Daring to Trust the Boss (Harlequin Romance) (12 page)

“Of course, you’re meant to be more. Look at you. In a few weeks, you’ve gone from working for the head of your company to jet-setting around the globe and infiltrating the art world.” He paused, let his ice clink around the walls of his glass. “Olivia, have you ever asked yourself what
you
wanted?”

“I want to be a success.”

“And you believed an accounting degree was the best way to get there?”

“Can’t run a company if you don’t know the basics of the numbers behind it.”

“So you want to run your own company?”

She hesitated. “I guess...someday.”

“You’ve shown a talent for being able to get people to do what you want them to do. That’s your service...or your stock-in-trade. Now you merely have to figure out who your customer base would be. Then you have to market yourself.”

He finished his drink. “Think it through tonight and I’ll call you tomorrow. We’ll make some decisions.”

He hung up the phone and walked back down the hall to his big empty master suite with the equally big and equally empty master bathroom. But tonight, he didn’t notice those. Though his home was empty, inside he was full, busy, thinking about Olivia. Her talent. Her skills. How he could help her become the person she wanted to be.

* * *

The next day, as she sweet-talked Antonio and persuaded Patrice, Vivi thought about what Tucker had said about becoming a business manager. But she thought more about the fact that he was back to speaking to her casually, as if they were friends.

All day she wondered what she’d say to him. As she signed for deliveries, debated placement with Patrice, soothed Antonio and constantly updated Constanzo, she thought about the job—what she was really doing for Antonio.

When Tucker called that night, after she’d showered, slid into her very best pajamas and snuggled into her pillow, she said, “I think I’m actually a mother.”

He laughed.

“Seriously. Constanzo’s like the big lovable dad. Patrice is the grouchy middle daughter who wants everything her own way and Antonio’s the spoiled baby boy.”

“Managers are a lot like mothers—babysitters—what have you, because there are some people who need a ‘career’ mother. You, as a business, have to find a focus so you learn that world and how to navigate in it.”

“Makes sense.”

“Do you want to manage artists like Antonio? Or singers? Or rock bands?”

“Is this how you did it?”

“Did what?”

“Decided what to do with your life?”

He got more comfortable on his bed. Tonight he’d showered and put on silky navy blue pajama bottoms before he’d called her. He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d left off the top, except he knew it had something to do with Antonio, even though she couldn’t see his chest over the phone—damn. They should be video calling! He had two fingers of Scotch on ice and his day had gone fairly well.

Yet he’d still looked forward to this call like a kid at Christmas.

He winced. All but two of his Christmases had been abysmal.

The reminder brought him back to reality. He wasn’t supposed to like her. He was helping find her place in the world as a way to repay her for her help with Antonio. “My decisions about what to do with my life had more to do with getting a roof over my head and keeping food in my stomach.”

“Was it bad?”

He hesitated. For as much as he didn’t want
anybody
to know this part of his life, didn’t want anybody to pity him, had been unable to talk about it with her at Constanzo’s, he suddenly had an uncontrollable desire to tell her. Probably because they were on the phone and he couldn’t see her face, her reactions, her pity.

“A person can sleep on a bench and go without supper and forget about it in a few days. But the feeling of being the only person in your world, having no mom, no dad, no brothers, no sisters... That doesn’t ever go away.”

“I have a great family.”

“Thanks for rubbing that in.”

She laughed and for some reason or another, in his mind’s eye, he pictured her tucking her feet beneath a soft pink robe as she snuggled into her pillow. “No, silly. I’m suggesting you spend time with them.”

“So I can see how the other half lives?”

“So you can see that you’d blend in. My dad’s the easiest person in the world to become friends with.” She paused. “If you golf. Do you golf?”

Confusion sprang up inside him. How would it feel to be part of her family? “I’ve made some of my best deals on the golf course.”

“Thank God. And my mother loves everybody. Though Cindy can be a pain in the butt like Patrice.”

“Ah, thus the comparison to the bossy sister.”

“And Billy’s the spoiled little brother like Antonio. Now that you know all that, you’ll fit right in. You can come to our house for every Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter dinner for the rest of your life.”

His heart stuttered. He’d received other invitations, of course. A wealthy man never spent a holiday alone unless he wanted to. But the picture that formed in his head warmed him. He could see himself going into Olivia’s home, armed with gifts, accepting hugs from her crazy family and rubbing his hands in anticipation over a tray of fresh snickerdoodle cookies.

