by Kira Ward
“Nobody even knew it came from me. What difference would it make if I was there, or not?”
“I know it came from you. Rainy knows, and so do a handful of the people at my office. And those things…gossip was designed to spread. And I don’t want the press getting ahold of your name and blowing this thing out of proportion all over again.”
“So this is something of a preemptive strike?”
“Something like that.”
Emma shook her head, picking her wallet up off of the table and standing. “You’re wasting your time. I can’t go and, even if I could, I wouldn’t. Why should I do you a favor after everything you’ve done to me?”
“Because you want to save those poor families in your building.”
That was true. Every time she ran into another of the tenants, she was overcome with this horrible guilt. If not for her, these people would still have their homes. And so many of them were struggling just as much as she and Sophie, some of them even more. The lady on the ground floor, Mrs. Remy, was living off of her social security checks. She could never afford another apartment, let alone anything else in this booming, oil driven economy.
Emma slowly slid back into her chair.
“You would really let them move into the other building at the same rent they’re paying now?”
“Yes.”
“No increases, no hidden fees?”
“No. They’d pay their leases just as it’s written in their current contracts.”
“And after two years? What then?”
Dante shrugged. “It depends. Two years is a long time.”
In two years, Emma would have her degree and applying to medical schools. She and Sophie would have to move, anyway. But—some of the people living in that building didn’t have options, they weren’t going to school, they weren’t hopeful of getting better jobs. In two years, they’d be facing the same difficulties they were facing now if he evicted them after their deal expired.
She couldn’t let that happen.
“Six years.”
His eyebrows rose. “Excuse me?”
“Give them six years.”
“The tenants? Most tenant/landlord contracts are only for two years.”
“I know that. But this is a different situation.”
“Six years is a long time, Emma.”
“Yeah. It’s long enough for some of those people to get themselves into a better position so that when you evict them, they aren’t forced into a homeless shelter.”
It was his turn to cross his arms over his chest. He studied her, the green of his eyes so dark that it almost looked brown.
“Do you want to write the contracts, too? Put in provisions like concierge service?”
“No. I just want these people to have a chance.”
“And you? You want six years, too?”
“No, two years is great for Soph and me.”
He cocked his head. “Oh? Where do you plan to be in two years?”
“Far from here, hopefully.”
If she didn’t know better, she would think he was disappointed to hear that answer. He looked down at his hands again, smoothing one of those big palms over his thigh. When he looked up again, his expression was unreadable.
“Will you go? If I promise six years?”
Emma nodded without hesitation. “If you give those people a decent place to live and enough time to make things right, I’ll do just about anything.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
Chapter 3
“Why do I have to stay at Jill’s? Why can’t I just stay here? It’s only four days.”
“Because it’s four days, Sophie.” Emma tossed a blouse onto the bag Sophie was supposed to be packing but wasn’t. “After everything we went through last week, do you really think it’s a good idea for you to stay here alone?”
“I’ve been doing better. Even Dr. Nemic said so yesterday.”
“He did. But he also said you need to pay more attention to your carb counts. You’re going low too often.”
“You try guessing how much you’re going to eat before you take your first bite.”
“I know it’s hard, Sophie,” Emma said, stroking her cheek lightly for which she was rewarded with a dirty look. “But you’re not alone. I’m always here to help you.”
“Except for this weekend.”
Emma groaned as she turned back to the laundry basket and tried not to say the words that were on the tip of her tongue as she dug out a pair of Sophie’s jeans.
Dealing was Sophie was harder than asking her new bosses for a weekend off after working there less than two weeks. She thought she was going to get fired when she told the manager what she wanted. But then he talked to her supervisor and quickly changed his tune. She found herself wondering if it had more to do with the fact that Dante had been hanging around the other day than her stellar work ethic.
Maybe this weekend was a mistake. It was keeping her awake at night, thinking about spending a whole weekend with Dante and his business associates. She’d never fit in. She wasn’t sure what he was thinking, asking her to do this. She’d say all the wrong things and look like a fool. She didn’t know anything about proper, sophisticated behavior. She knew about fighting for survival, not about carrying on an intelligent conversation while remembering which fork to use.
She’d considered calling Dante half a dozen times and cancelling. But then she thought about Mrs. Remy and she couldn’t do it.
“This is for the best,” she said, not sure if she was talking to Sophie or herself.
Sophie turned away, shoving the jeans Emma had just handed her into the bag. “It’s not fair. I’m sixteen. I should be allowed to stay here alone.”
“And I should have a million dollars in the bank. But we don’t all get what we want.”
Emma gathered the rest of the laundry and went into her bedroom with the intention of packing her own things. Instead, she dumped the basket on her bed and sank down to the floor, wishing she had a bottle of wine and more privacy. And a bank account with a million dollars in it so she wouldn’t have to spend another minute with Dante Caito.
