The Cinderella Arrangement (24 page)

“Wow.”

I could imagine him and his brothers running around as children, knocking over expensive vases and banging on the white grand piano I saw in the sitting room. Even as an adult, Will had so much energy. It must have driven his parents crazy.

“You’re looking pale, William. Have you eaten anything today?”

Mrs. Pardini fussed over her son as he sat down at the kitchen table, smoothing his lapels and brushing his hair. His face bloomed, and I sniggered at him behind his mother’s back.

“Mom, stop it.”

“When was the last time you got a haircut?”

“I have no idea.”

She bustled toward the kitchen counter and picked up her phone. “I’ll make a hair appointment for you.”

I bit my knuckles hard to keep from crying out with laughter. William was mortified. “Mom, sit down,” he snapped.

She closed her phone and her eyes narrowed. “There’s no need to take that tone with me.”

“Yes, there is,” he said, suddenly looking serious. “What’s this I hear about Dad selling Luke’s shares?”

My face burned as his mother scowled at him, casting me an irritated glance. “Will, you know we don’t talk about this in front of—”

“I don’t care. You can say it in front of Natalie. She already knows everything anyway.”

I grimaced at Will’s mother, who was staring at me like I had suddenly grown two heads.

“You must talk to your father about it,” she said in a final tone. “No, William. Your dad doesn’t want me talking about it to anyone. Not even you.”

“Oh, come on!” He pounded his fist on the table.

“Tell me how you met your new girlfriend.” She smiled.

Will looked pissed at her deflection. “We’re dating, Mom. And we met at a party.”

Under the kitchen table, my fingernails ground into my palms. It was so awkward. I did not want to be there. I could see her sizing me up, appraising my wardrobe and making searing judgments in her head. She pressed her lips into a firm line.

“I guess I’ll never get grandchildren from my youngest.”

My stomach dropped.

“Jesus!” Will got up from the table.

And he stormed from the kitchen, leaving me there alone. His mother turned on the spot with a smirk not unlike her son’s and zeroed in on me. My jaw fell. She needled him on purpose to get him out of the room.

Will, you bastard! Don’t leave me here alone!

“Don’t look so scared,” she said in an even voice as she sat down across from me. “You have nothing to hide, do you?”

“No, no. I’m just not used to all this.”

“What do your parents do?”

Ah, so the interrogation begins.
“My parents are dentists. I’m a graphic designer.”

“Oh, where do you work?”

My face burned. “I’m unemployed, but Will offered me a contract to design logos for Luke’s campaign.”

I was going from bad to worse. Her lips whitened.

“And I suppose you thought my son would be a great career booster?”

“No!” A sickening feeling spread through my stomach when she smiled. “No, I swear to God, he contacted a recruiting agent and set up a meeting without me knowing. I never asked him for anything. He can tell you that himself.”

“Hmm,” was all she said. “Perhaps my son needs someone like you to keep him grounded. Unassuming. Humble.”

It sounded like an insult as much as a compliment. “Thanks. I didn’t even want to date him, at first.”

Why the hell did you say that?

I cringed as his mother gave me an offended look. “What’s wrong with my son?”

“Well,” I began, almost laughing out of nerves. “You know, his issues.” My voice drifted into a squeak.

“No, I’m sorry. I don’t know.”

My blood churned. “His panic attacks.”

“What are you talking about?”

She did not understand what I was talking about. My mouth trembled. He never told his parents. No one knew anything.

Jesus Christ
.

I was treading on very dangerous ground.

“I shouldn’t talk about it.”

“If my son is in trouble, I deserve to know about it.”

“He’s just having a hard time coping with the accident.”

I swallowed hard at the venomous look on her face.

“Natalie, you seem like a nice girl, so I’ll return the favor and tell you this nicely. We never discuss or mention that incident in this house.
Ever
.”

A chill froze my lungs. “He had a panic attack while he was driving. We could have died.”

Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and I stood up from the table to walk away. Jessica had been here with Luke, and she told me that being there was one of the worst experiences in her life. Now I knew why.

I ran into Will as I turned into the foyer. The dark look on his face told me he heard everything.

