AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘You will stay away from her, you beast.’
Alessandro laughed. ‘Beast?’ he demanded, but it was his eyes that taunted her, reminding her that it wasn’t what she’d called him in Hong Kong.
Amelia looked away, needing to hide her illogical reaction. This constant push and pull between them was making her nauseous. Wasn’t it why she’d been forced to lie to her sister and tell Issy that she had proof of their corruption? She’d just wanted it all over. The vengeance, the lies, the pretence. Fighting Alessandro, fighting herself. It had been so exhausting and sohard.
‘You needn’t worry about your sister. Gianni is, despite popular opinion, a gentleman.’
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘By all accounts, he’s most definitely the nicer of the two of you.’
Alessandro glared at her from across the table. She’d meant what she said though. From all of Issy’s research it was clear that, where Alessandro ran cold, Gianni ran a passionate hot, full of charm he used as indiscriminately as he did freely. And a huge part of all of Amelia’s plans had been to ensure that her sister would be safe no matter what.
It had always been Alessandro that was the wild card.
She poured herself a glass of water, hastily making and discarding various plans and options. She didn’t feel physically threatened in the slightest and she didn’t think for one minute that Alessandro would lay a finger on her.
But he had. In Hong Kong. There, he’d touched, teased, delved with those fingers, bringing her to orgasm again and again and—
She thumped the empty glass of water she’d consumed in one go down on the table. Alessandro watched her with steady eyes as she refilled it, not caring that she looked rattled, she was thirsty and she would drink all the water she needed.
She squared her shoulders, placed her hands in her lap and composed herself. She’d always known that discovery was a possibility. She’d rehearsed this moment over and over in her mind—what she’d say, how she’d answer whatever questions she could imagine him asking. In some ways it was a relief to finally be here and get it over with. ‘Interrogate away, Mr Rossi,’ she said with a dismissive sweep of her hand.
‘What did you do?’ His words were clipped, his tone uncompromising.
‘You might have to be a little more specific than that, Mr Rossi,’ she said, leaning back in her chair, unconsciously trying to put just a little more distance between them. As if he’d noticed, he leaned forward, erasing her momentary reprieve.
‘You have done something to damage Rossi Industries.’
She held his gaze, trying to ignore the muscle flaring at his jaw like a warning beacon.
‘Well?’
‘I believe that was a statement, not a question,’ she replied. The flash of anger, a gold lightning strike, was expected but the rumbling thunder of disdain cut her to the quick. Gritting her teeth, she stared at a point just below his chin. The tie of his knot was slightly skewed, as if he’d pulled at it and then tried to twist it back into place.
‘According to your sister, you claim to have found proof of corruption.’
Her adrenaline spiked, sending a scattering of stings to nerve endings all over her body.
‘But as we both know that is simply neither true nor possible, so there is only one logical conclusion. You have lied; to your sister—maybe even to yourself. An act that is desperate and dangerous and I don’t like either of those things. So I ask again,Amelia. What. Did. You. Do?’
Stubborn and mutinous, Amelia refused to answer his question. Refused to meet his eye. Refused to engage. But she couldn’t deny that everything he said was true. She had lied to her sister, to herself. Shewasdesperate and ithadbeen dangerous. But if she told him now then it would all have been for nothing.
‘You are playing a very dangerous game.’
And finally, she couldn’t hold it back any more. ‘With rulesyouwrote, ten years ago,’ she accused, the words dripping with bitterness and resentment.
‘Frankly, Ms Seymore, I don’t care. I don’t care what you think happened ten years ago, what you think your father did or did not deserve, or what happened to him or you after that.’
Outrage lashed at her soul, in a silent cry of pure injustice. It howled and raged in her chest, wanting out, wanting to cause as much hurt as had been done to her and her sister.
‘What I care about is the nearly hundred thousand employees in Rossi Industries and the countless associated businesses that would be negatively impacted by your temper tantrum.’
She gasped. ‘Temper—’
‘And honestly? It is inconceivable that you and your sister are playing a petty game of revenge for a man who was more corrupt than anyone I know. And given the number of billionaires, businessmen and politicians, that’s really saying something.’
He was breathing hard, but not as hard as Amelia. The blood had drained from her face, leaving her worryingly pale, but the sheer force of his anger was still riding him hard. So he missed the genuine disbelief and confusion shadowing her gaze before it was shuttered.
No, all he saw was misplaced outrage and indignation. How dared she? The little fool had put so much at risk he was incandescent with anger.
