Surprised by Love (3 page)

Dinner
was predictably delicious, and afterwards they sat outside over coffee and
Tom’s best
cognac. 
A light breeze stirred their hair, their
clothes. 

At 10:30
Connie rose from the sofa where she and Alessandro had settled again after
dinner. 

 “You
guys know that I enjoyed my dinner hugely, but I’d better get home. 
Tomorrow I’ve got to be at work—when?” she asked Alessandro.   

 “You’re
right, I didn’t say.  The office opens at 9, but I’m usually there at
8:30, sometimes earlier.  Is 8:30 all right for you?”

 “Of
course it is.  If you’d like me to be earlier, tomorrow?  You’ll have
a lot to bring me up to date on.”

 “We’ll
manage,” Alessandro said comfortably.  “8:30 is fine.”  He thought
for a moment.  “Is that BMW yours?  If not, will you allow me to
drive you home?”

Connie
smiled.  “You guessed right.  The BMW is mine, but thank you for
asking.”

Goodnights
were said, and Alessandro and Connie went to their respective homes.

When
Connie drove up to her three-car garage, she gazed at the big house—typical of
Bob, showing off how rich he was.  She frowned.  She had never liked
the house, nor the rather stiff, huge gardens, maintained by a landscaping
service.  Not the kind of garden where she herself could enjoy planting
bulbs for the Spring, pulling weeds.  She wished she hadn’t sold her
condominium in the Oceanside, but Bob had been adamant that no trace remained
of her single life.  Her frown changed to a happier look.  She would
ask her friend Marcella Mellis for advice on which condo building to choose—so
many new ones had been built since she sold hers.  Now that she was
working again, she had no intention of remaining in what she had always thought
of as Bob’s house.  She grinned to herself.  It would probably be
late tomorrow evening before she could phone Marcella. Her first day as
Alessandro’s PA would undoubtedly be busy and long.

**** 

The
next morning, at 8:15, Connie showed her security pass to the
receptionist.  “Constance Sherwood, PA to Mr. Montedalcino.”

 “Yes,
Ma’am.  Do you know the way, or…?”

 “I
know the way, thank you.”  Connie nodded and went to the single elevator
in the back of the first floor of Montedalcino Industries offices.  It
would take her to the upper floor, where the executive offices were. 

The
moment Connie stepped out of the elevator, she saw Alessandro, a sheet of paper
in his hand, moving to the Chief Accountant’s office.  He glanced up and
waved.  Connie smiled.   She expected to work hard, but at least
she would not be weighed down by stiff formality.

When
Alessandro reappeared, he said, “Morning, Connie.  Come into my office?”

She
smiled at his ‘Connie’.  Evidently Alessandro had decided that her given
name was too formal.  When she got to his office, he was waiting for her,
waving her in.  “I thought maybe the best thing would be if I gave you
this laptop to get acquainted with my most urgent, current negotiations. 
When you’ve read up on Magnus Inc., and Stevenson Realty, come back to my
office and ask any questions that occur to you.  You will of course have
your own computer and all that, but this laptop isn’t it.  It is my
private laptop for current negotiations.”

Connie
nodded. “Leandros had much the same habit.  Thank you, I’ll be back as
soon as I can.”  She took the laptop and went to the office next-door to
Alessandro’s.  Yesterday, he had shown it to her, introducing her to the
young woman at the desk beside the door—Alice Bridgeman would be her secretary.

Right
now, there was no one at the desk.  Evidently Alice started at 9. 
Connie nodded to herself.  Suited her fine.  It would give her half
an hour for dealing with matters that needed Alessandro’s approval or input.

Deeply
immersed in her reading, she was startled by a light knock at her door. 
Alice stuck her head around it, saying, “Good morning, Ms. Sherwood.  May
I bring you coffee?”

 “Thank
you, Alice.  Black, please.”  Alice nodded and withdrew her head.

When
she brought the coffee, she poured Connie a cup, waiting politely until Connie
had taken a sip.  “Is this how you like your coffee, Ms. Sherwood?”