Oh, shit.

“Come,” he said, gripping my wrist.

I followed him upstairs as he led me into a guest room with our luggage already inside.

The grim look on his face made me crumble. “I’m sorry. I was just angry—”

“Shit, I don’t know whether I should be impressed that you stood up to my mother or pissed that you told her something that was none of her business.”

“Oh, come on. She’s your mother. You’re a family.”

“Natalie, not all of us feel that our parents are entitled to every detail of our personal lives.”

That stung. “Meaning what?”

“Look, I understand why you did it. Just let me handle this my way, okay? I will tell them.”

“Fine.” I told him. “Um—I need to call my mom.”

Will chuckled and laid on the bed. “I’ll be quiet.”

I inhaled a deep breath to quiet the storm building in my head. It was always nerve wracking to call my parents. I dialed the number and turned my back on Will.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mom. How are you?”

“Natalie! Finally! We’ve been waiting for your call. How’s Europe?”

“It was great. I’m in Chicago right now with Will.”

“Chicago? What for?”

I continued on without thinking. “He needed to see his parents.”

“Oh, so they get to meet you before we get to meet your new boyfriend?”

Shit. “No, Mom. It’s not like that.”

“What’s their house like? Are they filthy rich? What kind of cars do they have?”

My dad’s voice suddenly entered the conversation. I pressed the phone against my face, hoping that William couldn’t hear a word.

“Tom!”

“It’s a big brick mansion,” I said, ignoring their gasps. “Listen, I’ll be home soon, I think.”

“Thanksgiving is soon. We want you to bring Will over!”

“No, Mom. We’ve only been dating for a few weeks.”

“If you don’t bring him, we’ll ask Ben to come over. He’s visited us twice, Natalie. Asking where you are—what your boyfriend is like—”

“What?” I shrieked. “Do not invite my ex for Thanksgiving! I don’t want to see him!”

What the fuck is wrong with them both?

“Then bring Will over. Okay, we’ll see you soon!”

Click
.

I stared at the phone in stunned disbelief. All they talked about during the whole conversation was Will. His family and their wealth fascinated them. They didn’t even ask me how I was doing. They didn’t care about the designs I made on the trip.

“Are you okay?”

I faced Will, who was sitting up on the bed and looking at me with concern. I clenched my phone and was seized with a desire to hurl it across the room.

“They will invite Ben for Thanksgiving if you don’t come with me.”

“So don’t go.”

My heart hammered. “She’ll call me ten times a day to bitch at me. Please,
please
, Will.”

A small sob shook my throat, and he slid off the bed, looking frustrated with me but gathering me in his arms.

“I’ve never asked you for anything. Come over on Thanksgiving, and they’ll shut up about you. They just want to fawn over you.”

“I don’t mind meeting them, Natalie. The only thing that bothers me is the reason you want me there.”

“What do you mean?”

“You only want me there to appease your parents.”

I pulled away from him. “That’s not true!”

“Then why the reluctance?”

“Because you’ll hate it. They’ll suck up to you because you’re rich. I don’t want you to think badly of them.”

He rolled his eyes at me. “Is that all? I’m used to that. Don’t worry, I’ll be there.”

I stammered thanks as he grabbed my waist and I remembered the time alone with him in Cinque Terre. He kissed me and warmth spread to my toes; his tongue flicked inside my mouth and I felt my muscles unknotting.

His hands wandered down my jeans, and I kissed him more urgently as desire shot upwards the more he touched me. He slipped under my jeans and played with my panties, squeezing my bare flesh. I heard myself moan, and I knew he remembered that night, too.

“William!”

We sprang apart as his mother called for him outside the door. He grimaced and tried to shift his pants so that his erection wasn’t so obvious.

“Yes?”

“Your father is here.”

“Okay, I’ll be down there soon.”

We heard her walk away.

“He has the worst timing.” Will slid his arm around my waist and planted a kiss on my neck. “I’ve got to talk to him and you have got to come with me.”

“What?” I yelped. “No way.” I found the idea of meeting his father, much, much worse.

“He knows you’re here. C’mon.”