He shook his head to clear it. It was one thing to wish for a second that he belonged, quite another to indulge the fantasy. It was time to get this conversation back to planet earth.

“And what happens after you get married? Your husband isn’t going to want your ex-boss showing up every holiday.”

“What if I marry you?”

The thought paralyzed him so quickly he felt like he’d vibrated to a stop.

“Marry me?”

“You’re not completely unacceptable or hopeless. A few more lessons in communicating like a normal human being and I might actually like you.”

Male pride surged. There was no way he’d let her get away with that. “You already like me.”

“A tad.”

“A tad?”

“Okay, more than a tad. But you like me, too.”

It was another perfect opportunity to disabuse her of any romantic notions. Yet instead of forming words to correct her, he felt his own mouth forming the words he shouldn’t say.

“A bit.”

“Uh-huh. You keep telling yourself that. We like each other and you know it.”

Though her presumptuousness should have annoyed him, her words settled over him like a soft blanket. She was bossy and nosy but usually right and he liked her. If he wasn’t careful, she’d drag his entire life and all his secrets out of him one phone call at a time.

He changed the subject. “Did I tell you I found another company I might like to buy?”

“You find a new company every day. But in a few weeks you may be on the hook for about a billion bucks to buy out Constanzo. Do I have to put a lock on your checkbook?”

He laughed. “I’d just go to a bank and get a line of credit.”

“You are a bad boy.”

He laughed again, loving how normal she made him feel. “I want you to know, Miss Prentiss, that whatever you decide to do with your talent, I’m going to fund it. We’ll call you a start-up. You’ll get capital. I’ll lend you a few advisors for marketing. And this time next year you could be a superstar manager.”

“Once again, it feels like you’re trying to get rid of me.”

“You wouldn’t let me give you the bonus. And you may end up being the force that gets me Constanzo Bartulocci’s fortune. I think I owe you.”

“I like the sound of that.”

He shook his head. “Good night, Miss Prentiss.”

“Good night.”

The next day when he called her, he immediately got them down to business. “I spoke with Constanzo today about hiring you to manage Antonio.”

Her breath caught. “What?”

“You’re in. You’ve already started. I’m funding you. You now have a client.”

Instead of protesting that he was trying to get rid of her, she laughed. “I’m a company?”

“You are a company.”

“Thanks.”

No one word had ever split his heart the way her sincere thanks had. The feeling was like warm rain or a soft snowfall on Christmas morning. Something you didn’t even know you wanted until it was there.

He whispered, “You’re welcome.”

The phone line grew quiet and he suddenly wanted to tell her just how much he liked her. But he stopped himself. He wasn’t sure either one of them was ready for that. But he couldn’t deny that every day, every phone call, he wanted to tell her just a little bit more. And he knew that if he didn’t stop calling her, one of these days the cat would be out of the bag.

“Just remember, you still work for me until after Antonio’s show. Constanzo understands that until this whole process is done, you’re an employee of Inferno.”

She laughed. “I understand that I still work for you. I remember that my primary mission is to make sure this show goes well so we can tell Antonio that Constanzo is his father.”

“Good.”

The line grew quiet again and fear suddenly engulfed him. Now that she had a business, his support and a client, what if she didn’t want
him
anymore? Maybe in giving her a soft place to land he’d given her a way out. He wasn’t exactly the easiest guy to love. She could take his money and run now.

“Did I ever tell you about the time my mom bought me a puppy for Christmas?”

That brought him up short. Confused, he said, “No.”

“Well, if I tell you that story, you have to tell me one, too.”

Even as relief poured through him, another kind of fear raced in behind it. With every step of honesty they took, they got a step closer to discovering the truth. Did they belong together? Were they good for each other? Or was he just so tired of being alone he was clinging to the first person with whom he could be honest?

He didn’t know. But he did know she made him laugh, made him feel whole.

“You remember the story about the video game. My stories might start happy but they end miserably.”

Ignoring that, she broke into a long story about a puppy bought for her one Christmas that had fallen in love with her dad instead of her. “To really understand the story you have to remember my dad is bald.”

“I remember.”

“So one morning my mom wakes up and the dog is sleeping on my dad’s pillow, right above his head and it looked like he had hair. She screamed bloody murder until she realized it was just the dog.”

