Chocolate and Italian Wine (Music and Mayhem Book 1) (16 page)

“I love you, baby. Get some sleep. Be safe, today.”

She looked at him, lovingly, and nodded. “You too,” she said softly. She felt drugged when he was near. He had a calming effect on her, yet she felt apprehensive at his last words to her. She knew what dangers lurked out there for her, and she hoped that she had the best protection money could buy. She was going to be safe, she always tried to be. He was certainly protective. She liked it, but wanted to make sure she kept it in check.

***

By 10:30 AM, Karisma’s entourage descended upon Paolo’s home after clearing security. They were all out audacious, blowing in with full on celebrity brass and brazenness.

Paolo’s maid welcomed them in, seven in all. Sierra, Maya the make-up artist, Tomas the hairdresser, Lyric the stylist, and Valerie, too. Behind them were Wolfe and Jamil Odebo.

In the conference room, the commotion was loud enough that it interrupted Paolo during his meeting. He nodded to his guard and the man slipped out to find out what was going on.

“What’s going on there?” Raffaelo asked, his brows bunching in agitation.

“I’m not sure, just a second, Papa,” Paolo said. He got up, followed by Aaron, Davit and Daniel, and they looked out into the foyer to see the mass of loud, demanding people.

One of his men walked over to Paolo. “Miss Montgomery’s people, boss.”

“Her people? Who?” Paolo walked out into his living room, trying to stay controlled despite the interruption.

Paolo found himself face to face with Karisma’s Hollywood glamour team. Sierra made introductions and Paolo smiled and nodded, then simply said. “Karisma’s upstairs.”

“She knows we’re here, Paolo. She asked that we be sent up. She was finishing her shower,” Sierra said rather cautiously, trying to explain.

Paolo didn’t really want these people in his bedroom and he wasn’t sure what to do. He couldn’t keep this second meeting with his father stalled. As it turned out, he didn’t have to decide.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Kari shouted from the top of the stairs. She broke out into a decent imitation of Duane from
What’s Happenin’!
  “How are my people today?”

She came down the stairs, smiling and happy. It took Paolo’s breath away.

The whole team began moving in her direction, speaking all at once. Tomas’s nasally whine broke through when he said, “Hey, yourself, Miss Thang! Look at you! Somebody musta got some last night, ‘cause you are too cheery for this time of day, chile!”

The others laughed because Karisma did.

Paolo shook his head and walked over to her. Holding her around the waist, he kissed her. “Good morning, again,” he whispered in her ear.

“Morning, baby. You fine with all this?” she asked in a low voice, her hands on his strong arms.

“Not a problem,” he assured her.

“Your housekeeper cleaned your room. Can we use it?” she asked.

He wanted to say no, but he couldn’t turn her down. “You can use anything that’s mine, love. Now, I’ve got to get back to my father.” He brushed his lips across hers lovingly. Then Karisma blew him a kiss as he walked away, which was received by him and followed up by a bunch of howls from her entourage.

Karisma smiled coyly. She knew they were all curious, but she wasn’t about to spill the details—too many of them, anyway.

                                            ***

“Ooh, chile, that man is yummy all day long!” Tomas exclaimed. “He smelled good, too. No wonder you all up here in his Malibu bed.” 

Karisma and the women laughed. They entered the expansive and modern master bedroom with the king-sized bed, and cherry wood floors. Maya was happy that the room filtered in a lot of natural light. She was ready to get down to business. The team began the arduous task of getting Karisma ready for a photo shoot that was featuring the most influential women in the music industry. Later she and the band were meeting in the studio.

“He 
is
 delicious, Kari. Where the hell did you find him?” Lyric asked.

“He found me,” Karisma answered. “He came to our Grammy party. Don’t know how you could have missed him.”

“I would have remembered him, believe me!” Lyric exclaimed.

“Hel-lo!” Tomas said, giving Lyric a high five.

Sierra looked at them and grinned as she answered emails on her tablet. “You two are cock hounds,” she snickered.

“Says who?” Tomas said facing Sierra, who had made herself comfortable on the sofa against the wall.

“You know it’s true. You’re drooling
.
” She didn’t move her eyes off the tablet a single time.

“Just ‘cause you don’t seem to be interested in men. Wait, do you like women?” he asked, eyes bugged out.

