The Vineyards Of Calanetti
“I’ve got it.” He reached over and snatched up the receiver. “Nico, what’s the matter?”
Well, that was certainly a strange greeting. Who picked up the phone expecting something to be wrong? Then, realizing that she was staring—not to mention eavesdropping—she turned her attention back to the notes she’d been rewording into an email. She glanced up to see Mr. Amatucci had turned his back to her. He once again faced the windows and spoke softly. Though the words were no longer distinguishable, the steely edge of his voice was still obvious.
She looked at the paper on her desk, her gaze darting over it to find where she’d left off. She didn’t want to sit here with her hands idle. No, that definitely wouldn’t look good for her.
She was sending along some of Mr. Amatucci’s thoughts about the mock-up of an ad campaign for a new client—a very demanding client. The account was huge. It would go global—like most of the other accounts her boss personally handled. Each of his clients expected Mr. Amatucci’s world to revolve around them and their accounts. He took their calls, no matter the time—day or night. Through it all, he maintained his cool. To say Angelo was a workaholic was being modest.
As a result, he ran the most sought-after advertising agency in the country—if not the world. Stepping off the elevator, clients and staff were immediately greeted by local artists’ work and fresh flowers. The receptionist was bright and cheerful without being annoying. Appointments were kept timely. The quality of the work was exemplary. All of it culminated in Amatucci & Associates being so popular that they had to turn away business.
“Cosa! Nico, no!” Mr. Amatucci’s hand waved about as he talked.
Her boss’s agitated voice rose with each word uttered. Kayla’s fingers paused as her attention zeroed in on the man who never raised his voice—until now. He was practically yelling. But she could only make out bits and pieces. His words were a mix of English and Italian with a thick accent.
“Nico, are you sure?”
Had someone died? And who was Nico? She hadn’t heard Mr. Amatucci mention anyone with that name, but then again, this call was on his private line. It was highly doubtful that it had anything to do with business. And she knew exactly nothing about his personal life—sometimes she wondered if he even had one.
“Marianna can’t be pregnant!” The shouts spiraled off into Italian.
Pregnant? Was he the father? The questions came hard and fast. There was a little voice in the back of her mind that told her she should excuse herself and give him some privacy, but she was riveted to her chair. No one would ever believe that this smooth, icy-cool man was capable of such heated volatility. She blinked, making sure she hadn’t fallen asleep and was having some bizarre dream. But when her eyes opened, her boss was standing across the room with his hand slicing through the air as he spoke Italian.
The paramount question was: Who was Marianna?
* * *
Angelo Amatucci tightened his grip on the phone until his fingers hurt. This had to be some sort of nightmare and soon he’d wake up. Could it be he’d been working a bit too much lately? Perhaps he should listen to the hints from his business associates to take a break from the frantic pace. That would explain why just moments ago when he’d been examining Ms. Hill’s perfume—a scent he found quite inviting—that he’d been tempted to smooth his thumb along the silky skin of her wrist—
“Angelo, are you listening to me?” Tones of blatant concern laced Nico’s voice, demanding Angelo’s full attention. “What are we going to do?”
Nico was his younger brother by four years, and though their opinions differed on almost everything, the one area where they presented a unified front was their little sister, Marianna—who wasn’t so little anymore.
“There has to be another answer to this. You must have misunderstood. Marianna can’t be pregnant. She’s not even in a serious relationship.”
“I know what I heard.”
“Tell me again.”
“I wanted her to taste the wine from the vineyard. I think it’s the best we’ve ever produced. Just wait until you try some—”
“Nico, tell me about Marianna.”
“Yes, well, she has looked awfully pale and out of sorts since she returned home after her year of traveling. I thought she’d done too much partying—”
“Accidenti! She wasn’t supposed to waste the year partying.” Unable to stand still a moment longer, Angelo started to pace again. When his gaze met the wide-eyed stare of Ms. Hill, she glanced down at her desk. He made a point of turning his back to her and lowering his voice. “She was sent to Australia to work on the vineyards there and get more experience in order to help you. If I’d have known she planned for it to be a year of partying, I’d have sent for her. I could have put her to work at the office.”
