Making over the Billionaire (an Italian Connection Novel) (Entangled Brazen) (14 page)

The lunch should have been a stunning climax to a wonderful weekend. Instead, tears kept spurting to her eyes, and she had to blink them back. Giorgio had been acting differently ever since after the gift opening. Why did he seem so angry with her? Had he suddenly realized this was their last day together and was already distancing himself from her?

Or had Tina told him she was in on the sisters’ plot? The thought made her feel sick.

Angela and Francesca had disappeared into Tina’s stateroom on the way to Sorrento, and she hadn’t had a chance to ask. Giorgio had locked himself in his office. Layla had spent the trip chatting to Isabella about places to visit in Italy while a million questions swirled in her head.

A trio of waiters in long black aprons came out of the restaurant, each carrying a bottle of champagne, and twisted off the corks. Bubbles fizzed into crystal flutes.

“Thank you,” she murmured, accepting a glass. The wine she’d drunk so far had already gone to her head.

Isabella rose and proposed a toast to her son. Everyone cheered, clinked glasses, and drank deeply.

Giorgio replied with a toast to his family, saluting his mother and giving his sisters a perfunctory nod. Layla’s heart constricted. He so clearly loved them as much as they loved him, but his relations with them were strained, too. She hoped they would work out their problems for all their sakes. But it was probably time for her to get the hell out. Things had gone south fast. If he couldn’t bend for his sisters what hope was there for her?

When he was finished Layla rose, lifting her glass of wine. “I propose a toast to the Borlenghi family. You’ve welcomed me and made me feel at home. And to Italy. It’s the most beautiful place on Earth. I wish…”

Her mouth dried up. She wished she never had to leave; that Giorgio and she could find a way to continue what they’d shared on the yacht; that today would end on a note of wistful joy instead of the sharp pain of sadness that their time had come to an end, along with the bewilderment of wondering what exactly had gone wrong. That he would take her in his arms, smile instead of glare at her, and tell her…what? What did she want him to say? That he loved her? That was never going to happen. She wished he would just talk to her. Anger and raging fury would be better than his cold, suspicious silence.

Suddenly she became aware that she was tipsy and gazing adoringly at Giorgio. All eyes were fixed on her. Except for Giorgio, who stared at his water glass as he turned it around with his long fingers. “That’s it. That’s all I have to say.” She sat abruptly.

The toasts over, waiters brought out the second course, platters of scampi, octopus, and rockfish redolent with the sweet scents of tomato and basil. Giorgio and Antonio talked of the old days and the scrapes they used to get into—stealing Antonio’s grandfather’s Italian flag, daring each other to dive off the cliffs of
I Faraglioni
.

“Giorgio always climbed the highest,” Isabella confided to Layla. After the first course she and Tina had switched places. “He’s so like his father.”

“I’ve seen your family portrait at his place. He has the same eyes and wavy dark hair as your late husband,” Layla agreed.

“It’s not just the looks. Giuseppe was wild in his youth, just like Giorgio was.” Isabella sighed. “Always looking for a thrill whether it was diving off the rocks or driving fast cars.”

“Really?” Layla said. “I got the impression from Giorgio that his father was a dedicated businessman and family man. Sober and focused.”

“He was as he got older but when he was young, Guiseppe was a firecracker. Leo was the sedate one in the family, like me.”

“Giorgio had big shoes to fill,” Layla said. “Two pairs.”

“His father would have been proud of him,” Isabella added in a whisper, “Don’t tell his sisters but Giorgio was his father’s favorite. However he was harder on Giorgio because he worried about him breaking his neck.” She smiled sadly. “We thought we never had to worry about Leo. In the end, he was killed after driving too fast. You just never know.”

“Mamma, Lisa wants your cannoli recipe,” Francesca said, claiming her mother’s attention. “Tell her how you make it.”

“
Scusi.
” Isabella rose and went around to the other side of the table, displacing Francesca. “You start with really fresh ricotta…”

Francesca took the empty chair next to Layla, studying her with dark, serious eyes. “Are you having a good time? I’m sorry, we forget to speak in English so you can understand.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s all lovely.” Layla hoped her smile didn’t look strained. Giorgio’s sisters were so nice, and Isabella, too. She wished she’d had a chance to get to know them better.

