Page 30 of Business Temptations

Ricardo jumped out of his chair. “You will not speak to me in that tone!” he roared.

Matteo looked up at the man, astonished that his father could be so easily riled. “Or what?” Matteo asked softly. “You’ll order the headmaster to punish me? Try to starve me again? Isolate me in a cold, dark room?”

Matteo had been anticipating a denial of that old allegation. But Ricardo waved the abuse accusations away. “Those lessons made you stronger!”

Matteo’s mouth thinned. “So you admit it. You ordered Headmaster Daniels to punish me.” He tilted his head slightly. “I’d assumed it was true. And this only confirms that you always were an abusive bastard.”

“You are the bastard!” Ricardo snarled. “But as my son, you are now required to return to your village and take up the responsibilities that come with being of my blood!”

A movement in the doorway caught his attention and he turned, noticing Bailey for the first time. “Good morning, my dear,” Ricardo called out pleasantly.

“I don’t want to interrupt,” she replied, starting to step backwards.

Matteo stood up and came around his desk. He took her hands before she could disappear down the hallway. “You’re not interrupting anything except my father trying to strong-arm me into doing what he wants.” He glanced over at the nearly apoplectic man. “He’s seems to think he can command me to do what he wants and actually expects me to obey.”

“He did?” Bailey asked, leaning against his side and mirroring his tone.

Matteo liked that. He liked having her weight against his body and he definitely liked the soft blue dress as well as the silver accessories. Bailey always looked gorgeous.

“But he’s leaving now,” Matteo asserted. He turned to look at his father. “I don’t think that we have anything further to discuss.”

Ricardo seemed to calm down slightly, but at Matteo’s dismissal, his fury came roaring back. He couldn’t hide his indignation, as he jerked the sides of his sports jacket, huffed a bit, then added another glare.

“You are my son. You will come home and merge your resources with my companies.”

Matteo barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes.

“I don’t think so,” Bailey replied firmly. She leaned more heavily against Matteo as she spoke, verbally and physically showing that she supported him. “We have a fabulous staff that live here in Pennsylvania. Our factories and distribution hubs are here as well.” She felt Matteo stiffen and her grin widened. “Then there’s the bigger problem.”

“Get rid of the problem!” the older man snapped.

“It’s you,” she replied and stepped away from Matteo. She stepped up to his father and extended her hand. “It was a pleasure finally meeting you the other night. I’ve pictured you several times while getting to know your extraordinary son.” She shook the man’s hand while also leading him over to the door. “However, I don’t see the horns that I’d always expected. And you’re not nearly as decrepit as I’d pictured either.”

“Horns?” the man gasped, looking over his shoulder while still blindly following Bailey. “What the hell is she talking about?” he demanded of Matteo.

However, before anyone could answer, Bailey had him outside of Matteo’s office. Thankfully, his assistant was already at his desk. “Matt, would you please escort Mr. del Campo out of the building?” she asked prettily. “And if he doesn’t leave, feel free to call security. They also have my permission to call the police and have him arrested for trespassing if he doesn’t exit the premises expeditiously.” She started to walk back into Matteo’s office while Matt lifted the phone. “Oh, and if he causes problems, I sincerely hope that our security team treats him just like they would any other intruder,” she looked over at Ricardo, speaking to him for a brief moment, “Our head of security is a former FBI agent, who loves taking care of recalcitrant people by pinning them to the ground and handcuffing them.” She turned back to Matt. “Security has my permission to ensure that Mr. del Campo is removed in any manner necessary.”

Matt grinned, eagerly dialing the security office’s phone.

“How dare you!” Ricardo huffed furiously.

Bailey didn’t even bother to look back as she went back into Matteo’s office and closed the door. She flicked the lock so that the sound reverberated in the reception area.

Then she turned to say something to Matteo, but he was already there. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply.

Bailey gasped, startled by the ambush. She wound her arms around his neck, remembering last night when he’d made love to her and she held onto him just like this. Moaning, she leaned into him, her body on fire.

His arms circled her waist and he pulled her firmly against him. “You are magnificent!” he mumbled against her lips before kissing her again.

“Matteo!” she gasped, feeling his hands roaming over her body.

“You wore a dress today,” he growled, pulling back and looking down at her flowing dress. “I used to hate it when you wore dresses to the office.”

Bailey was trying to catch her breath, but his hands were everywhere and he kissed her as if he might die if he stopped. She loved every second of it.

“Why would you…?”

Before she could finish her question, she had her answer. Matteo lifted her up and set her down on his desk, then pulled her forward to the very edge of his desk and spread her legs so that his hips, and more specifically, his throbbing erection, pressed against her core.

---