>>>ARETHA'S OUTFIT
Dedicated to
Thanks for the translations in the earlier chapters! (^^,)
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After exhausting my beautiful wife for the last time, we got ready to leave. It's safe to say that our friends and family weren't impressed with me for setting up the trip, and with my wife for agreeing to it, but they understood my paranoia.
I'd arranged for Sven to also fly to D.C with the girls. It's a surprise for my wife, but not only that, since I knew that they'd help me with my plan for Shelby- not that we were letting my wife in on it. She would stop us if she knew.
She slept the entire way to Washington, and I didn't blame her. I had truly worn her out, but I couldn't help it. With a wife that looks like her, any man would be crazy to resist her. The thought however, took me to a dark place.
Thinking about how she was abused, made me want to kill the son of a bastard. How dare he lay a hand on her, and even go as far as scarring her? I don't care about her scars because they don't add or take away from her appeal in my eyes, but to know that she went through such a traumatic experience had me wanting to go on a serious manhunt.
I was itching to get my PI on it, to find out who the bastard is, but I knew that I'd be crossing a boundary of trust between us. Now that we're married, I understand the value of the decisions I take, and that they shouldn't be taken lightly, especially if my wife is involved.
I looked over at her sleeping form and realized that her presence calms me. Before I met her, in a situation like this, I would've probably already fired a whole lot of people for no reason, but with her in my life, I'm able to sit down and make rational decisions.
"Are we there yet?" she mumbled, not bothering to open her eyes.
"We're landing in two hours," I chuckled.
"Kay," she sighed before falling back to sleep.
She's adorable like that.
I continued checking my emails as we made our way. When it was close to landing time, I woke my wife up and we went to buckle in. When we'd landed, I went to speak to my pilots before we left the jet. It was late morning and when Ari saw the girls waiting at the familiar SUV with Sven, she squealed before running to hug them.
"Hi mummy," they giggled.
"How are you guys here?" she asked them.
"Daddy knew you'd want us to tag along," they smiled. She turned to me with tears in her eyes before kissing me.
"I love you," she giggled.
"I love you too cara mia. Now, off we go to the hotel," I said.
"Wait! We're going now?" my wife scowled.
"Why not?" I asked.
"She wants to look better daddy," Calinda pointed out.
I looked to my wife. I didn't have a problem with the blouse and jeans she was wearing, if my arousal was anything to go by, but apparently she wanted to look like the wife of a billionaire- that's the explanation I was given by Caprice.
Since we already sold her grandmother's house, we could only go to Rhonda's place. The girls wanted to change too, and apparently me turning up in jeans and a t-shirt wouldn't suffice either. I will never understand women.
The girls were dressed in black jeans, black, red and white polka dot long sleeved shirts and red cardigans with black shoes. I was instructed to wear an all black suit with a black shirt and tie, which the girls had packed with them. My wife was given a white dress that has a red belt across the waist with a red blazer and red and black heels.
If you're wondering why we're matching, the quads dressed us.
I learnt that the girls and their aunts had packed us a whole lot of formal clothing since our honeymoon packing didn't involve any. I was impressed, though I wouldn't have minded spending money on my wife.
Satisfied with how we all look, we left Rhonda's apartment and I wasn't all that shocked to find my Maserati parked behind the SUV outside. Sven informed me that he had it delivered from storage while we were inside. It was decided that my wife and I would take the Maserati, while the girls would leave with Sven in the SUV.
"We're going to end up having to own a minibus if you want more kids and we travel with them," my wife commented as we made our way to the hotel. The girls were already ahead of us because I was taking the long way there to give them time to cause trouble.
"It would be fascinating to find myself driving a minibus around," I chuckled.
"It's not funny Rafe," she giggled.
"But it is. Imagine me of all people doing that," I argued.
"Ok, maybe it is," she smiled.
"Exactly," I winked.
"Rafe, I'm nervous," she said when she realized that we were close to the hotel.
"I'm right here with you. I will not let anyone disrespect you. I promise," I said before taking her hand and kissing it.
