Her Venice Affair (The Albury Affairs) (15 page)

“Antonia!” Mr. Torino spoke harshly before he turned
to Riana. “If this is to go well, it will depend on you and me, right,
bella
?”

Oh, how Riana wished that was true. But Allan was
stubborn on a normal, relaxed day and speaking to him now when he was angry…they
had better odds convincing a brick wall it was a hedge.

“Wrong,
Signore
.
Right now we are better off trying to have a civil brunch together. I would
suggest we meet at another time, probably at dinner after a lot of wine. I’m
sure we would have all calmed down by then.”

Mr. Torino looked at her for a long while before he
chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m sure you don’t believe that.”

Riana sighed and shook her head. Not that getting
Allan drunk would help relax him, but because Allan wouldn’t show up. He’d
probably tear his half of the hotel in Venice down and leave the other standing
just to prove a point.

“I think it will be better if you two met alone in a
relaxed environment.”

Anthony cleared his throat before he spoke. “I run
Casa
Italiano
,
so the meeting will have to be with me.”

Damn! Well,
I tried. The only thing left for me to do is enjoy Venice before we get
deported because Allan hired a wrecking company to tear down the hotel
.

She turned to Allan when she heard him chuckle next to
her.
Did I miss something?

Oh damn!
“I said that out loud, didn’t I?” she asked in such a
low tone she wasn’t sure- in fact she hoped—they didn’t hear her.

Allan laughed harder
then
leaned toward her and kissed her on the lips. “My unicorn, the things that go
through your mind,” he whispered then kissed her again before he pulled away.

Riana nibbled nervously on her lower lip as she turned
to Mr. Torino. He had a grin on his face. Riana risked a smile then turned to
Anthony. He on the other hand didn’t find it amusing.

“Sorry. I just know Allan can be impossible to
negotiate with if he doesn’t like you.”

Anthony’s jaw only clenched harder and his gaze grew
even more lethal.

Riana sighed.
I
should probably shut up now
.

She leaned against Allan’s arm and kept silent and
waited for the inevitable.

“Your girlfriend is very different. She’s a peace
keeper, no?” Mr. Torino commented, making Riana blush.

Allan kissed her forehead, chuckling. “Yes, she is.
She’s the reason why I’m here.” She heard him exhale loudly. “And the reason
why I’ll meet you for dinner to discuss this. It would have been wonderful to
meet only you, Mr. Torino, but Junior does run
Casa
Italiano
and your daughter—exactly what do you do, Antonia?”

“I keep the guests happy. On behalf of my family I
would like to invite you to stay in
Casa
Italiano
,
as our guests. I promise to take
very
good
care of you,” she purred leaning over to expose her cleavage. “Extra
special care.”

Riana had a mind to reach over the table and slap her.
That slut wasn’t going to take any kind of
care
of Allan. But judging by the confident look on her face she actually believed
she had a chance with Allan.

 
The whore!

Allan nodded. “
Ah
,
so that’s what you do. Thanks but no thanks, my girlfriend
takes exceptionally good care
of me.”

Riana had to bite her lips shut to keep from laughing
at Antonia’s red face. If her flushed pink cheeks and wide eyes were anything
to go by, she hadn’t banked on being turned down.

Antonia leaned back in her chair, pulling her shirt to
cover her cleavage. Riana felt sorry for Mr. Torino. He looked more ashamed
than Antonia did.

Doing Antonia a favor she certainly didn’t deserve,
Riana quickly said, “But we will accept your invitation to stay at
Casa
Italiano
.
I loved the one in Rome, the décor was wonderful.”

A gentle and loving look took over Mr. Torino’s face.
“My wife, Mariana, designed the décor. She loved art, it was her passion.” He
chuckled. “I used that to make her fall in love with me. Those thirty years I
spent married to her were the best in my life.”

Riana could feel her heart break for him. It was clear
to see how much he loved her. “I would like to see more of her work if you
don’t mind? I love art as well and I’m in love with her work.”

He blinked several times, seemingly fighting back the
tears. It took everything in Riana to stay put and not go over to him and hug
him, and even more to keep from crying. She had always been sensitive, the type
to fight crying at the drop of a pin but these damn hormones made her feel like
an exposed nerve!

“On one condition.”

Riana felt Allan’s arm flex against hers.
Oh no!

“What would that be, Mr. Torino?” Allan asked,
guardedly.

“You keep the décor as it is, when you take over.”

“Papa!” Antonia and Anthony exclaimed at the same
time.

He waved them off with his hands. “I have no delusions
about ever keeping our percentage of
Casa
Italiano
.
You two have seen to that! Giving you control of my dream was a mistake but I
will keep Mariana’s alive no matter the cost.”

Here it was, the inch she knew Mr. Torino would want
to keep after giving up his dream for someone better to care for it. Décor and
the interior design to remain the same—that was all he was asking. Surely Allan
would grant him that?

Riana turned to Allan to find he was already staring
at her. Allan laced their fingers together until their hands were palm to palm.
By the look in his eyes she knew he was considering it, if not for Mr. Torino
but for the mere fact that
she
loved
the décor.

For the first time, she wasn’t going to feel guilty
about getting what she wanted.

He smiled, closed his eyes, and shook his head.

“Is that a no?” Mr. Torino croaked.

Riana jumped to reassure him. “Oh no! That means yes.
Well, not everyone would understand that as a yes, but the whole closing his
eyes, smiling, and shaking his head thing is for me because after I saw the
hotel in Rome, oh my God, I told him he couldn’t possibly destroy such art. And
for some reason he tends to give me everything I want even the things I don’t
need or ask for. By the way, the rooms were a letdown, why didn’t she—”

 
Riana stopped
when Allan squeezed her hand and chuckled. Her face heated, she was rambling
again.