She looked to the red headed minion known to all as Tomas and said, “Shut up, Tomas. And you know the answer is no.” Sierra liked men all right. Just not available men. Married men suited her better. She liked the freedom of having a married lover who made no real demands on her time.

Lyric began laying clothes on the bed as Karisma eyed them.

“So are you two together?” Maya asked as she began applying foundation to Karisma’s face.

“Yeah, we’re in love.”

“Whoa, love? I thought you just met a few weeks ago,” Tomas said.

“The heart knows what it wants,” she said. And she felt and meant every word that she spoke, not feeling any resistance to declare her heart’s desire. “It doesn’t matter that our physical bodies have only known each other a short while. I feel like our souls have long been familiar. It’s as though we’re drawn together like the gravitational pull of the moon and tide.”

Valerie looked up as the others did. They all knew that Karisma had a tendency to wax poetically sometimes to justify what she wanted. Her drama suited her well when she was acting, but in real life, well, the results hadn’t been ideal.

“Okay, Kari. Gravitational pull of the moon and tide? Goodness, girl. Slow down and really get to know him, alright? You look and sound like you’re getting serious. He’s good looking and all that, but….” Valerie trailed off.

“What? We’re not getting married, or anything. But for the first time in forever, I feel like my feelings are truly being returned. You all know what I went through with Ray. Paolo’s perfect for me, and I love him. I can’t help the way I feel. And it feels soo good.”

14

Vittore glanced down at his phone to see who was calling and quickly answered. “Hello Carlotta,” he answered in his gravelly voice. “How was the flight?”

“The flight was fine, Vittore. We have checked into our suite.”

“Good, good. How is Maria Elena?” he asked.

“Nervous as a cat, as usual. She resting now,” she said.

“You just make sure that she takes care of business,” Vittore cautioned.

“She will, I will see to it. A Bianchi cannot take an insult such as this lying down. She’s never had to before, but during this visit, she will get through to Paolo and he will understand that there is only one right choice, marrying her.”

“My dear, one of your most embracing qualities is your fierce loyalty to this family and our well being, but you know as much as I do, that Maria Elena is in love with Paolo. She wants him more than revenge.”

“She can have him and revenge,” Carlotta replied.

“Well, many a war has been started over situations such as this,” Vittore said.

“
Che sarà sarà
, what will be, will be,” Carlotta said. “Well, I will keep you informed. When she wakes up, we are going to set out to do what we came here for. Va bene.”

***

A few weeks of complete bliss passed by for Karisma and Paolo. They fell deeply for one another, loving passionately, almost to distraction. Neither could get enough, but they took what they could—their obligations didn’t stop just because they were in love. It was late March now, and Goldust was preparing to embark on its Southern European tour.

“I forgot to tell you who the latest person is to take to a Twitter rant about me,” Karisma said, walking hand in hand with Paolo on his private beach.

“Who? Perez Hilton?” he asked, smirking slightly.

“Nope, not quite so big, in the US anyway. It’s Maria Elena. She’s really showing her ass,” Karisma said casually. She felt bad for the woman, but refused to accept responsibility for her pain.

“What’s she saying?” Paolo asked tensely.

“Just a bunch of stuff about how I broke you two up. Don’t worry about it. She’s hurt. I get it. It takes time to heal and she has to get to the point where she’s ready to move on, baby. I know how that feels.”

“You’re kinder than I am, baby. Maria Elena needs to shut the fuck up,” Paolo replied.

“I know I came between you and encouraged you to end your relationship with her. I’m not proud of that, but I don’t regret falling in love with you,” she said to him, looking ahead at nothing in particular.

“No regrets, Kari. The decision to cancel the wedding was mine. Falling in love with you has been my greatest joy. You mean everything to me, sweetheart.”  He kissed her lips softly.

His mind drifted off to how hard a task it was to keep Maria Elena at bay with her idiotic and spontaneous trip to the States a few weeks’ back. Both she and her mother had shown up, begging to see Paolo and trying to follow him every time he’d left the house. The final straw had been when she showed up at FutureShock, claiming to be his fidanzata from Italy. Some of his men had to be disciplined for letting her get too close. He’d tried to be diplomatic about it, but eventually he had to make sure they left. They had been completely out of control but had left Karisma alone, at least. However, Paolo knew very well that the Bianchi family was stubborn and prideful and that he couldn’t assume they would just let this scorn go, or that Maria Elena would stop acting like a spoiled brat. But if she thought she could harass the woman he loved just because an ocean separated them, she was fucking wrong.