Then Tina asked Francesca a question, and she turned to answer. Layla sat back and let the various conversations roll over her, memorizing the musical sound of their voices. Just as Giorgio had said, lunch lasted for hours.

Their table was the last still occupied on the deck while the waiters set the other tables for the dinner service. Everyone seemed to be talking at once with a great deal of enthusiastic hand gestures. Giorgio was more subdued and kept checking his phone.

Fabio arrived as the waiters were bringing out dessert. Tina lit up when he dropped into the empty chair next to her. “Fabio, where have you been? You missed lunch.”

“
Ciao, bella. Scusi, scusi
. A thousand apologies for being late.” He nodded to Giorgio. “Many felicitations on your birthday,
amico
.” His words were slightly slurred and his movements overly careful but clumsy. He’d already been drinking.

“I am not your friend,” Giorgio muttered. “You’re only tolerated at this table because of Tina. And that is coming to an end so don’t get comfortable.”

“That’s enough,” Tina warned in a low voice.

“Giorgio, pass me the water, please,” Layla said, trying to distract him. It worked for all of two seconds, and then he continued to glare at the newcomer.

“Have you told him?” Fabio said to Tina.

She gave her brother a quick glance. “I haven’t had a chance.”

“Told me what?” Giorgio demanded.

Layla dipped her spoon in her tiramisu but the creamy dessert was tasteless. At the other end of the table, the guests were chatting about the latest movies, and aside from a frown from Isabella at Fabio’s arrival, seemingly unaware of the increase in tension.

Tina’s fingernail tapped against the stem of her wineglass. Her lips were pressed together in a thin line. “I’m going to ask you one last time. Will you give Francesca, Angela, and me power commensurate with our status as directors of our companies and major shareholders in the family business?”

“Father’s will stipulated that I have controlling interest,” Giorgio said, the lines of his face drawn tight, even flattening the indentation in his chin. “I’m carrying out his wishes.”

“He wrote that will eight years ago, in the aftermath of Leo’s death and because the change in succession was causing uncertainty in the stock market,” Tina replied. “You’ve stabilized and grown the corporation. You could change the way the company is run if you wanted to.”

“As the Americans say, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.”

“It’s not broken but cracks are appearing.” Tina stabbed a finger in his direction. “You’d better look out. They’re going to widen if you don’t stop being a control freak.”

Giorgio’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Are you threatening me?”

“Tell him!” Fabio waved his wine glass, scattering red drops on white linen.

Tina shushed him and kept her gaze on her brother. “At least let Layla know if she’ll have a contract or not. This is your last chance.”

“No, Tina, please,” Layla pleaded. “Now isn’t the time for ultimatums.”

“The answer is unequivocally no,” Giorgio said. “Now, I want you to tell that asshole boyfriend of yours to get lost.” He reached into his pocket for his phone and furiously swiped to bring up the gallery. “Look!”

“What is this?” Tina stared at the incriminating photo of Fabio embracing a beautiful blond woman. “I can’t believe it.”

“Believe it,” Giorgio said grimly. “The man is scum.”

“I don’t mean that. I can’t believe you had him followed,” Tina said. “You sent a detective to spy on my lover!”

“You should be angry with
him
,” Giorgio raged, jabbing at the phone, and bringing up more photos. “When he told you he was with his sick mother he was cheating on you with a model.”

“Arielle is my cousin from Locarno.” Fabio took another big swig of wine. “Yeah, she’s a model, but she’s like a sister to me and a daughter to my mother. She lived with us for a few years after her parents died. We were visiting my mother together.”

Giorgio’s jaw worked, the skin on his face drawn tight. “The detective didn’t say this. I’ll have your story checked out.”

“Your detective is clearly incompetent.” Tina rose. “Come on, Fabio. We’re leaving.”

“Wait! That’s not all,” Giorgio exclaimed. “He’s been accused of defrauding a woman in France. I have proof from the French police.”

“I’ve seen your kind of proof. Forget it. I won’t listen to another word. Mamma, everyone, goodbye.
Grazie
, Antonio. Layla, I’ll be in touch.” Tina stormed off, Fabio in tow, heading for the stairs that led from the deck down to the parking lot.

