Page 45 of The Baby His Secretary Carries

He squeezed her hand in reassurance. Alexandra might have the arrogance of blue blood, but Rafael was the last man to portray any snobbish tendencies. He might wear a bespoke tuxedo and a Girard-Perregaux on his wrist, but he’d come from the humble roots of operating his father’s marine repair business before turning it into a heavy player in marine manufacturing and technologies. Once they signed their agreement, they would expand container cargo transfers, so they would become one of the largest players in that industry. It was something Zamos needed more than Gio, but if Gio didn’t leap on this partnership, someone else would, so he wanted to exploit it.

Rafael wore an even more inscrutable look than Gio was used to seeing on him, which subconsciously increased his own tension.

Gio had judged Rafael’s marriage to be a practical one. Alexandra was an American heiress who had attended school in Switzerland. They taught haughtiness there, that was a fact, but she was enormously well-connected. Alexandra was capable of warmth and witticisms, but she had the conceit of exceptional beauty. Her superciliousness bordered on appearing spoiled, which Gio found off-putting, but he kept his opinions to himself.

As the couple arrived before them, Alexandra skimmed a blank, polite smile over Molly, one that dismissed her as unimportant. Her attention only landed on Gio because Rafael was tucking his crutch beneath is armpit and offering to shake his hand.

“Gio. Good to see you again. Gio was on the yacht with us late last year,” Rafael told Alexandra. “And this must be your fiancée?”

“Molly, yes,” Gio confirmed, disconcerted by the bland smile Alexandra offered them.

“I was on the yacht, too.” Molly said, offering her hand to Rafael while looking to Alexandra. “We met briefly. You may not remember.”

“I don’t,” Alexandra stated flatly. She turned her gaze up to the blue balloons and silver streamers in a rude lack of interest. “I have a concussion. I can’t remember a damned thing. I don’t even know why I’m here. None of this means anything to me.”

Her husband’s expression tightened. He shot Molly a look that might have been apologetic.

Molly’s eyes were swallowing her face as she stared intently at Alexandra. Her lips parted and trembled with what looked like disbelief. Horror, even.

When her glance flashed to Rafael’s, something passed between them that closed a fist around Gio’s heart. It was gone in the next second as their eye contact broke, leaving him to believe he’d imagined it. Molly went back to studying Alexandra.

“That must be terribly confusing. I’m so sorry,” Molly said with genuine concern. “It looks like you’re both still recovering from the crash. Should we sit down?”

“No. I don’t like these lights. They’re giving me a headache.” Alexandra touched her brow and winced. “Rafael insisted on my coming so people can see I’m only half there—”

“I never said that,” he bit out.

“What else are they going to think when you parade me around, explaining my brain injury like I’m a circus attraction?”

“Would you excuse us?” Rafael said tightly. “I’ll see you at the office tomorrow, Gio.”

As the pair moved away, Gio said, “Here I was so confident she wouldn’t be rude.”

“She’s injured,” Molly defended quickly. Her face was still white. “Why did they even come out?”

“They didn’t have a choice,” Gio said in grim observation. “Rafael’s growth was fast and furious. His success is new enough that he’s vulnerable.” Buzzards would be circling, sensing his weakness. “He’s making it clear that he’s not going anywhere.” Crutches notwithstanding.

“You mean he could lose—”

“Everything. Yes.”

“That seems...impossible.” Her gaze fixated on the exit long after the couple went through it.

“Business is cutthroat. You know that. Rafael might have survived the car crash, but he’s a stag with a broken leg. He and his wife were a very powerful team and she still seems feisty despite her injury, but I don’t know that she’s capable of taking over in his place if she’s suffering memory issues. They’re in trouble on many fronts. It would be different if they had a baby—”

A jolt seemed to go through Molly, one that was so electric, he felt it like a shock in his hand, as though he’d grasped a live wire.

“Wh-what do you mean?” She took her hand from his and rubbed it with the other.

He was so startled by her reaction, he almost forgot what they were talking about. He gave his head a slight shake, trying to dispel the strange vibes he was picking up.

“For all our marks of civilization, humans are still pack-mentality animals. We protect what we have so our young can thrive. That’s why I’ve become so serious about putting the pieces in place for the next generation at Casella. Until recently, I didn’t appreciate how important that was because Iwasthe next generation. When I took the helm, I presumed that settled things, firmly bypassing my father. I naively believed that if something did happen to me, Nonno would step in.” He ran his tongue over his teeth, feeling raw as he touched on brutal reality. “But he won’t always be here.”

Her worried gaze searched his. “A baby can’t take over, either,” she pointed out faintly.

“No, but those who are invested in an heir protect what belongs to him or her. I’d name you as my successor at Casella Corporation before I’d let my father so much as walk through its front doors. I know you would safeguard every brick and pencil in the place because that’s the kind of person you are, but if your own child stood to inherit? You’d be relentless.”

She blinked emotively. “I’m glad you see me that way, but...”

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