Mr. Torino burst out laughing. “She’s wonderful! We
must have dinner!”

“Yes, we must,” Anthony echoed and Antonia rolled her
eyes with an almost inaudible mumble.

Allan stood up, pulling her up and the Torino men
stood up as well. Antonia, however, was busy picking her red talons. “We’ll see
you at dinner. Oh and Anthony, you can call off your spies. I don’t appreciate
having my girlfriend followed around.”

“What?” Riana exclaimed turning to Anthony.

“How long have you been doing this, Anthony?” Mr.
Torino demanded but Anthony turned his red face away, without answering. Mr.
Torino sighed and suddenly, he aged ten years right before Riana’s eyes. “My
apologies,
Signore
Sinclair and
Signorina
Albury
. I promise it will not happen again.”

Allan just nodded. He placed his hand on her back and
led her away.

Once they were outside the café, she turned to him. “How
did you know? Is that why we have bodyguards that I didn’t even notice?”

Allan stroked her cheek with his knuckles and gave her
a reassuring smile. “You have nothing to worry about. It’s normal and standard
for me to hire bodyguards when I travel.”

That didn’t make Riana feel better. Before she was
like ‘
duh
’, but now, she had a bad
feeling. “Allan—”

He kissed her to silence her. “Don’t worry about it.
Now let’s go to the yacht. We have to pack and move our things to the hotel
before dinner.” He pulled her closer and whispered in her ear, “And I need some
taking care of
right now.”

His warm breath against her ear made her shiver. Over
two months, and she still reacted to him like this. She was in trouble. There
was no way she was willingly going to let go of him. She just had to find out
how to do that without using the baby.

She hugged him and he held her tight.

Kid, your
mom needs some ideas, and soon.

* * * *

Allan walked out of Mr. Torino’s office feeling a
hundred pounds lighter. The deal was done and all that was left was putting
their signatures on the contract.

Mr. Torino had called for him immediately after they
arrived at the hotel. Allan didn’t have to wonder what it was about. He had
made himself clear at brunch that he was going to hand over the company to him.
So it didn’t surprise him when Mr. Torino asked Allan to settle the bank loan
which had grown considerably in the last two months.

Not that he cared, but Allan asked if he and his
children had another source of income. Leaving Mr. Torino destitute would not
go over well with Riana.

Anthony and Antonia had trust funds and Mr. Torino had
his savings, which he would keep him comfortable for the rest of his life. With
that out of the way, Allan called his lawyer to draw up the necessary paper
work then left Mr. Torino to join Riana in their suite.

They had three hours till dinner. Two she would need
to get ready and one he had every intention of monopolizing.

Just the thought of making love to Riana made him want
to break out in song and dance like one of those Indian movies their
housekeeper used to love when he was young. That joyous feeling came to an
immediate death when Anthony stepped into his path.

“Mr. Sinclair,” he sang with a smile that belayed the
contempt in his eyes.

Allan brushed it off. Junior didn’t matter. He maybe
the CEO but the shares were in his father’s name.

Allan stepped around him. “Junior.”

Anthony rushed around him to block his path. “Mr.
Sinclair. Allan—may I call you Allan? I was hoping to have a word with you.”

Allan let out an exasperated sigh. “About what?”

“About giving you complete control of
Casa
Italiano
.
I have an offer you won’t be able to resist.”

Allan was tempted to tell him that the deal was done
and
Casa
Italiano
was as good as his just to see Junior’s reaction but the contracts hadn’t been
signed yet. He was too close to the end to mess things up.

“I’m listening.”

Anthony pointed behind Allan. “Let’s speak in my
office.” He led the way and Allan grudgingly followed until they stopped at the
door with
Manager
on it.

Anthony ushered him in, waiting for him to take a seat
before he took his on the other side of the desk.

“You are the manager?”

Anthony’s lips lifted in a tight smile. “As of two
months ago, yes. My father wasn’t too happy to learn of
Casa
Italiano’s
…misfortune, which you
brought to his attention when you attempted to over the loan from the bank. My
uncle—my mother’s brother—owns that bank.”

Allan scoffed. So that’s how they had found out. And
he got demoted as punishment? “Let’s get to the point shall we?”

Anthony cleared his throat and nodded. “I’ll sell the
forty percent to you at twenty million dollars.”

Allan chortled. That was double what he was paying the
bank. Was this man serious? Was this how he conducted business? It would
explain everything. He should just shut him down then stand up and leave. But
Allan was curious.

“Why in the world would I do something as stupid as
that?”

Anthony clenched his jaw. “This recent loan was taken
against my home. I’m quite attached to it.”

Allan chuckled. “So I would have not only your hotel
but your home.” Allan rested his elbows on the arms of the chair and weaved his
fingers together, placing his chin on his joined hands. “Tell me, where is your
house located?”

Anthony’s jaw clenched tighter. “Why would you want to
know that?”

Allan shrugged. “If I like it’s location I might just
consider it.”

Anthony’s face relaxed with relief. “I would be happy
to sell it to you at an added five million.”

Allan laughed. “Pay you twenty-five million for
properties I could get for ten?” He stood up. “I’m not one to waste my time.
Goodbye, Junior.”

 
Anthony shoved
his seat back so hard it crushed to the ground as he stood. “Don’t call me
that! It fucking annoys me!”