‘No, thanks. I’ll find my own accommodation.’ Her heart sank at the thought of digging deeper into her meagre savings.
Keep your eyes on the prize...
‘Did you see the paparazzi when you came in?’ he asked, switching subjects.
Frowning, she nodded. ‘Yes...’
‘Grande. That is just a fraction of the press who follow me around on a daily basis. They’d love nothing better than to fixate on a shiny new object like you.’
Alarm dug into her belly. ‘Why would they be interested in me?’
‘Your arrival here isn’t a secret. And you don’t exactly blend into the background, do you, arcobaleno?’
Faye whizzed through the Italian words she knew, courtesy of that brief and idyllic time with Luigi before it had all turned to dust.
Arcobaleno. Rainbow.
Another more substantial sensation lanced through her. Heavier. Sinking low into her pelvis before setting off sparks in her private places. Sensations she’d smothered after that singular, soul-shredding experience with Matt.
‘As far as I’m aware, that type of tabloid attention is reserved for notorious celebrities—so what does that make you?’
‘I’m not here to indulge your curiosity, arcobaleno,’ he replied with thick sardonicism. ‘I’m simply giving you options. Take your chances at some cheap hotel with limited security or remain under my protection,
where intrusion into your life will be minimal.’
‘Why don’t we spell out the real reason?’ she asked. ‘You really want me under your roof so you can keep an eye on me.’
‘I will do so regardless of where you sleep, Faye, since I rarely take anyone at face value. It’s entirely up to you whether you wish to sleep in comfort or in a hotel, with the constant inconvenience of the press hounding you and the unfortunate side effect of incurring my displeasure should you be tricked into speaking out of turn.’
A tiny scream gathered at the back of her throat. She swallowed it down because she knew in her bones that he’d love nothing better than to see her lose control. To have her confirm his every last preconception about her.
And Faye was sure that when she throttled back her irritation at his high-handedness she would see the benefit too. After all, he was saving her from unnecessary expense—money that could be put to better use elsewhere. But it still grated that she had to force herself to accept his strings-attached charity.
Her nails dug deeper into the armrests, but she froze when his mocking gaze dropped to her telling reaction. Forcing calm into her body, she replied, ‘I’ll stay at your villa. If you insist.’
He accepted her acquiescence with a simple nod, then reached for his phone. There was a short, rapid conversation in Italian, and then his eyes returned to her. ‘My HR director is on her way. She’ll get the ball rolling.’
The relief that attacked her midriff lasted all of two breaths before Faye registered that she was being dismissed—that Maceo was now engrossed in a document.
Insisting to herself that she was equally glad to be rid of him, she rose and willed her feet to turn about, dismissing him as easily as he’d dismissed her. She succeeded after several seconds, but it took every ounce of her willpower not to turn around and confirm that the feeling of his eyes boring into her back was nothing but her imagination.
Celebrating that tiny triumph felt essential. Because as she followed an impeccably dressed middle-aged woman out of the office, Faye’s instincts screamed that she’d need every bit of ground she could retain when it came to Maceo Fiorenti.
Their battle was merely commencing.
CHAPTER THREE
THE MOMENT HER DETAILS were recorded on the system Maceo received an alert and accessed it. He despised himself for the unstoppable urge he couldn’t deny. Far from being disillusioned after an hour spent grilling Faye Bishop, and having his suspicions confirmed that she was indeed only after the money from her share, he couldn’t dismiss her from his mind.
He’d dissected her every quietly ferocious look, every word that had spilled from those Cupid’s bow lips. He’d even pondered why she dressed the way she did. Why she inked flowers onto her skin. Why she had so little apprehension about irritating him, when everyone in his private and professional sphere went to unspeakable lengths do ensure the opposite. Even rattled, Faye gave as good as she got.
His gaze strayed to the chair she’d occupied, settling on the armrests she’d all but mauled in her bid not to sink those claws into him.
Maceo found his lips curving and immediately killed the action. The last hour changed nothing. All she’d done was spout words in an attempt to make him change his view of her. Anyone could claim hard work and commitment. The proof would reveal itself in the coming months.
Disgruntlement twisted in his gut. Before he’d met her, his intention had been for her to spend only three months at Casa di Fiorenti. So why had he pushed for six? And why the hell had he issued that directive that she stay at the villa?
While he’d been upfront about interest from the paparazzi, he hadn’t divulged the fact that it was his own careful game, cultivated to keep them from digging into his family’s past and discovering the unspeakable secret his parents and Luigi had moved mountains to hide. And, more than that, his own part in shortening the lives of his family.