Nico sighed. “Not everyone is like you, big brother. We aren’t all driven to spend every last moment of our lives working.”
“And you didn’t do anything about her being sick?”
“What was I supposed to do? I asked if she needed anything. She said no, that it was some sort of flu bug. What else was I supposed to do?”
Angelo’s hand waved around as he flew off in a string of Italian rants. Taking a calming breath, he stopped in front of the windows and stared blindly at the snow. “And it took her confessing she was pregnant for you to figure it out?”
“Like you would have figured it out sooner? What do either of us know about pregnant women...unless there’s something you haven’t told me?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Angelo had no intention of getting married and having a family. Not now. Not ever.
“She didn’t have any choice but to come clean when I offered her some wine. She knew she couldn’t drink it. Hard to believe that you and I will be uncles this time next year.”
“Don’t tell me you’re happy about this development?”
“I’m not. But what do you want me to do?”
“Find out the father’s name for starters.”
“I tried. She’s being closemouthed. All she said was that she couldn’t drink the wine because she’s eight weeks pregnant. Then she started to cry and took off for her room.”
“Didn’t you follow? How could you have just let her get away without saying more?”
“How could I? I sure don’t see you here trying to deal with an emotional pregnant woman.”
How had things spun so totally out of control? Angelo’s entire body tensed. And more importantly, how did he fix them? How did he help his sister from so far away?
Angelo raked his fingers through his hair. “She has to tell you more. How are we supposed to help if we don’t even know which man is the father. She isn’t exactly the sort to stay in a relationship for long.”
“Trust me. I’ve tried repeatedly to get his name from her. Maybe she’ll tell you.”
That wasn’t a conversation Angelo wanted to have over the phone. It had to be in person. But he was in the middle of overseeing a number of important projects. Now was not the time for him to leave New York. But what choice did he have? This was his baby sister—the little girl he remembered so clearly running around with a smile on her face and her hair in braids.
But a lot of time had passed since he’d left Italy. Would she open up to him? The fact his leaving hadn’t been his idea didn’t seem to carry much weight with his siblings, who were left behind to deal with their dysfunctional parents. Though he dearly missed his siblings, he didn’t miss the constant barrage of high-strung emotions of his parent’s arguments and then their inevitable reunions—a constant circle of epic turmoil.
Maybe the trouble Marianna had got herself into was some sort of rebellion. With their parents now living in Milan, there was only Nico at home to cope with their sister. And to Nico’s credit, he never complained about the enormous responsibility leveled solely on his shoulders.
Now that their parents had moved on, Angelo didn’t have any legitimate excuse to stay away. But every time the subject of his visiting Monte Calanetti surfaced, he pleaded he had too much work to do. It was the truth—mostly. Perhaps he should have tried harder to make more time for his siblings.
Stricken with guilt, anger and a bunch of emotions that Angelo couldn’t even name, he couldn’t think straight. As the oldest brother, he was supposed to look out for his brother and sister. Instead, he’d focused all of his time and energy on creating a thriving, wildly successful company.
In the process, he’d failed their wayward and headstrong sister.
And now her future would forever be altered.
He owed it to Marianna to do what he could to fix things. But how could he do that when he was so far away?
CHAPTER TWO
THIS ISN’T GOOD. Not good at all.
Kayla pressed Save on the computer. She needed to give Mr. Amatucci some space. She reached for her wallet to go buy a—a—a cocoa. Yes, that would suit the weather outside perfectly.
She got to her feet when her boss slammed down the phone. He raked his fingers through his short hair and glanced at her. “Sorry about that. Where were we?”
The weariness in his voice tugged at her sympathies. “Um...well, I thought that I’d go get some um...cocoa—”
“The Van Holsen account. We were talking about how we need to put a rush on it.”
“Um...sure.” She sat back down.
