Leah's Seduction: 4 (Gianni and Leah - Leah's Seduction) (4 page)

Chapter 7

After they went back to the condo to change into evening wear, Gianni took her to the theater.
The Phantom of the Opera
was a story of seduction and despair that Leah found gripping. The setting of the story was the Paris opera house, and a beautiful soprano became the obsession of a mysterious, disfigured musical genius who wrote songs for her.

It was a thrilling performance, and Leah left humming the signature song, “Music of the Night.” Gianni had his arm around her, guiding her back to the limo. “You know, it’s based on a horror story. But I think it’s really a romance,” she said.

Gianni hugged her tighter. “I would have to agree.”

On the way back, they stopped at a restaurant that catered to the late theater crowd. As a rule, Leah went back to her apartment on Sunday night, since she had to be at work the next day. But Gianni asked her to stay, and she didn’t take much convincing.

They had another night in each other’s arms, and Gianni’s lovemaking was tender and romantic. And he was as expert at
sweet
as he was with
naughty
. He had many sides to him, all of which Leah liked. She fell asleep in his arms and didn’t wake until dawn.

Gianni’s eyes were already open, and he kissed her cheek when she woke up. “I’ll make the coffee,” he said, slipping away from her. Leah watched him walk to the closet, admiring his fine ass, feeling inclined to haul him back to bed and forget about work.

But she couldn’t. She still had a career to think about. Leah showered quickly and looked through the clothes she had brought over. Without thinking, she picked a beige suit, one that she’d worn many times over the years.

After doing her makeup, she found Gianni at the table, with coffee poured for her. She sat across from him.

Gianni frowned. He was in jeans and a light shirt, not yet ready to leave for the office. But it was still early.

She looked over at him, puzzled.

“That’s not a suit you bought the other day, is it?”

His words irritated her, and she realized she had picked a suit she felt comfortable in. Subconsciously, Leah had fallen into earlier patterns. “No, it isn’t. I had a wardrobe before we met, you know.” She knew she was testing him.

“I’ve seen
that
wardrobe. Which is why I sent you shopping with Deanna. I’m relieved to hear she didn’t pick that suit out.”

She didn’t like Gianni’s tone. “Next you’ll be telling me how to behave, or who to be friends with.” Before she thought it through, Leah pointed a finger at him. “I resent you dictating what I should wear.”

He looked at the finger she stabbed at him. Anger simmered in his eyes, and Leah cringed inside. But she had no intention of backing down.

Gianni reached across the table, and grabbed her wrist while her hand was in midair. His eyes bored into her. Coming around the table, he pulled her to her feet. With her wrist in his hand, he held it behind her back, trapping her and forcing her to look at him. “Do you know what I’m telling you now?”

The fact that she loved him didn’t mean she would be cowed by him. And he had hurt her feelings. Criticizing her choice in clothes was a bit much. Especially when she wore what he preferred most of the time.

Leah just looked at him.

“I want your beauty to shine through.” He paused, letting that sink in. “You don’t honor your beauty. You belittle yourself, and hide your great figure.”

Leah hadn’t expected him to respond that way.

Gianni continued, “You don’t think I notice…but I do.”

She was boxed in. Leah couldn’t deny it, but she wasn’t ready to give in. Then he released her wrist and wrapped his arms around her. With his hand in her hair, Gianni held her close. And she melted.

“Don’t make me mad like that,” he said.

Leah looked up at him. “It makes me feel bad when you tell me what to wear. I’m a grown woman, you know. I dressed myself for many years.”

Gianni’s expression softened. “I just don’t like seeing your loveliness clouded with badly designed clothes.”

“Yes, I can see that.” She smiled, relaxing a bit. “I guess it’s what I get for dating a fashion mogul.”

Done with fighting, Gianni kissed her. The touch of his lips, his taste, brought Leah back to reality. She wanted him. She loved him. But she wouldn’t let him push her around, no matter his reasons. And she thought she had made her point. Although Leah was aware she had come dangerously close to going too far.

