Talia McKenna stood on the airport tarmac next to the driver, her arms wrapped tightly around her shivering body. Her mouth opened with a long loud yawn. She couldn’t smother that one, unlike the hundred others that came before, she’d been able to hold in. Who would arrive in the dead of the early morning night and expect a greeting party? A DeLuca of course. And not just any DeLuca, the DeLuca.
Talia was still having a hard time believing that she’d been appointed as a glorified tour guide to Rafael DeLuca II. Nobody called him junior and, from what she’d heard, it was akin to calling a shark cute and cuddly. Unlike his father, Rafael DeLuca Senior, who was cold and ruthless and with questionable business ethics, baby shark here was on the up and up and sadly for everyone else, not easy to read nor predict.
He had come out of nowhere, surpassing his father in a blink of an eye and with a company that had been long declared and widely considered dead for almost a decade. A blow to Senior’s ego, Talia was sure. It would explain why he was loudly and very publicly handing over the reins. Talia was no shrink, but the way he kept throwing lavish parties to announce that he had set everything up for his son to continue his accomplishments said a lot. It didn’t help much that his son doubled profits within a year of taking over every company his father ‘handed over’. The DeLuca Empire had ten billion dollar companies with branches in numerous countries, hers being one of them, and tens more investments all over the world just as lucrative. With that kind of reputation, she reluctantly admitted he deserved a welcome party in the middle of the night. She just wished it wasn’t her doing the welcoming.
Talia rubbed her hands together and blew into them before placing them back around her in a tighter hug. They said it was an assistant position, but she knew better. The man travelled with a posse; he didn’t need an assistant. What the suits really wanted her to do was spy on him. Apparently, this visit was sudden and clearly unexpected since she was hired—she snorted, forcefully appointed was more like it—that very evening.
The fact that she spoke Italian made her the perfect candidate. She could have said no, but a green light for her project and the promotion that came with it were at stake. But, she came to realize, it was also a very good opportunity. If she got the great DeLuca to say yes to her project, she could stop kissing those old fat asses and get to work. As she stood in the freezing night cold, she was going to let that thought warm her up.
Talia was looking to start a global internship program that would allow disadvantaged young women from anywhere in the world to intern at all the DeLuca International offices, their holdings and companies they invested in, located all the world. It would allow them to expand their horizons, learn new languages, afford them equalized opportunities and travel to places they could only dream of all on the company’s dime. The program would serve the giant global company well too. A PR golden goose, as far as Talia was concerned.
Talia looked at her wrist watch then up at the sky. “What’s taking them so long?” Her teeth chattered together as her body shivered to shake off the cold.
“He’s here,” Joe, the company driver, spoke next to her, pointing up.
Talia looked at him before following his white gloved finger’s direction. He didn’t look the least bit cold. The dude was tall and packed with muscle, or fat, she wasn’t sure which one. The long cotton wool coat that made up his chauffeur uniform covered a lot. She understood chivalry must be numb in this cold but at least he could have offered her those gloves.
She looked at those white cotton, warmed thanks to his body heat gloves with an envious sigh, her hands tucked under her armpits. She could kill for those gloves. She looked him over again. What would be her chances if she were to tackle him and snatch them off him?
“He’ll be landing any minute now,” Joe added, pulling her attention to what mattered.
Talia watched the dot of light grow larger and heard the sound that began as a whisper grow louder as the object of their attention drew nearer and lower. How had Joe spotted that? She could easily have mistaken it for a star. But who cares? She was finally going to get out of this damn cold.
“Finally!” she cheered, jumping up and down to get her blood pumping. She couldn’t meet the DeLuca as a popsicle.
In less than three minutes the plane touched down on the runway and made its way to the tarmac they stood at.
“Did you know that’s his plane?” Joe asked. The awe in his voice told her he was more telling her than asking her.
“You mean the company plane?”
He shook his head and turned to look at her for a second before his eyes moved back to the taxing plane. There was actually a twinkle in his eye as he stared wide eyed at the aircraft.
“Nope. That’s his!” he announced proudly like only a fan would. “That’s an Embraer Lineage 1000, custom fitted and designed for him. Just like his yacht and car collections. They say he is the only one who owns the entire Absolute Nevatta collection. And he doesn’t drive anything but Ferrari, a different one each week. All stored in a hundred thousand square foot warehouse with security that rivals a bank vault.”
Talia snorted, she wouldn’t expect anything less. That one warehouse probably held over a billion dollars in machinery. As ridiculous as it seemed to own that much in cars and yachts, oh and planes, and probably a helicopter—with all that he owned she wouldn’t put it past him to have a helicopter—she couldn’t help but smile at Joe’s enthusiasm. He was no fan, he was a groupie. They called them sesangs in South Korea—obsessive fans.
“What’s an Absolute Nevatta?”
The look Joe gave her was similar to the one parents get when they ask their children what K-Pop is.
“Yachts,” he responded shortly.
The only thing left for him to do was say ‘OMG’ and flip his hair over his shoulder as he turned away from her, his snobby chin up in the air.