Through it all, he knew that he should tell Karisma what was going on, but for some reason he was unable to do what normally came so naturally to him—tell the truth. The press was having a field day with the romance, constantly following them and taking pictures. They had begun referring to them as “Pari,” a combination of both their names. It was very natural for Karisma to be pursued by the paparazzi, but it was very new and unwelcomed for Paolo. Now that he was the Boss of all the western states, it was important to stay out of the public eye as much as possible, both for his safety and Karisma’s. Alas, it was impossible if he ever wanted to go anywhere in public with her. People who were interested were everywhere, as thick as the LA air at times.

“Hey, baby, where were you just now?” Karisma asked, shaking Paolo’s arm with her free hand.

“Sorry, lost in a daydream.”

“Must have been a good one,” she said, squinting into the sun.

“It was; you were naked and I was ravaging you from head to toe.”

“You’re insatiable,” Karisma replied, laughing.

“I’m a mere mortal, and you’re a goddess who tempts me far too much.” They continued to walk along the shore.

“This is nice,” she said. “The ocean’s so calming, so peaceful.” They kicked grainy sand as they strolled together barefoot, fingers interlocked.

He nodded. “I feel at peace here, with you. But you’ll be leaving soon.”

“It’s too soon. I don’t want to leave. I’ve just met you, yet it feels like I’ve known you forever.”

“I feel the same, cara, and I don’t want you to go,” he said putting his strong arm around her shoulders, and kissing the top of her curly head. She snaked her arm around his waist. “What would you think about me joining you on the tour for a bit?”

“Really? Because I think that would be very cool. You can see how I live on the road.”

They faced each other, his sapphire eyes boring into her soul. He traced her bottom lip with his index finger. His hands cupped her face as he kissed her deeply, his tongue finding the roof of her mouth, stroking it softly. Her own tongue caressed the underside of his, prompting him to pull her roughly to his aroused body. The kiss was intoxicating, lifting her essence, pulling from her everything she had to give.

He pulled back, giving them the much-needed air that had been stolen through the caressing of his lips upon hers. His hooded eyes were singularly focused on her succulent red tinted lips, completely in love with the soft press of them against his own. He kissed her neck, and looked into her eyes once again. Wordlessly, they wrapped their arms around each other, continuing along the beach, with Butch, the dog, loping behind them. Stopping to watch the crashing of an impressive wave against a sedimentary rock, Kari said, “Hold up, Paolo. Right there. The sun behind you looks like a halo.” She squinted at him with love in her eyes.  Taking out her phone, she stood next to him, the two of them grinning and holding each other close as she snapped the picture. #Pari

                                                      ***

On the day before Goldust was to embark on their Generation X tour, Tessa was rushed to the hospital after being severely beaten by her boyfriend Mike. She’d suffered traumatic injuries, and it was thought that she might miss the first few engagements. To everyone’s chagrin, she’d undergone emergency orthodontic surgery, in order to replace several teeth that had been knocked out by Mike’s brutality. He’d hit her so hard, her eyes had been blackened, and blood vessels had burst. The close- knit band had been at her bedside. They had been devastated, but were a group and knew they had to persevere. The show would have to go on.

Fortunately, the news wouldn’t get out. The Goldust machine had gone into overdrive, with attorneys and agents doing what they do to keep such things quiet. Tessa had been admitted under an alias, and because the group members had all arrived separately and incognito, the scandal would remain a secret, for the time being.

               At her mansion, Kari was in such turmoil that she fell asleep right on her couch, eagerly awaiting an update on Tessa. She woke up, startled, the shrill sound of her cell phone indicating it was Paolo. “Hey, baby,” she said, through her yawn.

“Hey beautiful,” he said. “I know I woke you up. I just needed to hear your voice.”

“That’s sweet. Then I’m glad you woke me up. I love hearing your voice, too.”

“I love you,” Paolo said to her.

“I love you, too.” 

“How’s Tessa?” he asked. 

“Not so good,” she said, turning over in bed. “I hope she’ll be ready for the tour, but I just want her to be okay. She’s badly hurt, emotionally and physically.”

