Saved by the CEO(12)

Keep her safe or keep her from leaving? The dread that gripped him when  she mentioned going to Florence was no less today than it had been  yesterday. He wished he understood why her leaving Monte Calanetti  disturbed him so much.

He looked past her shoulder to the back door and the thin dark line  scored in the wood just to the left of the doorknob. A reminder of the  time his mother had thrown a carving knife at his father's disappearing  back. "Did you sleep well?" he heard himself ask.

"Okay," she said. "It's never easy sleeping the first night in a new place and all."

"Perhaps, after a full day's work, tonight will be better." For both of  them. Wiping his mouth, he tossed the napkin onto his empty plate and  stood up. "Speaking of...we have a busy day. Get your shoes on and I'll  show you what you'll be doing for me."

* * *

Beyond the vineyards themselves, Amatucci Vineyards had two primary  sections. There was a medieval stone villa that housed the store and  wine-tasting rooms as well as a modern production facility. It was to  the second building that Nico and Louisa headed, cutting through the  rear garden and vines. Something else Louisa had been too stressed out  to appreciate yesterday. Unlike the villa, which was stately and ripe  with family heirlooms, Nico's garden was a breathtaking display of  natural beauty. The vines draping the pergola beams had minds of their  own, their branches dipping and weaving into a unique overhead tapestry.  Likewise, urns had been placed around the terracotta terrace, their  roses and olive plants spiraling up cedar trellises with stunning  wildness.

"I like to be reminded of how rugged the hills can be," Nico said when  she complimented him. Rugged was a good word and fit him perfectly, she  thought, dodging a low-hanging branch. Nico was earthy and independent.  Civilized, but not completely.

"Most of the employees are in the field at this time of day," Nico told  her as he unlocked the facility door. "I'll set you up in one of the  back offices so you'll have maximum privacy. I also sent an email to the  staff last night reminding them that I expect professionalism and  discretion at all times, and that I won't tolerate gossip."

"Sounds like you've thought of everything." Swooping in to take  control... A tightness found its way into her stomach, which she  immediately pushed aside. Not the same thing, she silently snapped. Stop  comparing.                       
       
           



       

The door opened into a small receiving room dominated by filing cabinets  and a cluttered metal desk at which a lanky young man too big for his  chair sat reading. Behind him a glass window looked out over a  warehouse-sized room full of gleaming stainless-steel processing  machines.

He practically jumped to his feet when he heard Nico shut the door.  "Signor! I was just-just-" Seeing Louisa, he stopped midsentence and  simply stared. This morning's newspaper lay open on the desk, the photo  of her and Nico on display.

"Good morning, Mario. I'd like you to meet Louisa Harrison from Palazzo  di Comparino. She's offered to help us fulfill shipping orders so we can  get ready for harvest."

"Hello."

"Mario is studying viticulture at the university. He wants to learn how to become a great vintner."

Mario was doing his best to look anywhere but at her. Still, if Nico  could breeze in here and act as though there wasn't a suggestive photo  of them lying a foot away, then so could she. Mustering up some fake  confidence, she flashed the young man a smile. "Pleasure to meet you,  Mario," she said holding out her hand.

"Um, yes. Likewise," Mario muttered. Still avoiding her gaze, he  hurriedly shook her hand before picking up a stack of paperwork. "I'd  better finish getting these field readings recorded into the system," he  said. Clasping the papers to his chest, he rushed out of the office.

"Told you people would have problems with me," she said once the young man disappeared.

Nico's mouth was a thin tight line. "I will talk to him. Let him know that kind of behavior is unacceptable."

"Don't. It's not his fault."

"But of course it is. I won't have my employees treating you poorly. He needs to know that."

"Please." She grabbed his hand as he headed toward the door. "I don't  want to make a scene." Mario's behavior was nothing compared to what  she'd endured in Boston. What she didn't want was to feel as though she  was under an even bigger spotlight. "Just show me where I'm supposed to  sit and let me get to work."

"You're going to stay, then? I don't have to talk you out of leaving?"

"For now." She was here. She might as well try to tough it out for a  little while. After all, there was always the chance Mario was just shy  or something, right?

The way Nico's face brightened helped, too, as did his softly spoken "I'm glad."

"But, before I bring you to your office," he added, "I want to show you  the facility. You should know your way around the building if I'm not  here and you need to find something."

The office exited into the main plant. Standing on the landing just  outside the office door, Louisa was shocked to see the facilities empty.

"Where is everybody?" she asked.

"I always close right before harvest. Gives the employees time with  their families and lets me make sure the equipment is in working order.  Enjoy the silence while you can. Come next week this building will be so  loud you won't be able to hear yourself think."

"I bet." She didn't have a clue what any of the machines did, but simply  given the sheer number of machines she'd expect a lot of noise. "It all  looks so modern," she remarked. "Not quite how I expected wine to be  made."

"No doubt you pictured a dark cavern full of oak casks where a group of Italian gypsy women crush the grapes by foot?"

"Nothing that dramatic."

"Are you sure? That's what the tourists believe. Why do you think my  store is in the oldest building on the property? To continue the myth."

Meanwhile, their Old World wine was being produced in the finest of  twenty-first-century stainless-steel and concrete surroundings. "So no  grape stomping at all, then?" Louisa asked as she followed him down the  stairs and onto the plant floor.

"Only at the harvest festival."

Ahead, they caught the flash of a pale blue work shirt near one of the machines. "Vitale," Nico called out. "Is that you?"

A silver head appeared. "Yes, signor. I was replacing the timer belt."  Just like Mario had, the man avoided looking in her direction. "You were  right, signor," he said. "It had worn thin. We shouldn't have any more  problems."

"Good. Good. Vitale, I'd like you to meet Louisa." Once again, Nico  forced an introduction, and again Louisa was acknowledged with a nervous  smile and a nod before Nico offered Vitale an excuse to leave.

"Give them time," Nico told her when she started to comment. "They'll warm up to you."                       
       
           



       

Sure they will, she thought with a sigh. "People are going to believe  what they want to believe, Nico." Sometimes even when the truth was  right in front of them-the way she had with Steven. "And in this case,  the headlines have had way too big a head start."

"Headlines be damned. Once they get to know you, they'll realize what is  written in the papers is garbage. In a few weeks no one in Monte  Calanetti will even care about Luscious Louisa."

"From your lips..."

While they were talking, he'd moved closer, narrowing the space between  them until he stood no more than a foot away. Close enough she could see  the dark hair peering out from the open collar of his shirt and smell  the spicy citrus of his aftershave. "Louisa," he said, his gentle voice  sounding as though he were stating the simplest of truths. "It doesn't  take a rocket scientist to see the truth about a person."

"Don't be so sure. There's an entire town back in Massachusetts that could prove you wrong."

Nico chuckled. Despite the gap between them, his fingers had somehow  found their way into her hair and were combing the strands away from her  face. "You're being dramatic, bella mia. I'm sure your true friends  knew better."

"They might have, if I'd had any."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing." Distracted by his touch, she'd opened a door she hadn't meant to open. "Like you said, I'm being dramatic."

He didn't believe her, but Louisa didn't care. She'd revealed enough secrets for one day.