He slapped my ass and grinned as I scowled at him. The door flew open, and he tugged me forward, even though I wanted to dig in my heels.

A lightning bolt seared up my spine as I heard him downstairs, talking in a low voice. William laughed at me as I stopped on the staircase.

“Keep going, doll. Or I’ll keep squeezing your ass.”

Doll?

A ruthless pinch made me start forward. I ignored William’s deep laughs as I descended the staircase. We passed the marble foyer and entered a living room, which contained a white grand piano and a gold painting ceiling; we crossed over and entered the next room, which was a dark-brown study. I halted at the threshold, but William continued inside.

Domenico Pardini, CEO of Pardini Worldwide, sat behind a mahogany desk with a phone to his ear. William stopped in front of the desk and crossed his arms, waiting for his father to get off the phone.

The Pardini patriarch was a thin reed of a man, with a wiry mustache and angry, dark eyes. He still wore a business suit and looked terrifying because his face was devoid of any joy. He stood up from the desk, revealing a lean, skinny waist.

“Goodbye.”

Will’s father hung up the phone and glared at his son.

“You are not supposed to be here, William.”

I knew what he meant. We came back early from the campaign because William felt he had to return to Chicago. I was hoping to slink out of the room, unnoticed.

“Thanks, Dad. Hello to you, too.”

“Who is that?”

At that unfortunate moment, Mr. Pardini acknowledged my presence. I stepped into the room, my legs trembling.

William looked surprised to see me standing all the way in the back. He waved me over. “This is Natalie. She’s the graphic designer for the campaign.”

Will, I’m going to kill you.

Mr. Pardini was looking for something polite to say. “I see. And—er—you brought her here because?”

“I’m also dating her.”

I wanted to die.
Please someone just shoot me
. Mr. Pardini opened his mouth angrily, but William interrupted.

“Dad, I’m here because I found out you’re in a lawsuit with Luke. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Mr. Pardini stepped around the desk. For a moment, I thought he would hit his son. “It was none of your concern. I wanted you to focus on the campaign which you’ve decided to just drop.”

“Is it true? Are you trying to stiff him out of his shares?”

Mr. Pardini’s hot glare flashed in my direction and I took a step backward. He didn’t want me there. He grabbed the half-empty glass of amber liquid on his desk and took a small sip.

“Yes, it’s true. Giacomo and I were planning to do this with all of you. It’s time to break up the empire.”

A heavy silence followed his words, with only the sounds of Domenico sipping his drink and my pounding heart filling my head.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Lots of family members want out. They want their money, now. Breaking up the empire was something Giacomo, and I had been talking about for years. It’s time and both of us realized that our sons were incapable of managing an empire.”

“You will butcher the empire our family has spent generations building?”

“I have no choice. Did you think Luke was the only lawsuit I’m dealing with?” Will gaped at him as he walked across and studied a painting. “Most of the family’s money is in corporations owned by trusts. I will sell all the companies we own and liquidate Pardini holdings.”

“Dad, you can’t—”

“I am the sole trustee for the family. There's nothing I can't do. I am selling Luke’s shares and I am giving him an appropriate amount for the deals he has made for the company. Everyone else will get the same treatment.”

Will gave a frustrated sigh. “Just give him the money, Dad. He’s already been screwed over by his father.”

Mr. Pardini wheeled on his son. “You think that just because you’re a Pardini, you’re entitled to be wealthy? The trusts were meant to meet your reasonable needs. That’s it. They were designed to enhance the family’s position through donations and investments. They were not meant to make individual billionaires!”

His voice rang in the small room, echoing in my ears.

“I am old, son. And I’m being hounded by my nephew, cousins, and every member of the family with a trust. They want out and I am tired of dealing with this. If your grandfather knew what had happened to this family, he would spin in his grave.”

He almost seemed to limp back to his chair behind the desk. He looked tired.

“I’m sorry that you had to witness this,” he said, addressing me suddenly.

I forgot my presence. “Oh, uh—it’s fine.”

We chatted; he asked me the same questions his wife had, but William said nothing. He leaned against the wall with his arms folded, looking disturbed.