by Marian Tee
In those places, both prostitutes and clients would think sadism and masochism a crime and a sin.
As she finished her breakfast in silence, the staff eventually forgot about her presence and began to openly gossip about the guests and their antics. She listened and struggled to conceal her shock at what they were saying.
When she had thought of Angelo as a fallen angel, she had never imagined that he had fallen this much into the darkness.
But now that she knew…what then?
****
The first thing Angelo heard was laughter coming from the basement, which had been redecorated to serve as a venue for his parties. He descended the stairs silently, and as he walked farther down the hallway, he heard his Lane’s distinct voice asking eagerly, “Then what happened?”
He frowned. What was she doing here? He had specifically instructed Julieta to keep her entertained while the staff prepared for tonight’s event. He quickened his steps, and when he reached the doorway, he had to pause.
Lane, Julieta, and other female members of his staff were seated in a semi-circle on the carpet, chatting and laughing while they arranged the flowers that would later on serve as table centerpieces.
For one moment, Angelo simply allowed himself to gaze at her leisurely. In the past months, he had not allowed himself this privilege at all, thinking that it would only make him more obsessed with someone who already belonged to someone else.
But now that she was his, living under his roof—
He let his eyes travel over her slowly. Her caramel brown hair shone under the bright incandescent lights, and her curves were wonderfully evident despite the hideous outfit she wore, a white, flapper-styled blouse that made her look like a walking advertisement for wedding cakes.
Her eyes were shining with laughter, her face radiant as she listened with rapt attention to whatever it was the bodyguards telling her. She wasn’t just beautiful. More than that, she looked…happy, and it was a far cry from how she had looked like last night.
Fico’s voice suddenly rose in volume as he said, “And you know what the boss did?”
Angelo raised a brow.
Julieta, having heard the story already, simply shook her head as she waited for the punch line. Lane’s going to be shocked when she finds out just how immoral Angelo can be, she thought absently as she finished tying a strip of black lace around the flowers. She looked up, intending to ask one of the guards to hand her a vase, and that was when she saw the tall, still figure by the doorway.
Oh shit.
She heard Umberto argue, “Let me tell the signorina how it happened. I’m better at describing—”
Not wanting the older man to get into trouble, Julieta cleared her throat loudly and said, “Welcome back, Signor V!”
There was a second of stunned silence before Angelo’s fifty-strong staff hurriedly assumed their proper positions. The women scrambled to their feet while the bodyguards snapped to attention. Fico and Umberto were pale-faced and they exchanged worried looks with each other, both of them hoping that the boss hadn’t heard anything that could get them fired.
Angelo’s unexpectedly early return was a pleasant surprise for Lane, and as she quickly came to her feet as well, she tried to think of something cute and flirty to say. The butterflies in her stomach made it hard for her to think though, and the fact that she could barely hear herself over the loud, fast beat of her heart wasn’t helping.
Should she say ‘I miss you?’ She mentally shook her head. Too cheesy, she’d have died of embarrassment before she could finish saying it.
‘What took you so long?’ She wrinkled her nose. Too aggressive, her tongue would likely trip all over itself with those words.
She looked at Angelo, hoping for inspiration, and his silvery eyes immediately captured hers.
Oh.
She forgot about what she wanted to do or say, was only capable of staring at him. Her fallen angel was so beautiful—
She saw him smirk, almost as if he had heard her thoughts, and Lane reddened. Knowing him, she thought faintly, he probably did.
She watched him nod and smile occasionally as his staff greeted him, but then she noticed how everyone else was acting around Angelo, and her brows furrowed. It was so…strange.
“Buon pomeriggio,” everyone was saying over and over. They had greeted her good afternoon, too, when she and Julieta had joined them, and they had been all smiles while talking to her.
But now—
With the exception of Julieta, who only smiled beatifically at her employer, everyone else was stoic-faced and stiffly formal. It was a complete about-face, not at all like the staff that had welcomed her with warmth and good-natured ribbing.
Their nervousness communicated itself to her, and by the time Angelo reached her side, Lane’s happiness at seeing him was long gone. Instead, she was anxious and fidgety, no longer able to see him as her fallen angel.
“Hello, tesoro.” Angelo expected his Lane to surprise him by saying something outrageous, but instead she mumbled incoherently, her gaze fixed firmly on the floor. He looked at her thoughtfully.
And then he said, “Fico, Umberto, un momento, per favore.”
Lane cringed at the command. Oh no. Had Angelo heard them earlier? Were they going to be punished because she had pleaded them to tell her stories about their employer?
Head still bowed, she was only able to see Fico and Umberto’s shoes as they came to Angelo’s side.
Angelo took his wallet out. He counted all the bills he had inside it in full view, and everyone gasped, thinking that their employer was about to give the bodyguards their severance pay.
Oh, gosh. Lane cringed even more, having seen the same thing as well. I need to tell him that they shouldn’t be blamed, she realized. And she would do this, as soon as she could make herself forget that Angelo Valencia was an extremely rich man.