"I trust you," she sighed, looking out the window,
I knew she wasn't up for conversation, so I let her wallow in her fear, even though I didn't want her stressing. We eventually reached the hotel and the valet looked extremely panicked to see me. He acted quickly nonetheless, letting my wife out before coming to collect the keys.
"You're going to be fine Ari. We're not even going to see Shelby as yet," I sighed.
"We're not?" her eyebrows shot up.
"You can scold me for this, but I still haven't forgotten how you were treated by her, so the girls and I are getting back at her," I said.
"Raphael!" she scolded like I knew she would.
"I'm not sorry cara mia," I smirked, pulling her flush against me. She blushed, looking up at me while she bit her lip.
That damn lip!
"I know you aren't," she sighed.
"I love you Mrs Maestri," I smiled. She leaned in and kissed me.
"I love you too Mr Maestri," she blushed.
"My, my, my, what do we have here? Aren't the two of you supposed to be on your honeymoon?" Harry asked from the door.
"Work emergency," I shrugged.
"And you agreed to come?" he looked to my wife.
"Eh! There's a good bargain in it for me," she giggled.
"Ah, I see. Well the little ones are in there causing grief already. They'll amaze you with how much trouble they manage to cause in a space of five minutes, let alone fifteen," he chuckled.
"I hope they're not pestering the guests," my wife panicked.
"Calm down mia moglie, I told them that the guests are off limits," I informed.
"Shelby is the one losing her mind in there," Harry added.
"See? No trouble, or at least for anyone innocent," I smiled.
"The things you convince yourself of mi amore," she shook her head at me.
"You love me," I pouted.
"That I do my evil husband," she tapped my nose.
Well that's new!
"I will see you lovebirds later," Harry chuckled before letting us in.
The sight that greeted us was one I didn't expect. The girls had truly outdone themselves. There were broken vases, crayon stains on the walls, wine stains on the floors and what looked like cream on the carpets. I know I told them to go all out, but this was ridiculous.
The things we do for love.
I already knew that the hotel would have to be paying for damages, but since it's my hotel anyway, I figured paying myself wouldn't make sense. I struggled to keep from laughing as Shelby pulled her hair out. She and the blonde, who I learned is Adrienne, were trying to catch the girls.
"I don't want to laugh," my wife whispered. She looked like she wanted to though.
"We'll laugh about it later," I offered. She nodded.
"Bet you wish you hadn't fired Aretha now huh?" Adrienne asked Shelby. They still hadn't noticed our presence.
"We don't need her! I keep telling you this!" Shelby snapped.
"Whatever you say Shelby," Adrienne rolled her eyes.
"You're up," I nudged my wife.
"I'm up?" she scowled.
"You need to stop the girls yourself," I explained. Understanding dawned on her and she walked towards the reception area.
"Aretha?" Adrienne was the first to notice her with wide eyes.
"I should've known that this was all you!" Shelby spat.
My wife ignored them and instead whistled. The girls ran over to her and stood front and centre. I should really give them more credit. They truly looked like they were afraid of what she would do to them.
"What did I say?" she asked them.
"That we were to be on our best behaviour," they replied shamefacedly.
"And do you call this behaving?" she asked them, signalling to their damage.
"No," they shook their heads.
"I'd love to see how you're going to pay for these damages, especially after I told you never to come back to my hotel again," Shelby said, looking rather chuffed.
"Our daddy will pay," the girls turned to her.
"Oh yes, your imaginary daddy Raphael Maestri right? You must really take me for a fool. You belong to some irresponsible human being! Aretha, if you thought you were spiting me by bringing these rascals back here with your trashy self, you have another thing coming. I'm going to rui-"
"Mi amore, you left your ring in the car."
I'd swiped her ring off of her finger when we were standing outside. I was fuming, which is why I had to stop Shelby. I knew that she had a thing against my wife, but I had no idea her hatred was also directed towards my children.
Calling them rascals and calling my wife trashy had me wanting to kill her.
Slowly.
"What? How?" my wife turned to me with genuine confusion.
