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‘I will be glad when it’s done.’
Glad when he would be able to hand it over to his executive and the managers. When it would be up and running and no longer at this intense stage.
Right now, though, the tension was all in his office.
It was a relief when Marianna appeared and, with Aurora observing, they began to go through his schedule.
Nico was to meet with the Silibri hotel staff in fifteen minutes, and after that his day was back-to-back meetings with accountants, financiers and lawyers—and, no, Nico said, he would not be staying at the hotel that night.
‘You have a breakfast meeting at seven and the helicopter is booked for nine…’ Marianna frowned at this slight anomaly. ‘Usually you stay here if you’re flying out.’
‘I’ll be residing at home tonight,’ Nico said. ‘Now, can we check my Silibri schedule? I want to see my father’s doctor as soon as I arrive.’
‘You’re going home…?’ Aurora blinked. ‘Why are you going home when we are all here?’
‘Again…’ Nico sighed. ‘You are here for staff training.’
He looked to Marianna and was grateful when she stepped in.
‘Signor Caruso and I run through his schedule each morning, Aurora. This is not a meeting, and nor is it a discussion; it is to ensure that everything is in order and that we are both clear on timings.’
‘Of course…’ Aurora attempted, but there were a million questions in her eyes about why he was leaving Rome so soon after they had arrived.
Nico answered none of them.
Instead, having gone through his impossibly busy week, they headed out of his office, with Nico holding the door for both the women.
‘After you,’ Nico said.
He wished his good manners were not quite so ingrained, and that he did not have to hold open the door, for the scent of her reached him again. The chemistry that flared between them was undeniable, and the want was still there.
Nico, though, was first to walk into the boardroom.
The Silibri contingent were there, waiting, and they greeted him warmly.
Too warmly.
‘Hey, Nico!’
And there were more gifts set out on the table.
Amongst other things, Francesca had brought homemade biscotti to go with the coffee being served. Only Vincenzo, his marketing manager, sat rigid, clearly taken back by the party-like atmosphere in the room.
He smoothed his auburn hair nervously and cast a slightly aghast look at Nico. Bizarrely, for the briefest of seconds, Nico wanted to tell Vincenzo to relax. Did he not know how things worked in Sicily? Did he not know that humour and conversation were an art form there, especially in Silibri?
Of course not. Vincenzo had been brought in from the Florence branch.
‘Let’s get started,’ Nico said.
It would hopefully be a quick meeting.
Aurora was to be assistant manager of marketing. It was not something she had studied for, but she knew the area well and loved taking photos—and she had ideas. Many of them.
Nico hadn’t actually got her the job; she did not need him to succeed.
Well, maybe a bit…
For without him there would be no hotel.
