A Twisted Tale

Play A Game

"I was wondering if I had to come upstairs to drag you out." Valerio said while I was coming down the stairs.
"Sorry, it took me this long. I was admiring the view from the balcony and was totally lost in the moment." I lied through my teeth easily. Only people who knew me could figure out the lies but outsiders always bought them. That was both a curse and a boon.
Until then I didn't notice the delicious food laid out in front of me. I was a fan of Italian food and this was exactly what I needed at this moment.
Food always helped me think straight.  There was tomato and basil bruschetta, Caesar salad, spinach corn and cheese lasagna and my favourite of them all, mushroom risotto.
Valerio and I sat across from each other and started to eat. The very minute I started eating, I decided to throw the previous idea of keeping things to myself out of the window and ask him about it. "I was exploring the house and I came across the room in which you had your supposed video conference. It's a total mess. What happened in there?" I asked.
He looked at me irritatedly and said "Wasn't I clear enough when I said I was disappointed in my secretary? Were you spying on me?" He asked angrily. That was my cue to keep the rest of the information to myself and do a background check on him. "Whoa! Calm down Mr. Hulk. I wasn't spying. I was just curious about the house. Besides, if one phone call from your secretary could anger you this much then you definitely need anger management classes. And lastly, don't raise your voice on me ever again. I'm not your employee to take shit from you. Are we clear?" I said seriously.
He rubbed his hand across his face and sighed. He said "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I was stressed out from all the work and the meetings. You're right. You have no reason to deal with such behaviour of mine. This will never happen again."
After he said that, I accepted his apology and we ate in silence. After lunch, he asked me if I could stay till the evening. I refused and said I had a few phone calls to make. He nodded his head in understanding and dropped me back to the apartment. The ride back was very quiet. At the apartment he said "I hope today's episode will not leave a permanent impression of me. See you tomorrow?" He asked tentatively.
I said yes thinking of keeping it strictly business until I get all my doubts cleared.
As soon I walked into the apartment I pulled out my phone and dialled Mark's number. He answered immediately and said "Hey, I've been meaning to call you. How have you been? Sorry I couldn't update you on the status here. Dad too has been very busy lately." I didn't share any pleasantries but immediately got to the problem at hand. "Hi. What do you know about Valerio Moretti? Both his professional and personal life."
Mark paused for a second and said "I know that his father Piero Moretti runs successful businesses in Italy. He's in line to become the next CEO provided he gets married first. As far as his business goes, he's a very hardworking man. Personal life is a little sketchy because there were rumours of him being caught with LSD at a party. The rumour died down shortly but people still believe it's true and that his father buried the story. And he has a long list of girlfriends. I don't know if he is seeing someone right now. You want me to check?" He asked. I immediately answered with a yes because I needed more than this to be comfortable around him anymore. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't realise Mark was taking my name repeatedly. "Sorry. I was just thinking." I said sheepishly.
"Hey. It's okay. I want to know what's bothering you. All these days you didn't think of a background check. Claire told me that she suggested this to you but you didn't seem like it was needed. Then all of a sudden you call and ask for it. Is everything alright?" He asked concerned.
I told him about everything that happened after he left. He was silent throughout but his sharp intake of breath when I told him about the episode today was indicative of his anger. He said "You can come back if you want. We'll call everything off and deal with the consequences if need be. I can't imagine you having to spend one more day with him. I want you to come back home."
I shook my head and said "No. I need to figure this out for myself. I can't keep depending on you or Charles to pull me out of a difficult situation every time. Besides, this is our family's reputation on line. I can't risk tarnishing it because I saw a glimpse of his dark side. It's okay. I can handle this on my own. If there is anything else, I'll undoubtedly call you up for assistance. Okay?"
He sighed and said "When do you ever not get your way with things?"
I smiled at that and asked him "How have you been? I miss you. I miss home. I miss everything about London. Charles took time to mail me that thankfully there were no casualties at the storage facility. He said he would let me know if this was planned or not. I still haven't heard from him. So you tell me all about it."
He went into his usual business mode and said it was still being investigated and they think that the chances of it being a pre-planned event is pretty slim. I was worried nevertheless because if this was planned, someone seriously wanted to hurt this family and we all had to be very careful. I asked him if he would come back to Italy at all or if he would wait for me to come home instead.
He laughed and said he wouldn't go for that long without seeing my pretty face and that he would be back once the storage facility was up and running, which would take a couple of days.
We spoke for a few more minutes and hung up.
I lay there on my bed thinking of all the reasons as to why Valerio kept the woman hidden from me. I came to the conclusion that if he wanted to play, I'm a player myself and two can play this game.