Lonzo: Book 1 (Tycoon Series Book 1) (23 page)

The man wasn’t bad on the eyes.

Okay, that was an understatement.

Who was she kidding? He was sex-on-a-stick. Her fellow models would jump on him like catnip.

Why are you so deflated about this?
You know he spoke the truth.

This entire arrangement was phony. She was his pretend girlfriend-slash-mistress. Besides, the idea of Lonzo as her soulmate? Pffft.

Absolutely absurd.

You and him? Zero chance.

Chapter Thirteen

She found it really hard not to like Thio Fredo.
He was a real sweetheart—a jolly person with a quirky, self-deprecating sense of humor that would often had her in stitches.

He reminded her too much of Spike, the only father figure she had ever known. For someone who lost and never really knew her own father, the old man’s open affection lifted some of the heaviness which had occupied a huge part of her heart for so long.

Despite his advanced age and lack of formal education, the old man was well-read on a lot of things that she found interesting. This blew off whatever plans of distancing herself from anyone remotely connected with Lonzo Vitale.

But then, things worked in her favor. She feared she’d be fair game to the papparazzi if she ventured out so she chose to stay put at Lonzo’s sprawling home. Despite her earlier misgivings, she found herself slowly relaxing and basking in the glorious Roman sun in the privacy of the villa. Thio, on the other hand, had a lot of idle time before his doctors give him a clean bill of health. Both chess and poker enthusiasts, they would spend afternoons trying to outdo each another while swapping stories on the side.

She was also able to employ their constant togetherness for something else—it kept Lonzo away. At least for the time being.

It was the same strategy she used when they arrived at the villa a week ago.

She smiled when she recalled Lonzo’s expression that night. Thio really put a damper on his nephew’s plans.

When they finished dinner, Thio shooed his nurse.

“It’s late. You have to retire,” Lonzo gritted.

“I took a nap this afternoon,
nipote
. I’m old. That means less sleeping hours. So if
you
want to go ahead and sleep, don’t let us stop you.”

She peeked and almost laughed at the tight look on Lonzo’s face.

The old man gallantly offered his arm and escorted her to the staircase that led to the second floor where the sleeping quarters were.

They stopped when they passed the first guestroom. Thio turned to her.

“I had the staff transfer your things inside,” he said before he pointedly glared at his nephew.

“Thank you. I had a great time,” she sincerely said, grateful fot Thio’s intervention.

The old man kissed both her cheeks. “
Buona notte, figlia
.” He then nudged her inside her room.

“
Buona notte
,” she said with a huge grin on her face. Her eyes drifted back to Lonzo. She couldn’t help herself.

His eyes narrowed into slits.
Don’t you dare
, he silently said.

Go suck a lemon!
She cocked her brow at him as she deliberately closed the door.

A loud argument in Italian exploded between the two men.

Lonzo was shouting.
“Mi sono stufato con questa merda!”

“Non esagerare.”
Thio’s voice was calm.

“Cazzo!”
Lonzo roared before she heard him walking away.

She found the entire episode downright funny. Who would have thought that her tormentor’s uncle was more effective than donning a chastity belt?

She loosened up a bit when she discovered that Thio Fredo was old school. He became her chaperon of sorts. Sure, Lonzo, being the wily bastard that he was, would still kiss her whenever he came home from work but that was it. No making out allowed. Whenever Lonzo tried to maneuver things, his uncle would appear out of nowhere, chastising him like a kid caught stealing cookies from a jar.

But that wouldn’t stop a man like Lonzo from trying.

It had turned into a game of cat-and-mouse.

Like what happened this morning. After they finished having breakfast, Thio Fredo excused himself because his nurse had to take his vitals.

Lonzo, the eternal opportunist, seized his chance. She never saw him coming. He was that fast. One moment he was sitting at the table, next he was kissing her—with such undeniable passion and all-consuming hunger, it made her knees wobble and her entire body tingle.

Scratch that.

Understatement of the year. That kiss short-circuited her brain.

They were both panting by the time they stopped for air.

“I should take you here, on top of this table,” he rasped in her ear, his hands touching her everywhere, like a man denied far too long.

He wore a suit that morning but she could feel his body beneath the urbanity of his clothes. He was hard all over. Especially where it really mattered—hot, erect and throbbing. For her.

Her hips moved in its own accord, seeking relief with his swollen maleness. She felt the power of her femininity taking over, inflaming both of them with savage need that had to be assuaged.

“Let’s go to bed. Now!” he said, his voice urgent.

You’re doing it again
, her mind sneered.
You give in too easily.

She blushed in shame before she pulled away.

“We can’t do this,” she began.

“We had an agreement,” came his steely reply.

“I don’t need any more reminding. But you can’t treat me like I’m some piece of meat!” she protested as she pushed against his chest.

“That wasn’t the message I was getting earlier,” he snarled. “You wanted it as much as I do.”

She glared at him.

“What can I say? It’s hard not to. You’re a very good kisser—”

He didn’t let her finish. He closed the gap between them and conquered her mouth again.

He rubbed his tongue slowly along her lips, coaxing her to open for him. When he nipped her lower lip, she couldn’t resist anymore. She parted her mouth, allowing him access to taste and tease—

Then they heard Thio Fredo clearing his throat in the background.

Busted!

Her cheeks reddened at being caught making out with her supposed “boyfriend”.