“As you can see, this is all I have in here,” Angelo was murmuring, and her heart dropped to her stomach when she saw him hand most of the bills to Umberto.
Lane whitened.
“Please split it between the two of you.”
Fico and Umberto started to protest and apologize at the same time, but their voices were easily drowned out by someone’s cry.
“No!”
It was Lane, of course.
She had a look of horror on her face, and Angelo was almost unable to suppress his smile. Taking a moment to rein his amusement in, he asked levelly, “Cosa c’e?” What is it?
Lane was thrown slightly off track by Angelo’s words. “I…” Her mouth opened and closed. “I don’t know what that means.” She shook her head, saying hastily, “But that doesn’t matter. What’s important is…” Still unable to meet his gaze, she took a deep breath and said in a rush, “You can’t terminate their employment for their perceived transgression.”
He wondered if she realized how she was speaking, and he filed it in his mind as something to ponder. Out loud, he said simply, “I never said anything to that effect, did I?”
Lane gaped, and so did everyone in the basement.
“T-then what is this for, signor?” Fico finally found the courage to ask.
“A token of gratitude,” he said casually.
Umberto frowned. “A reward for what, sir?”
A dazzling smile curving on his lips, he murmured, “For your commendable behavior during my Lane’s time of need.”
A squeak escaped one of the female staff members.
Julieta couldn’t blame the other woman. She was also pretty shocked herself, and only now was she starting to appreciate just how special Lane Petersen was to Angelo.
Most of them had been in Angelo Valencia’s employ for years, and they had all been witnesses to his transformation following the public and scandalous end of his relationship with Jaike Hepburn.
Although he had always been more reserved than friendly, the staff had nevertheless felt comfortable in his presence. They had known he wasn’t the type
to be rude or unreasonable, and even though his perfectionism regarding work was infamous, so was his generosity and compassion towards his staff.
But then the breakup happened, and everything had changed.
Angelo Valencia had become cold and withdrawn, and his staff, taking their cue from him, had become formal with him as well.
His lifestyle had also undergone a severe transformation – in the opposite direction. Whereas in the past their employer’s sexual preferences had been an open secret that his loyal staff never spoke about, debauchery and hedonism had suddenly become the norm.
Certainly, the post-breakup Angelo they knew would never have smiled that way at any woman, and that same Angelo would not have been the kind to use an endearment.
Julieta looked at Angelo, who was completely focused on Lane. Poor girl. Lucky girl. She wasn’t quite sure which was true, she only knew that Angelo Valencia always got what he wanted…if he really wanted it.
And right now, Julieta had a feeling that Lane was Angelo Valencia’s greatest desire.
Poor girl. Lucky girl.
Angelo was now handing the rest of the bills he had in his hand to the bodyguards.
Julieta frowned. Now what was that for?
Seeing the same thing, Lane was equally confused. Or at least the tiny functioning part of her mind was. The rest had been lost in a mushy, dreamy state since the moment Angelo had called her ‘my Lane’ in front of the entire staff. It had gone a long way in easing her tension, and she was almost able to forget he was an extremely rich man now. Almost.
“This,” she heard Angelo murmur, “is to illustrate a point.” He showed the guards his wallet. “It’s empty, as you see.”
Fico and Umberto nodded warily.
Lane was stunned when Angelo turned to her again. “There’s nothing left,” he drawled.
“I can see that it is.” Did he mean she should pay him back?
“Then…”
“Then?” she asked warily.
“Am I poor enough for you now?”
Oh.
His eyes gleamed. “Am I your fallen angel again?”
Gosh.
It took another moment for the staff to catch on, but when they did, they all laughed and clapped their hands.
“If you want to be poorer, Signor V,” Julieta called out, “I can so help you with that. Just give me your credit card.”
There was more laughter, and Fico and Umberto managed to grin, both of them finally allowing themselves to breathe now that they knew they weren’t in danger of getting fired.
Lane wanted to laugh with them, but right now she had a greater urge to cover her face and cry.
He had known, she thought, and she wanted to cry even more.
He had known she had started feeling afraid of him.
He had known, and it should have turned him off, should have made him think that she was too much trouble.
When he offered her his hand, she didn’t even hesitate, going to him with knees threatening to fold under her. The moment he had her hand in his, he yanked her to him without warning.
She stumbled into him with a gasp, and everyone laughed.
She couldn’t help smiling as well, but then she looked up, saw him smiling down at her, and she got all choked up instead.
“Why?” she whispered.
He raised a brow.
“Y-you could have asked me what was wrong,” she mumbled. “Most would have.”
“Naturally, they would,” he said reasonably. “You didn’t belong to any of them, after all.” He bent his head, his mouth brushing her ear as he said, “You’re my Lane, and so I know what’s best.”
Oh.
Lane didn’t dare blink now. If she did, she knew the tears would never stop. She tried pulling away, but Angelo pulled her closer, and this time he bit her ear.
“Angelo,” she gasped. Had he forgotten the staff?
