Hidden Heart (10 page)

“
Santinelli
speaking.”

“
Hi, Alessandro. Just
wanted to give you the heads up. She’s not coming back.”

“
Did she say
why?”

“
I guess she is ashamed to
face everyone.”

“
What about the investor’s
agent, will he negotiate with us?”

“
I doubt it. The old fart
said Tessa is the only person he’d talk to.”

“
You don’t like
him.”

“
No, not when he drools
over her like a dog in heat.”

“
Well then, we need to
convince her somehow.”

Chapter 5

Saturday
morning Tessa woke up feeling no better than the
night before. Maybe a good workout would cheer her up. She went to
the gym located in the same building where her office—actually
former office—used to be, but she hoped she wouldn’t meet any of
her co-workers; nobody should be there anyway. Her membership was
up in a few months, and she really liked the classes and trainers,
the modern equipment and the large swimming pool. She decided to
continue using the gym until at least she found another one she
liked in a different location.

Tessa drove to the sports
center and parked her car. She went to the locker room, changed
into her swimsuit and entered the pool area. It seemed deserted
with only one other swimmer. She jumped in the pool and started
swimming laps. She aimed for fifty laps without stopping. She paced
her stroke at first at an easy tempo, and then began picking up the
speed. She swam one direction when the other swimmer—she decided it
was a he—would swim the opposite, and when he got out of the pool,
she had the whole pool to herself. What a pleasure!

Her laps over, her
heartbeat elevated, Tessa walked to the jacuzzi. She removed her
goggles, rinsed off in the shower and stepped in to the jacuzzi. Up
until then, she hadn’t looked much at the other swimmer who enjoyed
the jets, but once there she saw him.

“
Ciao
, Ms. Cosma,” Alessandro said.

Tessa froze in the middle
of going down the stairs into the tub. “Hi,” was the only word she
could articulate. She thought of turning around and running away,
but she decided to stay put and went for the other side of the tub,
against the other jets.

“
Long time no see,”
Alessandro fixed her with a stare.

She ran the tip of her
tongue over her lips, nervousness settling in her
stomach.

“
Alessandro, what a
surprise…” If she could hold her breath and sink under the water,
without looking stupid, she would’ve. Moreover, she so wished she
could smack that smirk of his face.

“
Indeed, this is a
surprise.”

The jets’ cycle stopped and
both Tessa and Alessandro reached for the switch. The touch sent an
exhilarating jolt through both of them and both jerked, but pulled
back their hands almost instantly. She sank deeper; he moved
farther away on the opposite side of the tub.

“
See you around,”
Alessandro said then left the tub, wrapped a towel around his waist
and walked towards the exit.

His hair seemed a bit
longer than she remembered; his athletic figure just as impressive.
Those dark eyes that could see deep in her soul, and those
provocative lips that knew what to do to her body…. He looked sexy
with that towel wrapped below his waist and water running down his
trained body.

He reached the door and
touched it. He stopped and hesitating to leave, he turned around
and came back to the tub. He knelt next to it, so close to Tessa’s
face she could feel his warm breath on her face. His left palm on
the floor held his balance while he squeezed the other into a tight
fist and placed it against his lips.

“
I never pictured you a
coward,” Alessandro said, straightened his back, then stood and
left the pool area without once glancing back at her.

A coward? How dare he
talks to me like this? What gives him the right to treat me so
rude? Why did I have to see him again?
Tessa felt a wave of rage taking over her senses. She stood to
run after him and give him a piece of her mind, but dizziness
forced her to drop back down. Maybe she needed some time to adjust
from the cold water of the pool to the hot one in the jacuzzi.
Maybe it was because of the feelings and emotions Alessandro awoke
in her.

When she caught her breath
and felt back to normal, Tessa hurried out and went to the locker
room. She went for a quick run on the treadmill and hoped her mood
would somehow change; this episode affected her more than she
wanted. Alessandro appeared back in her life when least expected
under very uncomfortable circumstances. She felt exposed,
vulnerable and unable to take immediate control of her life, a
situation that irritated her tremendously.

She left the gym and went
to shop for new bed sheets, some groceries and then went
home.

A single message from
Daniel on her answering machine, “Honey, please pi—.” She erased it
mid-sentence. She knew what he wanted; apologizing again and
telling her how much he loved her, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera,
but she had no interest; there was no return for her. She made a
mental note to change her phone number.

For some reason,
Alessandro’s words resonated in her head the whole day. And for the
same unknown reason, Tessa felt restless. She decided to confront
him.

***

Stop ringing, stop
ringing, please stop ringing
. Tessa grabbed
a pillow and covered her ears only to continue hearing the cell’s
muffled sound. She’d had a horrible night. She’d come home late
after the play, and since two in the morning she’d been up
vomiting. She met Paula for sushi before going to theater only to
feel uncomfortable throughout the play. She swore off sushi for the
rest of her life.

She didn’t want to answer
the phone. If only she could sleep longer. If only.

“
Hello?”

“
Tessa, thank goodness I
found you, I’m almost at the hospital they called me from the
office saying Victor is short of breath and then they called the
ambulance and by the time I got there they already took him to the
emergency room. It’s crazy, and Elena is out of the country and so
is her husband and I, I…I just hope and pray he’ll be
alright!”

Tessa bolted straight up in
her bed.

“
Dina dear, listen to me,
you need to breathe; yes, just like that keep breathing. Good,
you’re doing great. Everything is going to be okay, you are a
strong, very strong woman.”

“
Okay, now it’s much
better, thanks Tessa…sorry I blurted all that out…I think I just
had a panic attack.” Dina’s voice sounded haggard.