Lonzo’s chest was heaving. Seemed he was as affected as she was. It took him several seconds to calm down before he could turn and face his uncle.

“Why are you still here?” Thio asked, his brows raised.

“What, I can’t kiss my girl goodbye now?” Lonzo answered irritably.

Did her heart just leap when he said that?

“You’re going to be late,” his uncle reminded. “VI board meeting, remember?”

Lonzo’s eyes darkened. Tension filled the room. For a sec, she thought her pretend boyfriend would go all caveman and proceed with what they were doing earlier, regardless of the consequences.

Good sense won. Lonzo looked mutinously at Thio Fredo before storming out, muttering what sounded like
“merda”
. Man, he was really pissed. That was becoming his favorite cuss word lately.

Thio Fredo smiled smugly.

She felt awkward being left alone.

“Don’t be embarrassed,
mie care
. That young buck of mine had to be restrained every now and then,” Thio Alfredo remarked lightly. “Now, how about accompanying an old man for a stroll?”

Such a gentleman. She couldn’t help but smile. “Of course, Thio—” she said, linking her arm to the old man’s.

Lonzo was in a black mood when he arrived
at VI’s headquarters in Rome.His staff scurried like mice as soon as they saw him. He barked orders left and right as he entered his office. Even his management team walked on eggshells when he joined them in the boardroom. They knew beforehand not to get in his crosshairs or there would be hell to pay.

His finance guy was the first to report. The man was sweating buckets as Lonzo grilled him. The problem at Gruppo Milanese was finally contained and resolved. He should be happy because he can now focus on rebuilding. But even that failed to lift the dark cloud that surrounded him this past week.

This is madness! And all because of a woman!
He berated himself.
Since when did he allow his personal dealings interfere with business?

Sexual frustration was an alien concept to him. There were plenty of willing women to get his rocks off. So why was he not getting some?

Exclusivity was never part of his equation. He needed variety because he got bored easily.

Until Jordana Almueda entered his orbit. What was it about that woman that kept him interested and wanting for more? She was a paradox. A fucking anomaly.

He mentally shook his head to clear it.

She may be an anomaly but he intended to be over and done with her within a month.

But what if a month was not enough? What then?

Lonzo swore out loud, startling his CFO, who was seated beside him.

“Sir—?” the man asked, alarmed.

He quickly recovered.

Focus, Vitale!

To make up for his lapse, he pointed out a flaw on the GM recovery plan being presented to him for approval.

By mid-day, everyone present at the meeting was on the edge of their seats. Many, if not all, had been at the receiving end of a verbal lashing or two from him.

Finally, he had succeeded in blocking Jordana from his mind.

Until his ultra-efficient PA slipped a note while he was listening to the presentation of his marketing VP.

The intrusion annoyed him.

“Patrizia, didn’t I tell you, absolutely no interruptions? No phone calls, I said!” he grated.

His assistant was unfazed, already used to his cantankerous nature. This was one of the reasons he hired her—she can deal with his rigorous and demanding pace. Patrizia was by far his longest-serving PA. Before she came along, he fired assistants every month because they went after him. It pissed him that instead of working their asses off, they waved their fannies in his face. He told his HR guy to get him a nondescript, but ultra-efficient assistant or else his head would roll. Patrizia fit the bill to a T. Not that she was plain or what…actually she can be very attractive if she wanted. But his PA chose to blend in the background, her ultra-formal business suits always crisp and smart, her demeanour always cool and level despite his demands. She suited him just fine.

“I know, Sir. But it’s your Uncle calling,” she informed him softly, her voice steady.

His irritation was quickly replaced by worry.

“Why?! Did something happen to him?”

“No, Mr. Vitale. He sounded fine. But he insists to have a word with you. He says it’s urgent.”

What was Thio calling about? To rub more salt at cockblocking him? He swore under his breath at his Uncle’s excellent timing.

“Excuse me, gentlemen—” he addressed the group as he stood to follow Patrizia. He could hear their collective sighs of relief from the reprieve.

He took the call inside his office.

“You better have a good reason for interrupting me, Thio…” he grated. He couldn’t hide the ire in his voice.

His uncle chuckled. “I know, dear boy. This won’t take long. Just sharing the good news. I received a call from Dr. Niconne when you left. He confirmed that I’m not dying today and all my vitals are back to normal.”

“Well, that’s good news, Thio—”

“Another thing…I used your chopper and your pilot.”

“How come I wasn’t informed?”

“Well, Patrizia said that you’re not to be disturbed. So don’t take it out on the pilot. It was my idea.”

“Where are you? Rome?”

“Rome? No. I’m at the vineyard. Jordana’s with me. I invited her, ” his uncle said smoothly, as if discussing the weather.

“What?!” he shouted.

“I left the nurses at the villa. I don’t need them anymore,” his uncle continued cheerfully. Too cheerfuly.

The line went dead before his uncle heard his string of cuss words.

Of all the irresponsible things…!

A bevy of emotions surfaced—anger, irritation, frustration.

This ends now
, he told himself.

“Patrizia!” he bellowed.

Patrizia entered with another note at hand.

“Cancel everything on my schedule for the next three weeks.”

“Sir?” his assistant gave him a quizzing look. “You have a board meeting to finish and a meeting with the Trade Secretary—”

“I said cancel everything! I’ll deal with the board before I leave.”