"Mr Maestri!" Shelby and Adrienne gasped, looking panicked, but I wasn't focused on them.
"I don't know, but here it is," I smiled, putting it in its rightful place.
"Thank you caro," she blushed.
"You're most welcome cara mia," I said before kissing her forehead. Shelby and Adrienne's jaws looked ready to knock upon hell's very doors.
"Daddy, we didn't mean to make a mess," Caprice apologized.
"Your mother will deal with your punishment. She told you to behave yourselves and you chose not to listen to her," I told them.
"Th-they are yo-your d-d-daughters?" Shelby stuttered.
"You mean am I the irresponsible human being that they belong to?" I turned to her with the deadliest glare.
"Rafe, calm down," my wife pleaded with me, her hands on my chest.
"She called my children creatures and rascals, and she called my wife a whore, a bitch and trashy. DO share, what part of that justifies my calmness in the situation," I said angrily. My wife leaned in and kissed me.
"Calm down mio caro. She's not worth it," she whispered. Even though she was saying that, there were tears in her eyes.
I almost killed Shelby then.
"Can we please be booked into the penthouse suite?" she turned and told Adrienne. Adrienne had the good sense of nodding and walking away.
"Mr Maestri, I-" Shelby started before my wife interrupted her.
"Don't Shelby," she shook her head. Shelby turned to her with an icy glare.
"Daddy, let's go," Caterina pulled my hand as Calinda retrieved the room key from Adrienne.
"Caro," my wife sighed when my eyes weren't leaving this shameful woman before me.
"This was a bad idea," I heard Camilla whisper to Calinda.
I eventually moved off to the elevator with the girls following behind me. My wife was stopped by Harry who told her something, to which she nodded before joining us. We reached the suite and I headed straight to the master bedroom. I heard my wife telling the girls to head back down and ask Sven to take them out for ice-cream. When they were gone, she came into the room.
"I'm guessing the last thing you want me to say is that I knew this would be a bad idea," she smiled before sitting next to me, taking my hand in hers.
"I didn't think the woman would persist to tear you down honestly," I admitted.
"She hates me Rafe. That was made clear the day she fired me. I understand that you were trying to win back my honour, and I love you all the more for that, but some people can't be bargained with. She will hate me for as long as she lives, and I'm ok with that. She doesn't deserve my time spent on worrying over her," she caressed my cheek.
"I wanted to kill her Ari. The last thing I want is for anyone to disrespect my family like that," I told her honestly.
"And again, I love you for that, but you can't harm her. Ignorant people eventually get what's coming to them," she smiled.
"I take it that means I can't fire her?" I asked.
"Oh no, that's your decision entirely, but you can't fire her for this incident. Shelby may be a horrible person, but she's good at her job," she pointed out.
I couldn't argue with that.
"Why must you be such a good person Mrs Maestri?" I groaned, my head falling onto her chest, making her giggle.
"I just don't want you to continue to be painted in the light of a brute when deep down, I know that you're a good man," she said before kissing my forehead.
"I don't know how I survived before you," I looked up at her.
"Me neither," she smiled.
"Conceited much?" I teased.
"You know what I meant," she rolled her eyes.
"I know," I chuckled before kissing her.
The girls were gone long enough for us to have some time to ourselves, and of course I spent it making love to her. We got showered and by the time the girls came back, the sun had set, so it was early evening.
"Mummy, can we eat out for dinner?" Camilla asked her.
"I don't see why not," my wife smiled.
"Where are we eating though?" I asked.
"Any restaurant that my handsome husband can get us into," she winked.
"The chivalry lives on," I chuckled.
She rolled her eyes before telling the girls to go down and tell Sven the plan. She waited for me to make a reservation and the restaurant I called was more than happy to accommodate us when they heard who they were speaking to.
"Let's go mi amore," she smiled.
I'll never get tired of this woman being in my life.
Because it's cliché and there's just something about elevators, my wife found herself pinned to one as I made out with her. No one entered the elevator the whole way down, and by the time we reached the ground floor, she was breathless and flushed.