“
So, you’re on the way to
the hospital. Go there and call me once the doctors tell you what’s
going on with Victor. I’m sure it’s nothing serious,” Tessa tried
to sound reassuring. She saw another call coming in; it was Eva,
but she ignored it.

“
I promise, I’ll call. Can
you call my daughter later in the afternoon, she should be back
from her trip, and she needs to know…” Dina’s cry tore at Tessa’s
heart.

“
I’ll take care of this,
don’t worry. Now, you need to stay focused, Victor doesn’t need to
see you cry, I’ll talk to you later!”

Tessa’s mind raced a
hundred miles an hour. She called her assistant while pulling a
dark gray two-piece outfit and a white silky blouse out of her
dressing room.

“
Eva, hi. Listen, is
R.O.C.A. still there? Okay. Here is what I want you to do. Find a
way to hold them, even if you have to lock them in; I’ll be there
in twenty minutes max.”

***

“
Good morning, everyone, I
apologize for the late arrival.”

Tessa’s entrance forced
everyone to silence. Four pairs of eyes focused on her. Pleased to
have everybody’s attention, a candid smile brightened her
face.

She recognized three of the
men in the conference room; one of her co-workers from the
Management Department, R.O.C.A.’s representative and…Alessandro.
Her stomach did a somersault but she forced herself to remain
calm.
No time to feel
sick
.

“
Monsieur Deuvault, what a
pleasure to see you again.” She walked catlike towards the older
gentleman, shoulders back, her head held high and extended her
hand. They met during one of her trips to London months ago when
she presented her project to future and possible investors. Since
then, she met him on two different occasions and each time the man
fussed over her more than allowed by business protocols. She
pretended not to notice it.

“
Ah, Miss Tessa, finally a
familiar face,” he said, took her hand between both his and kissed
it. “You have no idea how terrible we feel for what happened to
Monsieur Victor and we were getting ready to leave.”

She moved sideways, placed
a hand between his shoulder blades, leaned towards him, and tilted
her head slightly. She had his full attention. “Well, it’s
unfortunate what happened to him, but since we are all here, why
don’t we continue our meeting?”

Monsieur Deuvault
introduced her to his business partner. He told the story of how he
met Tessa and how she captivated him with her knowledge and
experience.

“
That’s an exaggeration,
Monsieur Deuvault, and paying me compliments won’t help you
negotiate a better deal. You know that, right?”

Everyone except Alessandro
laughed. He just smirked, an expression that Tessa wished she could
simply rub off of his handsome face.

With skilled hands, she
took the bull by the horns, leading the discussion until lunchtime,
effortless and knowledgeable. They came up with a meeting plan for
the remainder of the week. Both companies would bring in more
experts and work closely with lawyers to draft a business
agreement.

Alessandro absently rubbed
his chin
. Victor was right, this guy is
eating out of her palm…it makes me gag…and she is so damn good…she
is a natural leader…God, it’s hard to be in the same room with
her…look at the way her lips move up and down, her smile, I need to
stay focused
…
those
green eyes could make anyone lose their mind
…
she looks like she’s lost some
weight, and a bit tired…but she knows her job, better than anyone I
know...being here with her is heaven and hell at the same time;
what am I going to do? How am I supposed to investigate her when
she has such a hold on me?

The meeting ended and
everyone walked towards the elevators. Alessandro pushed the
button.

“
I look forward to doing
business with you, Monsieur Deuvault.” Tessa smiled her
million-dollar smile and inclined her head.

“
Please, Miss Tessa, call
me Francois. How about dinner tonight, at my hotel around seven
o’clock; would you like to join me?”

He kissed her hand again,
holding it longer than necessary. His eyes reminded her of a
vulture ready to attack its prey. Involuntarily, Tessa shrugged.
She removed her hand and pushed a lock of hair behind her
ear.

“
That would be a fantastic
idea, sir. Matter of fact, we all should meet for dinner. That’s
wonderful of you to suggest it. Seven o’clock, see you there,”
Alessandro answered before Tessa said a word. He smiled innocently,
took Tessa’s elbow and walked away with her. He pretended not to
see Deuvault’s shock and, when Tessa tried to escape his grip, he
whispered, “Keep walking.” Once around the corner and out of sight,
he released her.

His cell rang the same time
as Tessa’s. They stared at each other while they flipped open their
phones. Both turned around at the same time; he went to his office,
she to hers. She signaled Eva to follow her and shut the door. Eva
came in with a cup of hot green tea and gave it to her boss, then
sat quietly waiting for Tessa to finish the call.

“
The doctor thinks it was a
mild heart attack and they’re still running tests on him. Not sure
how long he’ll be in the hospital, but for sure for the next three,
four days.” She held her head between her palms and closed her
eyes. What a nightmare. She wasn’t supposed to be here, and
Alessandro’s presence made everything even more
complicated.

Eva didn’t say a word,
unusual for her. Tessa lifted her head and looked at her
assistant’s serious face.

“
What now?”

“
If you ever disappear for
so many days and not answer your damn phone, I swear I’m going to
kick your butt. Do you have any idea how sick with worry I was, we
all were? I understand you needed to cope with your mama’s death,
but out of courtesy and all the years we’ve worked together you
could’ve returned at least one call. That’s all I ask for, one damn
call. Would that be too hard, huh?”

Tessa took the cup of tea
and came to sit next to Eva. She owed her an
explanation.

“
So, you don’t
know?”

“
Know what?”

“
About the accusations,
about the fraud?”