The Commanding Italian's Challenge

Maceo was aware he was fast reaching the end of this particular rope. That soon he would throw another log into the inferno he battled each day. One he suspected might well test his very mettle—

‘Is everything satisfactory, signor?’ asked his Latin American senior executive.

Maceo unclenched his jaw long enough to deliver an excuse tempered with a stiff smile, before removing himself from the tedious conversation.

Instantly, husky laughter reached his ears...curled around his senses, held on tight and demanded attention.

Faye.

With a compulsion he deeply resented, he glanced across his landscaped gardens. There she was, surrounded by a clutch of admirers.

Telling himself he should be satisfied that Stefano and Francesco had made themselves scarce didn’t work as his feet propelled him to her. As the bare expanse of her smooth back dissected by the thinnest of twin straps made him swallow a groan.

To their credit, her admirers dispersed as he approached, leaving them alone in the shadow of a cypress tree. The sun hadn’t quite set, and the encroaching gloom before the lights came on perfectly suited Maceo’s mood.

‘You have a face like thunder again,’ Faye murmured. ‘Tell me... Your dislike of me—it goes beyond your role as executor of Carlotta’s will, doesn’t it?’ She raised defiant eyes to his.

Dio mio, she was truly fearless. And somehow he couldn’t find it in himself to be annoyed by it any longer.

‘If you must know, I detest people who expect handouts for doing nothing. But perhaps in your case there’s valid cause to give you a pass.’

Her mouth dropped open. ‘There is?’

He shrugged. And before she could respond to the words he hadn’t intended to speak, he ploughed ahead. ‘What were you discussing with Stefano and Francesco?’

Her eyes widened, knowledge dawning in their indigo depths. ‘They’re the reason for your hang-ups, aren’t they?’

Partly.

‘Answer the question, if you please.’

She sipped her drink leisurely before she answered. ‘They tried to be coy about it, but I think they were prying into what I am to you.’

‘And?

‘And I didn’t give them the satisfaction of an answer. I reckoned if you want them to know, you’ll tell them.’

Her unexpected loyalty stunned him. ‘Grazie.’

‘What did they do? And, before you deny it, know that I have eyes, Maceo.’

Why did his name on her lips thrill him so? And why wasn’t he telling her to mind her own business?

‘Besides making Carlotta’s life a misery at every opportunity?’ he said.

She frowned. ‘Carlotta? I thought this was about you. It felt...personal.’

Although for the life of him he couldn’t decipher why, he found himself elaborating. ‘After the accident, they and the rest of the board members tried to take the company away from her. They pulled every trick in the book, from declaring her incompetent to manipulating her grief. They even attempted blackmail.’

‘Then why are they still here, employed by Casa di Fiorenti?’ By you, her tone suggested.

‘Because she was kind-hearted. To Carlotta, family meant everything.’

His neutrality failed when he heard the rough edge of guilt and bitterness in his own voice.

‘You don’t share the sentiment?’ Faye observed.

Secrets he wished he didn’t possess clawed at his insides. ‘Not when that family is intent on doing you harm, no.’