Mamma, Angela, and Francesca all erupted into speech at once, gesturing and questioning Giorgio in Italian. Layla pressed her fingers to both temples. The plot to make over Giorgio, which had begun as almost a lark, had descended into something dark and horrible. Sister pitted against brother, with her caught in the middle. Whose side was she on? Tina’s, Giorgio’s…or her own?

Ignoring the questions from his mother and sisters, Giorgio surged to his feet. He called after Tina, “Stop. Where are you going?”

“Positano,” Fabio replied for her. “And by the way,
asshole
…” He made a right angle out of one arm and hit the underside with his other hand, the Italian gesture for ‘fuck you.’ His car keys flew out of his hand onto the deck. Tina tried to grab them but he snatched them first. “I got it,
cara
.”

They were still arguing over who would drive as they stumbled down the stairs. Giorgio strode after them.

Layla caught up to him at the top of the landing and grabbed his arm. “Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage? Let her go.”

“With that drunk? Are you crazy?” He flung off her hand and started down the stairs.

She hurried after him. “Didn’t you hear Fabio? That other woman is his cousin.”

“What about the woman he defrauded in France? I notice he didn’t explain that away.”

They reached the flagstone at the bottom of the steps just as Fabio’s Maserati roared out of the parking lot, tires squealing. The high-powered motor changed gears rapidly as it climbed the hill, Fabio behind the wheel.

Giorgio swore loudly in Italian.

“Oh, no!” Layla pressed a hand to her throat.

“Wait here.” Giorgio ran inside restaurant and came out with a set of car keys. “Antonio is alerting the police to a drunk driver,” he said, unlocking a red Alpha Romeo. “We will follow them in Antonio’s car.”

Layla glanced back at the restaurant. Isabella, Angela, and Francesca were looking over the bank of flowers edging the deck, worried expressions on their faces. Heart racing, she got in the passenger seat. The powerful engine thrummed to life.

Chapter Fourteen

Giorgio revved the Alpha Romeo’s motor, his gaze shifting from the Maserati snaking up the hill to his phone. The squealing of Fabio’s tires echoed in his mind, reminding him of the night Leo and he drove to Positano. If Fabio was lucky the police would catch him before Giorgio did. He spent precious seconds locating the email he’d received during lunch. When he did, he passed the phone to Layla. “Look.”

“What is this?” Layla frowned at the official email on police letterhead with Fabio’s photo attached. “My college French is a bit rusty.”

“It’s from
Capitaine
Duval from the
Gendarme de
Lyon.” He put the sports car into gear and surged out of the parking lot. “The report says Fabio is wanted for embezzling funds from a photography business he entered into with a French woman.”

Layla glanced up at Giorgio, her face white. “Oh, my God.”

Finally, she acknowledged the seriousness of the situation. His hands gripped the wheel as he took the first hairpin turn. “I want you to forward it to Tina.”

Layla did as he asked. A moment later she said, “It bounced back.”

“She must have blocked me.” He thumped the wheel and swore. “Send the email to yourself and then forward it. Then call her on your phone. Don’t mention the police reports. I don’t want to alert Fabio. Just ask her to read the email.”

Layla found her phone and made the call. “It’s ringing… No, it dropped out. The reception is bad.”

He swore again, furious with himself for letting Tina get away. He should have tied her up rather than allow her in the car with a drunk. He couldn’t bear it if there was another death in his family.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Leo, dying in his arms on this twisting road. Couldn’t help imagining coming across the wreckage of Fabio’s car and his sister, broken and bleeding in a similar scenario.

The road leveled out and hugged the rugged mountainside. A sheer cliff rose on the left, and to the right, scrubby trees and boulders tumbled down to the rocky shore. The setting sun turned the western sky red.

“How could she go with him?” Giorgio thumped the steering wheel with his fist. “How can she not see what kind of man he is?”

“Love is blind.” A trace of bitterness hinted that she’d found this out first hand. Was she referring to Richard? Or him? Then she gasped as he took the corner wide.

“I hope she doesn’t elope with him.” Giorgio growled, pulling back into his lane. “She’s too trusting to think of a prenuptial agreement. If he gets control of her money—”

“How can you even think of money at a time like this?” Layla demanded.

“You don’t understand how hard Tina worked for what she has. After Papa died, she was lost for a time, partying hard, going from crappy job to crappy job, never sticking to anything. I found her in some dive in Amsterdam and brought her home, kicking and screaming.”