*****

After the driver took Leah to work, Gianni left for the showroom. It had been a good weekend, but he had celebrated enough. It was time to get back to work. He called a meeting to tell Dawson and Joshua about the deal he had closed with Marnie’s help.

They were sworn to secrecy until the operation got underway and began to see success. His operations manager had a lot to establish, now that the new division was starting up. And Dawson was responsible for organizing security at the manufacturing plant in Chicago.

Pleased to finally share the details of the Chicago division, Gianni shook hands with both men and sent them off to get to work. He noticed he had a text from his brother, Jacob, and took time to read it. There was brief family news, and Gianni replied before leaving his office.

He was heading out to meet Byron Clifton of Designer’s Edge International. So far the ruse was working, and the man still thought he would be doing business with GR Showroom. He had no idea that Gianni was wise to him, and knew he was working for Vadim.

Before the meeting, Gianni stopped for lunch at a café he favored. While eating his soup and sourdough bread, his thoughts drifted to Leah. Her rebellious nature wasn’t unexpected. Actually, he’d been surprised that she hadn’t argued with him before.

She was submissive in the bedroom, but not outside of it. He didn’t need her to be. Gianni liked that she had spirit, and knew that if he crossed her, Leah wouldn’t let it go. No matter how much she thought she loved him.

Gianni still hadn’t told her that he was reading the private journal. Possibly, early in the relationship he could have. Though he doubted it. But now it was worse. He hadn’t expected things to develop as they had. Leah was attached to him.

And although not in the same way, Gianni couldn’t seem to get enough of her. Keeping his distance didn’t seem to be working. It was frustrating. He still didn’t know for sure if she was the author of the journal. Although he suspected more and more that she was.

Either way, he was in an untenable position. With the nature of their sexual relationship, if Leah found him reading a diary filled with another woman’s most personal fantasies, she would be furious. And he wasn’t sure he could repair the damage.

The other possibility was that it was Leah’s journal. One she had most likely forgotten about by now. And if it turned up in his hands, she would feel betrayed. She wouldn’t understand why he did it. Or why he didn’t tell her.

Gianni had to admit that it was an explosive secret to have. Often he wished he could tell her, but he just didn’t know how. Yet the longer their relationship continued, the closer they were to each other, the more they shared, the harder it was to tell her.

Eventually he would have to. He knew that. Yet he delayed, wanting the time he had with her, and unwilling to give her up. Gianni was unsure of the outcome, and didn’t want to think about it anymore right then.

He finished his lunch, and went to the meeting with Byron, who believed everything he told him. Even though it was all manufactured information developed by his operations manager. Of course, Gianni let him sweat for the information, to make it realistic. Still, he did a good job of bluffing. The plan was going to work. And if Vadim acted on the misleading information, it would be to his detriment.

When Gianni got back to the showroom, Joshua had already made progress with setting up the factory division in Chicago. But several situations had come up, and they stayed late to get a handle on them. They ordered food to keep going, and ended only when everything seemed under control.

It was after eight when Gianni got back to the condo. It was dark and quiet. He opened a bottle of wine, and sat in a comfortable chair to relax. Leah was on his mind. She hadn’t been far from his thoughts all day.

Halfway through his second glass of wine, Gianni retrieved the leather journal from his safe. It was no longer secure in his desk drawer, as Leah might discover it. Settling back in his chair, he took a sip of wine and prepared to read.

The lively script garnered his attention immediately with its passionate messages.

I dream of him, though I don’t know what he looks like. But I can imagine the feel of him, the hardness of his muscle, and his male scent. I see him in my mind, and I feel his touch. It’s almost as though he is real.

The things we do together some might consider disgraceful. But not I. All I want is more. To this man, I give all. I want to. There is nothing he can’t have from me. I am his.

When he ties my wrists above my head and blindfolds me, I know I should be afraid. But I’m not. I want the pain, and I want the pleasure I know he will give me. The pain is never too much. Just enough to intensify my sensation.

And only he can do this. Only he knows how to make my body sing. As he puts the clamps on my nipples, it hurts. But not for long. I relish the hurt. And though I don’t tell him, I want more.

