Page 14 of Palazzo
They strolled through the streets of Rome after dinner in the warm night air, and she told him about the agreement that Gian Battista was going to draw up for her, to have Luca sign. Olivier was relieved that she was going to deal with it before Luca ruined things completely by selling his shares to a stranger.
“I’ll be coming back to Florence in a few weeks,” he told her when they reached her private door on the street. “I’d love to see you again, if you have time.” She was a busy woman with a big job, a demanding life, and heavy responsibilities, but there was something so feminine and appealing about her. She was a gentle person, and he had enjoyed the evening with her.
“I’d be happy to see you. I owe you a huge debt for telling me what Luca is up to. And thank you for not buying his shares.”
“I couldn’t do that to you,” he said with a warm smile, and then he surprised her, and bent to kiss her gently on the mouth. She stunned herself by responding to him and kissing him back. She hadn’t kissed any man except Gian Battista in twelve years, but it seemed entirely natural with Olivier. She wasn’t sure if she should be angry at herself or not. It had taken three years after Gian Battista left their relationship to be open to another man, and she didn’t even know if she was open to Olivier. But he had taken the first step. She looked up at him and smiled.
“Thank you for a lovely evening.” She pressed the code panel and opened the door. “Goodnight, Olivier,” she said softly, and then she was gone, back to her own life, and he walked to the Hassler nearby.
As she walked up the stairs to her apartment, she wasn’t sure if she was glad he had kissed her. But it was the first time her heart didn’t ache for Gian Battista, so maybe that wasn’t a bad thing after all.
—
Gian Battista had the agreement for Luca to sign the next day, and he brought it to Cosima’s office himself. He seemed tired and she thought he didn’t look well. He said he’d had the flu recently, and she was happy to see him.
The agreement for her brother to sign was straightforward and simple, and made things clear. It closed the gap their father had left. Other than his sisters, Luca couldn’t sell his share of the business toanyone, without their written consent. And she would give him no money or financial support unless he signed the protective agreement. She hoped it would be enough to convince him. Cosima and Gian Battista talked about Luca for a few minutes, but she didn’t say anything more about Olivier. She felt mildly guilty about kissing him when she saw Gian Battista, and he kissed her before he left her office. But his lips on hers seemed more nostalgic than passionate suddenly. She wondered if kissing Olivier had been a mistake and had changed things between her and Gian Battista.
After he left her office, she sent Luca a text, and asked him to call her. He didn’t call until late that night, when she was in bed but still awake, reading some reports from her office.
“What’s up?” He sounded like he was at a party and said he had just seen her text. She could hear noise and music and laughter in the background.
“I need you to sign some papers at the office,” she said casually, not wanting to alert him that she knew what he’d been up to.
“Can you send them to me?”
“No. They need to be witnessed,” which wasn’t true. “Can you come by tomorrow?” She didn’t want to let another day go by, waiting for him to sign the agreement. He had to sign three copies.
“Okay, fine. I’ll come by sometime in the afternoon,” as though she had nothing else to do but wait for him.
She thanked him and hung up. She could hear a woman laughing next to him.
He showed up at five in the afternoon the next day and looked like he had just climbed out of bed.
“So what am I supposed to sign?” he asked as he sprawled on her office couch. He looked handsome and disheveled and as though he’d had a lot to drink the night before.
“I got a call from a French lawyer,” she said coolly, lying to him to protect Olivier, “wanting to confirm that you didn’t need my permission or Allegra’s to sell your share of the business. He represents the Bayards. I checked Papa’s will, and apparently that’s true. But I’m not going to work as hard as I do and have you sell out to a total stranger who could destroy our business. I spoke to Gian Battista, and he said that it never occurred to Papa that you might do such a thing. It’s very simple, I’m stopping your allowance and all support until you sign an agreement that you need our consent in writing to sell to anyone other than Allegra or me.”
“That’s ridiculous. I can sell to anyone I want to,” he said, laughing at her. “And Olivier Bayard has a ton of money and is crazy about what we do. He’d be a perfect business partner for you.”
“I don’t want a business partner, and you know it. And this business is what Allegra and I do, not what you do,” she said coldly. “You don’t have to sign, but there will be no more funds to you, no allowance, and I’m not paying any of your bills or debts until you sign. It’s up to you.” She saw fury in his eyes then as he looked at her. She had him cornered. He couldn’t live without the allowance she gave him and had since he turned eighteen. He spent every penny of it every month. And if he signed the papers, he couldn’t sell his shares to whomever he wanted for a lot of money, and the sale of the palazzo would not close for several months. He would have no money until then. None, without his allowance.
“Oh, for God’s sake. I was trying to do you a favor, selling to Bayard,” he said grandly.
“Behind my back, without our consent? That doesn’t sound like a favor to me.”
“If you let me sell to him, you can give the Texans back their deposit and don’t have to sell the palazzo. I thought that would be more important to you.”
“Keeping the business healthy and growing and in the family is more important,” she said quietly. He stood up and grabbed a pen from her desk, thinking of the allowance he’d lose if he didn’t. He had no choice. He needed the allowance to live as he chose. He signed all three copies, threw them at her, and stormed out of her office, slamming the door. She sat with the agreements in her hand for a long time, hating what he had become, but relieved that he had signed. He led a worthless life, content to be supported and do nothing and play all the time, gambling and chasing women, and buying expensive cars. It made her both angry and sad thinking about what a wasted life he led. Her parents would have been so disappointed in him. But at least their business was safe, now that he had signed. Olivier had warned her of impending danger and protected her from her own flesh and blood.
She sent Olivier a text in Paris saying that Luca had signed, and the same one to Gian Battista. She had two protectors now. One from the past, and one in the present. Gian Battista had shielded her when she was very young, after her parents died and for many years after. And now Olivier had appeared and protected her from Luca’s malevolent intentions and shady deals and warned her. They were goodmen, and she was grateful to have them in her life. She wondered if it would be possible to love them both.
Olivier answered her an hour later, telling her how relieved he was. He told her to call on him if there was anything he could do to help her. But he had already helped her enormously.
She heard from Gian Battista late that night. All he said in his text was “Happy to hear it. Sleep tight.” The ache she felt hearing from him was gentler now. But it was hard not to remember the passion they had shared for nine years.
Luca was at a party that night, with the usual flock of women around him. He offered to take one of them to Venice with him the next day. He had a hunger to go to the casino to play. He’d be more careful this time, so he didn’t owe his bitch of a sister money again. She was hell on wheels to deal with. But at least he hadn’t lost his allowance. And when she sold the palazzo, he’d have his share of that money too. He had another idea he wanted to share with Max Bayard. They were kindred spirits, and Luca had a plan. All he wanted was money now, big money, and as much as he could get. As far as he was concerned, he deserved it. He would have the money from the sale of the palazzo, and possibly even more than that to top it off. He smiled thinking about it. The good times were coming. And to hell with his sister. He had no feelings for her or anyone else, only himself.
Chapter 7
