Hidden Heart (11 page)

Eva’s consternation told it
all. Her jaw dropped open and her eyebrows shot high on her
forehead. Then she covered her mouth with both her palms and
pressed hard on it.

“
I…it’s difficult for me to
talk about it, but yeah, someone sent a letter saying I took money
from the farmers. The new guy is here to investigate me…I…Dina
called me and told me about Victor, that’s why I came, otherwise I
no longer work here. I’m so sorry I didn’t call you back…I just…I
couldn’t face anyone…” Tessa cleared her throat and stood. She felt
somehow relieved being able to talk openly about it.

“
What? Are you serious?
Victor told me you asked for a vacation because you were struggling
with your mama’s death. Why all the secrecy? It doesn’t make sense!
And what about these negotiations? If they think you are a thief,
why do they have you back here?”

“
Well, they don’t
really…When I got in the conference room this morning, you
should’ve seen Santinelli’s face. He probably would’ve kicked me
out of there if he could. But the French guy, he wouldn’t continue
any further discussion without me, so now I have no idea what’s
going to happen. Until then, I’m leaving. It’s enough for one day
and I’m starving. Let everyone know about Victor’s situation. I’m
going for lunch, then I’ll stop at the hospital later in the
afternoon. I have dinner plans with the French people. Call me if
you need anything. I promise I’ll answer.”

On her way to the elevator,
she made a stop in Alessandro’s office. He signaled for her to
enter while he talked on the phone. He spoke Italian and Tessa
understood very little.

How can someone’s voice
sound so sexy? He looks great with or without clothes on… come on,
Tessa, snap out of it, you’re here for business and not for
daydreaming, for God’s sake!

“
Ms. Cosma, what can I do
for you?” Alessandro finished his conversation then looked briefly
up at her before resuming typing on his laptop.

“
Mister
Santinelli, how long are you going to keep up this
masquerade?”

“
I have no idea what you’re
talking about.”

“
You know exactly what I am
talking about. First, you pretend not to recognize me, then you
call me a coward, then you intervene with my dinner plans. I don’t
appreciate it and for your information, thanks, but no thanks. I
don’t need a babysitter. What do you think you’re doing?” She
propped both palms on his desk, then leaned forward.

He stood and copied her
body position.

Two players face-to-face
weighing each other’s strength. Who’d make the next
move?

Alessandro searched her
face, lingering on her lips.

Tessa licked them
instinctively.

“
What
I think
is not important for
our
business
arrangement. In Victor’s absence I have authority to lead this
office. You have the wrong impression, Ms. Cosma. I assure you my
coming to dinner tonight is not to babysit you, but to ensure our
possible investor is well taken care of.”

“
You don’t trust me, is
that it?”

“
I didn’t say
that.”

“
You think I’d compromise
the deal? You think I stole the farmers’ money and I’ll steal
again.”

“
Again, you put words in my
mouth, words I didn’t say.”

Tessa glanced mechanically
to his lips. God, how much she’d wanted to crush them! She forced
herself to look down; she saw a tennis ball signed “Andre Agassi”
sitting on a small pedestal right between her palms. She took it
and toyed with it while walking away. She stopped at the door, and
turned to face him.

“
I’m here because Victor
asked me to help out with this deal. I need the freedom to move
unrestrained, make decisions as I see fit. I have no idea why you
called me a coward, but if you think I’ll go down without a fight,
you have something coming. Someone trashed my reputation, I’ll die
finding out who, but I
will
find out.”

She threw the tennis ball
back at him.

With expert moves, he
caught it in the air without even flinching.

***

“
I’ll be in the office
tomorrow for the meeting with the French people,” Tessa spoke in to
the phone as she moved about her apartment. “Yes, I’m actually
trying to decide what to wear for the dinner, pants or skirt…no, we
meet at seven…yes, Victor felt better this afternoon and I told the
doctor to keep him in the hospital for a bit longer and he tried to
throw his pillow at me, so he is in good spirits.” Tessa pulled her
closet open, searching through her clothes. “Okay, sounds good,
I’ll see you tomorrow.”

By the time she hung up
with Eva, Tessa had picked a jersey black dress, with an
asymmetrical hem and pleats around the chest. Not too formal, not
too casual. She brushed her wavy hair to a shine then looped it and
secured it with a big pin she had gotten from one of her trips to
China. Silver earrings and a matching necklace, high-heels and a
small handbag finished her look. She tried on some new pink gloss
she had bought a few days earlier and loved it’s creamy, soft
texture.

Once she arrived at the
restaurant, Tessa saw her party seated at the bar area. Monsieur
Deuvault waved and walked up to her.

“
Tessa, so glad to see you
again.” This time he took both her hands in his, and kissed them
one by one, prolonging the moment, his head bowed, but his eyes
locked on hers. “Everyone is here waiting.” He showed her to the
bar as the waiter announced their table was ready.

Tessa found herself
surrounded by four men, all—except one—eager to have her attention.
Politics, sports, cars, no matter the subjects discussed that
night, she had a good knowledge of, which made it easier to be
among men, and even able to lead some of the
discussions.

Alessandro sat across from
her, studying her above the rim of his glass. He was polite and
well-mannered, but avoided directly addressing any of her
statements.

Monsieur Deuvault on the
other hand, sat to her left, leaned towards her several times and
whispered silly jokes when he thought the others at the tables
weren’t paying attention.

Two hours later, she felt
exhausted. She tried to hide a yawn, but Alessandro saw
her.

“
I hate to end such a
wonderful dinner, but I think we all are tired, and we don’t want
to exhaust our host here.” Alessandro signaled the waiter for the
check.

“
Of course not, Miss Tessa,
I can have a cab take you home,” Monsieur Deuvault said.

