their glances and said, “He would take controlling interest in Berceto. The family business would be lost forever.”
“You have seen the accounts; there is nothing that can be done,” her uncle said sharply.
Emilia stood up and began pacing as she said, “The company can be scaled back until business increases, and I have plans to launch a new designer series of jewelry that should create excitement.”
Her uncle shook his head saying, “It’s too late. I would rather sell now then fold in a few months.”
“I’ll not agree to work for Alex Armati.”
Her father said, “If you take the custom design business away from Berceto, then Alex will refuse to fund the company. As you know, it is the only stable cash flow that exists at the moment. The rest of the business is in shambles with exceedingly high accounts receivable, wages the company can’t afford, and dismal production sales. Our vendors are even beginning to cut our available credit.”
“Your father is right. We need to be practical. Selling now is better than being left with nothing in a few months.”
“We should continue to fight. We can’t just give up.”
Her father stood up. “You can’t do this to us. We have spent our entire life working in this business and to watch it slide into bankruptcy would be devastating. It’s not worth the risk.”
“We can turn Berceto around without Alex Armati. I understand the design and production difficulties. I’ve been able to produce sought-after commissions and I’ll continue to do that.”
“It’s too much work for one person.”
She refused to back down. If she gave in, Berceto would be lost. Leaving the company for four years had been too long. She had sacrificed enough when she relocated to Florida. She refused to let Alex have the company. He was the last person she wanted in charge.
Her uncle said, “You won’t be taken seriously. After your nude pictures appeared in the tabloids, you will be dismissed as a wild child willing to do anything for publicity.”
“You are being unfair. The pictures were taken at a private residence and should have never been sold to the media. It was an invasion of privacy. I shouldn’t have let you convince me to leave L.A.”
Her uncle said, “There was no other way. It hurt the image of Berceto as a family-owned business with traditional values.”
Emilia faced her uncle. “I don’t agree. The media went too far and we should have fought back.”
Her father interrupted them. “It’s too late. What is done is done.”
Emilia stopped pacing. “I’m not going to live in fear of a few nude photographs.”
Her uncle stood and said unkindly, “You should. If you don’t remember your mistakes then you are doomed to make them again.”
“No, I’ll never allow myself to be taken advantage of like that again.” For a moment she contemplated telling them that is was Alex in the photographs with her but decided not to. It could create a situation where they would think Alex could rectify the situation by purchasing the company.
“Please be reasonable.” She felt her heart breaking. Her father never asked her for anything, but she couldn’t allow the sale of Berceto without a fight.
“There is love and respect here for Nonno. The employees will respond better to a family member taking over than to a coldhearted businessman concerned only about the bottom line.”
Her uncle twisted a pen in his hand. “If you don’t agree to sell, then we will wash our hands of the business and it will be on your conscience. You will have to live with your Nonno’s disappointment when you fail.”
“As the company needs to cut wages, it would be better if you took an early retirement.” Emilia watched her uncle closely. She knew his heart wasn’t in the business and he had never liked working with his hands. It must have been complicated being brought into a family business that didn’t appeal to him on a deep level.
“I’ll leave today. Peter?”
Her father said to his brother, “I haven’t been taking a salary for a year or more. And I intend to stay on for a few months to help Lia.”
Her uncle picked up his notebook and left the room, closing the door on the way out.
“Don’t be so hard on him. He has had a tough time working in a company that he never understood.”
“He could have made other choices.”
Leah cared for her uncle but by walking out, he made the situation quite a bit easier. Now she wouldn’t have to contend with his resistance.
“It’s not always that easy.”
For the rest of the day, Emilia and her father strategized about the upcoming launch.
Emilia spent the next week helping the recently hired marketing team put together a redesign of their layout for the trade show. After a few phone calls, Emilia was able to convince someone at the head office for the trade show that her company should be given a much more prominent location based on their secret launch.
Her father interrupted her in the conference room, “Yes, but it will cost more and put Berceto in the spotlight. I don’t think you are ready for the attention. And you have promised a new line without having it ready.”
She met his worried gaze. “We are trying to make bold changes to turn around sales. The way to do that is to take risks. I know it will be difficult to have the launch ready but I think it is the right move.” Doubts lingered in the back of her mind, but she pushed them away. If she was going to make a difference, she needed to be fearless and not worry so much about what others thought.
It was late in the day and most of the employees had gone home. Her father had popped his head in earlier and told her he was going to play golf with a few friends.
Returning to her small office, she opened her laptop and caught up on email. She had left a message earlier in the day for her cousin, Isabel Neri, asking her to film the launch. It had worried her that Isabel seemed caught up with creating a life with her fiancé and may not be able to come to California.
