The Vineyards of Calanetti

THIS ISN’T GOOD. Not good at all.

Kayla pressed Save on the computer. She needed to give Mr. Amatucci some space. She reached for her wallet to go buy a—a—a cocoa. Yes, that would suit the weather outside perfectly.

She got to her feet when her boss slammed down the phone. He raked his fingers through his short hair and glanced at her. “Sorry about that. Where were we?”

The weariness in his voice tugged at her sympathies. “Um...well, I thought that I’d go get some um...cocoa—”

“The Van Holsen account. We were talking about how we need to put a rush on it.”

“Um...sure.” She sat back down.

Kayla wasn’t sure how to act. She’d never before witnessed her boss seriously lose it. And who exactly was Marianna? Was it possible Mr. Amatucci really did have a life outside this office—one nobody knew about? The thought had her fighting back a frown. Why should it bother her to think that her boss might have fathered a baby with this woman? It wasn’t as if they were anything more than employee and employer.

Mr. Amatucci stepped up to her desk. “I’ll need to go over this with you tomorrow afternoon.”

“Tomorrow?”

She knew that he asked for the impossible at times and this happened to be one of those times. He’d caught her totally off guard. It’d take time to think out innovative ideas for the new campaign platform. And she had an important meeting that night, but there was no way she was telling her boss about that.

Mr. Amatucci arched a brow at her. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“Uh...no. No problem.” She would not let this opportunity pass her by. “I’ll just finish up what I was working on, and I’ll get started.”

He paused as though considering her answer. “On second thought, it’d be best to go over your ideas first thing in the morning.”

“The morning?”

His gaze narrowed in on her, and she wished that her thoughts would quit slipping across her tongue and out her mouth. It certainly wasn’t helping this situation. She was here to impress him with her capabilities, not to annoy him when he was obviously already in a bad mood.

“Ms. Hill, you seem to be repeating what I say. Is there some sort of problem I should be aware of?”

She hated that he always called her Ms. Hill. Couldn’t he be like everyone else in the office and call her Kayla? But then again, she was talking about Angelo Amatucci—he was unlike anyone she’d ever known.

He was the first man to set her stomach aquiver without so much as touching her. She’d been so aware of his mouth being just a breath away from her neck as he’d sniffed her perfume. The memory was still fresh in her mind. Was it so wrong that she hadn’t wanted that moment to end?

Of course it was. She swallowed hard. He was her boss, not just some guy she’d met at a friend’s place. There could never be anything serious between them—not that he’d ever even noticed her as a desirable woman.

“Ms. Hill?”

“No, there won’t be a...uh...problem.” Who was she kidding? This was going to be a big problem, but she’d work it out—somehow—some way.

Her gaze moved to the windows and the darkening sky. With it only nearing the lunch hour, it shouldn’t be so dark, which could only mean that they were going to get pounded with more snow. The thought of getting stuck at the office turned her nervous stomach nauseous.

Snow. Snow. Go away.

He gazed at her. “I didn’t mean to snap at you—”

“I understand. You’ve got a lot on your mind.”

“Thank you.”

His gaze continued to hold hers. The dark depths of his eyes held a mystery—the story of the real man behind the designer suits and the Rolex watches. She had to admit that she was quite curious about him—more than any employee had a right to about her very handsome, very single boss. And that odd phone call only made her all the more curious. Maybe he wasn’t as single as she’d presumed. The jagged thought lodged in her throat.

Mr. Amatucci’s steady gaze met hers. “You’re sure you’re up for this project?”

She pressed her lips together, no longer trusting her mouth, and nodded. She’d have to reschedule tonight’s meeting for the fund-raiser.

“Good. If you need help, feel free to ask one of the other PAs to take over some of your other work. The Van Holsen account is now your priority.”

He gathered his tablet computer and headed for the door. “I’ve got a meeting. I’ll be back later.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”

Without a backward glance, he strode out of the room, looking like the calm, cool, collected Angelo Amatucci that everyone respected and admired for his creative foresight. But how he was able to shut down his emotions so quickly was totally beyond her.