"Why would you do that to me? Now I look like a hot mess," she whined, fixing her hair as we stepped out of the elevator.
"You're my hot mess, so I don't mind," I smirked.
"Of course you don't," she blushed.
"Ti amo," I said before kissing her briefly. I was cut off by Shelby clearing her throat behind me.
"What is it?" I asked her.
"Uh Sir, I was wondering what the purpose of your visit is. We weren't expecting you," she said.
"I'm going out to dinner with my family right now. Tomorrow morning at seven sharp, I expect to have that report I requested and your presence in the conference room. We'll take things from there," I instructed.
"Certainly Sir. Anything else?" she asked.
"I want you to ap-" I started off, but my wife cut me off.
"Nothing else Shelby," she smiled. The woman sent a glare before walking away.
"What was that about?" I scowled.
"You were going to make her apologize. I don't want a wasted apology when I know she doesn't mean it," she sighed.
"I'm sorry cara mia," I caressed her cheek.
"It's ok caro. It's not like I lose sleep over it. Her firing me was one of the best things in my life. As for her opinion about me; I couldn't care less because I know who I am, and I am none of the things she accused me of," she smiled.
"And that's why I love you even more," I said before pecking her lips.
"We should get going before the girls kill us for starving them," she giggled.
"They'd become the richest seven year olds in the world," I chuckled as we walked hand in hand to the door.
"You left everything to them?" she asked.
"Until recently, that was the case. My lawyers have changed my will to include you, and since they would've killed us both, then everything would go to them, on top of their trust funds," I explained.
We got outside just as the valet was bringing up my car. He parked and got out. I opened the door for my stunning wife, before closing the door when she was in. I tipped the valet before grabbing the keys and heading out.
"You've already included me in your will?" she asked as we made our way to the restaurant.
"Yep! I called my lawyers the day you agreed to marry me. Right now, they're drawing up ownership papers since I want you to own fifty percent of everything that I own. It's your choice whether you wish the same to be for the bakery, restaurant and museum. Since I am the sole owner of The Maestri Empire, it would make you the only other shareholder and Chairman of the Boards. By boards, I'm referring to the boards that all my other businesses own. I am CEO of everything and I am the only shareholder of The Maestri Empire, but my other businesses have shareholders since I had to establish business connections around the world," I explained.
"If I am Chairman of the Boards, that entails that I would have to not only have an understanding of how all the businesses operate, but that I'd have to be there at the meetings, right?" she asked.
"Essentially. Hear me out on this because I ended up giving it a lot of thought when I was searching for property for you. The girls are used to travelling with me everywhere I go, and I'm not sure how that's going to work when they go to school, but I am sure that I want you there with me. I'm not always travelling, which means that would be your time to paint. With the restaurant, you could pop in and help every now and then, but the menu would be set to your liking so that they serve what you want even in your absence. The same would go for the bakery. I wouldn't be taking you away from your passions, but I want our family business to be something that we both work towards. I'm not forcing you to agree though, so it's entirely up to you," I elaborated.
She looked at me with an expression I couldn't explain before she looked out the window. She was quiet for the longest time and we were stuck in traffic, sitting in silence. I didn't want to turn the radio on, and I was nervous about what she would say.
"So, when we come back from our honeymoon, I need to find out everything about the businesses under The Maestri Empire, how to run a restaurant, a bakery and a museum, come up with different dishes and baked goods for menus, set up a studio and set up a foundation. I'm going to be one busy woman," she giggled.
"You agree?" I asked in shock.
"This means the world to you Rafe, which in turn, means the world to me. I understand what you're saying about us both working towards the family business. I could obviously never do your job, but I would love to join you in the venture. Obviously you'll also get fifty percent ownership of the bakery, restaurant and museum. I wouldn't have it any other way," she smiled.
"If I wasn't driving right now, I'd kiss you," I said.
"Well, we aren't exactly moving," she smirked. I chuckled and leaned over to kiss her, before we were interrupted by a blaring horn behind us.