It was Dante that scared her the most. She could probably fake her way through the weekend if she was careful and watched the people around her. But Dante made her nervous. He made her act in ways she had never done before. He made her…he made her belly shiver with things she never knew she was capable of feeling. When he touched her, she couldn’t think of anything but the way it felt when he pushed her up against the wall and made her scream with a pleasure she never knew her body could experience.
She didn’t want to spend the weekend with Dante because she knew she’d want that again. And that desire, that need, was dangerous.
***
Mrs. Smith picked Sophie up a few hours later. Sophie dragged her feet until the door opened and Jill greeted her. It was like night and day, the way Sophie came to life when she saw her friend. They immediately began talking about all the things they’d do that weekend—watching movies, eating junk food, and texting the cute boy in their Algebra class—giggling over something Emma was not supposed to hear.
“She knows how to take care of everything,” Emma said to Mrs. Smith. “She just put in a new infusion set and sensor, so you won’t have to bother her about that until Saturday. She’ll need to switch out the infusion set then. This is Dr. Nemic’s number and her regular endo’s number is there, too. And my number. You have any questions or problems—“
“I’ll call. Believe me, I will definitely call if anything comes up.”
Emma smiled gratefully. “Thank you for agreeing to do this. I wouldn’t go if it wasn’t important.”
“Enjoy yourself. I can’t imagine it’s easy, dealing with all this on top of raising a teenager. Go relax and try not to worry.”
“I will.”
Emma stood at the door and watched as they disappeared down the stairs. As she turned to go back inside, a list in her head of all the th
ings she still needed to do before Dante picked her up, she heard a deep, masculine voice wishing the girls a fun weekend.
Dante. He was early.
“You said three,” she told him as he approached the door, looking more relaxed than she’d ever seen him in a pair of jeans and a linen button down under a leather jacket.
“I got done sooner than I expected.”
“Good for you. I’m not ready.”
“Then you won’t mind if I hang around and wait.”
Without waiting for her to respond, he brushed past her and walked into her apartment, his gaze lingering on the wall where they’d had their argument the last time he was here. It made her blush as the memory of his hands on her body burst through her mind. She turned away, slamming the door hard enough to make it vibrate in its frame.
“Don’t touch anything,” she said over her shoulder as she went to the back of the apartment to throw the last of her toiletries into a bag.
But, of course, he couldn’t just stay in the living room. She turned from the bathroom to find him standing in her bedroom doorway. He looked so big standing there, his shoulders broad enough that he nearly brushed both sides of the narrow frame. And tall, his head was only a few inches below the top of the door. And that dark hair…what had she thought the first time she saw him? He looked out of place in the diner. He looked just as out of place here.
“Excuse me.”
She moved to brush past him, but he didn’t move more than a few inches, forcing her to press her back into his chest as she walked into her bedroom. It only took a second to pass him, but she was intently aware of every inch of him that entire time.
“Didn’t I tell you to pack light?”
“You didn’t say much of anything beyond ‘I’m picking you up at five on Thursday, so be ready.’”
“Pack light. You won’t need a lot.”
“I’m already pretty much packed.” She dropped her toiletry bag in with her other things and zipped up the duffle bag she was taking. She picked it up and dropped it at his feet. “Make yourself useful.”
He looked at her as though he was pretty sure she’d just lost her mind. “Is this all you’re taking?”
“Didn’t you just say pack light?”
He chuckled. “Not sure I meant that light. Rainy takes three bags everywhere we go, even if it’s only an overnight trip.”
“I’m not Rainy.”
“That’s definitely true.”
He snatched up the bag and stepped out of the room. Emma stripped off the t-shirt she was wearing and grabbed the light sweater she set out to wear on the plane.
“Nice.”
Emma turned, pulling the sweater against her chest. “I thought you were gone.”
“I was.” Dante smiled as he leaned against the door jamb. “But I’m glad I came back.”
She turned her back, refusing to respond to his teasing, and slid the sweater over her head. Then she grabbed her jacket and wallet, pushed past him and walked out. She didn’t even care if he was following her. She just wanted to get this over with.
Chapter 4
Emma shouldn’t have been surprised that Dante had a private jet. She also shouldn’t have been surprised that Rainy and half a dozen other people were flying with them. She shouldn’t have been annoyed that he worked the entire flight, shouldn’t have felt so isolated that she spoke to the steward more than she should have. It was an awkward flight.
Rainy came to sit beside her just before they landed.
“I’m surprised to see you here.”
“I’m surprised to be here.”
“There’ll be about fifty people in and out of the house this weekend, mostly stockholders. And ten of us staying at the house. We’re having a dinner tonight with two of the biggest stockholders: Drake Foster and Watson Dunne. They’re the two Dante is most focused on.”
“Drake Foster? As in the son of Bobby Foster?”
Rainy nodded. “He’s working his way up in Daddy’s company by making his own investments, bringing in his own deals. DJC is one of those.”