She smiled as she read a forwarded email from Isabel with her flight details.
Now she needed to convince her other cousin, Lauren, to help with the public relations aspects. She often designed custom pieces of jewelry for charity events. Maybe she needed to showcase that? She purposely put aside her reluctance and sent an email to her cousin.
Leaving her office at close to six o’clock, she noticed Alex walking into reception holding a bouquet of pink roses wrapped in brown florist paper.
Her heart skipped a beat as she slowed her pace. He impressed her each time she caught sight of him. His model-like appearance along with his athletic build and confidence made others notice him. He smiled broadly and she attempted to stop her body from responding to him. She needed to resist his charm. He wanted her company and would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. There were many struggling businesses; why did he want Berceto?
“I hear congratulations are in order.” His eyes lingered on the design of her dress.
“I beg your pardon?”
He handed her
the roses. “Your commission for the British princess was selected for the coveted Emerging Artists award.”
“Thank you, Alex.” She had been notified that morning, but with all of the problems throughout the day, she had put the award out of her mind.
She glanced at the roses and offered him a smile.
“Have you been able to find another solution to Berceto’s problems?”
“I’m working on it.” She adjusted her bag on her shoulder.
“I hear your uncle has jumped ship and your father is happy to let you run the show.”
Her stomach muscles clenched. She was being drawn into a very uneven fight. Her uncle knew they were teetering on bankruptcy and wanted no part of the company’s demise. He would tell everyone it was her fault if it didn’t turnaround.
“It’s complicated, but at least I have less resistance to my ideas.”
Balancing on her high heels, she held the flowers as she searched in her bag for her identification. Looking at the flawless roses, she acknowledged that they were perfect, but she didn’t want to soften her rules about this man. He taught her a painful lesson about privacy and the media. Even if he wasn’t aware of the security person taking the nude photographs of her, he created the situation by undressing her in the garden.
“I need to go.” She walked toward the exit and swiped her card.
Alex followed her out to the parking lot.
“You should be out celebrating tonight. It would bring recognition to Berceto.” He was looking at her as if he wanted to ravage her here in the parking lot. She couldn’t think of a place with more security or cameras than Berceto’s production shop. Her body tensed as she stepped further away from him.
Emilia tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Unfortunately, it won’t help with the short-term issues facing the company.”
His eyes pierced hers. “Luckily you have a solution on offer.”
“I’m late for dinner with a colleague.”
“Liv Brown. Your trusty assistant and confidant.” His words irritated her. How did he know so much about her?
“Goodnight, Alex.”
“The sooner you accept my offer to invest in the company, the sooner you can begin to stage a restructuring.”
“Fifty percent is too steep.”
”You need to tell your family the truth about the photographs.”
She intended to tell them this week but had no intention of revealing that to him yet.
Her tension increased tenfold. She didn’t trust herself around him. The attraction between them was as sharp and intense as ever. She wanted to throw herself at him but held herself in check.
Shrugging her shoulders, Emilia said, “The incident needs to be relegated to ancient history.”
He moved closer and a slow heat spread throughout her body. “The truth will come out. You can choose the time and place or I will.”
She allowed herself to react to him. “Why is this so important to you?”
He crossed his arms. “The secret has been held long enough.”
“If I tell them, don’t expect them to embrace you with open arms. They would like the past buried and forgotten as much as I do.”
“I’ve done nothing wrong, cara. You chose to hide the truth from them.”
Emilia held her head high and pretended she didn’t care what he thought of her actions. “Nothing will be gained from sharing the details of that night.”
Opening the door, she placed the roses in the back seat of the SUV before climbing in herself. The entire time she was conscious of his presence but steadily ignored him as she buckled in and started the car.
He held the door so she couldn’t close it. “Telling the truth will allow us to move forward.”
Meeting his gaze, she softened her attitude. He was a man of integrity and she was wildly attracted to him, but she couldn’t allow herself to let her guard down. It had taken a long time to purge him from her dreams and she needed to concentrate on the business. Inviting him in would end in disaster. The family business was in her blood and she was just figuring out what to do.
“Goodnight, Alex.”
“Ciao, cara.” He closed her car door.
Driving away, she didn’t allow herself to look in the rear view mirror. Why was he so maddening? He acted as if she was in the wrong. He caused the incident and she had to live with the consequences. If that wasn’t enough, he was insisting that she tell her family the entire story.
Liv was seated at a table in the restaurant at the Hyatt Regency, sipping a glass of ice water and tapping away at her tablet.
Apologizing, Emilia slipped into the seat opposite her friend.
“Did you have a last minute problem?”
“Alexander Armati was waiting for me with roses.”
