Never Dare a Tycoon (5 page)

 

One by one, their mouths closed. And without a word, each of them took a bite of their hamburger. Antonia picked up her beer and took a long, grateful swallow.

Antonia ate her hamburger and drank her beer, almost completely relaxed. It was a beautiful afternoon, and for the first time since she was able to drink alcohol around her family, she was drinking her preferred beverage. And no one said anything about it. It felt wonderful.

Around three o’clock, Brett left. Antonia, who was playing with the children in the solarium in order to avoid him, didn’t know that Brett had offered to drive her home. But Sal turned down his offer, explaining that they needed to have a sister to brothers chat.

And so the day was soon to be ruined. Between Brett’s kiss and the enjoyment of her meal, Antonia had forgotten about the fight she’d had with Sal and the possible repercussions. But her brothers hadn’t. And as the late afternoon approached, her brothers all assembled in the library, asking Antonia to join them.

Antonia had been playing in the flowers with the children and was lost in the enjoyment of the afternoon. She hadn’t even seen Brett leave, but she turned around when Michael called and he was nowhere to be found. All she saw was a line of tall, broad shoulders moving towards her, and an occasional concerned look if they glanced back at her.

Antonia, resigned to the upcoming argument, followed behind them after Sal waved her towards the library. She refused to look at any of her aunts, uncles or cousins. She couldn’t handle the looks of pity she was sure to see on each of their faces. Not a single one of them would ever argue with their husbands, much less the entire line-up of Attracelli men.

Standing in the doorway to the library, she realized that all the comfortable seats had been taken. Sal was the only one standing; he had his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows low over his eyes as he leaned against a bookcase.

Instead of taking the one wooden chair in the corner, as if she were a child sitting in front of the principal’s desk, she chose to stand. And she chose the same pose as Sal, exactly opposite him. The stance didn’t go unnoticed.

“Antonia, please don’t make this difficult. You know we’re only looking out for your welfare,” Carlos said. “Please take a seat.”

 

“Thanks, but I prefer to stand,” Antonia smiled towards Carlos, then looked at Sal to start the conversation.

 

“Please have a seat,” Sal repeated more firmly.

 

“No thank you,” Antonia returned, her chin going up a notch at the intimidating look he was giving her.

Shaking his head almost imperceptibly, Sal pushed away from the bookfilled shelf behind him. “Antonia, I’ve told everyone about your job. Well, as much of it as I know. We’re all in agreement. Waitressing is no place for you. If you’re determined to work, we’ll find something in one of the companies that will be more appropriate,” Sal said, attempting to be conciliatory, but failing miserably because of his patronizing tone.

Antonia bristled. “Thank you, but I prefer the job I have already. Besides, if you thought I was capable of working in any of your companies, isn’t it a little late to offer me that option?” she challenged, looking each of them in the eye. “Shouldn’t I have been given the opportunity just as each of you were given?”

Michael, sensing that the tempers were increasing, stepped in trying to calm everyone down. “Antonia, you’re not like all of us. You’re a girl,” he said, his arms open, palms held upward, trying to make her understand.

She shook her head, astounded that they would think that was an adequate argument. “No, I’m a woman. I’m no longer a girl,” Antonia clarified. Being called a girl got her dander up. “And how does that exclude me from the work environment?” she demanded.

“You don’t need to work. Why would you want to?” Carlos asked as if it were the most obvious answer. “The women employed in my company would give their left arm to be in your position.”

Antonia refused to shed the tears of frustration pushing at the backs of her eyes. “And I’d give my left arm to be in theirs,” she said, almost in a whisper.

Giuseppe stepped in. “Just tell us where you’re working so we can all go check it out. That way, we’ll be able to see what this place is like, how you’re treated, all the things we worry about.”

Antonia shook her head. “No. This is my private life. I refuse to let you guys control it, approve of it, or offer any other type of judgment. You each have your own lives that are private and I never step in or judge anything you do, even when I privately disagree. All I’m asking for, demanding, is the same consideration.”

