The Italian

“And?”

I crunch on my ice. “She’s still single.”

“So, bring her here.”

“And offer her what, Drea?” I sit back in my chair, dejected. “We both know...” I pause as I try to articulate my thoughts. “I can’t. It’s not like she lives here. If I bring her here, I have to have an offer.” I sigh sadly. “No woman in their right mind is moving to the other side of the world for a mob boss. Not a woman like her, anyway.”

He watches me for a moment. “What if she was working here and you accidently ran into her?”

“But she’s not.”

He smirks. “You’re Enrico Ferrara, aren’t you?”

My eyes hold his.

“I’m pretty sure you have most of Italy on your payroll, brother.”

I stare at him.

He raises an eyebrow. “Something to think about, right?”

“Hmm.” I smirk as his plan begins to play out in my head. I sit back and sip my drink. My mind begins to run at a million miles per minute.

What if I brought her here and ‘accidentally’ ran into her?

For half an hour, I go through the possibilities in my mind.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Drea says.

“Yeah, sure,” I reply, distracted as I begin to scroll through the names in my phone. I get to the one I’m looking for: Giorgio work. I dial the number.

“Hello, House of Valentino,” he answers.

“Giorgio,” I say. “It’s Enrico Ferrara.”

“Ah, Rico. Long time no speak, my friend. How can I help you?”

I smile. “I… need a favor.”

9

Olivia

April, two months later

I close my eyes as I stare at the email in my inbox. “Please let this happen.”

This is it; the moment I’ve been waiting for. Three months, seven interviews, an hour-long conference call last week, and it all comes down to this.

One email. I either got the job or I didn’t.

All my hopes and dreams rest on this.

I’m either moving to New York to take up a position in the designing team for Valentino. Or I’m not.

And damn it, I really, really want to.

It seemed crazy when I applied for the position on the other side of the world, but now I’ve gotten used to the idea of moving, I’m excited about it. More excited than I’ve been about anything for a long time. I’ve been looking at rental apartments over there, and I have worked out the area I want to live in.