I can feel his hands, warm on my skin. He caresses me, making me tingle. Then I feel his cock enter me. It’s huge, and I wonder if it will fit. I moan with need, and he plunges deeper. The stretch feels good, and I want him in all the way.

But he is merciless. This man I crave is not there just to pleasure me. He takes what he wants. And he fucks hard, rocking my body with his motions. Taking what is his.

My desire for him soars. I arch my back and beckon him, pulling him deeper. Clenching around his hot width, I whimper as my control fades. He hasn’t told me I can come. I fear he won’t, and I don’t know how I will endure. Still I want him to take me. I am his. I belong to him. And that is what I want most.

Gianni closed his eyes, leaving the journal open on his lap. The searing need emanating from those words gripped him to his very soul. It had from the first page that he had read so long ago. He knew he should stop reading, but he couldn’t.

He craved the woman who penned the forbidden passages. And he craved Leah. With blinding certainty, he realized they had to be the same woman. The passion that exploded inside Leah when he took her matched, if not exceeded, that described in the sizzling confession.

Gianni ached inside. He knew his need was too great. And he wasn’t going to give up the journal. Or Leah. As he had told her, on more than one occasion, he was a greedy man. He didn’t seem able to change, nor did he want to.

There had to be a way to take Leah for his. He couldn’t confess love he didn’t feel. But he couldn’t hide the obsession he had for her, the craving for her willing submission. And he wondered how much longer he could keep his obsession with the journal a secret.

Chapter 8

One afternoon, Gianni received an email he had been waiting for. The art dealer had the painting he wanted, and was ready to deliver. He replied, confirming he would be there to view it and conclude the purchase.

As soon as he hit Send, he called Leah, and she answered on the first ring. “Hi, baby. Are you in your office?”

“Yes, just trying to wrap up this project Vadim has me on.”

“Well, when you see him tell him you’re taking a personal day on Friday. You need a long weekend.”

“I do?”

“Yes, I need to make a trip to Philadelphia, and I’d like you to come with me.”

“Business or pleasure?”

“A little of both. It’s about a painting I’ve had my eye on. As long as I’m going, we might as well spend the weekend there.”

“I’d like that.”

“We’ll leave early Friday morning.” He paused. “And I’ll see you for dinner later, right?”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

When he hung up, Gianni buzzed Joshua to start the meeting he’d scheduled. By the time he had opened up the project on his computer and gathered some notes together, Dawson and Joshua entered. They took seats and shuffled through their own documents.

“You start, Dawson. I want an update on security and your insight on Vadim’s actions.”

The security guard wore a navy shirt. His muscular chest and pumped biceps stretched against the fabric, making Gianni wonder if he’d stepped up his weightlifting. His hair was combed back, a bit long and in need of a trim. But his blue eyes were all business.

He held his notepad with one hand, placing the other on his thigh. “I traced the source of the funds that went into Cole’s account after he forwarded those emails. And we were right. It was Vadim. Or to be specific, Barrington Showroom. They didn’t make any effort to disguise it, assuming their account was private, I’m sure.”

Gianni didn’t want to ask how he had found out. “Good work.”

Dawson’s lips thinned into a tight smile. “And my sources tell me that Vadim is as gullible as we thought. He thought he was so clever getting our phone records, until he was stupid enough to leave them on his desk for Leah to see. Then he set up Byron Clifton to pretend to want to buy from us, when in reality, Vadim is only trying to gain inside information about our business plans.”

Joshua turned in his chair to give his full attention, and closed the portfolio he had been looking at. “I can’t wait to hear this,” he said. “I like making a fool of any buyer on Vadim’s payroll that thinks he can take us down.”

Dawson nodded. “Yes, when Gianni met with Byron Clifton, and told him that GR Showroom had its eye on opening two more showrooms, he believed it.”

“I’m sure he did,” Gianni said. “He tried to lure me by implying, as the buyer for Designer’s Edge, he might place a large order of several of our lines. He dragged it out, chatting like we were old friends. He told me a few of his company
secrets
, although I doubt they were really secrets. And left the opening for me to reciprocate.”

