I never realized how much I’d come to love our partnership, because that’s exactly what it was. Valentina ceased being a mere employee years ago. If anything, she should have been my Chief Operating Officer, since that’s the exact role she performed, until recently.
“Stop,” I murmur. “Please, Valentina.”
Her eyes widen, and she looks caught off-guard. “Of course,” she says, nodding. She gestures toward the papers on my desk. “You can find the rest of the information right there.”
She steps back, and I shake my head. “No,” I tell her. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
For one single moment, the same loneliness I feel flashes through her eyes, and my heart starts to ache.
“I told you I’m sorry, Valentina. I’ll say it a thousand times if you want me to. What will it take for us to go back to the way we used to be?”
She looks away, her gaze unreadable. “I’m not sure what you mean,” she tells me, lying right to my face. “I believe I’ve been perfectly professional, and as far as I’m aware, I haven’t crossedany boundaries. Is there something you’re dissatisfied with? If you tell me what it is, I’ll improve it.”
My heart clenches painfully and I run a hand through my hair, my eyes falling closed. “You truly do drive me insane,” I whisper.
Her eyes flash with something that would’ve brought me to my knees if I wasn’t sitting. It was almost as though my words reminded her of that night.Pain. Lust. Longing. Loneliness.All of it blended together in those stunning hazel eyes of hers.
“We were a perfect team, Valentina. Are we really going to let one single night ruin that? How much longer will you treat me so coldly?”
She raises a trembling hand to her face and pushes her hair behind her ear. “I apologize,” she says, her voice soft. “It wasn’t my intention to treat you coldly, Luca. I was merely trying to act professional and abide by the boundaries you drew. I once forgot my place, and I don’t want to let that happen again. I got too comfortable, and it nearly cost me my job.” She pauses and crosses her arms, vulnerability filling those beautiful eyes of hers. “I don’t want you to feel like I’m using you, your family, or your network. I’m scared to do something that will make you misunderstand me, because the price for that is one I cannot pay. My family relies on me, Luca. I need this job, and I…”
Her eyes fall closed, torment taking over her expression. Fuck.Fuck. What have I done? She inhales shakily and forces a fake smile. It’s odd how even that now makes my heart race. It’s been months since she gave me one of those. I used to hate them, yet now I crave them. “I’m sorry,” she murmurs. “I’ll try my best to change my behavior.”
I look away and breathe in deeply. “No,” I murmur. “Forget I said anything.” I brush my hand through my hair and sigh. “Valentina, I won’t fire you so easily. I know what I said, and I’d give the world to take it back. I swear to you that the only wayyou’ll lose your job is if you leave me no other choice. I’ll never fire you over something trivial. I shouldn’t have let anger dictate my words, and I truly do apologize.”
She nods at me, but it’s clear she doesn’t believe me. I lost the small amount of trust she’d given me.
It’s been months, and at first, I thought we’d recover from this with time, but it looks like I was wrong. For years, I pushed her away and told her to remember her place, yet now that she’s actually heeding my warnings, I wish she’d defy me the way she always has.
Valentina walks away, leaving me staring after her. I always thought I hated her, so why does it feel like I lost my best friend? I took her for granted and didn’t even realize it.
My office door opens suddenly, and my head snaps back up. My eyes widen in surprise when my grandmother walks in, disappointment washing over me. For a moment, I thought Valentina had walked back in.
I frown as I rise from my seat. While she’s technically the chairwoman of this company, my grandmother never comes to the office anymore.
“Grandma.” I walk around my desk and hug her tightly. “What are you doing here?”
She sighs and glances back through the glass wall, her eyes settling on Valentina seated behind her desk. She’s got her head down as she types away, her expression unreadable. “This is the only way I get to see her,” Grandma says, her tone filled with accusation. She looks back at me and raises her brows. “What did you do to her to make her stay away? She hasn’t come home for dinner in months. Even Sierra and Raven are worried. This goes beyond the petty feud you had with her. She’s staying away from her friends, from me — because ofyou.”
I look away, guilt rendering me speechless. How could I possibly tell my grandmother what happened between us?
“This can’t go on like this, Luca,” she warns me.
I nod and glance at Valentina. “I know,” I whisper.
Chapter Eleven
Luca
“Did your grandmother specify why she demanded my attendance tonight?” Valentina asks as she steps into the car. I blink in surprise and sneak a look at her. I’ve gotten so used to her icy silence whenever we’re in the car together that her words startle me. Unless there’s something to discuss with regard to work, she no longer speaks to me at all.
“No,” I admit. “But the last time she called all of us together in this way was when she announced that Hannah broke off her engagement with Ares.”
I feel her gaze on me, the silence between us filled with both of our worries and countless unspoken words. She knows as well as I do what my grandmother will be announcing tonight. If she wants Valentina there, whatever she has to say will be about me. Grandma has always included her when it came to me, whether I like it or not. How would she respond if the announcement I’m expecting is truly what I think it is?
Valentina smiles as we walk into the dining room, catching me by surprise. I haven’t seen her smile in so long, and it hits me right in the heart. I missed her more than she’ll ever know.
“Rave!” Valentina calls before rushing over to my sister-in-law. It’s clear they haven’t seen each other in a while, when they used to be so close. Did I truly do that? Am I the reason she’s been staying away from Sierra and Raven?