Page 26 of His Two Hidden Masks

He did not look my way once.

My father commanded the room with his usual dominance. They did a round of introductions, which is where I learned that James Street was the Vice President of Hospitality at Street Entertainment. He traveled with six people in his entourage.

His team spoke very little, but took copious notes, and they all seemed tied to their cell phones. I wondered why my father was allowing them to constantly text. If the Street team was here to discuss an acquisition, shouldn’t they be having one conversation?

Nico and Roberto shared a Power Point on the financials. I perked up. I knew my father didn’t expect me to track the P&L for the company, but I did.

One benefit to being with Roberto for the last two years was that I had gotten used to reading our financial statements. My father never tasked me with this part of the business. In fact, he tasked me with very little, but Roberto had all of the documents and I taught myself to read the forecast and budget accruals.

Roberto took the lead in the budget discussion and highlighted the first quarter’s financials. The bottom line was not good.

“We are forecasting a budget shortfall of approximately two million across the Uzano portfolio,” Roberto said. “As we have discussed, global events and environmental concerns around sustainability in Venice have impacted the volume of tourists coming to our grand city.

Also, supply chain issues have impacted the cost of materials in the expansion of our hotel in Florence and the remodel of Milan. The cost of labor has gone up and the market is simply not allowing us to capture the revenue we forecasted when we took on those expansion plans.”

My father nodded his face stony. “Of course, of course. Can we please move onto new business? I understand that we have stretched ourselves financially and it has put us into a difficult position.”

He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Isabella,” he said, “you have a Carnival proposal. Proceed.”

“Yes, thank you.” I stood and walked to the front of the room.

“Do you have any materials you would like to share?” Roberto asked. “A presentation, a one-sheet?”

“No,” I said. I had those items prepared, of course, but they were all in my room at home.

Roberto shrugged his expression, noting that he didn’t care either way.

At the head of the table, I stood behind my father, which gave me a full view of James. I tried to shake the feeling I was presenting directly to him. Well, better to pretend to present to that gorgeous man than to my ex-fiancé.

“I have a proposal for our Venice property, the Mia Sorella,” I said. “As the board is aware, last quarter we approved adding my candies to the front desk of the hotel and to the restaurant.

I prepared and provided Black Sea salted caramels, a single flavor, to offer our guests. This small investment provides a touch of sweetness, and we have data from our guests that the candies are a differentiator for our hotel.”

“They are also a sunk cost,” my father said. “We approved an initial spend and agreed to give them away for free.”

“Understood,” I said, my voice steady. “Which brings me to my proposal.”

I glanced at the ballroom doors, and as if on cue, Lissa entered with a tray that held a small silver bowls of caramels. She placed them on the tables.

“Thank you, Lissa,” I said, smiling.

“The customer feedback on our comment cards, as well as verbal feedback from the staff, all indicate that our guests would like to be able to purchase the candies and bring them home as a souvenir or gift. They have also been especially popular in our Andiamo restaurant.”

I nodded toward the silver dishes. “I would like to ask the board for a small investment to add a new brand to our retail portfolio. I call it, Bella Baci.”

James looked up at me, unblinking. I swallowed and continued.

“Bella Baci candies are delightful and will help our guests remember Venice, like a beautiful kiss.” I paused. It was so hard to read the room.

“I have enough inventory prepared for Carnival, which as you know is already under way. This means we can sell boxes at the front desk, and at the restaurant. After today’s meeting, you will have a summary of the cost and forecasted revenue.

When things go well with our Venice properties, the numbers are even better if we distribute across all our locations.”

I glanced at James and noticed his dark eyes still watching me. In fact, he looked like he was actually eating one of my caramels and drinking that damn tea.

The thought of his mouth spun my mind to the memory of his lips on my neck, on my chest, my breasts. My cheeks flushed. This was not helpful; I needed to focus. I took a deep breath.

“I recommend we establish three flavors, Black Sea Salt, Vanilla, and Jalapeño. It is a lovely blend of sweet and spicy, and I have provided samples for everyone here today.” Murmursof conversation followed as the board and the Street team all sampled the candies.

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