"Out of curiosity, don't you already have a Chairman of the Board at the different boards?" she asked as we continued moving.
"That would be me, for all of them, so I would simply be relinquishing the position to the only other person I trust with everything," I replied.
"What about Bianca and Fabius?" she frowned.
"I trust them which is why they're both major shareholders in a lot of my businesses, but I could never bring myself to trust them with something so big," I admitted.
"And you trust someone as unqualified as I am?" she giggled.
"You're a quick learner and I already know that you're smart. You graduated high school at sixteen and you were approached by twelve colleges, including Harvard, to attend their institutions. I trust your intuition and wit, but most of all, I trust that you will always put the interests of the company first because it's connected to me. I don't mean that in a vain way either. I just trust that you care about my company as much as I do," I explained.
"You just had to go and give an answer as sweet as that," she smiled.
"It's the truth," I shrugged before kissing her hand.
We finally made it to the restaurant, and the girls were waiting outside with Sven and Rogan, one of the other guys on my security team. The girls looked extremely impatient, especially when they saw which restaurant we'd come to. They love the pizza this place has.
I gave the valet the key before taking my wife's hand in mine. The girls walked ahead of us to the maitre d'. She led us through to our tables once I announced my reservation. Sven and Rogan were sitting at a table close to ours.
"Hi, my name is Riley and I'll be your waitress tonight. Would you like to order your drinks?" a teenage looking girl said, handing us the menus.
"Pepsi for us," the girls announced. Riley giggled and wrote it down.
"My wife and I will have the chef's selection of the finest white wine. Please tell him that I requested that," I told her.
"Certainly Sir. I'll be back to take your meal orders," she smiled before walking away.
"Why did you say that?" my wife asked me.
"Wait for it," the girls and I said before the kitchen doors flew wide open.
Giuseppe, my good old round cousin, came out the kitchen in his chef gear. His chubby face lit up when his eyes landed on the girls and they ran over to hug him. He couldn't make it to our wedding because he was on a nationwide tour that just ended last night in New York. I was surprised he made it back to D.C already.
"Ambrosi you son of a gun! Where's that beautiful wife of yours?" he asked.
"Here she is. Ari, this is my cousin Giuseppe Maestri. Sep, this is mi bella moglie, Aretha Maestri," I introduced.
"The cousin who couldn't make it to our wedding?" she asked, to which I nodded.
"It's lovely to finally meet you," she smiled. She giggled when he made her stand so that he could wrap his arms around her.
"She can't breathe Sep," I warned.
"Oh relax! I'm just giving the woman a good ol' hug, especially since I couldn't cater at your wedding. I am so sorry about that by the way," he told us.
"It was ok, even though Marcia was quite angry with you," my wife giggled.
"Trust me, she didn't make me forget just how angry she was. I couldn't get out of the world tour though. The owners of this stupid place threatened to fire me if I did," he grumbled.
"Then leave," I said.
"And go where? Not all of us are multibillionaires cugino," he sighed.
"Join my restaurant!" my wife beamed.
She caught the bait.
"You have a restaurant?" Giuseppe asked in confusion.
"Well not yet, but we're planning on opening one up. You can be the Head Chef there. That way, we'll even be able to keep things in the family," she excitedly explained.
"She'll be running things, so ultimately, all decisions come down to her, but I'm pretty sure the two of you will be able to work something out," I added. My cousin's eyes were gleaming.
"You would have me?" he asked. We'd had a bumpy past together, but I was over it.
"You're family Uncle Sep," the girls said it best.
"Thank you so much! I cannot wait for this venture," he smiled.
He thanked my wife some more before the girls requested their favourite pizza from him. Their excitement about it had my wife curious and she wanted some as well, so we ended up all requesting the same thing.
My first dinner with my family since I married my wife was perfect. It was filled with laughter and smiles. The girls were happy to know that they'd be going to school finally, and they shared all the ideas they wanted for their upcoming birthday party.
When we'd finished with dinner, jetlag caught up with the girls so we agreed to head back to the hotel. Shelby still looked like she couldn't believe her eyes as my wife and daughters laughed on our way to our room.
