Page 6 of Fiancée for the Cameras

His mouth flattened at her reaction.

Her cheeks heated, and she hoped he would just put it down to the feverish haze that still racked her body. “I wondered if I should offer congratulations,” she said, feeling a boldness she’d never known before. Maybe this moment of bravery came with him having seen her at her worst already. Maybe this was the illusion of wisdom since she’d paid dearly for her naive foolishness.

“Congratulations?” he asked, frowning.

“On your engagement to Mrs. Rossi.”

“How the hell did you know that her father was going to demand that as a condition to the merger?” he said, a sudden coldness to his gaze.

She shivered, his anger a freezing blast against her overheated skin. “We ran into her at dinner one evening, almost six weeks ago. Even before your mother invited her, she joined us.”

“Ran into whom?”

“Chiara Rossi,” Monica said and sighed. “Flora told me she’s Mr. Brunetti’s daughter. She was very warm toward your mother. When Flora introduced me as your assistant, gushing how invaluable you find me and couldn’t do without me and that I was almost a Valentini family member—” Monica blushed as he watched her with that relentless gaze, though he didn’t deny his mother’s claims “—it was like a switch had flipped. She kept probing about our working relationship and...” She bit her lip. “When Flora went to the restroom, Mrs. Rossi asked really pointed questions about how well I know you and how muchtime I spend with you and other intrusive stuff that made me very uncomfortable.”

“You could have refused to answer her.”

Monica stared at him. “She’s your...friend,” she said, instead of “apparently the lost love of your life”, “and I...didn’t want to give offense.” She blew out a breath at having gotten that much out.

“You’re not answerable to anyone other than me, Ms. D’Souza,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “What else?” he asked, his gaze taking in every nuance of hers.

“At the end, she said to make sure I had my head screwed on straight around you, to not lose myself in silly, girlish dreams. To remember that I was nothing but your employee. And then she...”

“What, Monica?”

“She muttered something in Italian, obviously assuming I wouldn’t understand.”

“What?”

“That she would make sure my time with you was limited, beginning right then.”

“You didn’t think to warn me of this?”

“Warn you?” Monica said, frustration creeping into her tone. “Of what? That a stunning, sophisticated woman, your ex, apparently a...member of your family’s intimate circle, interrogated me about...us? You would have thrown me out of your office before I could get started on that story, calling it gossip. And even if you did hear me out, I didn’t know if you would trust my version.”

“When have I ever given you the belief that I don’t trust you?Dio mio, give yourself some credit,” he said through gritted teeth. “I could have walked into that meeting with Brunetti without being blindsided by his ultimatum.”

“You’ve been out with her to the opera and that charity gala the last few months. Spent time with her more than I’ve ever known you to, with any woman, in four years. I thought it was a foregone conclusion. Flora said mergers and marriages were interchangeable in high society.”

“You didn’t even want to know if her threat had credibility with me? About your position?”

Monica sighed, wondering if he really didn’t see. “Pit myself against a woman who knew you for years, who was about to marry you, who has power and prestige and wealth and ask you to pick her or me?”

“You continue to sell yourself short and that is a pathetic trait,” he said, shoving away from the bed.

She flinched, feeling his disappointment worse than the sudden crack in his temper. Still, she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “So it is not...a done deal?”

Turning, he glared at her.

“I’m not fishing for gossip. I’m merely asking, especially since I’ve pulled you away from a meeting with her father. I know how much you’ve sunk into the merger and how many livelihoods depend on it, and how hard you’ve worked on this. If—”

“Your little drama today hasn’t affected the merger. Now drop it. When you need to know anything more, you will.”

Monica bristled at his dismissal, though she should be used to it. On one hand, he told her to value herself when it came to him and on the other...he shut her down. Not that she didn’t understand his frustration.

Mr. Valentini thrived on being in control, and Carlo Brunetti’s addendum must have come as a shock.

While he had shut her line of questioning down, it was clear that he wasn’t dating his ex, wasn’t the least bit interested in getting back with her or marrying her. Suddenly, it felt like aweight she hadn’t known she was carrying had been lifted from her shoulders.

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