What was she going to do about her meeting tonight? It didn’t help that she’d been the one to set it up. Somehow she’d been put in charge of the Inner City League after-school program fund-raiser. The program was in a serious financial bind. ICL was a great organization that kept at-risk kids off the streets after school while their parents were still at work.

Kayla had been volunteering for the past year. Helping others was how her parents had raised her. They had always been generous with their spare time and money—not that they had much of either. Kayla may have hightailed it out of Paradise, Pennsylvania, as soon as she could, but there was still a lot of Paradise in her. And she’d swear that she got more back from the kids and the other volunteers than she ever gave to any of them. For a girl who was used to living in a small town of friends, it was a comfort to have such a friendly group to keep her from feeling isolated in such a large city of strangers.

There was no way she could reschedule tonight’s meeting. They were running out of time until the charity concert and there was still so much to plan. Somehow she had to make this all work out. She couldn’t let down the kids nor could she let down her boss. The thought of Angelo Amatucci counting on her felt good.

Not only was he easy on the eyes, but she really enjoyed working with him, even if he was a bit stiff and withdrawn most of the time. But now that she’d witnessed him emotionally charged, she couldn’t help but wonder what it’d be like to get up close and personal with him.

* * *

Angelo shook his head.

Marianna pregnant! Impossible.

Okay, so it wasn’t impossible, but why had she been acting so irresponsible? It wasn’t as if she was married or even considering it. She changed romantic interests faster than he changed ties—never getting too serious—until now. Nico didn’t even know the father’s name. What was up with that?

“What do you think, Mr. Amatucci?”

He glanced up at his youngest and most promising account executive. This was a meeting to discuss the campaign for a new sports car that was going to be revealed later that year. The car was quite nice and was sure to create a buzz of attention.

But for the life of him, Angelo couldn’t keep his mind wrapped around business—no matter how important the account. His head was in Italy at the village of Monte Calanetti—where he should be dealing with his sister’s life-changing event.

Angelo glanced down at the presentation on his digital tablet and then back at the account executive. “I think you still have work to do. This presentation is flat. It isn’t innovative enough. There’s nothing here to sway a twentysomething consumer to take out a sizable loan on top of their college debt in order to have this car. I want the ‘must have’ factor. The part that says if I have this car all of my friends will be envious. This isn’t just a car—this is a status symbol. Do you understand?”

Mike glanced down and then back at Angelo. “But this is what the client asked for.”

“And it’s your job to push the envelope and give the client something more to consider—to want.” Maybe he’d been too quick in his determination that Mike was going to be an asset to Amatucci & Associates—unlike Kayla, who was constantly proving she was an independent thinker. “Try again.”

Mike’s mouth started to open but out of the corner of Angelo’s eye he could see the copywriter give a quick shake of his head. Mike glanced back at Angelo. He nodded his agreement.

“Good. I expect to see something new in forty-eight hours.”

Again the man’s mouth opened but nothing came out. His lips pressed together, and he nodded. Now if only Angelo could handle his little sister in the same no-nonsense manner. He liked when things were easy and uncomplicated.

But now, with time to cool down, he realized that his only course of action was to return home—to return to Italy. His gut knotted as he thought of the expectations that he’d failed to fulfill. Back in Monte Calanetti he wasn’t viewed as someone successful—someone influential. Back home he was Giovanni’s son—the son who’d fled his family and their way of life, unlike his younger brother who took great pride in their heritage.

With the meeting concluded, Angelo made his way back to his office. With the decision made to leave first thing in the morning, he had to figure out how to handle his current workload. His clients would never accept having their accounts turned over to anyone else. They paid top dollar for one-on-one attention, and they would accept nothing less.

In order for him to stay on top of everything while traveling abroad, he needed someone who was good in a crisis, levelheaded and an independent worker. Kayla’s beautiful face immediately sprang to mind. Could she be the answer?

He hesitated. She did have a habit of being a bit too chatty at times. But this was an emergency. Allowances would have to be made.

More importantly, he was impressed with her work ethic and her attention to details. She was hungry and eager—two elements that would serve her well. And best of all, she had an easy way with people—something that might come in handy on this trip.

