His Merciless Marriage Bargain

But now, suddenly, the construction company, the Marcello holding company and even the family itself, was teetering on collapse. Gio was livid. He’d had enough, and he put his foot down. Either his father left, or he’d leave. That was all.

His father thought it was a joke, but Gio was furious that the company was being drained dry for selfish purposes when there were hundreds of employees that depended on the Marcellos. He’d never forget that last big battle with his father.

“We owe our employees a solvent company. They shouldn’t have to worry if they will have a job tomorrow, or a way to pay their bills. If you don’t care about the future of a company that has been around for over one hundred years, get out now before you ruin the Marcello name.”

And to Gio’s surprise, his father left, abandoning ship, leaving his oldest son to save what he could.

That huge fight had been over fifteen years ago, and Giovanni had headed up the construction division and the holding company ever since. It had been a massive struggle to turn the floundering corporation around, but he had. And so, yes, he was protective of the business, and even more protective of those who worked for him.

“The company is not one thing,” he said. “It’s not a bank account. It’s not an office building. It’s not equipment or real estate. It’s people, my people. And I’m determined to do what is best for them. You see, they all have a vested interest in Marcello’s success because each employee is gifted stock each year on the anniversary of their hire date. The longer an employee is with the company, the more stock they hold, which also means they become deeply invested in the company’s success. When Borgo Marcello goes public in two weeks, my employees will have the opportunity to make some very good money. We’ve never done this before. Until now, all our companies have been privately held, but by going public, a number of my employees should make some good money. And that’s what I want for them. This isn’t about me. It’s about rewarding those who have been loyal, when even my own family was not.”

She exhaled slowly, staring out past Giovanni to the narrow street.

She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what to do with the information he’d just told her. In some ways she was relieved. But she was also more worried, because if what he said was true, he had very valid reasons for being so protective and proactive about his company.

She didn’t want his employees to lose out on an exceptional opportunity. She’d never been offered stock at AeroDynamics, but Rachel did have friends who worked at high-tech companies and owning stock was huge, especially if a company was close to going public.

“There has to be some middle ground, though,” she said after a moment. “Something that could protect your company and employees, and also protect me.”

He looked at her and waited.

She swallowed hard. “Why does it have to be a real engagement, and a real marriage? Can’t we just pretend until your company has gone public?”

“Pretend to be engaged…for an entire year?”

“A year? Why so long?”

“The first year a company goes public is quite volatile. I have no desire to add risk, or damage credibility.” He paused, drummed his fingers on the table. “And Michael? What about him? A year from now he’ll be eighteen months and walking and starting to talk. Will we want to tear his world apart right when he’s becoming confident and secure?”

“He wouldn’t know. He won’t understand.”

“He would if you suddenly left Venice.”

Her eyes opened wide. “You expect me to live in Venice for the next year?”

“I expect you to live with me for the rest of your life.”

Her lips parted in a silent gasp. Her stomach cramped. He was out of his mind, or far too sure of his power. Seconds passed, and then minutes. Rachel could not bring herself to speak, and Giovanni didn’t seem interested in filling the silence, increasing the tension until she wanted to jump up and run. But where could she go? Nowhere. Because Michael was at the Marcello palazzo and she’d never leave Venice without him.

“You want to protect your company,” she said carefully after an endless stretch of silence. “And I want to protect Michael. Surely we can both agree on that.”

Gio’s dark head inclined.

“I understand damage control is needed, especially since the media is fascinated with this fantasy story of ours, but eventually the media will move on to other stories and other scandals, and we can return to our lives, hopefully relatively unscathed.”

Gio just waited.

She swallowed and mentally went through her thoughts before speaking them aloud, testing their strength and clarity. “Let’s start with the pretend engagement. We can do that. It’s not beyond our ability to smile in public and try to behave in a unified manner. It’s a role we can manage for a few weeks, or even a few months. But let me be clear, I can’t commit to anything longer than that. It’s enough for us to take this first step now, implementing damage control, which should prevent the situation from spiraling.”