Tucker laughed. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Yeah, my family can be pretty silly.” She paused a second. “Now your turn.”

“Okay.” It had taken him the length of her entire story, but he’d finally remembered something he could tell her. “In second grade, I won my first spelling bee.”

“First?”

“I was champ every year after that. No matter where I lived or what school I went to, I won my division of that spelling bee.”

“So that was the beginning of your overachieving.”

He sniffed a laugh. “Yeah. I guess.”

The warmth of feeling normal flowed through him again, and from that moment on, he knew he’d call her every night.

Though he didn’t have a clue in hell where they’d end up, he was fairly certain one of them or both of them was going to get hurt.

CHAPTER TWELVE

T
HE
DOORBELL
AT
C
ONSTANZO
’
S
house rang for the fiftieth time the morning of Antonio’s opening and Vivi rushed to get it. Busy with preparations for the elaborate party after the gallery doors closed, the staff had better things to do than sign for deliveries.

The uniformed man handed her a box and a clipboard and pen. She juggled them, until Maria Bartulocci appeared at her side. Not one to let an enormous party given by her incredibly wealthy uncle occur without her input, Maria had arrived two days before and she’d taken over the planning.

“Here. I will help.”

Handing the box to Maria, Vivi scanned the delivery information and realized the box was for her. She signed the sheet, gave it back to the deliveryman and closed the door.

“It’s for me.”

Maria held it up as if weighing it. “Too heavy to be flowers.”

She grabbed the card and ripped it open.

We can’t have the prettiest girl there in anything but the best. Tucker.

Maria rolled her eyes. “My God, he’s a sap.”

But Vivi’s heart about exploded in her chest. Not because he’d sent her a dress, but because he wasn’t running from what was happening between them. Something real. Some wonderful. Their nighttime chats had become longer and more personal. They’d stopped talking like a boss and assistant and begun talking like friends, but she could feel there was something more behind it.

Still, she wasn’t about to tell Maria that.

“He knows I’m poor. I’d told him I’d have to squeeze out a few hours to go into town today to find something to wear.” Because she desperately wanted to be beautiful for him. To feel like the woman he saw when he looked at her. “This is his way of being a good boss, making sure I have everything I need for my job.”

Maria laughed and batted her hand as she led Vivi up the stairs. “He likes you. Not like he would like me—for fun. He likes you for you.” She shook her head. “I don’t want that. But you do.”

“I do.” Vivi couldn’t deny that. She wanted their chats to cross the line from friendship into relationship. And if she let herself, she could almost believe this dress was Tucker’s way of doing that.

“Then we’ll have fun with this.”

They took the big box down the hall to Vivi’s lilac-and-white bedroom. The second she set it on the bed, Maria pulled the ribbon to unravel the bow. Vivi lifted the lid.

Inside was a raspberry-colored chiffon dress.

A laugh escaped. Raspberry was the color of the bathing suit she’d worn their first day in Italy.

Something soft and warm surrounded her heart. He was telling her he remembered details, maybe everything that had happened between them.

Maria eyed her askance. “What?”

She wasn’t about to tell Maria this either. Especially if she was reading all the signals wrong. Plus, this wasn’t something she felt like sharing. She just wanted to hug the information to herself. Hug the dress to herself. Be a simple, silly girl falling in love.

But she couldn’t. She had absolutely no idea how Tucker felt about her.

She turned to Maria with a short smile. “Nothing. I just love the dress.” She pulled it out of the box. “Do you think it will fit?”

“I think a man like Tucker knows his way around a woman’s curves.”

Maria’s snarky comment barely registered as she fought the urge to hug the dress. She’d found a calling. Something that gave her a sense of self-worth that went beyond proving herself to a bunch of people in Starlight, Kentucky, who no longer mattered. She was on the global stage, helping one of the most talented new artists in the
world
start his career.

And Tucker liked her.

She knew he did. She didn’t want to deny herself the pleasure of believing it.

“So we play with your hair and makeup until we get it perfect,” Maria said, but Vivi stepped away from her.

“I thought you were helping arrange the pool area for tonight’s party.”

“They will be fine without me.”

“No,” Vivi said, laying the dress across the bed. She slipped off her T-shirt and slid out of her jeans. “Once we make sure this puppy fits, we’re both going back to work.”

“You are no fun, Vivi.”