He stopped next to her desk. “Ms. Hill.” She glanced up. Her green eyes widened. How had he missed their striking shade of jade until now? He cleared his throat, focusing back on the business at hand. “How’s the Van Holsen account coming?”

Color pinked her cheeks. “Mr. Amatucci, I...I haven’t gotten to it yet. The phone has been ringing and I’ve been sending out information for some other accounts.”

She looked worried as though she’d done something wrong. For the first time, Angelo wondered if everyone who worked for him was intimidated by him. He didn’t like the thought of Ms. Hill being uncomfortable around him. He knew he wasn’t an easy man to get to know, but he didn’t like the thought of striking fear in the hearts of his employees.

“Relax. That’s fine. Besides you’ll have plenty of time to brainstorm on the flight.”

“Excuse me. The flight?”

Since when did he speak without thinking it through first? It had to be this mess with Marianna. It had him off-kilter. “Something urgent has come up. I need to travel to Italy. And I need a competent person to accompany me.”

“Me?” Excitement lit up her whole face. Before today, he’d never noticed that behind those black-rimmed reading glasses were not only mesmerizing green eyes but also a beautiful face—not that he was interested in her, or anyone. Ms. Hill clasped her hands together. “I’ve never been to Italy. I’d love it.”

“Good. That’s what I was hoping you’d say.” But suddenly he wasn’t sure spending so much time alone with her was such a good idea, especially now that he’d noticed the unique color of her mesmerizing eyes and her intoxicating scent. He swallowed hard. But it was too late to back out now. “You need to understand this trip will be business only, not a holiday.”

“Understood.”

“If you go, you’ll need to be committed to your work 24/7. We can’t afford to miss any deadlines. Is that acceptable?”

She hesitated and, for a moment, he worried that she would back out.

But then Ms. Hill’s head bobbed. “I can do it.”

“Make sure you are ready to go first thing in the morning.”

“As in tomorrow morning?”

He nodded. “And expect to be gone for at least a week—maybe two.” Her mouth gaped and her eyes widened. It was obvious that he’d caught her off guard. But she wasn’t the only one to be surprised today—by so many things.

When he’d approved her transfer to be his temporary PA, he’d made it perfectly clear that he demanded 100 percent focus and commitment from his employees. It was that extra push and attention to detail that put Amatucci & Associates head and shoulders above the competition.

If you wanted to be the best, you had to give it your all. And that is what he expected from all of his employees, even if it meant dropping family, hobbies and extracurricular activities in order to focus on the job. What he was asking of Kayla was no different than he’d ask of anyone.

When she didn’t jump to accept his offer, he had no patience to wait for an answer. “That won’t be a problem, will it?”

From the little he knew about his assistant, she didn’t have a family. At least not in the city. And he hadn’t seen or heard any hints of a man in her life. Maybe she was more like him than he’d originally thought.

Or was there something else bothering her? Was it the incident with the perfume? Perhaps that hadn’t been one of his better moves. He was used to following his instincts when it came to his creative process, but there was something about his assistant that had him leaning a little closer to her slender neck and, for the briefest second, he’d forgotten the reason. His mind had spiraled in a totally inappropriate direction. That wouldn’t happen again. He’d see to it.

After all, she wasn’t his type. Her nondescript business suits, the way she pulled back her hair and the way she hid her luminous green eyes behind a pair of black-rimmed glasses gave off a very prim, old-fashioned persona. So why was he letting one unexplainable moment bother him?

“I could make arrangements to go, but I have so much work to do on the Van Holsen account—”

“If that’s your only objection, then don’t worry. The account can wait one day. In fact, take the rest of the day off. I expect to see you at the airport at 6:00 a.m.. Unless you’d like me to pick you up on the way.”

“Uh, no.” She shook her head vehemently. “I’ll find my own way there.”

He felt a bit obligated. He was, after all, asking her to drop everything on a moment’s notice to help him out. He needed to make a concerted effort to be a little friendlier. “Are you sure? It’s really no problem to swing by your place.”

“You don’t even know where I live.”

