I cross my arms and nod slowly. “Then I suppose you’d better think long and hard about your legacy.”
I rise to my feet, and he reluctantly rises too, his gaze pleading. “Three days,” I remind him as I see him out. He nods in resignation as he walks away, visibly in torment.
The door falls closed behind him, and Valentina looks up at me with raised brows, her eyes overflowing with contempt. She acts perfectly professional in front of others, but when it’sjust the two of us, she makes a fucking mockery of me. I’m not entirely sure why I let her.
“Three days?” she repeats. “You’re a monster. He’s going to agonize over this decision for three whole days when you could’ve just called an emergency board meeting to replace that kid yourself. You are, after all, the largest shareholder. Instead, you made him come here andtorturedhim.”
I smile at her. “I’m not the one who called his son a dimwit and messed with him like he’s fucking prey. Besides, he built that company from the ground up. It’s up to him to decide whether or not he’ll let his son ruin it. Three days is enough time for him to find a different investor. If he truly believes in his son’s vision, then that’s exactly what he’ll do.”
The edges of her lips tug up, and she shakes her head as she gathers the documents on my desk before straightening them. Eight years, and I still can’t truly read her.
I tear my eyes off her and glance at my father’s old pocket watch instead. “My grandmother is expecting both of us for our weekly family dinner tonight. You know she doesn’t like to be kept waiting. We’ll attend together, and we’ll finish our work afterward.”
Valentina nods, not even a hint of protest in her eyes. For years, she’s worked the same sixteen-hour days I have. Initially, I only made her work these insane hours in an effort to make her quit, but it’s become our usual routine.
She follows me to my car quietly. Ever since she was hired, I’ve tried to unravel the relationship between my grandmother and her, and I never could. Not even Silas Sinclair, our brilliant Head of Security, could figure out their connection. I have no idea why my grandmother appointed a young college drop-out as my assistant eight years ago, or why Valentina continues to be invited to events that are meant strictly for family. There’ssomething about Valentina Diaz that I thoroughly dislike, and it isn’t just the mystery she’s wrapped in.
Chapter Two
Luca
“Have some more, Val,” Grandma calls over the noise at our packed dinner table, showering her with the same love she’s always given me and my five siblings. Grams throws me a stern look, and I grit my teeth as I reluctantly add more glazed carrots to my secretary’s plate.
I can’t figure out why Grandma favors Valentina so much. Our weekly dinners are strictly a family affair. There are only two exceptions to this rule: Raven, my sister’s best friend, andValentina.
Now, I’d understand if Valentina was invited every once in a while, a few years into our working relationship — but that wasn’t the case. She’s been invited to family dinner once a month, like clockwork, from the moment we started working together. She claims not to know why my grandmother treats her so well, but I call bullshit.
I’ve been trying to find out if my grandmother pays her to report on my every move, but I’ve found no paper trail evidencing that. But then again, I never would. My grandmother would never slip up in that way.
Valentina smiles at Grandma, and I stare at her in wonder. Why is it that she never behaves this way in my presence? It isn’t just the genuine laughter escaping her red lips — it’s the easygoing conversations she holds with my brothers, and the inside jokes she has with my sister, Sierra.
Valentina, Sierra, and Raven giggle about something I can’t even begin to comprehend, and I tear my gaze away, focusing on my food instead.
Valentina is on great terms with every single member of my family, except for me, the man that actually pays her an exorbitant salary. I can’t tell which version of her is real. When she’s around my family, she’s so fucking sweet that even I almost fall for her act. If only they could see her at work. That illusion she’s trapped them in would shatter instantly.
I take a sip of my wine, my eyes settling on my older brother, Ares. At this loud table, he and I are the only ones who are quiet tonight. I follow his gaze to find him staring at Raven. She’s laughing at something Valentina said, and he can’t seem to tear his eyes off her.
I look away, trying my best to hide the hint of concern I’m feeling. Raven isn’t just our sister’s best friend. She’s also Ares’s fiancée’s younger sister. She’s the last woman he should be looking at that way. I shake my head and empty my wine glass. An arranged marriage is what awaits all of us siblings, but at least I’ll go into mine without feelings for someone I’ll never have.
“You’re quiet,” Valentina says as dinner wraps up. “Is everything okay? Is there something urgent we need to work on?”
I look up at her in surprise and shake my head as I lead her through the main house where my grandmother lives, toward my own condo. “Do you ever think about anything but work?”
She smiles at me in that way I despise. “Doyou?”
The edges of my lips turn up. “Touché.”
Valentina presses her thumb to the scanner at my front door, and it swings open. She exhales softly as she slips out of her high heels, leaving them by the door as she heads to my living room barefoot.
Without her heels on, she looks so fucking tiny. It’d be so easy to pick her up and push her against the wall. Would her lips taste as venomous as the words that escape it?
I run a hand through my hair and shake my head. What the fuck am I even thinking? Valentina is beautiful beyond compare, but I have no doubt she’d be just as cold and unpleasant in bed. If I tried fucking her, I’d walk away with frostbite, no doubt. I shudder, annoyed with myself for even thinking about it.
“Interesting,” she says, staring at her phone as she sits down on the sofa. I take a seat and lean in to look over her shoulder, a whiff of her signature lavender scent involuntarily making me breathe in deeper. “He asked his son to step down. I’m surprised.”
She turns to look at me, her face so close that her nose nearly brushes against mine. My eyes drop to her perfectly full lips, an unwelcome hint of desire rushing through my body. “Why?” I whisper. She doesn’t move away, and neither do I.
“Why, what?” Her voice trembles.