“No. I keep my promises, Maria. And as long as I’m working with Antonio and you’re anywhere near Antonio, you’re going to keep your promises to him, too.”

Vivi slipped into the dress, which fit perfectly. Strapless, it caressed her breasts and torso to the waist where it belled out into a frothy skirt that stopped three inches above the knee.

The dress fit so perfectly Vivi shivered. When had he studied her so well, so often?

“I have a necklace that would look wonderful with that dress,” Maria said, racing out the door. In two minutes she was back, holding a thin chain with a simple round ruby.

Vivi gasped. “I couldn’t!”

“Please,” Maria scoffed. “I got this from a man I now hate. If you lost it, it would be a favor.”

Vivi shook her head. “You’re bad.”

“I am terrible,” Maria happily agreed as she secured the necklace on Vivi and turned her to face the mirror.

Vivi touched it reverently. “It does look wonderful.”

“
Sì.
You will wear this tonight.” She unclasped the necklace and set it on the dresser for Vivi to find that evening. Then she casually ran her finger along the clean wooden vanity top, as if unconcerned. “Why do you have this interest in Antonio? If you like Tucker, why do you follow Antonio around like a little dog?”

“Because Constanzo wants me to.” She wouldn’t tell her that Tucker had already talked to Constanzo about making this a full-time job. Sweet and generous as she could be sometimes, Maria had a hard side, a scary side. “And my boss wants to do whatever pleases your uncle. No matter how much fun this seems to be, the bottom line is I still work for Inferno and I do whatever Tucker tells me.”

Maria said, “Uh-huh,” but Vivi got a bad feeling. No longer interested in Vivi or her dress, Maria flitted out of the room. Vivi removed the dress and reverently laid it across the bed. Tonight she would look perfect for him.

* * *

Tucker didn’t time his arrival to be so close to the actual show opening, but delays had caused him to leave late enough that he’d changed into his tux on his plane and didn’t bother going to Constanzo’s. He took the limo directly to Patrice’s villa gallery.

White lights had been strung across the second-floor balcony and the leafy trees that lined the cobblestone walk that led to the front door. With fifteen minutes to spare before the actual opening, he strode up the walk and slipped in the front door.

His favorite Antonio painting—blue wildflowers in the sea of green grass beneath a pale blue sky—sat on an easel in the center of the foyer, teasing attendees with a sample of his talent. A glance into the rooms on the right and the left showed the elaborate displays of more of Antonio’s work.

He heard the clack, clack, click of shoes on marble and he spun toward the sound, but all he saw was a swatch of pink.

That was the dress
.

After two weeks of talking on the phone, growing closer and closer, he was finally going to see her.

His heart racing, he headed in the direction that he’d seen the blur of pink, but by the time he reached the room, she was gone. He stood in the area filled with Antonio’s paintings as catering staff brought trays of appetizers to the long thin tables lining the walls.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he glanced around. What was he doing? He never, ever chased a woman—

But he caught a glimpse of the pink dress again and that crazy combination of warmth and excitement tightened his chest, warmed his blood. He couldn’t resist this any more than he could hold back a rising tide.

“Olivia! Vivi!”

She stopped.

As she turned to face him, her lips lifted slowly. Her eyes warmed. His heart stumbled and he realized he’d been waiting two long weeks to see that smile.

“I’m so glad you’re here.”

So was he. The happiness that rose inside him was so intense it couldn’t even be described.

“Everything’s falling apart.”

His joy deflated like a popped balloon. “You want me here because everything’s falling apart?”

She winced. “Yes.”

It wasn’t exactly what a man wanted to hear when he hadn’t seen the woman he desired in two weeks. But he told himself not to panic. First, she was under a lot of pressure. Second, it was good to hear she needed him. Really good. She could be so self-sufficient, especially with Antonio, that it was reassuring that she turned to him.

He put his hands on her bare shoulders to steady her. The velvet smoothness of her skin shuddered through him but he held her a few inches away so he could take in the vision she made in the frothy dress. Tall and lean, with graceful arms and shapely legs, she wore the little pink creation as if it were made for her. Her thick strawberry blonde hair had been caught up in a curly creation that allowed tendrils of hair to tickle her neck and tease his imagination. Makeup enhanced her blue eyes. The sprinkle of gloss on her lips tempted him to kiss her.

He couldn’t kiss her, not publicly, not when he wasn’t entirely sure what was happening between them. But even if the world was crumbling around them, he needed to acknowledge that she was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen.