“What did you say?” Joshua said.

“Fortunately, he was vulnerable to flattery, as I told him I would share a bit of insight into my coming plans for GR. But that I would only do so because of our long-term relationship, and his impeccable reputation.”

Joshua shook his head. “I hope he felt like shit, knowing that he had already betrayed you.”

Gianni leaned on his desk. “I doubt it. But I have no qualms about misleading him, considering that he is participating in an attempt to steal our success out from under us.”

Dawson crossed one ankle over the opposite thigh, and leaned back. “Exactly.”

“So how did you present it?” Joshua asked.

“I led into it, explaining that I had a team researching fashion trends, and had come across some new information. Insider information that literally no one else knew about. Based on that, I planned to open showrooms, but not in the major fashion cities. Financially, it made more sense to open business in surrounding cities. Which is all bullshit, of course.”

“I love it,” Joshua said. He had been the mastermind behind the trap they were setting, and Gianni could see his pleasure at hearing it was working.

“I pretended to be hesitant to share with him where the new showrooms were to open. But he pressed.” Gianni looked at his team. “So I told him that one was to be in Rubi, Spain, about thirty minutes outside Barcelona. And the other in Rostock, Germany, about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Berlin.”

Dawson furrowed his brow. “And he didn’t question it?”

“No. I got the impression he was hungry for information. And since he had no reason to suspect I’d play him, Byron took everything I said seriously. I really think he thought I was bragging, and he was smug about getting so much out of me.”

“His payoff is likely sizeable,” Dawson said. “He wants Vadim’s trick to work. And for all we know, he gets paid for just relaying the information.”

“Clearly,” Gianni agreed. “I elaborated, pretending to boost my own ego and flaunt my brilliance. I told him that it is cheaper to do business in the smaller towns, and that in Spain and Germany, a new fashion explosion was predicted.”

Joshua shook his head.

Gianni chuckled. “Then I let it slip, kind of under my breath, that my commercial agent had already found suitable properties for GR in those cities at prices that were a steal. And I just happened to mention the name of my agent.”

“You can bet he will make
that
contact,” Dawson said.

“I’m sure of it. Greed was evident in his expression. He couldn’t wait to rush back to Vadim so they could contact the agent, and buy the buildings before we can seal the deals.”

Joshua spoke up. “That is the clever part of it. He
will
be able to buy those buildings, since the agent is all part of our plan. He is briefed and knows to say you might be making an offer. He doesn’t know everything, but he knows to be reluctant, yet to ensure Vadim buys those properties. And we are paying him well to do a good job of it.”

Gianni nodded. “Vadim will be in such a rush to get there first that I’d bet he won’t do his due diligence.”

Dawson laughed. “No way. He will grab them, because he thinks you already determined they are good buys.”

“And after Barrington owns those properties, he will discover what it costs in those countries to renovate for his uses, the zoning, and other matters that will be very costly,” Gianni said. “Before he gets that far he will have invested money in the properties, and they aren’t cheap. And just as bad, he will have poured money into designs that will be difficult to sell.”

“You fooled him about that?” Joshua said.

Gianni nodded. “Casually, I mentioned that the trend in fashion was swaying to the upper-end designs. I dropped a couple of designer names that, of course, we know are top end. But overpriced. I listed off some names that I would feature, and offered to let Byron know when I had them, in case he wanted to buy.”

“You really took him for a ride,” Dawson said.

“No question. And if all of this comes together, Vadim will make deals with those designers without considering the profitability. I’m sure he will try to buy up all they have, or get exclusives. He will assume that the swing toward the top end will mean lots of money for him. But he is basing that on my false information.”

Joshua smiled. “Meanwhile, we will be boosting our fast fashion division, knowing the trend is toward affordable designer wear.”

“I think that sums it up,” Gianni said. The meeting broke up with the team pleased that so far their scheme was working. It looked like they might be able to take it all the way. It would be to their advantage, and hopefully be Vadim’s undoing.