But her fallen angel only laughed, and oh, it was that laugh, and her heart smashed against her chest at the exquisite sound of it.
His breath fanned her ear as he asked huskily, “Surely you didn’t think I’d let you get away so easily?”
Chapter Ten
“Is it over yet?” Lane asked in a small voice.
Angelo’s movements were of languid grace as he checked his watch. “Ten more minutes, tesoro.”
Her head snapped towards him. “That’s not possible! It must have been—”
“Are you insinuating that I’m lying? Because I can easily show you the time, but then I’ll have to punish—”
“I believe you,” she said quickly.
“Good girl.” Angelo leaned back against the chaise. “You can lean back against me, you know.”
“N-no, thanks.” She stayed on his knee, stiff-backed, hands primly clasped in front of her. It was Lane’s punishment, and according to Angelo, she had ten more minutes to go before she could leave his lap.
Ten minutes, she thought and tried not to groan. That felt like forever, with the whole staff working around them, snickering and giggling, and of course that only kept her cheeks red as tomatoes.
“I hope you’ve learned your lesson.”
“Yes.” She nodded obediently.
“Which is not to flirt with the staff,” he finished.
She gasped and protested in a low voice, “I do not flirt with the staff!”
Angelo shrugged.
Her eyes widened. “Are you actually…jealous?”
Not wanting to answer that, Angelo distracted her by placing his hand at the small of her back. She jerked on his lap, and he smiled. He ran his fingers up her spine leisurely and watched with pleasure as her cheeks turned the deepest shade of red.
“Tell me about your day,” he murmured wickedly.
“Umm…” Did he really think it would be easy to think while he was touching her like this, and in full view of the staff? She stole a suspicious look at him and let out a mental groan when she saw the gleam in his silvery gaze.
“Sadist,” she couldn’t help accusing him, but oh, just saying the word made her toes curl.
He only smiled.
The smile was just as impossible to resist, and she found herself telling him about her day. She squeaked a couple of words out once in a while, but this was his fault, with the way he kept interrupting her, nuzzling her neck one moment or nipping her shoulder in another.
And the worst and best thing about it?
He totally knew that she loved the way he was torturing her with embarrassment.
Lane squeezed her eyes shut. It was so official. She was a masochist.
Behind her, Angelo drawled, “That’s it then?”
She nodded.
“So basically, you spent the day disturbing my staff with questions about…me?”
She mumbled incoherently.
“And now that you know a bit about me, has anything changed?”
“Not really, but...” Twisting around to look at him, she said slowly, “I never imagined you were this much of a party guy.”
Ah. “If it means anything…” His smile was humorless. “I never imagined myself turning into one either.”
Oh.
She wanted to ask him more about it, but the look in his eyes made her heart ache, and she found herself hurriedly changing the subject, asking, “W-what about you? How was your day?”
He answered her readily, telling her about the meetings he had, and when he was done, she wrinkled her nose, saying, “That’s all about work, though. What about personal stuff?”
He thought about Jaike’s call early this morning and said slowly, “Nothing interesting happened outside work.” And this time, it was his turn to carefully avoid her gaze, murmuring, “Your punishment has come to an end.” Without waiting for her to answer, he gently lifted her off his lap and settled her on her feet.
She looked down at him, blinking in surprise since she had expected him to have her sit with him.
Angelo glanced up at her. “Tesor
o…”
The way he spoke made her feel uneasy. “Yes?”
“You’re not invited to the party.”
Oh.
“I would have canceled this, too, if I could but that’s out of the cards unfortunately. These parties are…important for some people. It’s only when and where they can be themselves.” When she didn’t answer, he said quietly, “You understand, don’t you? I’m not letting you go for your own good.”
She said tonelessly, “I understand.”
He sighed. “No. I can see you don’t.”
“I’m not a baby.” Her heart started to ache, but she wasn’t sure if it was the kind of pain she wanted. All she knew was that she was hurt.
“I promise, tesoro. It is only because I’m concerned about you that I’m doing this.” When she didn’t answer, he took hold of her hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss.
“Don’t be mad, my Lane.”
And softhearted fool that she was, she just couldn’t make herself stay upset when he was like that. “You win,” she said glumly. “I’m not upset anymore.”
“Even if I tell you I’ll need to lock you in your room?”
“Angelo!”
“I’m afraid I’m not joking.”
“But—”
“Precautionary measure,” he continued. “While I’ll do my best to ensure none of my guests bother you, there will always be the smallest chance that someone could slip past, and I want to ensure you’re safe at all times.”
She remembered what Julieta said about Angelo needing to be in control, and she muttered, “You’re not just a sadist, are you? You’re a control freak, too.”
Smiling, he only brought her hand to his mouth again for another kiss.
She sighed, saying glumly, “Alright, you win this round, too.”
He said gallantly, “Thank you for being understanding, tesoro.”
“What time is it going to end anyway?” she muttered.
“The earliest would probably be around six—”
“In the evening?” She looked hopefully at him.