Emma felt even more out of her league. Bobby Foster was a name she knew because it was mentioned on the news nearly every week. He owned one of the biggest investment firms on Wall Street. His name was synonymous with wealth, prestige, and all the things Emma would never be.
“Then tomorrow, there will be a luncheon that will be attended by most of those invited up for the weekend. Then a cocktail party after dinner with a smaller guest list, mostly just those Dante feels need a little more convincing to back the smartphone project.”
“I thought the smartphone was a done deal.”
“The initial offering is. But there is more. Dante has been working on this project for a long time, but the shareholders have not been convinced that bringing yet another smartphone to the market is a viable business decision. And the little fiasco at the tech expo didn’t help. So now he’s trying to convince them that they should allot resources to the continuation of the project.”
“Isn’t Dante the head of the company? Can’t he do whatever he wants?”
Rainy shook her head. “He began the company and he still serves as CEO, but it is a publicly traded company, therefore the shareholders have a say in what happens within the company.”
Emma glanced over at Dante. “It sounds complicated.”
“It is complicated. And this weekend is very important to him. Everything has to go well.”
There was warning in Rainy’s voice. Emma sat back in the warm, leather seat, anger beginning to burn in her chest.
“Are you trying to ask me not to do anything to screw this up for him?”
“Essentially, yes.”
It took a lot of nerve for Rainy to ask such a thing. And it took a lot of self-control for Emma not to say exactly that. It was on the tip of her tongue, but then she saw Mrs. Remy, standing in the hallway outside of her apartment door, and she bit it all back.
“I’ll be on my best behavior,” she said softly.
***
Dante escorted Emma off the plane, pressing his hand to the small of her back as he guided her to the black SUVs that were waiting to transport them to wherever it was they were staying. She slid inside and moved all the way to the far side of the seat, expecting some of the others would be riding with them. But then Dante climbed in, gestured to the driver, and they drove away while the others were still waiting for their luggage to be unloaded from the plane.
“Shouldn’t we wait for them?”
“Why? They know where they’re going.”
Emma glanced back and caught Rainy watching them disappear around a corner. She sat back, wondering again if there was something more going on between Dante and his assistant than business.
“Why are you sitting all the way over there?”
“You didn’t tell me how important all of this was.”
“I think I did, actually.”
“You said there would be reporters.”
“And there will be.”
“But you didn’t say Drake Foster was coming.”
Dante crossed his legs with a slow, deliberate movement, that familiar darkness coming into his eyes. Emma could feel the tension radiating off of him just in the way he was sitting, the way he held his shoulders. She wanted to reach over there and do something—rub away all that tensions with the touch of her hand. Instead, she sat a little straighter, turning her attention to the front of the vehicle.
“I didn’t give you the guest list because I didn’t think it would matter to you. But if it does, I can have Rainy give you one.”
“I just don’t understand why you want me here. I’m going to be so far out of my league that I’m going to stick out like a sore thumb.”
“You will,” Dante agreed. “You’ll definitely stick out.”
“Gee, thanks. That really bolsters my confidence.”
“You’ll stick out because you’re beautiful. All beautiful women stick out, especially in a
room filled with over-worked, over-stressed executives.”
Emma glanced at him, a part of her expecting him to laugh the moment their eyes met. He’d never offered her a compliment before, and for it to come now, after he completely ignored her on the plane, seemed odd. But he wasn’t laughing. He wasn’t even looking at her. His eyes were closed and there were dark shadows under his eyes that she hadn’t noticed earlier. He was clearly exhausted and here she was, complaining about her own problems.
She settled back again and took her phone out of her pocket. Sophie hadn’t texted, though that wasn’t much of a surprise. She didn’t expect her to. But she texted her, telling her she loved her and she hoped she was having fun. Caring for Sophie took up so much of her time and energy, but it wasn’t something she thought about very often. Sophie needed her so she was there for her. But sometimes it made her think of their mother. Why hadn’t it been like that for her? Why didn’t she put the needs of her kids ahead of her own? Why did things have to go so wrong? Those were questions Emma had been wrestling with since she was much too young to have such thoughts. And she’d never found an answer.
“Everything okay?”
Emma had thought Dante had drifted off to sleep, but he was looking at her through thin slits of his eyes.
“Just checking in with my sister.”
“She seemed happy to be spending the weekend with her friend.”
“Yeah, well, she was when Jill got there. But she wasn’t thrilled before. She thought she should be allowed to spend the weekend alone in the apartment.”
Dante rolled his head toward her, moving closer to her across the wide bench seat. “I remember thinking the same thing when I was her age. But my mom wouldn’t hear it. To her, I wasn’t mature enough to stay by myself until I was eighteen. And, even then, she insisted on living in a hotel six blocks from my college dorm for a week until she was convinced I could handle being on my own.”