“And look what happens when we aren’t careful?” Carlo said, angry now but slightly embarrassed because of the subject. “Just this afternoon, Daniel saw you kissing Brett Hancock in the shrubs. You’ve only just met him.”

Antonia was instantly offended. “Are any of you going to tell me that you have never been kissed before? None of you are married either!” she asked, the outrage seeping into her voice. She was pleased to see all five men blush in varying degrees. “Good,” she said with a nod. “That will be the end of that conversation. I don’t ever want that brought up again.”

“Well, don’t worry, you won’t ever see him again,” Sal interjected. “I’ll make sure to do my business at the office from now on.”

Antonia whirled on him. “If I want to see him, that’s my own business. If I want to sleep with him, you’ll not have any say in that.” She didn’t say another word, shocked herself at what she’d just said.

Antonia knew she’d gone too far at that point. All five brothers, Sal in the lead, moved towards her. “What are you telling me?” Sal said, the vein in his cheek throbbing just as it had on Friday. “Have you slept with him?” he asked, the fury evident in his face.

Antonia stopped leaning against the bookcase. She’d never seen all her brothers this angry before.
starting to tower over her.

But she refused to back down despite the way they were “No. I haven’t. To be completely honest, I don’t want to have anything to do with the man. He’s not my type. But that’s my option. If I want to sleep with him, or any other man, at any time, I’m going to do it,” she said, taking a cautious step towards the doorway.

Sal shook his head, throwing his arms up in exasperation. “Ok, that’s it. I’m driving you to your apartment and you’re going to pack up your things and move back in here.”

“No,” Antonia said, refusing to take another step back.

 

Sal had started to turn away, but at her defiance, he stopped and turned towards her. “What did you say?” he demanded quietly, his eyebrows raised.

Her chin went up another notch. “I said no,” Antonia repeated, desperately hanging on to her shredded confidence. “Thank you for a lovely afternoon. I’m leaving now,” she said and moved to the closed, double doors of the library.

“How are you getting home?” Carlos asked to her back. “Wait a few minutes and I’ll drive you,” he said and turned to Sal to say something to him that Antonia couldn’t hear.

Looking back at the five men standing almost in a circle, she knew she’d angered and hurt all of them. “No thanks,” she said, trying not to let them know how close to tears she was. “I’ll manage on my own. Just as I always have.” Not wanting to stay in the room any longer, she turned the knob on the door to the library.

“Antonia, think clearly,” Thomas said, quickly stepping out of the circle to stop her from leaving and attempting to reason with her. He’d been silent throughout the confrontation, but he moved towards her now. “How can you say you’ve made it on your own? You never wear anything we haven’t given you? How can you afford to dress? What do you do for money? I know you work as a waitress, Sal told us that. But wouldn’t you like to make some real money? Something that you can tell us about and be proud of?” Thomas said.

Antonia shook her head, leaning it against the door. Slowly, she turned back, the tears glittering in her eyes. She couldn’t tell them about her own wardrobe. It was just another lie on top of all the others. She couldn’t take any more disappointment from the men in this room. Despite their autocratic natures, they loved her and she loved them back. They were a fiercely loyal family. She was just stepping out of the ranks in this case.

With her head held high, she quietly walked out and returned to the kitchen. There she picked up the phone and called a cab to pick her up. She had fifteen minutes until it arrived. She called to the guard at the end of the street to inform him that the cab would be arriving and should be allowed down the street.

Then she went upstairs to her old room. Opening the door, she looked around at the pink and white room. The lace canopy was exactly as it had been while she was growing up. All the furniture was white, with porcelain knobs hand painted with delicate pink and yellow flowers. The walls and carpet were a soft pink as were the satin bows that held the white, lace curtains in place.

Leaning against the bed, she wished she could convince her brothers that she wasn’t like this anymore. She had a stock portfolio that would rival many brokers twice her age, she had a savings account that would pay her rent and monthly expenses for the next six months, and she had a job where she’d made good friends. The job wasn’t the best, but it provided her with an income that was better than some professionals.

Why couldn’t they trust her?