“Wow, that’s nice. He’s considered quite a catch.”
“Liv, I have no interest in him.” Emilia tried to keep a neutral tone to escape any speculation from her good friend.
“I don’t often see you rattled. He has gotten to you.”
Looking at Liv, she made a decision to confide in her. Liv had been fiercely loyal throughout her banishment, always protecting her and encouraging her. “He is blackmailing me.”
“What?” Liv choked on her water.
A hovering waiter came to their table and offered a cloth napkin. As Liv politely contained her coughing, Emilia ordered two glasses of chardonnay to give the waiter something to do.
“He was the man in the photographs.”
“You were having an affair with Alexander Armati?”
“No. I had just met him that night. I had seen him a few times but hadn’t actually spoken with him.” Her skin warmed as she admitted the truth. It was true, people would judge her if they knew she had barely met him before falling into his arms.
“The photographs made it seem that you were an item.”
Emilia shook her head. How could she explain that somehow one drink had brought down her inhibitions enough to allow him to practically make love to her in a secluded part of the garden?
The waiter brought them both a glass of chilled wine and recited an exhaustive list of specials. They both ended up choosing the tilapia, and the waiter hurried away.
“I don’t know what got into me that night. He is remarkably charming and approachable. We ended up talking a great deal and then one thing led to the next. The party had begun to wind down, but the music continued and he took me into his arms. There is definitely this chemistry between us.”
“Why didn’t he come forward when the tabloids printed the damaging photographs?”
“He went to New York the next day, and by the time he returned, I was already in Florida.”
“But he had a responsibility to make things right.”
“My parents at the time were devastated by the publicity that painted their only daughter as an out-of-control party girl. I didn’t want to further complicate the issue by telling them that it was Alex Armati. It would have only complicated things.”
“He is famous and sought after. How could the tabloids have not realized it was his house or in fact him?”
“I didn’t know this at the time, but his security guy had edited the photographs so I was the only recognizable person, made up a fabricated party, and then sold them for a ton of money.”
“So a sleazy security guy got away with doing that?”
“Not completely. The other night Alex told me that he pressed civil charges and the man used up the money he gained in legal fees.”
“Why does he want you to reveal the secret after all of this time that has gone by? Won’t it just re-energize the story?”
“He wants me to tell my family, not the media. My family would never discuss the specifics.” She thought to herself that they would do anything to keep the secret.
The waiter delivered their food, then quietly retreated.
“Maybe it should be revealed.”
She looked at Liv in surprise. “
It’s mortifying. The photographs were so revealing. I have no interest in stirring that up.”
“The incident only has power to hurt you if you allow it to. Let’s face it, you have an absolutely gorgeous body and you know it’s true. Could this help Berceto’s image? Sometimes negative publicity is more powerful than positive publicity.”
Shock flowed throughout her body as she struggled to take a breath in. “I would never attempt to use this.”
Liv took a small bite of roasted carrot. “If you were able to, it would turn something bad into something positive. Especially if you were able to name Alex Armati and he is practically giving you permission to.”
Emilia tasted the tilapia and then said, “He is expecting me to tell my family, not the world.”
“That should be easy. You are a grown woman and he is quite a catch. I don’t think your parents would be upset.”
She imagined her parents learning that it was Alex in the photographs. They wouldn’t be horrified but would probably be upset with her for keeping it a secret.
“You don’t know them. They were mortified.”
“Maybe that is why Berceto has fallen off the radar. I looked back at old campaigns when your grandfather was in charge and they were glamorous and often featured movie stars.”
Emilia scanned through the photographs that Liv had assembled on her tablet. The conversation moved to the various campaigns, and it was true—over the last twenty years, only the jewelry was showcased, not the people who wore it.
After an hour of conversation about the new launch, Emilia hugged Liv and said goodnight.
Driving the short distance to her grandfather’s house. Emilia thought about Alex. She slipped in through the separate entrance and pulled open her laptop.
Glancing around the familiar surroundings, she attempted to clear her mind. Somehow the survival of Berceto infiltrated every thought she had. She smiled to herself when she acknowledged that Alex also occupied much of her reflections, but she was able to keep thoughts of him on the sidelines. He would be her downfall if she allowed it. He would take over Berceto in a heartbeat and change everything she had worked toward.
As she got ready for bed, she steeled herself to see him again. Berceto needed cash for the new launch and she would need to auction some of their heirloom pieces to make that happen. Some of the pieces had been in the family for more than fifty years. She knew if she sent anyone else, Alex would deny the request. Why did he feel the need to push her buttons? Did he think that she would give up?
The Exiled Jeweler: a contemporary romance novel (The Rosa Legacy Book 2) Page 6