“True. But since you’re going out of your way to help me, I wouldn’t mind going out of my way for you.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” She smiled, easing the stress lines from around her mouth.

Angelo found his attention straying to her kissable lips coated with a shimmery light pink gloss. Okay, so not every aspect of her was prim and proper. A fantasy of her pulling off her glasses and letting down her hair played in his mind. Realizing the direction of his wayward thoughts, he halted them.

With effort, his gaze rose over the light splattering of freckles on her pert nose to her intense green eyes. How had he failed to notice her beauty up until today? Had he been that absorbed in his work that he’d failed to see what was standing right in front of him?

He cleared his throat. “I’ll pick you up at say five-thirty?”

“Mr. Amatucci—”

“If we’re going to travel together, we should at least be on a first name basis. Please, call me Angelo.” Now where in the world had that come from? He made a point of keeping his distance from his employees. But then again, he was taking her home with him, where she would meet his family, and that broke all of his professional rules. He reconciled himself with the fact that Kayla’s time working for him was limited—soon his regular PA would be back. So maybe he could afford to bend the rules a bit.

“And please call me Kayla.” She smiled again, and this time it reached her eyes, making them sparkle like fine jewels.

“We’re going to my home in Italy. It’s a small village in the Tuscany countryside—Monte Calanetti.”

“I’m afraid I’ve never heard of it, but then again, I’ve never had the opportunity to travel abroad. Is it big? The village that is?”

He shook his head. “The last time I saw it— granted it has been quite a while—but it was as if time had passed it by. It is rather small and quaint. It is entirely a different world from New York City. Now, are you still interested in going?”

She hesitated and he worried that he’d have to come up with an alternate plan. As of right now, he didn’t have one. He needed someone who was familiar with his accounts and wouldn’t need a bunch of hand-holding. Kayla was his only viable option. He wasn’t one to beg, but at this particular moment he was giving it serious consideration.

Her dimpled chin tilted up. “Yes, I am. It sounds like it’ll be a great adventure.”

“I don’t know about that. The reason I’m going there isn’t exactly pleasant, but then again, that isn’t for you to worry about. You need to go home and pack.”

“Okay. But what should I plan on wearing for the trip? Business attire?”

“Definitely something more casual. There won’t be any business meetings, so use your best judgment.” He had no doubt her casual attire was as dull and drab as her suits. Not that it mattered to him what she wore so long as she was ready to work.

Kayla gathered her things, and then paused. “Before I leave, should I make plane reservations?”

He shook his head. “No need. We’ll take my private jet.”

Her pink lips formed an O but nothing came out. And for a moment, he let himself wonder what it’d be like to kiss those full, tempting lips. Not that he would, but he could imagine that one kiss just wouldn’t be enough. Something told him that lurking beneath that proper and congenial surface was a passionate woman—

Again, he drew his thoughts up short. The last thing he needed was to notice her feminine qualities. He wasn’t about to mix business with pleasure. No way.

CHAPTER THREE

FLUFFY CLOUDS FLOATED past the jet’s windows.

They’d soon be touching down in Italy.

A giddy excitement bubbled up in Kayla’s chest as she glanced across the aisle at Mr. Amatucci—er—Angelo. She still had a problem remembering to call him by his given name after referring to him as Mr. Amatucci for so long. Being on a first-name basis left her feeling unsettled—not exactly sure how to act around him. If anything, Angelo was even more quiet and reserved than before. Had he sensed her attraction to him?

Impossible. She hadn’t said or done anything to betray herself. She smoothed a hand over her gray skirt. She was worrying for nothing.

Just act normal.

She glanced at her boss. “Do you know how long until we arrive?”

Angelo turned in his leather seat to look at her. “What did you say?”

“I was wondering how long we have until we land in Italy.”

“Not much longer.” His dark gaze dipped to the pen and paper in her lap. “Are you working?”

“I am.” Her body tensed as she read over her scribbled notes for the Van Holsen account. She didn’t have anything innovative enough to measure up to the Amatucci standard. “I thought this would be a good time to flesh out some ideas.”

“And you like doing it longhand?”

