Читать книгу Seduced By The Tycoon At Christmas - Pamela Yaye - Страница 14

Chapter 5

The Casa Di Moda reception area was noisier than a train station, and the scent of coffee and expensive perfume wafted through the air. Telephones buzzed and staff members chatted in the hallway. Deliverymen shuffled in and out, carrying oversize boxes and packages.

As Zoe reached the entrance, she noticed a gift bag, a flower bouquet on top of the U-shaped desk and a mountain bike with a gigantic red bow propped against the far wall.

“Great, you’re here,” the receptionist said brightly, gesturing to the items with a nod of her head. “These things are for you. Do you want me to help you carry them to your office?”

“They are? But I didn’t order anything online. Where did they come from?”

A slim man with a thick mustache appeared at Zoe’s side and bowed in greeting. “Ms. Smith, these gifts are from Mr. Romeo Morretti. His sincere hope is that everything is to your liking.”

Stunned, all Zoe could do was nod in response. Peeking inside the bag, she pushed aside the tissue paper. Her eyes wide with disbelief, she admired each item—the crocodile leather, Chanel handbag with the shiny diamond clasp, the floral-print dress almost identical to the one she was wearing that morning, and a Samsung cell phone and tablet. Why would Romeo do this? I caused the accident, not him, so why did he buy me thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts? Her head was spinning as she struggled to understand what the gentleman was saying.

“Mr. Morretti wishes to extend his deepest apologies for the incident that happened this morning, and hopes that you will accept these presents as a sign of his deep remorse.”

“What incident?”

Aurora appeared at the reception desk with Davide at her side. The couple wore designer outfits and sidled up beside her, asking a million questions.

“What’s this about?” Aurora asked, flinging her cashmere shawl over her slender shoulders. “What happened between you and Romeo Morretti this morning?”

Zoe hadn’t planned to tell anyone about her ill-fated run-in with the business tycoon, not even her family. Images of her parents, Reuben and Collette Smith, and younger sister, Shelby, popped into her mind. Her mom and dad were happily retired from their jobs, and her twenty-six-year-old sister was a graduate student. During the staff meeting, Aurora had made it clear there wasn’t enough money for a Christmas bonus. Without it, Zoe wouldn’t be able to go home for the holidays and didn’t know how she was going to break the news to her family.

As Aurora questioned her about Romeo Morretti, Zoe’s thoughts wandered. In September, she’d returned home to celebrate her parents’ thirty-fifth wedding anniversary, but three days after arriving in Long Island she’d wanted to cut her one-month vacation short. Had actually considered returning to Milan to attend Fashion Week instead. Zoe couldn’t go anywhere without her ex-boyfriend, Khalil Tisdale, nipping at her heels. Worse still, her mother adored him and his parents, and invited them over for dinner every evening. It didn’t matter how many times she told Khalil that they were over, he wouldn’t let her be. He was a successful orthodontist with a thriving medical practice. But he called her several times a day, showed up at her parents’ house unannounced and wrote her love letters. They were over, and nothing he said or did would ever change that; still he pursued her relentlessly.

Fond memories filled her heart when she thought about her first love. Zoe was proud of Khalil and everything he’d accomplished, but she had no desire to rekindle their romance. All her life, she’d longed to travel abroad and experience different cultures and she’d refused to let anyone—not even her college sweetheart—stand in the way of her dreams.

“Earth to Zoe.” Aurora waved her bejeweled hands in the air. “Tell us what’s going on. We’re dying to know about your run-in with Romeo Morretti.”

Feeling trapped, she reluctantly told the couple about the accident, but left out the part about Romeo’s dinner invitation. The less they knew about her interaction with the financier, the better. Aurora was obsessed with the rich and famous, and Zoe didn’t want her boss to get the wrong idea about her and Romeo. “Thankfully, I wasn’t hurt,” she said with a sad smile. “My bike was totaled, but that was the worst of it.”

Aurora gasped. “Good God, Zoe, how terrible! Why didn’t you say anything?”

“It sounds worse than it was. I’m fine.”

“Grazie a Dio!” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe you were in a car accident this morning, but still came to work. You should have gone to the hospital to get checked out.”

