The edges of her lips tug up, and she shakes her head as she gathers the documents on my desk before straightening them. Eight years, and I still can’t truly read her.
I tear my eyes off her and glance at my father’s old pocket watch instead. “My grandmother is expecting both of us for our weekly family dinner tonight. You know she doesn’t like to be kept waiting. We’ll attend together, and we’ll finish our work afterward.”
Valentina nods, not even a hint of protest in her eyes. For years, she’s worked the same sixteen-hour days I have. Initially, I only made her work these insane hours in an effort to make her quit, but it’s become our usual routine.
She follows me to my car quietly. Ever since she was hired, I’ve tried to unravel the relationship between my grandmother and her, and I never could. Not even Silas Sinclair, our brilliant Head of Security, could figure out their connection. I have no idea why my grandmother appointed a young college drop-out as my assistant eight years ago, or why Valentina continues to be invited to events that are meant strictly for family. There’s something about Valentina Diaz that I thoroughly dislike, and it isn’t just the mystery she’s wrapped in.
Chapter Two
Luca
“Have some more, Val,” Grandma calls over the noise at our packed dinner table, showering her with the same love she’s always given me and my five siblings. Grams throws me a stern look, and I grit my teeth as I reluctantly add more glazed carrots to my secretary’s plate.
I can’t figure out why Grandma favors Valentina so much. Our weekly dinners are strictly a family affair. There are only two exceptions to this rule: Raven, my sister’s best friend, and Valentina.
Now, I’d understand if Valentina was invited every once in a while, a few years into our working relationship — but that wasn’t the case. She’s been invited to family dinner once a month, like clockwork, from the moment we started working together. She claims not to know why my grandmother treats her so well, but I call bullshit.
I’ve been trying to find out if my grandmother pays her to report on my every move, but I’ve found no paper trail evidencing that. But then again, I never would. My grandmother would never slip up in that way.
Valentina smiles at Grandma, and I stare at her in wonder. Why is it that she never behaves this way in my presence? It isn’t just the genuine laughter escaping her red lips — it’s the easygoing conversations she holds with my brothers, and the inside jokes she has with my sister, Sierra.
Valentina, Sierra, and Raven giggle about something I can’t even begin to comprehend, and I tear my gaze away, focusing on my food instead.
Valentina is on great terms with every single member of my family, except for me, the man that actually pays her an exorbitant salary. I can’t tell which version of her is real. When she’s around my family, she’s so fucking sweet that even I almost fall for her act. If only they could see her at work. That illusion she’s trapped them in would shatter instantly.
I take a sip of my wine, my eyes settling on my older brother, Ares. At this loud table, he and I are the only ones who are quiet tonight. I follow his gaze to find him staring at Raven. She’s laughing at something Valentina said, and he can’t seem to tear his eyes off her.
I look away, trying my best to hide the hint of concern I’m feeling. Raven isn’t just our sister’s best friend. She’s also Ares’s fiancée’s younger sister. She’s the last woman he should be looking at that way. I shake my head and empty my wine glass. An arranged marriage is what awaits all of us siblings, but at least I’ll go into mine without feelings for someone I’ll never have.
“You’re quiet,” Valentina says as dinner wraps up. “Is everything okay? Is there something urgent we need to work on?”
I look up at her in surprise and shake my head as I lead her through the main house where my grandmother lives, toward my own condo. “Do you ever think about anything but work?”
She smiles at me in that way I despise. “Do you?”
The edges of my lips turn up. “Touché.”
Valentina presses her thumb to the scanner at my front door, and it swings open. She exhales softly as she slips out of her high heels, leaving them by the door as she heads to my living room barefoot.
Without her heels on, she looks so fucking tiny. It’d be so easy to pick her up and push her against the wall. Would her lips taste as venomous as the words that escape it?
I run a hand through my hair and shake my head. What the fuck am I even thinking? Valentina is beautiful beyond compare, but I have no doubt she’d be just as cold and unpleasant in bed. If I tried fucking her, I’d walk away with frostbite, no doubt. I shudder, annoyed with myself for even thinking about it.
“Interesting,” she says, staring at her phone as she sits down on the sofa. I take a seat and lean in to look over her shoulder, a whiff of her signature lavender scent involuntarily making me breathe in deeper. “He asked his son to step down. I’m surprised.”
She turns to look at me, her face so close that her nose nearly brushes against mine. My eyes drop to her perfectly full lips, an unwelcome hint of desire rushing through my body. “Why?” I whisper. She doesn’t move away, and neither do I.
“Why, what?” Her voice trembles.
“Why are you surprised?”
She blinks and moves back, that irritating professional mask of hers slipping back into place. Valentina Diaz, one of very few women I know who has never once wanted me. I suppose that is why we’re still working together after so many years — because we’ve never crossed any boundaries. That’s how I always wanted it to be, yet somehow, her indifference irritates me tonight.
“I didn’t think he’d ask his son to step down as CEO, but even more so, I’m surprised you gave him a chance to save his company at all. In all the years we’ve worked together, you have never once given anyone a second chance. You’ve always been decisive and ruthless. What was different this time?”
She stares at me pointedly. I wonder if she realizes that no one but her would ever dare demand an explanation from me — and no one but her would receive one.
I hesitate for a moment and reach for my pocket watch absentmindedly, my fingers brushing over the Windsor crest engraved on it. “Jackson was friends with my father. The decision to invest in his company was my dad’s.” Speaking about my parents hurts less than it used to, but even though it’s been over twenty years, the pain is still there. I suppose it’ll never truly fade. Some wounds never heal. This is one of them.
Valentina looks down, shielding her expression from me. “I see,” she says, her tone devoid of emotion. For a split second, I worried she’d ask me about my parents, but I should’ve known better. Valentina never intrudes. I used to think it was because she was scared she’d lose her job if she did, but I’ve come to suspect that it’s because she genuinely doesn’t care. She truly is made of ice.
“I suppose that explains why you refused to cut him loose despite their company performance declining year-on-year for five years straight.” She looks up then and smiles mischievously. “Perhaps you do have a heart buried somewhere deep within there.”