Looking at her watch, she realized that the cab would arrive any moment. She pulled a tissue out of the box on her old desk and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Being as quiet as possible, she made her way to the front door. She suspected that her brothers still thought one of them was going to drive her home, but she wouldn’t allow them to do that. She cringed as the massive oak and stained glass front door squeaked slightly when she opened it, but she was able to slip outside without anyone catching her.

Antonia walked down the long, tree-lined drive, convincing herself that she was doing the right thing. When the cab pulled up beside her, she jumped inside. She glanced back at the house to make sure she was getting away clean.

But of course, she wasn’t. As the cab turned around, Sal came out the front door with Thomas and Carlos behind him. They watched her drive away, all with furious expressions on their faces.

Monday morning wasn’t as pretty as Sunday, but it was nice enough to go for a walk. And since today was her day off, Antonia intended to take advantage of it. She stepped out of her building, looking up at the sky. It was going to be a great day. She’d make sure of it, she told herself.

“Hi Mrs. Penrose,” Antonia said to the elderly lady walking down the street with her walker. “How are you?”

Mrs. Penrose was at least one hundred years old, Antonia joked to herself. But she was always outside, moving around, getting groceries, and chatting with anyone who would talk.

“I’m fine, and you?” Mrs. Penrose said, stopping as she leaned against her walker and smiled up at Antonia.

 

“I’m well, thank you. You be careful!” Mrs. Penrose called as Antonia jumped onto her motorcycle, revving the engine as she propelled it into traffic.

Antonia meandered through the streets of D.C., finally coming to the long grassy strip connecting the Capital building to the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial that was commonly called “The Mall”. Sitting on a wooden bench, she munched on the popcorn she’d bought from a street vendor, content to just watch the people rush back and forth during the lunch hour.

Brett drove out of the parking garage and headed north towards the Capital. He was leaving a meeting with some lobbyists who were recommended by a friend of his. There was legislation coming up in Congress that could cause several of his companies major headaches.

After a three-hour meeting with ten other representatives from his industry in which he mostly listened to the lobbyists’ proposal to fight the legislation, he was late for his next appointment. He drove his BMW down Constitution Avenue, but turned off when he saw a traffic jam ahead. Taking side streets, he was just about to turn left onto Independence Avenue when he spotted a woman walking along the street. She had dark black hair tied loosely at her neck, but wispy curls escaped and flew about her face. The jeans she wore should be illegal. They weren’t tight, but showed off her figure to its best advantage. And from what he’d seen of Antonia Attracelli, there wasn’t a bad side to her figure. A simple, white cotton shirt tucked into the jeans completed her outfit. He didn’t know what it was about this woman, but the simple, unrevealing outfit reminded him of a kitten. Albeit an incredibly sexy kitten.

His car seemed to turn into a parking space of its own accord and Brett found himself walking over towards her bench determinedly.

“Since you’ve made me late for another meeting, why don’t you just come with me for lunch,” he said from behind. Brett enjoyed the view as much as her gorgeous face.

Antonia turned at the sound of the deep voice behind her. It couldn’t be the man she’d been daydreaming about for the last hour. Life just wasn’t that coincidental.

Sure enough, there he stood. Tall and gorgeous and looking like he owned the grassy area. “How did I make you late for another appointment?” she asked, her voice breathy as she tried to keep the blush from forming on her face. If he knew what she’d been thinking, with him as the star player, she wasn’t sure if he’d want to speak to her again.

Brett shrugged his shoulders in answer. “Does it matter? Are you that interested in popcorn that you’d turn down a free meal?” he asked, laughing at himself because he couldn’t come up with an answer to her question that would make sense.

He didn’t understand it himself. He was rigid in his schedule usually. And now he’d changed it three times because of this woman. He shook his head at his actions of late. He’d never allowed a female to interrupt his schedule before he met her.

“I guess not,” she said. Antonia knew that she shouldn’t go with him. He was dangerous to her peace of mind. And somehow, they always ended up kissing. That can’t be allowed to happen. She couldn’t allow this man to get too close to her. If he found out what she did for a living, she suspected that he’d go right to Sal to disclose her actions.