Zoe shook her head. “No way. I’m a New Yorker. I’m strong and resilient.”

“Thank God you’re okay. I don’t know what we’d do if anything ever happened to you,” Davide said in a solemn tone of voice. “You’re an important part of the Casa Di Moda family. We don’t want to lose you.”

“I second that.” Nodding, Aurora gave Zoe a one-arm hug. “You’re the hardest-working employee we have, you’ve established a strong online presence for the company, and you’ve made the brand cool among millennials. We’re fortunate to have you on board, Zoe.”

Zoe was embarrassed by the couple’s effusive praise and wished they’d stop showering her with compliments. The receptionist was listening in, and she was afraid the loquacious single mom would gossip to the rest of the staff about what Aurora and Davide had said. That would be a disaster. Jiovanni and the other associate designers were already upset, and Zoe didn’t want them to feel worse.

“Now, back to you and Romeo Morretti.” Aurora linked arms with Zoe and dropped her voice to a whisper. “What’s he like? Does he smell good? What was he wearing this morning? Armani or Kenneth Cole?”

“I-I-I don’t know,” she stammered. “We only talked for a few minutes.”

“Ms. Smith, Mr. Morretti wanted you to have this.”

The gentleman reached into his jacket pocket, took out an envelope and offered it to Zoe, but Aurora plucked it out of her hand.

“I’ll read it to you. You’ve had a stressful day, and I don’t want anything to upset you.”

Before Zoe could protest, Aurora ripped the envelope, took out the card and shrieked in a high-pitched voice in Italian about Zoe being rich.

I’m rich? What is she talking about? Zoe thought, bewildered by her boss’s odd behavior.

Aurora was gesturing wildly with her hands, speaking so fast in Italian Zoe didn’t understand a word she was saying. “What is it? Why are you screaming? What does the card say?”

Everyone in the reception area was watching them, and the gentleman’s face was red.

“You struck pay dirt! Literally. Romeo Morretti just financed your future!”

What? Perplexed, she shook her head. Prying the envelope out of her boss’s hands, Zoe realized the piece of paper she’d been waving around was a bank draft, and stared at the check. Zoe choked on her tongue. Rubbing her eyes, she counted the number of zeroes—twice—to make sure she hadn’t made a mistake. A hundred thousand euros? What for?

“I have to return this. I can’t keep it.” Zoe glanced around, searching the reception area for Romeo Morretti’s employee, but he was gone. Unsure of where Morretti Investments was, Zoe asked the receptionist to find the address online and waited patiently for her to locate it.

Drumming her fingernails on the desk, Zoe imagined what would happen when she saw Romeo again. Would she be calm and composed this time, or a tongue-tied fool? It was hard not to get flustered when he stared at her. His gaze was unnerving and intense, and his boyish smile could melt the ice around any woman’s heart.

“Keep the gifts and the check. You earned it.”

Earned it? It was an accident, not a setup! Again, Zoe was bewildered by Aurora’s words. Surely she didn’t mean it. Furthermore, what kind of person would Zoe be if she took the money? She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she did; guilt would eat her alive.

“Romeo Morretti struck you with his car, and you deserve to be adequately compensated,” Aurora continued in a haughty tone of voice. “To be honest, a hundred thousand euros isn’t enough money for your terrible pain and suffering.”

Zoe frowned. What pain and suffering? I’m fine!

“I second that,” Davide agreed. “Call Romeo Morretti and demand ten million euros.”

“No way! That’s crazy. I could never do that.”

“If he refuses to pay, take him to court.” Dollar signs flashed in Aurora’s hazel eyes, and a smirk curled her lips. “You’ll definitely win, and when you do, you can use your settlement money to invest in Casa Di Moda. It’s a win-win for everyone!”

In businessman mode, Davide confided in Zoe about his meeting with bank officials yesterday, and the stress he was under to find new investors. Listening to him, Zoe was convinced that Aurora was making a mistake about the plus-size line. If they launched the line, and it did well, investors would come running. It wasn’t the time or the place to broach the subject, but she decided to speak to her boss again tomorrow in private.

“Rosannah, can you do me a favor and put these things in my office before you leave?”