For Angelo(34)

“Hello, tesoro.” Angelo expected his Lane to surprise him by saying something outrageous, but instead she mumbled incoherently, her gaze fixed firmly on the floor. He looked at her thoughtfully.

And then he said, “Fico, Umberto, un momento, per favore.”

Lane cringed at the command. Oh no. Had Angelo heard them earlier? Were they going to be punished because she had pleaded them to tell her stories about their employer?

Head still bowed, she was only able to see Fico and Umberto’s shoes as they came to Angelo’s side.

Angelo took his wallet out. He counted all the bills he had inside it in full view, and everyone gasped, thinking that their employer was about to give the bodyguards their severance pay.

Oh, gosh. Lane cringed even more, having seen the same thing as well. I need to tell him that they shouldn’t be blamed, she realized. And she would do this, as soon as she could make herself forget that Angelo Valencia was an extremely rich man.

“As you can see, this is all I have in here,” Angelo was murmuring, and her heart dropped to her stomach when she saw him hand most of the bills to Umberto.

Lane whitened.

“Please split it between the two of you.”

Fico and Umberto started to protest and apologize at the same time, but their voices were easily drowned out by someone’s cry.

“No!”

It was Lane, of course.

She had a look of horror on her face, and Angelo was almost unable to suppress his smile. Taking a moment to rein his amusement in, he asked levelly, “Cosa c’e?” What is it?

Lane was thrown slightly off track by Angelo’s words. “I…” Her mouth opened and closed. “I don’t know what that means.” She shook her head, saying hastily, “But that doesn’t matter. What’s important is…” Still unable to meet his gaze, she took a deep breath and said in a rush, “You can’t terminate their employment for their perceived transgression.”

He wondered if she realized how she was speaking, and he filed it in his mind as something to ponder. Out loud, he said simply, “I never said anything to that effect, did I?”

Lane gaped, and so did everyone in the basement.

“T-then what is this for, signor?” Fico finally found the courage to ask.

“A token of gratitude,” he said casually.

Umberto frowned. “A reward for what, sir?”

A dazzling smile curving on his lips, he murmured, “For your commendable behavior during my Lane’s time of need.”

A squeak escaped one of the female staff members.

Julieta couldn’t blame the other woman. She was also pretty shocked herself, and only now was she starting to appreciate just how special Lane Petersen was to Angelo.

Most of them had been in Angelo Valencia’s employ for years, and they had all been witnesses to his transformation following the public and scandalous end of his relationship with Jaike Hepburn.

Although he had always been more reserved than friendly, the staff had nevertheless felt comfortable in his presence. They had known he wasn’t the type to be rude or unreasonable, and even though his perfectionism regarding work was infamous, so was his generosity and compassion towards his staff.

But then the breakup happened, and everything had changed.

Angelo Valencia had become cold and withdrawn, and his staff, taking their cue from him, had become formal with him as well.

His lifestyle had also undergone a severe transformation – in the opposite direction. Whereas in the past their employer’s sexual preferences had been an open secret that his loyal staff never spoke about, debauchery and hedonism had suddenly become the norm.

Certainly, the post-breakup Angelo they knew would never have smiled that way at any woman, and that same Angelo would not have been the kind to use an endearment.

Julieta looked at Angelo, who was completely focused on Lane. Poor girl. Lucky girl. She wasn’t quite sure which was true, she only knew that Angelo Valencia always got what he wanted…if he really wanted it.

And right now, Julieta had a feeling that Lane was Angelo Valencia’s greatest desire.

Poor girl. Lucky girl.

Angelo was now handing the rest of the bills he had in his hand to the bodyguards.

Julieta frowned. Now what was that for?

Seeing the same thing, Lane was equally confused. Or at least the tiny functioning part of her mind was. The rest had been lost in a mushy, dreamy state since the moment Angelo had called her ‘my Lane’ in front of the entire staff. It had gone a long way in easing her tension, and she was almost able to forget he was an extremely rich man now. Almost.

“This,” she heard Angelo murmur, “is to illustrate a point.” He showed the guards his wallet. “It’s empty, as you see.”