“So that guy Mike beat her up, huh? He should be dealt with,” Paolo said. 

Karisma paused and then said, “Yeah. They were drunk and fighting.”

“Men don’t fight women, sweetheart. Men beat women. She’s no match for a man’s strength. He’s a punk.”

“I agree with that. I just wish she would stop drinking so much. The guy had me fooled, though. I really thought he was decent.” 

“Look, if you need for my bodyguards to handle him, they’d be more than happy to teach him a lesson. His inability to control his fists is going to cost you money. That can’t be tolerated. He should bear the consequences for that lapse in judgment.”

For a second Karisma was taken aback and unsure how to respond. She went with a giggle. “Listen to you. Bear the consequences. You sound all Mafioso.”

Now Karisma heard Paolo pausing at his end. Finally, he said, “Any man who uses his obvious and substantial physical advantage over a woman should see what it feels like to have his ass kicked by someone stronger and meaner. How likely is it that she’ll be ready for Friday’s concert?”

“I’m not sure. She looks really bad. I told you what she looked like when I called you on my way home. It’s awful. She’s depressed and in pain. Somebody
should
kick Mike’s ass.”

“My men could scare him, if you want,” he said. 

She sat up in bed. “What? Okay. Scare him how?”

“Break his kneecaps, maybe,” he said.

“Hmm. You know, I almost think you’re serious, Paolo. What’s a nice businessman like you doing planning something nefarious like busting kneecaps?” she asked, only half kidding.

“Hey,” he said, “It’ll give my bodyguards something to do. They’ve been bored lately. Kicking ass will be good for them. They have to stay in shape,” he chuckled. 

“You
are
kidding, right?” she asked, serious now. “Right?” she asked again when he didn’t answer. 

He laughed. “About them being bored, and needing to relieve their boredom, well… yes and no. They get to work off the testosterone buildup at the gym regularly. But about Mike needing to be dealt with, no, not kidding at all.”

               “Wow…this is a different side of you, Paolo Montovani. Is this the angry you, or the real you? You seem to harbor some deep seated aggression, my dear,” she said in a Dr. Ruth imitation.

He chuckled. He was enjoying this. Maybe she would arrive at the truth and he could explain some things to her. “You said your brother Armando was the fighter in the family, but here you are planning a hit,” she said, narrowing her eyes as she spoke. 

He laughed. “I’m not planning a hit.”

She smiled. “Well, I don’t know, baby, you sound like you know some things. Tae Kwon Do, guns and stuff. Next you’ll be telling me you can kill a man a hundred different ways.”

“Haa! That’s real cute, woman. But Tae Kwon Do is more than that. Shall I show you? You want me to come over? I have an overwhelming desire to bite your neck right now. Like Dracula. Then I’d suck it until you were begging me to do some very nasty things to you.”

She laughed. “I knew this conversation would eventually take a sexual turn. You wanna make a booty call?”

              “Yeah, I guess I do, so can I come over? I’m craving some chocolate.”

“Well, I could use some fine Italian wine to relax. But—I need to sleep, baby. I have to be up early,” she said. 

“How early?” he asked.

“Ten, or so. I want to sneak in and see Tessa before we go.”

“Ten is early, Kari?” Paolo asked, chuckling. 

“For me it is. My mom will be here about nine…” 

“Look, I’m coming over to make love to my woman. You’ll be gone for a few days before I can join you. I need you tonight. I’ll be there shortly.”

“Okay, baby. I’ll be ready and waiting.” She hung up the phone and froze. Was she imagining things? She thought she saw something move out of the corner of her eye.

Looking in the direction of the movement, she saw a silhouette. She sat up straight. Just as she did, a figure emerged from the shadows. Quickly, she made to move for the door, but she saw the glint of something she had not yet identified. She attempted to scream, but squealed instead. Holding both his hands in front of him, the intruder, who held a knife, moved toward her. 

“Don’t scream,” he said threateningly. “I don’t want to hurt you.” 

“Oh my gawd,” she whimpered, as tears streamed down her beautiful face. She began backing up to the headboard, her feet digging into the sheets. 

“Shh,” the intruder warned her. “It’s our night, Karisma. You leave for Europe tomorrow,” he said, standing perfectly still.

She found her voice. “Please leave!” She tried to sound brave, but there was terror there.