Page 139 of Matteo

“Come and work for me, mala. I’ll take care of you.”

I huff out a sigh. “I can’t come and work for you, and I can take care of myself. But also, my life is in the States, not here.”

He knows I have no family, and that he was my family. He made me feel like I belonged, but I have Arthur and Irene now. And Matteo, too. I think.

He leans towards me. “I’ll let you in on a little secret, mala. Two decades ago,” he drops his voice, “we hacked Knight’s company headquarters. I guess your boyfriend would’ve been a child back then.”

The words hit like a hammer and I stare at him speechless. Two decades ago, Matteo and his family would have been in Italy.

“Don’t look so surprised. Those are exactly the types of corporations we used to hit. You had no problems then.”

“I wasn’t working with you two decades ago—”

“But when you came along, those were exactly the types of corporations we’d hit,” he reminds me. “Knight Enterprises aren’t clean and Paul Knight is not a good man,” he cautions. “That’s why I want you to be on your guard. Even with Matteo. Men like him are dangerous, mala.”

I don't like the way he's talking about Matteo, but at the same time I question being involved with a Knight. Still, any slight reservations I might have had about taking a job at Knight Enterprises quickly vanished when I realized how good that experience would be for me.

Talking to Vlad leaves me feeling conflicted again, and I hate it. “I wish you would just let me be. I wish you’d be happy for me, like I am for you.”

He puts his hand on my arm. “I don’t mean to upset you, Elizabeth. But know that you are playing with fire here. These people, the Knights, they are not normal people. Insane wealth creates monsters.”

“Not everyone who is rich is a monster,” I fire back. Matteo is nothing like his father, I know that for a fact. He's incapable of treachery, and I’m beginning to slowly understand how Matteo can’t tolerate secrecy or evasiveness because of his past. I'm beginning to see how anything that feels hidden puts him on edge immediately, and now I understand why he's been so angry with me.

Vlad looks startled. “I never thought I’d hear you defend the other side.”

“You look just like the other side.”

He breaks out into a smile. Points to himself. “Me? I’m not an oligarch, and I don’t fuck others over to enrich myself.”

A river of silence flows between us. Today has been a shit show of epic proportions. Me and Vlad arguing, after me and Matteo have been arguing is a testament to just how awful today has been.

“Enough about me,” I say, determined to change the subject. “Tell me about Valentina. When do I get to meet her?”

“Soon.” He seems relieved that we’re talking about something else. “Come to dinner tonight.”

He takes out a notebook from his jacket, and scribbles down an address. “Dinner, small, informal gathering. Eight o’clock. You can ask her all these questions yourself.”

He slides the scrap of paper towards me. I take it, but I’m unsure about going. I’m exhausted, mentally, and physically, and I don’t even want to ask Matteo if he wants to come.

“Show me a photo of her at least,” I beg.

He pulls out his wallet and shows me a photo. The woman staring back at me isn't what I expected. She's beautiful, but not in a polished, trophy-wife sort of way. Her smile is warm and genuine, her dark hair tumbling around her shoulders as she leans into Vlad.

He has his arm placed protectively around her and now he’s smiling as he looks at the picture. Now he looks more like the Vlad I remember.

Guilt twists inside me.

Maybe I've got this wrong.

Maybe I'm the one making assumptions. The same thing I accused Matteo of doing. Vlad slides the photo back into his wallet, and a few moments later we're talking and laughing as though no time has passed at all.

“It is so good to see you again, mala.” He takes my hand in both of his.

I am genuinely, ecstatically happy to see him. “It's so good to see you, Vlad.”

“I care about you. You know that. Life has been cruel to you, and it’s good to see that you’re looking happy.”

We talk about events in the past, and I start to relax a bit.