Kayla wasn’t sure how to act. She’d never before witnessed her boss seriously lose it. And who exactly was Marianna? Was it possible Mr. Amatucci really did have a life outside this office—one nobody knew about? The thought had her fighting back a frown. Why should it bother her to think that her boss might have fathered a baby with this woman? It wasn’t as if they were anything more than employee and employer.
Mr. Amatucci stepped up to her desk. “I’ll need to go over this with you tomorrow afternoon.”
“Tomorrow?”
She knew that he asked for the impossible at times and this happened to be one of those times. He’d caught her totally off guard. It’d take time to think out innovative ideas for the new campaign platform. And she had an important meeting that night, but there was no way she was telling her boss about that.
Mr. Amatucci arched a brow at her. “Is that going to be a problem?”
“Uh...no. No problem.” She would not let this opportunity pass her by. “I’ll just finish up what I was working on, and I’ll get started.”
He paused as though considering her answer. “On second thought, it’d be best to go over your ideas first thing in the morning.”
“The morning?”
His gaze narrowed in on her, and she wished that her thoughts would quit slipping across her tongue and out her mouth. It certainly wasn’t helping this situation. She was here to impress him with her capabilities, not to annoy him when he was obviously already in a bad mood.
“Ms. Hill, you seem to be repeating what I say. Is there some sort of problem I should be aware of?”
She hated that he always called her Ms. Hill. Couldn’t he be like everyone else in the office and call her Kayla? But then again, she was talking about Angelo Amatucci—he was unlike anyone she’d ever known.
He was the first man to set her stomach aquiver without so much as touching her. She’d been so aware of his mouth being just a breath away from her neck as he’d sniffed her perfume. The memory was still fresh in her mind. Was it so wrong that she hadn’t wanted that moment to end?
Of course it was. She swallowed hard. He was her boss, not just some guy she’d met at a friend’s place. There could never be anything serious between them—not that he’d ever even noticed her as a desirable woman.
“Ms. Hill?”
“No, there won’t be a...uh...problem.” Who was she kidding? This was going to be a big problem, but she’d work it out—somehow—some way.
Her gaze moved to the windows and the darkening sky. With it only nearing the lunch hour, it shouldn’t be so dark, which could only mean that they were going to get pounded with more snow. The thought of getting stuck at the office turned her nervous stomach nauseous.
Snow. Snow. Go away.
He gazed at her. “I didn’t mean to snap at you—”
“I understand. You’ve got a lot on your mind.”
“Thank you.”
His gaze continued to hold hers. The dark depths of his eyes held a mystery—the story of the real man behind the designer suits and the Rolex watches. She had to admit that she was quite curious about him—more than any employee had a right to about her very handsome, very single boss. And that odd phone call only made her all the more curious. Maybe he wasn’t as single as she’d presumed. The jagged thought lodged in her throat.
Mr. Amatucci’s steady gaze met hers. “You’re sure you’re up for this project?”
She pressed her lips together, no longer trusting her mouth, and nodded. She’d have to reschedule tonight’s meeting for the fund-raiser.
“Good. If you need help, feel free to ask one of the other PAs to take over some of your other work. The Van Holsen account is now your priority.”
He gathered his tablet computer and headed for the door. “I’ve got a meeting. I’ll be back later.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”
Without a backward glance, he strode out of the room, looking like the calm, cool, collected Angelo Amatucci that everyone respected and admired for his creative foresight. But how he was able to shut down his emotions so quickly was totally beyond her.
What was she going to do about her meeting tonight? It didn’t help that she’d been the one to set it up. Somehow she’d been put in charge of the Inner City League after-school program fund-raiser. The program was in a serious financial bind. ICL was a great organization that kept at-risk kids off the streets after school while their parents were still at work.
Kayla had been volunteering for the past year. Helping others was how her parents had raised her. They had always been generous with their spare time and money—not that they had much of either. Kayla may have hightailed it out of Paradise, Pennsylvania, as soon as she could, but there was still a lot of Paradise in her. And she’d swear that she got more back from the kids and the other volunteers than she ever gave to any of them. For a girl who was used to living in a small town of friends, it was a comfort to have such a friendly group to keep her from feeling isolated in such a large city of strangers.