“It’s hard to imagine now. She’s so together.”

“Because she picked herself up and went to school, studying business and design. She earned everything she has.” His grip tightened on the wheel. “I won’t let him take anything away from her.”

“I hope you hear what you’re saying,” Layla said.

“What? That I want to break that asshole’s neck?” He swerved around a large rock that had broken off the cliff and rolled onto the road.

“No, that she’s incredibly competent and worthy.” Layla stifled a scream. “Aren’t you going too fast? You’d think after your brother died—” She broke off.

Giorgio felt his face drain of blood. How could she say such a thing? Did she think he didn’t remember or care?

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,” she said quietly, as if she understood his turmoil. “It’s not your fault. Not Tina, not your brother, not your father. None of it.”

“Leo’s death
was
my fault.” He concentrated on taking a hairpin on the steep cliff face. “I…I urged him to go faster.”

“That wouldn’t surprise me. But
he
was driving.
He
was the older brother. His foot was on the gas pedal, not yours.”

Giorgio’s chest tightened. Five cars and another truck whipped past on the opposite side of the road before he could bring himself to speak again. When he did, his voice cracked. “
I
was driving that night.”

“
What?
”

“I taunted Leo. I told him he drove like an old woman.”

“What little brother doesn’t taunt his older brother? I used to call my little brother an annoying brat.” Her mouth turned down at the corners. “Now I wish I could take every harsh word back.”

“So you can understand a little of what I’m feeling.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “Taunting rolled off Leo’s back. But it was my birthday so he let me drive. I was behind the wheel. It was
my
foot on the gas pedal when the accident happened.”

Her eyes widened, and for a moment she just stared at him in shock. Then she put a hand on his thigh and pressed, her face soft with understanding and compassion. “And you’ve been beating yourself up ever since.”

His eyes pricked at this display of sympathy and he placed his hand over hers. Then he remembered that she’d betrayed him, and the pain was fresh all over again. He removed his hand and turned his gaze back to the road. She was helping him with Tina. It was nice of her but he wasn’t ready or able to forgive. “No more than I deserve.”

Layla curled her hands in her lap. “Why wasn’t that in the news accounts at the time?”

“They hushed it up because my father was rich and influential.” His eyes burned and he blinked hard. He’d loved Leo. His brother had been everything he wasn’t—smart and determined and unselfish.

“It’s easy to idolize someone who’s not alive. He can never do anything wrong.” She seemed to sense what he was thinking. “I’ll say it again. It’s not your fault your brother died.”

“Whose fault was it then?” he demanded. “Leo’s for wanting to please his little brother? The truck driver for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

“Sometimes shit just happens.”

A siren behind him sounded a warning. He slowed and pulled to the right as a police car zoomed past. Then he put his foot down harder on the gas. Layla braced as he went into the tight corner. He came out the other side and immediately went into another turn. Cursing the twisting road that didn’t allow him to see what was coming ahead, he used all his concentration to drive safely. Abruptly, the siren ahead stopped.

Giorgio pulled out of the bend into a short, straight stretch and hit the brakes. The Maserati and the police car were parked in a viewing point bay. Fabio and a cop in a black uniform and a peaked cap were nose to nose. Fabio was arguing loudly and flinging his arms. Tina stood off to one side, hugging herself around the waist, looking wretched. A second officer got out of the police car carrying a pair of handcuffs.

“Tina!” Giorgio flung open his door and ran over. “Are you all right?” He took her by the shoulders, scanning her for injury. Nothing. Thank God she was safe. He folded her into his arms and hugged her tightly.

She pushed him away. “What are you doing here? Are you following me now?”

“I had to. That man is a maniac. You could have been killed.”

“We wouldn’t have even left the restaurant if you hadn’t tried to rip me away from Fabio like some Neanderthal.” Angry tears filled her eyes. “If you hadn’t been chasing us I might have gotten the keys from Fabio.”

“I couldn’t take that chance,” he said. “Surely you can see that—”

“The problem with you, Gino, is that you don’t listen to anyone. You want everything your own way.” Tina stabbed him in the chest with a forefinger. “I told you I was backing Fabio in a fashion photography studio. Well, that’s not all. We’ve decided to expand that to our own fashion house. I’m quitting the House of Borlenghi.”