 “It’s
fine, Alice, thank you.  I’ve got to read this for Mr. Montedalcino, so
we’ll have to postpone our talk about what you’re doing now and so on.”

 “Of
course, Ms. Sherwood.  I’ll see that no one disturbs you.”

Connie
nodded and went back to Alessandro’s laptop.

 ****

Half
an hour later, Connie went back to Alessandro’s office.  His door was standing
half open, and when she moved forward, he saw her.  “Come in.  Done
your reading already?”

Connie
nodded, returning the laptop to him.

 “Any
comments?  And please sit down.”

Connie
sat down opposite Alessandro.  “Magnus Inc. seems straight sailing, its
board will undoubtedly overrule the chairman’s sentimental reasons for not
wanting to sell you his pride and joy, Mega Inc, which is how he started Magnus
Inc.”  Alessandro nodded.

 “And
Stevenson Realty?”

Connie
smiled.  “Are you pretending an interest in that small plaza you are
negotiating for?  It seems to me that the adjacent, huge empty lot is of
far more importance.”

Alessandro
nodded.  “You’re right, of course, and the land is what I’m really
interested in, but if they realize that now, the price will go up.”

 “I
agree,” said Connie.  “You would strengthen your hand if you could make
them believe you have big plans for the plaza—make it into a boutiques only
plaza, no mom and pop grocery, see what I mean?”

 “Good
point.  I’ll leave it to you to make up some paperwork about an exclusive
plaza.”

Connie
smiled.  “Sure—that’ll be fun to do.  Meanwhile, can someone inspect
that site and find soil contaminants?”

Alessandro
smiled.  “Believe me, this morning you’ve earned your salary for the
month.  I know someone who can start that ball rolling.”

 ****

To
her own surprise, Connie found herself back home by 7 o’clock.  She had
expected to get back by 9 or 10 at best.  Alessandro was quick, same as
she had been used to with
Leandros.          

She
decided to phone Marcella. 

 “Marcella,
it’s Connie.  Listen, I’m working again—for Alessandro di
Montedalcino.  I had an awesome first day, and I have to get out of The
Mansion.  Will you mastermind its sale?” 

Connie’s
tone when she said ‘The Mansion’ left Marcella in no doubt as to her friend’s
opinion of the ostentatious house.  Connie went on, “Sell it as is, minus
my clothing, books, and my paintings which I had to hang in my bedroom, because
they weren’t showy enough for Bob’s pretentious reception rooms.”

Marcella
grinned.  “How well I remember!” she said.  “I’ll send someone
tomorrow to pack your clothes, books, paintings.  I’ll deal with the
severance pay of the staff.  Anything else?  Then I suggest you take
a suite at the Hilton, where you’ll be more comfortable than remaining in that
house you detest.  I was thinking, in the beginning you’re bound to be
late many an evening, and all you’ll have to do is overwork Room Service.”

 “Great
idea, Marcella.  And will you find me something else to buy?”

 “How
about the Annexe to the Oceanside?  You know that they bought that motel
next to them, and they’ve erected a nine-floor condo building on that
lot.  The building is placed in such a way that it will not impair the
views to the north of the original Oceanside’s suites.  And there’s quite
a piece of garden in between.  I’ve been in the suite they’ve tarted up as
a model, and I think you’d be comfortable there.  Take the 4
^th
floor or up, more secure.”

 “It
sounds wonderful, Marcella.  Please go ahead, and ask Lance Dumaresq of
Dunleigh Interiors to design the suite for me?  He knows me well enough to
realize what I like and don’t like.”

 “You’re
as good as moved in there,” said Marcella, and disconnected.

 ****

The
next morning, she said to Alessandro, “I have to report a temporary change of
address, to the Hilton.”  She gave him a small card, on which she had
neatly typed the Hilton’s address, the number of her suite and the telephone
number.     

 “Your
big house is too cumbersome for you now that you’re working again?”