“You’re beautiful.”

Her eyes lit. The corners of her lips kicked upward. And his Vivi was back. “What? This old thing?”

“Hey, that old thing cost a bundle.”

“And I appreciate that you thought of me. I was just about to steal a minute away from the chaos and go into town to find something to wear when this arrived.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “You’re the best boss ever.”

Frustration knotted in his chest. He wanted a kiss, a real kiss, for his thoughtfulness, and she had bussed his cheek. Still, he was the one who needed to keep their relationship simple until he figured out what he really wanted.

“And I’ll pay you back.”

“You can’t pay me back.” The words were out before he could stop them. He’d already decided to tell her the dress cost five hundred dollars, rather than the five thousand he’d spent. But his damned male pride swooped in and stole those words. He longed to be allowed to spoil her. But she wouldn’t let him. And his own fears stopped him, too.

Once, just once, he wanted to relax and let go. Do what he wanted, just because he wanted to.

He softened his voice. “I won’t take your money if you try to pay me back.”

She smoothed her hand across the soft chiffon. “It’s too much.”

“For whom? Do you realize what’s exorbitant to you is like pocket change to me?”

Her gaze snapped up. “So this is pocket change?”

“Essentially. But it was also my way of celebrating your success. Other people send champagne. I sent a dress.”

Their eyes met and temptation tugged at him again. He wanted a kiss so bad his chest hurt from it. But life wasn’t always fair or easy. He wished he could look into those big blue eyes and know everything would be okay if they crossed the line from friends to lovers. But he couldn’t and neither could she.

As if disappointed, she stepped back, wringing her hands. “Don’t celebrate too soon. Maria knows something is up.”

“And?”

“And you do know Maria, right? She’s a busybody.”

“We can handle her.”

“You think? She expected to inherit Uncle Constanzo’s wealth...or at least to live off the gravy train for the rest of her life. With a son, an heir, in the way...do you really think she’s going to take this calmly?”

She stopped suddenly. Her lips lifted into a smile of pure pleasure. As if only now really seeing him, she said, “Wow. Look at you.”

He smiled.

“You look fantastic.”

“I do, don’t I?” A man didn’t get to thirty-four, and have the brain to acquire wealth that exceeded the gross national product of most small countries, without knowing his assets.

Her gaze dipped. “A little vain tonight?”

“It’s hardly vain when it’s the truth.” He stepped closer, slid his arm around her waist, forced her gaze to his. Her eyes met his with a longing that mirrored the feeling churning in his gut. He knew this was risky or maybe too soon. But the need to touch her simply overwhelmed him.

“Besides, we look good together. Very good.”

“Tucker!” Maria’s voice echoed along the high ceilings of the villa entrance.

He released Vivi and spun around. Maria raced toward him. She caught his upper arms and planted a kiss on each cheek. “So are you going to tell me what’s really going on here?”

He peeled her hands off his upper arms and turned her around. “Go fix your lipstick. Olivia and I have work to do.”

When she was gone, Tucker sighed heavily. “We’ve got to get Constanzo to tell Antonio tonight. This can’t wait till morning.”

She bit her lower lip. “It has to be after the show. Antonio can’t take that kind of surprise before his big moment.”

“Okay. How about after the show but before the party at his house? We’ll get them in the same limo and not let anyone else in.”

“Okay.”

“Which means we have to warn Constanzo that he’d better prepare his speech for Antonio, and to watch out for Maria.”

She nodded.

He caught her hand. “Let’s go find him now.”

They searched the first floor of the gallery and found him with Antonio who looked ready to throw up.

“Doors open in ten minutes,” Vivi reminded Antonio. He looked amazing in his black tuxedo but not as good as Tucker. Tucker wore formal attire as if he’d been born to it, but she knew he hadn’t been. There was so much about him that was special, intriguing, and she suspected she was one of only a few people he trusted with his secrets. “But you don’t have to show up right away unless you want to. If I were you, I’d give people a chance to look around, then you could kind of slide into the crowd and introduce yourself.”

“You will be with me?”

She glanced at Tucker. She wanted to be with
him.
She wanted to walk the gallery with him and tell him every silly nitpicky story of how each displayed painting had been chosen. How Antonio and Patrice had argued over placement. How she’d intervened and stopped fight after fight.