“What? You can’t.” Giorgio reeled. For her to break apart from the Borlenghi Group was unthinkable. He didn’t even care about the business aspect so much, but it would destroy them as a family. “Don’t do this. And definitely not with Fabio. You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

“You can’t tell me what to do anymore. The first contract I’m going to award will be to Layla.” She glanced over his shoulder as the other woman approached. “Layla, I’m starting my own fashion house. Will you work for me?”

“Yes, please!” Layla said without hesitation. Then she looked uncertainly at Giorgio. “I mean…I would like to if that’s possible.”

“Excellent. I’ll be in touch.” Tina nodded briskly. “Now I’d better talk to the police and find out where they’re taking Fabio.” She strode over to where the two cops were pushing the other man into the back of the police car.

“Will you work with a criminal?” Giorgio demanded of Layla. “Because that’s who she’s going into business with.”

“I doubt very much she’ll go ahead once she’s had a chance to read your email,” Layla said. “But she may proceed with her threat to start her own fashion house.”

“Well, I hope you’re happy. You’ve driven her away from the family.”

Layla’s mouth dropped open. “
Me?
I’ve driven her away? It was you!”

All his frustration and impotent fury boiled over. “If I hadn’t been entertaining you I would have been more on top of what was happening. Maybe I could have stopped her from making the biggest mistake of her life.”

“I don’t believe it!” Layla threw her hands up. “You’re blaming me?”

“You were in collusion with my sisters. You used me to get to Tina,” Giorgio said, circling her. “I knew it from the beginning.”

“At first, I did. I admitted that already—” She did a double take. “Wait a minute. Did you say you knew all along?”

“Of course. I’m not stupid. Why else would you concoct an elaborate plan and come to my office with a change of clothes to sneak me out for ‘lunch’ at your villa?”

She jammed her hands on her hips. “You went along with it. Hell, you upped the ante by flying us to your yacht. If you weren’t interested in doing me, then what was that about?”

“You threw yourself at me. I merely called your bluff. I was curious to see just how far you were prepared to go to get a contract with the House of Borlenghi. Pretty far as it turned out.”

“You used me, too,” she accused. “You brought me here purely for pleasure, fully intending to dispose of me afterward with no thought or care for my feelings. You manipulated me. Just like you try to control all the people in your life.”

“As you were using me,” he shot back. “All those ‘fun facts’ and playing the tourist and getting me to relax were a distraction so you could fulfill your end of the bargain with Tina and get me to stay on the yacht until they arrived. And if you did that, you would get your contract.”

“That wasn’t the only reason I wanted to stay. Can’t you believe anyone would want to spend time with you because they like you? No, because you’re too uptight. And if you relaxed your iron grip on the company and let your sisters make their own decisions, then they wouldn’t have to resort to subterfuge to get what they wanted.”

“Leave my sisters out of it.” He threw Layla a contemptuous glance. “All you wanted from me was a means to further your career. Once or twice I actually thought…” He shook his head. “Never mind. The truth is plain now. All that interest you showed in me meant nothing. You’re no better than a…a prostitute.”

“How dare you!” Layla’s hands clenched as the blood drained from her cheeks. “Yes, I want to work for Tina, but if it doesn’t happen I’ll survive. I was keeping you here for
your
sake. Not mine. Not your sisters’. Although they are very worried about you.”

“They want more authority in the company.”

“They’re businesswomen. Of course they do. They’re also afraid you’re going to stroke out from all the stress you put on yourself. Wake up, Giorgio! You’re a danger to yourself.”

She stormed away a few feet and turned back. “If you think I would sleep with a man purely for monetary gain then you don’t know me very well.”

“How could I know you?” he shot back. “We’ve been together for a total of four days.”

“Some of the most intense, joyful days of my entire life. If you’re so out of touch with your feelings that you can’t tell when something is real then I can’t help you.”

She called out to Tina, who was climbing into the Maserati, to wait for her. Then she turned back, a single tear spilling down each of her cheeks. “I’m going to the yacht to change into my own clothes. Then I’ll catch the next train to Rome.”

Giorgio wanted to call her back, but his heart and mind were filled with confusion. He watched first the police, then Tina and Layla drive away. He picked up a stone from the pavement and threw it as far as he could over the cliff. A few days ago his world had been his to command. Now everything had spun out of control. He didn’t understand anything anymore. Least of all, himself.