My deep yellow sundress flowed around my legs in the light breeze as Wyatt and I hurried to find the terminal gate. I caught a glimpse of myself in the window and was pleased with my outfit choice. A thin, tan tie wrapped around my waist, and matching heels all paired nicely with my rose-colored sunglasses and gold jewelry. Now that I could enjoy the clothing I wanted to wear, I had a bit of an obsession with fashion.
“There really need to be moving sidewalks out here.” Wyatt huffed beside me like he was about to die from the short walk since we had stepped off the train.
“Cardio.” I held up a hand to warn a driver to slow down. He seemed intent on making us his new bumper sticker. “You might want to look into it.”
“I do cardio.”
“Flirting with woman at the coffee stand outside work isn’t cardio.” I smiled over my shoulder at his deep gray eyes that looked amazing with his tight black t-shirt. “Hold on.” I googled Ricco Oil and the last name that Georgio had given us and quickly wrote it on the sign we were to hold up. “I think that’s how you spell it.” I handed it to Wyatt as we started our dash down the walkway.
“Oh, over there.” He pointed to terminal eight, and we picked up the pace. Just as the passengers were coming out, we slipped toward the front, both of us searching for someone who looked like they had a ton of money.
“So, we are going off a name and a photo?” Wyatt pulled out a silk handkerchief and dabbed this forehead.
I chuckled under my breath. “Isn’t that what he has to go off of, too?”
“True. It’s like a blind date interview.”
“No date,” I shot back in my normal debate with that topic and held up the white sign that read DeSimone. “Work. This is simply a work date.”
“You still called it a date.”
“Do you want me to leave? Because you know I will.”
“No,” he gave a little nod toward the sea of people coming toward us, “because I believe you’ve just been spotted.”
“Oh, God,” I whispered at the tall, rather attractive man walking toward me with quite the swagger. His jaw was defined, clean shaven, and his black hair was styled in the latest clean short look.
“Miss Giovanna?” He stopped in front of me and offered his hand.
“I am.”
His face broke into a cocky smile. “I’m Mariano DeSimone.”
“Pleasure to meet you. This is my associate, Wyatt Burn.”
“Nice to meet you as well.”
Wyatt looked to be starstruck, just standing there with a gaping mouth. I gave him a little nudge as I took a step forward.
“We thought you might like to get together after you were settled, but my boss told me you asked to meet right away at the airport.”
He picked up his bag and ushered us toward the doors. “I don’t have a lot of time, and I wanted to fit this in.”
“The interview?”
“I think we would both benefit from it.”
“I’m intrigued.” I glanced back at my best friend, who seemed to be still stuck in some kind of trance.
We stopped in front of a town car that looked like a modern-day carriage. A man who could only be described as spiffy-looking started to load Mariano’s luggage, and another fellow opened the door for him.
“This isn’t going to be your regular sit at a table, drinking coffee while I share my story kind of interview, Miss Giovanna. If you choose to tell a true tale about the oil business and all its struggles, and all the work and effort I have had to put in to get where I am, then you must experience it personally from the inside. This will require you to travel with me.” He stopped speaking and stared directly into my eyes. “Are you willing to do that? Go the extra mile? All for a story that will launch your career like no other?”
“Why me?” fell from my lips.
He handed his last bag to the driver then unbuttoned his jacket and tossed it inside the car.
“Because from what I’ve read, you understand that sometimes the lines between right and wrong may be blurred in order to survive.”