“I think better that way.” She’d never really taken the time to consider her creative process, but yes, now that she thought about it, she did always start with pen and paper. She didn’t move to the computer until she had a fully functioning idea.

“Is that for the Van Holsen account?”

“Yes, I’ve been doing what you suggested and going with a nostalgic appeal.”

“Good. Can I see what you’ve come up with so far?”

She glanced down at all of her scribbles and half thoughts. And then her eyes caught sight of his name scrolled out in cursive. Her heart clenched. What in the world?

She must have done it while she’d been deep in thought. Immediately, her pen started crossing it out. The last thing she needed was for her boss to think she had a crush on him. That would be the end of her career.

“I...I don’t exactly have anything solid yet.” She was going to have to be careful in the future of what she wrote down just in case Mr. Curious decided to peer over her shoulder.

“I could help you. Let me see what you have.” He held out his hand.

She really didn’t want to hand over her notepad, but what choice did she have if she wanted to stay in his good graces? She glanced down at the scratched-out spot and squinted. She could still see his name—all fourteen letters. But that was because she knew it was there. She ran the pen over it a few more times.

With great hesitation, she handed over the legal pad. Angelo’s acute gaze skimmed over the page. Her palms grew moist. He took his time reading, but he paused as he reached the bottom. That was where she’d vigorously scratched out his name, almost wearing a hole in the page.

“I’m guessing that you’ve ruled out this idea?” He gestured to the blob of ink.

“Most definitely. It wouldn’t have worked.”

“Are you sure? Maybe you should tell me what it was, and then we can see if there’s any value in pursuing it?” He sent her an expectant look.

“Honestly, it’s not worth the effort. I was totally off the mark with it.” A man like Angelo, who could have a gorgeous model or movie star on each arm, would never be interested in someone as plain and boring as herself.

He let the subject go and turned back to her notes while she sat there realizing just how “off the mark” her imagination had wandered. No way was she going down that romantic path again, even if it was paved with rose petals. All it’d do was lead her into making a commitment—having a family—everything she’d left behind in Paradise. She wanted to be different—she wanted to be professionally successful. She needed to show everyone back in her hometown that she’d made her dreams come true.

And then Angelo’s gaze lifted to meet hers. She should glance away but the intensity of his gaze held her captive. Her heart raced. He didn’t say anything, which was just as well, because she doubted she could have strung two words together. Had he figured out what she’d scribbled on the page? Please, not that. But then again, he didn’t look upset. Instead, he looked like—like what? The breath hitched in her throat. Was he interested in her?

He glanced away and shook his head. “Sorry about that. Something you wrote down gave me an idea for the campaign, but then it slipped away.”

Silly girl. What made her think he’d ever look at her that way? And why would she want him to? It’d be the beginning of the end of her rising career—her dream.

Get a grip, Kayla.

“No problem.” She held out her hand, willing it not to shake. “If you let me have the pad back, I’ll work on getting my thoughts more organized. Maybe we can discuss them as soon as we get situated in Italy.” She wasn’t quite sure where their accommodations would be since Angelo had personally handled the travel arrangements, but she was certain they would be nice.

“Sounds good. Just because we’re out of town doesn’t mean we should fall behind on our work. I don’t plan to be here long—just long enough to take care of some personal business. If we’re lucky, perhaps I can wrap it up in a day or two.”

What had happened to a week—maybe two? Disappointment assailed her. But it would be for the best. After all, it’d get her home sooner to make sure the ICL fund-raiser was moving along without too many snags. But she still couldn’t shake the disappointment.

* * *

He’d missed this.

Angelo maneuvered the low-slung sports car over the windy roads of the Tuscany hillside toward his home in Monte Calanetti. He was grateful to be behind the wheel. It helped to center his thoughts. On the plane, he’d noticed his assistant in the most unexpected way. With her peaches-and-cream complexion, he’d been tempted to reach out and caress her smooth skin. But it was her green, almost-jade eyes that sparkled and hinted at so much more depth to the woman than he already knew—or would expect to know. The last thing he needed to do was get distracted by his assistant.