*****

Early Friday morning, Gianni went by to pick up Leah. He waved at Roston, who started up his engine and pulled away from the curb. The bodyguard had been diligent about security, but Gianni informed him it would be a good time to take a well-deserved long weekend. He would be making the trip to Philly alone with Leah, and Dawson had arranged security for them when they arrived.

After parking the car, Gianni left the engine running and took the steps two at a time up to Leah’s apartment. She opened the door looking stunning in slim white pants and a baby-blue sweater set. He hugged her tightly and kissed her tenderly. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

He helped her with her suitcase, rolling it over the stairs to the sidewalk. When Leah spotted the metallic blue Aston Martin, her eyes got big. “One of your cars?”

“Yes, I thought this would be a good opportunity to drive.” He opened the door, and Leah slipped into the cranberry-red leather seat. After securing her suitcase, Gianni got in and turned to look at her.

Leah was smiling. “This car is hot.”

Gianni laughed. “That’s why I bought it.”

The fastest way to Philadelphia was the New Jersey Turnpike. But Gianni opted for a scenic route. He took the highway to the New Jersey/Pennsylvania border and headed south along the Delaware River. The two-lane road meandered around small hills and over canals, giving him a chance to feel the car’s maneuverability.

He glided over the roads. The car hugged the curves. Leah seemed to enjoy it too. She found some music she liked in his collection, and while it played through the high-tech music system, she watched the scenery as it flew by. At one point, he hopped across a bridge to Frenchtown, where they stopped for lunch at a charming inn.

Then Gianni continued south until he entered suburban Philadelphia, and caught the highway into the city. It was a thrill for him to drive the Aston. He didn’t get the opportunity often enough. He didn’t drive any of his cars frequently, and after the ride he’d just had, he vowed to change that.

When they pulled up to the luxury hotel, the valet opened the door for Leah, and Gianni handed him the key. “She’s sweet. Be careful with her.” The uniformed valet nodded. The porter handled the luggage. It wasn’t a hotel Gianni had stayed in before, but it came highly recommended.

When they were shown to their suite, Gianni tipped, and the porter closed the door, leaving them alone. Leah ran her hand along the back of the bronze-colored silk fabric of the long sofa. The living room had a baby grand piano in one corner.

Leah nodded toward it. “Do you play?”

“No, sorry to disappoint you.”

She came over and put her arms around him. “You never disappoint me.”

The feel of her in his arms, the faint scent of her perfume, and her big brown eyes stirred excitement. But Gianni had one thing he needed to do while they were in the city. Then they could play. “We’ll head over the gallery. Once I handle the details about the painting, then we can see some of Philly.”

*****

The painting Gianni had his eye on was by a modern artist. The piece was done in bright colors of forest green, orange, and muted purple. Artists had lately been doing work in the Cubist style of Picasso, as this painting was.

The work had been selling for a hefty price, and Gianni expected it to be worth more in the future. He looked over at Leah. “What do you think?”

“It affects me emotionally, though I don’t know why. I find it intriguing.”

“I’ve been considering it for a few weeks. I think I’ll go ahead with the purchase.” He moved aside with the dealer, and arranged for the delivery. Before leaving, he made the payment, pleased with the new addition to his collection.

He turned to Leah. “Now we have the whole weekend together.”

“I’ll follow you,” she said, taking his hand.

Rittenhouse Square had a park that was a great place for a stroll. Gianni felt like stretching his legs after the drive. Although it was overcast and barely above sixty degrees, it was enjoyable to be outdoors. Knowing the weather, they’d worn warm coats. Still, it was too chilly to sit on one of the benches, so they kept moving to stay warm.

They strolled past the fountain. City buildings were visible just beyond the park, and Gianni knew the upscale neighborhood featured many top-notch restaurants and elegant stores, and a host of trendy nightlife venues. They would not have any trouble finding places to go during their stay.

He put his arm around Leah as they walked. “Cold?”

She turned to smile at him, and rubbed her hands together. “Yes, I’m getting pretty cold.”

Gianni took her hand. “Let’s go eat, then.”