Connie
smiled ruefully.  “I never liked that ostentatious house.  I’m
putting it on the market ‘as is’ and Marcella Mellis—do you know her?”  He
nodded, and Connie went on, “She’s buying a suite for me in that new tower of
the Oceanside.”  Her mouth twisted slightly.  “I used to live there,
in the original Oceanside, and I told Bob I’d like to keep it—if we had guests,
we could put them up there.  He agreed, but after the wedding he said he
wouldn’t hear of my continuing to own the condo—what would people think! 
That I wanted a refuge from my marriage?”

Alessandro
smiled in sympathy.  “He cared a lot about what people might think, didn’t
he?  How did you come to marry him?  You seem the very opposite of
him—”  She heard his sudden intake of breath, saw something flare in the
unusual deep blue of his eyes.  He said quietly, “Forgive me—I had no
right to ask you about something so
personal.”         

Connie
shrugged a slender shoulder.  “It’s natural enough for you to wonder, in
retrospect, why I married him.  It’s a question I’ve asked myself a few
times.”  She smiled gently.  “He said none of these things to me
before the wedding.  If he had, I wouldn’t have married him.”  She
went on.  “I had told him I would like to continue to work for Leandros,
but that I would restrict my PA duties to Ocean Breeze, once I was
married.  Bob said that was fine.  After the wedding, the boom was
lowered.”  She shook her head, and said, “That’s enough about me.” 
She handed him a printed version of the bogus plans for the small plaza. 
“Here are your plans for the boutique plaza.”

Alessandro
took the file and glanced at the first page, quickly reading on.  When he
looked up, he gave her a dazzling smile.  “Perfection.  I’m almost
sorry we aren’t going to do any of this.”  He frowned.  “How will we
get this across though?”    

Connie
smiled.  “I’ll have lunch with Stevenson’s PA, Madison Lethbridge, and in
passing I’ll mention your brilliant plans for the plaza.  She’ll ask, and
with girlish enthusiasm I’ll show her the plans.”

Alessandro
asked doubtfully, “You think that’ll work?”

Connie
nodded.  “She’s as curious as a magpie, a bit of a gossip.  There’s
no real intelligence there.  Yes, it’ll work with her.  I’ll phone her
and ask if she can give me an approximate date by which the preliminaries for
the plaza will be finalized.  She’ll fall over herself to tell me, and
I’ll be so grateful, I’ll invite her to lunch.”

 “Then
I can only wish you success.”

Connie
grinned.  “Stand by for a slightly higher price for the plaza, once they
realize what you are planning for it.  But how will you persuade Stevenson
to sell you the big plot of land?”

 “Because
I won’t haggle over his increased price for the plaza,” he said. 

“My
friend Lorenzo Monferrato pretended to be interested in the land and then
decided against it.  Tomorrow, the land will be inspected, and when some
soil contamination is discovered, Stevenson will be only too anxious to sell it
to me.  Particularly if I am willing to deal with the
contamination.” 

 “I’m
glad you’re getting the land cheap.”

 “And
when both the plaza and the land are mine, we’ll demolish that little plaza and
build an elegant and very upscale mall on the lot.”  He thought for a
moment, and went on, “Can you think of a way we can relocate some of these
people in the plaza?  Some seem to be ready for retirement, but others—”

Connie
gave him a brilliant smile.  “Easy enough—any small plazas on the A1A are
bound to be better for them than where they are now.  People would come to
an inland location for your mall, but not for that little plaza.”  She
glanced at her watch.  “I’d better get on to pretentious Madison…” 
She grinned at Alessandro.  “I happen to know her real name is Maisie
Lugg, but she thought Madison Lethbridge was more high class, as she put
it.”  Connie raised an elegant brow and left Alessandro’s office, followed
by his shout of laughter.

 ****

The
phone call and lunch with Madison/Maisie went exactly as Connie had
foretold.  An hour later, there was a call from Stevenson to Alessandro,
telling him that the price of the plaza had been calculated too low, and…

Alessandro
accepted the increase after a nicely judged amount of hesitation, and it was
Stevenson who suggested that Montedalcino Industries might find it useful to
own the large tract of land abutting the soon-to-be upmarket plaza.  That
way he could control who moved in there, doing what.  Alessandro agreed
that was a good idea.