There was no way she could reschedule tonight’s meeting. They were running out of time until the charity concert and there was still so much to plan. Somehow she had to make this all work out. She couldn’t let down the kids nor could she let down her boss. The thought of Angelo Amatucci counting on her felt good.
Not only was he easy on the eyes, but she really enjoyed working with him, even if he was a bit stiff and withdrawn most of the time. But now that she’d witnessed him emotionally charged, she couldn’t help but wonder what it’d be like to get up close and personal with him.
* * *
Angelo shook his head.
Marianna pregnant! Impossible.
Okay, so it wasn’t impossible, but why had she been acting so irresponsible? It wasn’t as if she was married or even considering it. She changed romantic interests faster than he changed ties—never getting too serious—until now. Nico didn’t even know the father’s name. What was up with that?
“What do you think, Mr. Amatucci?”
He glanced up at his youngest and most promising account executive. This was a meeting to discuss the campaign for a new sports car that was going to be revealed later that year. The car was quite nice and was sure to create a buzz of attention.
But for the life of him, Angelo couldn’t keep his mind wrapped around business—no matter how important the account. His head was in Italy at the village of Monte Calanetti—where he should be dealing with his sister’s life-changing event.
Angelo glanced down at the presentation on his digital tablet and then back at the account executive. “I think you still have work to do. This presentation is flat. It isn’t innovative enough. There’s nothing here to sway a twentysomething consumer to take out a sizable loan on top of their college debt in order to have this car. I want the ‘must have’ factor. The part that says if I have this car all of my friends will be envious. This isn’t just a car—this is a status symbol. Do you understand?”
Mike glanced down and then back at Angelo. “But this is what the client asked for.”
“And it’s your job to push the envelope and give the client something more to consider—to want.” Maybe he’d been too quick in his determination that Mike was going to be an asset to Amatucci & Associates—unlike Kayla, who was constantly proving she was an independent thinker. “Try again.”
Mike’s mouth started to open but out of the corner of Angelo’s eye he could see the copywriter give a quick shake of his head. Mike glanced back at Angelo. He nodded his agreement.
“Good. I expect to see something new in forty-eight hours.”
Again the man’s mouth opened but nothing came out. His lips pressed together, and he nodded. Now if only Angelo could handle his little sister in the same no-nonsense manner. He liked when things were easy and uncomplicated.
But now, with time to cool down, he realized that his only course of action was to return home—to return to Italy. His gut knotted as he thought of the expectations that he’d failed to fulfill. Back in Monte Calanetti he wasn’t viewed as someone successful—someone influential. Back home he was Giovanni’s son—the son who’d fled his family and their way of life, unlike his younger brother who took great pride in their heritage.
With the meeting concluded, Angelo made his way back to his office. With the decision made to leave first thing in the morning, he had to figure out how to handle his current workload. His clients would never accept having their accounts turned over to anyone else. They paid top dollar for one-on-one attention, and they would accept nothing less.
In order for him to stay on top of everything while traveling abroad, he needed someone who was good in a crisis, levelheaded and an independent worker. Kayla’s beautiful face immediately sprang to mind. Could she be the answer?
He hesitated. She did have a habit of being a bit too chatty at times. But this was an emergency. Allowances would have to be made.
More importantly, he was impressed with her work ethic and her attention to details. She was hungry and eager—two elements that would serve her well. And best of all, she had an easy way with people—something that might come in handy on this trip.
He stopped next to her desk. “Ms. Hill.” She glanced up. Her green eyes widened. How had he missed their striking shade of jade until now? He cleared his throat, focusing back on the business at hand. “How’s the Van Holsen account coming?”
Color pinked her cheeks. “Mr. Amatucci, I...I haven’t gotten to it yet. The phone has been ringing and I’ve been sending out information for some other accounts.”
She looked worried as though she’d done something wrong. For the first time, Angelo wondered if everyone who worked for him was intimidated by him. He didn’t like the thought of Ms. Hill being uncomfortable around him. He knew he wasn’t an easy man to get to know, but he didn’t like the thought of striking fear in the hearts of his employees.