“
It’s not necessary, I can
get one myself,” she said at the same time Alessandro said, “I’ll
take her home.”

If looks could kill,
Alessandro would’ve been dead. He didn’t flinch, just raised an
eyebrow and stood his ground.

Tessa had one too many
battles for just one day. She figured arguing with Alessandro over
the cab would be futile and chose to ignore him while waiting for
the taxi.

Politely, Alessandro helped
her in the cab; he ensured they wouldn’t touch throughout the ride.
She gave her address to the cab driver and then he gave his.
Surprisingly, it was not the address of a hotel but rather a normal
address of a house or apartment, close by the office. That
explained why he used her gym. Did he plan to stay longer? Did he
rent a place? He kept quiet, looked out the window and made no
attempt at conversation. But his jaw clenched, a sure sign that he
wasn’t as calm as he pretended to be.

Tessa steamed inside,
furious at him. “Did it feel good to embarrass me in front of
everyone?”

“
I don’t know what you’re
talking about,” Alessandro said without looking at her.

“
You like aggravating me,
don’t you?” She took a deep breath, drumming her fingers on the
door handle.

“
Ms. Cosma, I have no idea
what you mean. I’ve been enjoying a lovely evening in the company
of interesting people, ate and drank; nothing else occurred, so I
am honestly confused by your questions.”

She opened her mouth to say
something, then caught herself. He was right; nothing happened, but
then why did she feel the need to defend herself? Why did she feel
he didn’t trust her, didn’t believe in her?

“
I can take care of myself.
I don’t need you taking me home. I don’t want you ending my
meetings. Why do I feel like I have to prove myself, explain what I
do, my actions, everything? It’s exhausting!”

“
I am really sorry I make
you feel this way. This is in your head. I am here to protect the
interests of my bank and nothing else.”

The cab stopped and the
city’s night-lights illuminated the inside of the cab. He finally
looked at her. His eyes burned into hers. He looked down at her
lips and she thought he’d kiss her. Her heart skipped a
beat.

The raw physical attraction
that neither could deny invaded their senses. Yet they both knew if
they fell for it, there was no escape.

He didn’t kiss her, instead
he said, “I believe we’ve arrived at your house?” He told the
driver to wait for him, opened the cab’s door to her side and
helped her out. When their hands touched, it was
electrifying.

She felt a chill down her
spine and butterflies filled up her stomach.

“
I’ll walk you to the
door.”

“
Thanks, but I am okay, I
am safe…”

He walked with her, keeping
his hands safe in his pockets. She realized there was no point in
arguing. She kept walking, fumbling with her purse, and trying to
find her keys.

Little lights placed every
couple of meters illuminated the alley to the building; trimmed
bushes stood guard on either side. The night felt warm and a light
breeze made the leaves rustle.

Before they got to the
door, a shadow came out from behind the bushes, on the right. Tessa
let out a scream.

“
Well, well, look who’s
here,” a drunken Daniel said, his words slurred. “Now I know why
you aren’t answering your phone. You’re too busy having fun, aren’t
ya?” He almost fell, but regained his balance; he tried to get
closer to her and grab her arm.

She looked horrified and
tried to say something, but fear paralyzed her voice.

Alessandro, as if on cue,
placed himself between Daniel and her, “Do not touch her.” His low
and controlled voice caught Daniel’s attention.

“
Who the hell you think you
are?” asked Daniel, again losing his balance.

“
It doesn’t matter who I
am. You are in no condition to speak to a lady and you’d better
leave,” Alessandro said.

“
This is no lady. This is
my woman and you are the one who needs to leave. My woman and I
have to talk. Besides, you are in Romania, you should speak
Romanian,” Daniel said.

“
Daniel, please leave. I
have nothing to talk to you about.” Tessa came from behind
Alessandro’s back and walked past the two men without looking at
either of them. “Don’t make a fool of yourself. Go home. You are
drunk.”

That was an understatement
and for a moment Daniel seemed to be surprised by her
words.

“
I’ll leave if you promise
to call me tomorrow. You have to listen to what I have to
say.”

She opened the building
door and said, “Fine. Now go,” and then towards Alessandro, “Thank
you for bringing me home, good night,” and closed the door behind
her.

She called the elevator
mechanically, entered her apartment and turned on all the lights.
She locked the door and placed a chair in front of it. She finally
felt safe away from everyone. She could let her guard down and
breathe easily. Her stomach rolled up and down. She ran for the
bathroom, vomiting all her dinner. She felt worn out, physically
and emotionally; she just rested on the bathroom floor and let her
stomach calm down.

There must be something
wrong with her; she never vomited in the past other than the times
she caught the flu once every other year or so; she must have some
stomach issues she needed to get checked by a doctor. Plus, her
stress level must’ve been the highest it has ever been, but then
again she never went through so many problems at once as she had
been through the past few months.

Tessa knew she owed
Alessandro an explanation. Too bad he had witnessed the exchange
between her and Daniel. She realized she never saw Daniel so drunk,
nor so out of his mind…but she didn’t fear him…or did she? Could’ve
that situation turned into something worse? She didn’t think Daniel
was the violent type; at least he never showed her such a side to
his character.

She dragged herself to bed.
She slept through the night, no dreams, no tossing or turning, and
when her alarm rang at five in the morning, she woke up energized.
She jumped into her gym clothes, packed a little bag with her work
clothes and her makeup, and drove to the sports center. She worked
out for forty minutes, showered and prepared for work.

Tessa arrived at the office
shortly before eight o’clock and asked Eva to tell her the minute
Alessandro came in. She ate yogurt and fresh fruits. She spotted
him coming in on her way to the kitchenette where she went for a
cup of green tea. Her pulse accelerated.