There’s a hint of panic in Valentina’s eyes as our eyes meet, and then she looks down. It’s not like her to purposely ignore potential clients, especially ones we already have a business relationship with. What’s this all about? She knows he’s in charge of every single Windsor insurance policy. If he were to invest even a portion of his insurance funds in us, that could be a game changer.
The Garcia family is just as influential and vast as the Windsor family. Compared to their entire empire, Miguel and ReInsure are small fries — that’s how powerful the Garcia family is. Miguel isn’t the head of his family, but he’s powerful enough to have been made CEO of one of their most profitable companies. He isn’t someone I can take lightly.
I glance back at Miguel, only to find him staring at my wife. He’s older, but even I can’t deny he’s handsome. First I have to deal with fucking Ben, and now this fucker appears out of nowhere. Maybe I don’t keep my wife busy enough, if she has time to attract all these fucking fruit flies.
“You might not remember,” he tells me, “but I still remember you sitting in my lap when you were much younger. I was friends with your father.”
I grit my teeth. “Indeed, I don’t remember. I’m not a sentimental person, Mr. Garcia, but there’s nothing I hate more than people I don’t know bringing up my parents.”
He looks taken-aback and nods. “Very well, I can understand that.” He reaches for his wallet and hands me a business card. “I gave your secretary a business card when I ran into her a few months ago, but it’s clear you never received it.”
I stare at it and place my hand on Valentina’s lower back. “It indeed looks like there’s been a misunderstanding of some sort,” I tell him, my voice soft despite my anger. “It appears you think Valentina is merely a secretary. You’re mistaken. She is the one person I trust above anyone else, my right hand, my de facto co-CEO. If she didn’t grant you a meeting, it would be for a reason. I don’t need to know why, and quite frankly, I don’t give a fuck. If she says no, it means no. I respect her opinion above all else, and I strongly suggest that you do the same.”
My wife looks at me with such shock and appreciation that my heart wavers. Doesn’t she realize how highly I think of her? Perhaps not. I never told her any of this, after all. Perhaps the words I left unspoken did more harm than I expected.
I lead her out the door, ready to just get my wife the fuck home. This entire night has been a complete fucking clusterfuck. I wanted to spend some time together, yet all it’s done is make me feel further apart from her.
The valet hands me my keys, and I hold the door open for my wife, but she isn’t looking at me. Her eyes are on Miguel.
I’m restless as I start the car and lean back for a moment. “First Ben, and now Miguel,” I murmur, my eyes falling closed for a moment. “What is it that they have and I don’t?”
Valentina turns toward me, her gaze tormented. “Luca,” she says, her voice trembling. “It’s not like that, I swear. Miguel… he is… he is my father.”
I stare at her, wide-eyed. Miguel Garcia, the CEO of the country’s largest insurance firm, is her father? How could that not have flagged in the countless background checks I ran?
There’s only one way for this to have remained hidden from me. My grandmother. She must have known and chosen not to disclose it, but why?
Chapter Forty-Three
Luca
“What brings you here so early? Why didn’t you bring Valentina?” my grandmother asks as she takes a seat opposite me at her dining table. Her staff serves both of us breakfast, but my appetite is nonexistent.
“She had an early meeting,” I tell her honestly. “Besides, I didn’t want her present for this conversation.”
Grandma’s sweet smile melts away, making way for the ruthlessness she normally reserves for those outside of our family. “I see,” she says, waving her hand as an indication to continue.
“Miguel Garcia.”
Her expression hardens, and she sighs. “CEO of ReInsure, yes?”
“Don’t act ignorant,” I tell her, impatient. I adore my grandmother as much as all of my other siblings do, but our relationship has always been different. We’ve never been quite as close, in part, because unlike my siblings, I don’t feel like she always has our best interests at heart. If she did, she’d never have asked me to get engaged to Natalia. It also doesn’t sit well with me that she didn’t push Ares towards his happiness sooner, when it was clear to all of us that the woman he really loved was Raven, and not her sister. I don’t trust that she’d put our feelings and happiness above profit. My siblings are blinded by their love for her and gratitude for taking us in when we lost our parents — but I am not.
“When did you find out?” she asks, disappointed.
I stare at her, trying my hardest to choose the right words. The only thing I know is that Miguel is Valentina’s father, but everything else is mere speculation at this point. She doesn’t know that, though.
“Once Valentina told me who he is, it wasn’t hard to put the pieces together. The only way that information could have been kept from me is if you specifically asked Silas not to disclose it to me. After that, it was easy to figure out the rest. Why did you do it?”
She looks down at her plate and sighs. “I’m surprised Val told you about him. It’s a sore subject for her, and I didn’t think she’d ever open up about it. She acts like he’s dead to her, after all.” Grandma pushes a strand of her hair behind her ear, and my eyes zero in on the way her hand trembles. Odd. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her nervous before.
“What would you have had me do, Luca?” she asks, crestfallen. “When I saw her name on the list of applicants, I recognized her immediately. I still remember accompanying your parents to visit Val’s parents when she was born, you know? Your father and Miguel went to college together, and when Miguel left home, your father was one of the few people who supported him. I remember how much he was rooting for them, and how upset he was when Miguel left his family. Your father’s friendship with Miguel ended the day he walked away from Val. I know that if they’d still been around, your parents would have done all they could for Val. She would’ve been too young to remember, but they adored her when she was little.”
She takes a sip of her tea and falls silent for a moment, giving me a moment to digest the news. Grandma rarely mentions my parents, and this is a story I’ve never heard before. Somehow, I can imagine my father breaking ties with Miguel over the way he left Valentina, and the thought makes me oddly proud. I wonder what they’d think if they knew I ended up marrying her.
“Her resume looked empty, and I was concerned she wouldn’t be able to find a job. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give her a chance. I’m glad I did, because she turned out to be the best hiring decision I ever made. She excelled at her job and still does.” Grandma pauses and shakes her head. “But if she had known that she got her job in part because of the friendship between your fathers, she would have quit. She wants nothing to do with him, and unfortunately, he wants to keep her hidden, too. Behind the scenes, he was thwarting her job search. He never would have allowed her to get a high-profile job, because he doesn’t want anyone to find out about the family he abandoned. The only time he’d ever admit that she’s his daughter is if he stands to gain something from it.”