INTRUDER INTO HIS DOMAIN

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Thank you. Now, can you stop what you're doing and come with me? I want to take you somewhere." It was more like an order than a request.

"Now?"

"Yes. It won't take long."

"I thought you were in a hurry for me to finish the hotel rooms."

"I am, but sometimes there are other things which are more important that can't wait. Come on, I'll bring you back here when we finish."

There was no point in arguing with him and I was curious about what, according to him, was more important than work. Gianluca had given me the impression that nothing was more important to him, but maybe I was wrong. I put my things inside my bag and followed him outside.

"My car is there." He said, pointing towards the parking. I walked silently after him, wondering where he was taking me.

The journey took longer than I expected; we had left the city behind us and now we had reached the outskirts where nature was dominant, where cars were scarce and houses almost non-existing. The place was beautiful. I could see tall pine trees everywhere and wildflowers covered thousands of acres of land.

"Where are we going?" I asked as I gazed around to look at the few buildings scattered in the area.

"You'll see, we're almost there." Saying that, he turned on his right onto a narrow bumpy path. We bounced all the way until he stopped in front of an old house. It had a beautiful, extensive garden and was surrounded by enormous fields.

"Who lives here?" I asked curiously.

"No one for now. As you see, the house is in a desperate need of repairs and some serious renovation, probably it has to be re-built. I have bought it."

I swung my head to look at him, surprised by what he had just said. "Really?"

"Yeah. The owner wanted to sell quickly, and I bought it for a very cheap price. As we said, the house is in a desperate state but the area has potential and the land is big."

"And what do you want to do with it? A guest house maybe?"

He smiled."No, I was thinking of making a family house. A vacation house, maybe I could rent it."

"Oh, that's a lovely idea." I agreed.

"Do you want to take a look? I would like your opinion." He said softly. I was surprised. I walked with him around the house. As he said, it was huge. There was an orchard at the back, a herb garden just next to it, and an old barn. There were also a few stables a few metres away. Gianluca opened the door, and we went to explore the inside. As I had imagined, the interior was old and deteriorating.

"Would you do a plan for me?" He asked as we were inside.

"A plan? But I'm not an architect." I retorted.

"I know that. Just design a house, your ideal house. What would you imagine is ideal for a family? I know you can do that. Then I will show your work to my architect and he'll do amendments where necessary."

"I don't know. You're asking me to do something I never did. I'm not sure I can do it."

"I know I ask you to do a lot of things you never did, but you never disappoint me. I trust your abilities, Justine. Will you try, please? I don't wish other people to know about it for now. I'm sure my father, to mention one, wouldn't approve." He said in a bitter tone.

"Why not? It's an excellent investment."

He smiled. "I like your enthusiasm, but you don't know my family. You don't know my father, Justine. I may be the CEO of the company, but I can't really do anything without his approval. I bought this house secretly and I appreciate you don't tell anyone about it."