She nodded, stifling a smile, and turned back to look at the plane that had slowed down as it was coming to a stop. “Gotcha.”“How do you not know that? You reserved one for him just a few hours ago.”Ha? Talia turned to Joe a little shocked. This was the first she had heard of it. “I did?”He nodded slowly with an even more incredulous look on his face.She definitely didn’t, but she was sure it was one of his army of assistants. She sighed, an army she was now an honorary member of.“Well then, at least we’re sure he’ll like it.”She made a little cheer when the plane came to a stop around a hundred feet away from them. After a few minutes, the door opened, and a step of stairs appeared as it lowered. Someone who looked like a pilot stepped out first. Following close behind was a man holding something in his arm pressed against his chest as he descended the steps.“What are the chances he came alone?” Talia asked as she watched the man approach them.“Not a chance. From what I heard
Talia groaned from under her pillow and cursed at whoever was calling. Once in the cab with Enzo, heading to his hotel that he’d been so kind to inform her the name and location, she’d shot her bosses an email with an update and, with much restraint, requested the morning off. After dropping Enzo off and heading home, she’d never felt so excited to go back to that tiny one bedroom apartment. Shaking, almost frozen stiff, she’d quickly changed into her pajamas and burrowed under her thick duvet and waited for warmth to thaw out her frozen limbs. It was the best morning sleep she’d ever had.Correction, she thought with a groan as the persistent ringing grew louder, it was almost the best morning sleep.Back at home she pressed the pillow against her ear and pleaded with her phone. “Just die. You always die on me when I don’t want you to. Now I want you to.”The ringing stopped and Talia smiled with contentment, emerging from under her pillow. She should check the time—No! I want sleep.
Talia followed, thinking she now owed Joe a coffee and a box of donuts for saving her twice. And that idiot holding the itinerary hostage as some sort of prank, he or she was going to get it once she found out who it was. After a three minute walk on the wood walkway—she had no idea what the right name was—they got to DeLuca’s boat—yacht. His was parked, or tied last on the third and last row coming out of the main column. The place was beautiful and so were the vessels, if she put the immediate danger of drowning away from her mind.Once he pointed it out to her, she thanked him and watched him walk away for a few seconds before she turned back to the boat—yacht. It was pretty and big. How one person piloted this thing without help was beyond her. But who knew, maybe he didn’t go anywhere, and who said he was alone? For all she knew, this yacht was how he got laid.But that was all none of her business. She moved closer to the back of the boat—yacht, super aware of where the walkway
“Carrie!”Immediately as Talia got to the office she went in search of her friend. Being fellow International Relations Officer, they sat opposite each other, their backs to each other. Their curved cubicles made a nice private horseshoe enclosure around them, great for a midday nap.“Carrie I’ve got something juicy for you!” Talia said as she dropped into her seat and swiveled around to face Carrie. But her friend still had her back to her, and her head was on her crossed arms on the desk. Talia grabbed the back of her seat and forcefully turned it around, making Carrie sit up with a pained moan.Talia reared back, surprised, when she finally saw her friend’s face. “Why do you look like death walked all over you?”Carrie’s eyes were red and puffy, her caramel skin tone looked two shades lighter and she gagged like she was about to barf. Talia pushed her chair back until it hit her desk, curbing her escape.“Don’t you dare!” Talia warned, holding a finger up to her.With one hand Carr
Rafe fixed his tie, wishing he’d taken an extra day of relaxation on the yacht before he got to work but that would be completely out of character for him. Actually, he’d been feeling unlike himself recently and he couldn’t understand why or even pinpoint when it started. He was exhausted. Not physically, he was sure of that, and he couldn’t say emotionally either. Emotion was a foreign concept to him. But something inside him was just tired. Whatever it was pulled him down from his head right down to his feet. His arms felt like he had weights attached to them and there was this restlessness he couldn’t get rid of no matter what he tried.“Signore DeLuca,” Enzo started. Rafe looked at Enzo through the mirror. “Miss McKenna is here to see you to the office,” he continued.Rafe clenched his jaw to tamper down his irritation. That and his temper had recently grown worse too. Another thing he couldn’t ex
“Quanto tempo ci vuole per arrivare in ufficio?” DeLuca barked next to her, making her jump. That was the second time he’d startled her that day and for two completely different reasons. The first one, she wasn’t sure she wanted to examine.Why was he asking how long it would take to get to the office? Was he in a hurry? And why was he in such a foul mood? The only one in a hurry was her. She wasn’t sure if she could sit still for the twenty minutes it would take to get to the office with mister mood swings next to her.“Venit minuti,” Enzo answered, to Talia’s relief, from the front passenger seat. She had temporarily lost her ability to speak.“Why didn’t you respond? I thought you spoke Italian?”Talia turned to find him staring at her, creases around his eyes at the intensity of his gaze that matched his terse tone. Talia stared back at him wide eyed. Was he tryi
He leaned in closer. “I mean stay employed.” Talia’s fist clenched tighter, not to hold on to determination anymore but to hold back her temper. The old fat, she thought as she forced her lips into a tight smile. Without another word, she turned around and marched out of the office, careful not to bang the door behind her. “Ohff,” she exhaled as she shook her fists in front of her. She turned her head to look back at the door. Were they even really considering her project? Probably not. Just as she’d thought, DeLuca was her best bet to getting the go ahead on her project. But that thing, that moment… Forget whatever that was, Talia, Focus on the end goal. Fueled with new determination, Talia marched to DeLuca’s office with her own agenda in mind. Screw the old fats, they could find someone else to spy on DeLuca. She came to a stop in front of the door, raised her hand to knock and froze, all the courage she had mustered abandoning her. On the way she’d been so determined, now just
Rafe stared at the closed door, his mind numb from the image of Miss McKenna walking away. Now he got where the saying ‘I love watching you walk away’ was coined from. The black pants she wore, though loose, were fitted from her waist to the mid of the curve of her hips. Her long sleeved white shirt, though fitting, was sadly loose around her bust. It was the two open top buttons that gave a hint of what lay underneath. She was dressed professionally, not provocative or revealing, but that was the thing. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He’d had naked women throw themselves at him but none had turned him on like she just did. If she only knew that was what men like him found seductive.But then again, if he were to imagine her naked, it wouldn’t be hard to fill in the blanks. The memory of her unexpected visit was still stuck in his mind. Those blue jeans shorts that reached the mid of her thigh in freys, her long dark legs exposed to the ankle. T