“Relax. That’s fine. Besides you’ll have plenty of time to brainstorm on the flight.”
“Excuse me. The flight?”
Since when did he speak without thinking it through first? It had to be this mess with Marianna. It had him off-kilter. “Something urgent has come up. I need to travel to Italy. And I need a competent person to accompany me.”
“Me?” Excitement lit up her whole face. Before today, he’d never noticed that behind those black-rimmed reading glasses were not only mesmerizing green eyes but also a beautiful face—not that he was interested in her, or anyone. Ms. Hill clasped her hands together. “I’ve never been to Italy. I’d love it.”
“Good. That’s what I was hoping you’d say.” But suddenly he wasn’t sure spending so much time alone with her was such a good idea, especially now that he’d noticed the unique color of her mesmerizing eyes and her intoxicating scent. He swallowed hard. But it was too late to back out now. “You need to understand this trip will be business only, not a holiday.”
“Understood.”
“If you go, you’ll need to be committed to your work 24/7. We can’t afford to miss any deadlines. Is that acceptable?”
She hesitated and, for a moment, he worried that she would back out.
But then Ms. Hill’s head bobbed. “I can do it.”
“Make sure you are ready to go first thing in the morning.”
“As in tomorrow morning?”
He nodded. “And expect to be gone for at least a week—maybe two.” Her mouth gaped and her eyes widened. It was obvious that he’d caught her off guard. But she wasn’t the only one to be surprised today—by so many things.
When he’d approved her transfer to be his temporary PA, he’d made it perfectly clear that he demanded 100 percent focus and commitment from his employees. It was that extra push and attention to detail that put Amatucci & Associates head and shoulders above the competition.
If you wanted to be the best, you had to give it your all. And that is what he expected from all of his employees, even if it meant dropping family, hobbies and extracurricular activities in order to focus on the job. What he was asking of Kayla was no different than he’d ask of anyone.
When she didn’t jump to accept his offer, he had no patience to wait for an answer. “That won’t be a problem, will it?”
From the little he knew about his assistant, she didn’t have a family. At least not in the city. And he hadn’t seen or heard any hints of a man in her life. Maybe she was more like him than he’d originally thought.
Or was there something else bothering her? Was it the incident with the perfume? Perhaps that hadn’t been one of his better moves. He was used to following his instincts when it came to his creative process, but there was something about his assistant that had him leaning a little closer to her slender neck and, for the briefest second, he’d forgotten the reason. His mind had spiraled in a totally inappropriate direction. That wouldn’t happen again. He’d see to it.
After all, she wasn’t his type. Her nondescript business suits, the way she pulled back her hair and the way she hid her luminous green eyes behind a pair of black-rimmed glasses gave off a very prim, old-fashioned persona. So why was he letting one unexplainable moment bother him?
“I could make arrangements to go, but I have so much work to do on the Van Holsen account—”
“If that’s your only objection, then don’t worry. The account can wait one day. In fact, take the rest of the day off. I expect to see you at the airport at 6:00 a.m.. Unless you’d like me to pick you up on the way.”
“Uh, no.” She shook her head vehemently. “I’ll find my own way there.”
He felt a bit obligated. He was, after all, asking her to drop everything on a moment’s notice to help him out. He needed to make a concerted effort to be a little friendlier. “Are you sure? It’s really no problem to swing by your place.”
“You don’t even know where I live.”
“True. But since you’re going out of your way to help me, I wouldn’t mind going out of my way for you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” She smiled, easing the stress lines from around her mouth.
Angelo found his attention straying to her kissable lips coated with a shimmery light pink gloss. Okay, so not every aspect of her was prim and proper. A fantasy of her pulling off her glasses and letting down her hair played in his mind. Realizing the direction of his wayward thoughts, he halted them.
With effort, his gaze rose over the light splattering of freckles on her pert nose to her intense green eyes. How had he failed to notice her beauty up until today? Had he been that absorbed in his work that he’d failed to see what was standing right in front of him?