The girls were bathed and tucked in within the next hour, and once they were, my wife and I opted for a joint bath together. I got the water running with the bath salts and foam bath, while she arranged our wine and strawberries apparently.
"I'm so happy," she sighed, her eyes closed and a smile on her face as she leaned back into my chest. My wife loves scorching water for whatever strange reason.
"I have never been this happy in my life before," I admitted.
"Do you think we could ever find this happiness again? You know, after everything is laid out," she asked.
"Honestly, I don't think so. I think we would be able to grow into a new kind of happiness though. I never want to lose you cara mia, and I know that we're going to hit a lot of speed bumps, but I'd like to truly believe that everything will work out for us in the end," I replied.
"I want to have kids Rafe, well more kids, but I'm afraid," she sighed.
"What's troubling you mi amore?" I asked, trailing my fingers on her arm.
"What if we're terrible parents? What if we're like those parents whose nannies end up raising their children because we're too busy for them? We have so much going on, and I know that your company means everything to you, but I fear that we'll both get lost to our passions and our family will fall apart," she explained.
I hadn't really thought about any of this. I'm already so used to just taking the girls with me wherever I go, despite the fact that I was a horrible father. It never occurred to me that some things would have to change if we had more kids. We can't be travelling so much, especially since the girls have to start school.
I could see why she was panicking, especially with my track record. The girls are bright, and for whatever reason, they understood that I was a detached man, but that's not to say that our other children would understand. If there's one thing I've learnt from the girls, it's that I would never want to put any of my other children through that.
"I'd give it all up," I said lowly.
"What?" she gasped, turning her head to face me.
"The Maestri Empire; I'd give it up if it came between my family," I elaborated.
"I don't want you to do that. You love your company Rafe," she caressed my cheek.
"True, but I love my family more. If we had more kids, I would want to be a better father than I am to the girls. I know I'm a better father to them now, but I will never allow myself to be the way I was, or for anything to come between me and my family. I would never allow you to be an absent mother because our children would deserve to be raised by their mother and not a nanny or helper," I said sternly.
"Like you with Anita," she said in realization. I nodded.
"I hope it never comes down to you having to give up the company, but I'm with you the whole way, whatever you decide. I'll be there to support you and help you to be a better father, even though I already know that you are. I will never abandon our children or have anyone else play my role as their mother. I promise you," she ended on a whisper before kissing me.
It wasn't until that moment that I realized that I actually needed to hear her words. The biological mother of my children was a horrible woman and she died giving birth to them. In a way, I'd always felt like she abandoned them, even if it technically wasn't her choice to die.
I know for a fact that my wife will always be the best mother. You know there are those women who you just know were born with that extra natural maternal instinct. I feel like she's like that. She's got the heart of an angel, and everyone who meets her loves her.
If they're not busy drowning in envy that is.
We stayed in the bath tub, talking about our future some more, until the water got cold. We left the bath and I made slow, sweet love to her before we finally got in some sleep. This is definitely a life I could get used to.
The next morning, I wasn't all that surprised when Bianca and Luigi knocked on our door. I'd already emailed Bianca, telling her that I also required her presence in Washington. Lui was here to take care of the girls because they complained that Sven isn't any fun.
What did they expect from my Head of Security really?
"Good morning guys," my gorgeous wife beamed at the sight of them. The girls were still asleep.
"Good morning Mrs Maestri," Luigi smirked, to which she blushed.
"What are you guys doing here?" she asked.
"Reporting for work. The girls want to hang out with Lui because Sven is so serious and I'm here because my boss needs me to do some undercover work," Bianca replied.
"Not just you. We all are," I corrected.
"We are?" Luigi asked.
"Yes. I'm meeting with Shelby in the next few minutes. Ari is coming with me. While I speak to Shelby and look through the hotel's system, she's going to be talking to the staff on duty right now. She's going to find out as much as she can about the night of the heist and about what has happened since she left. Bianca is heading over to the security company to get me those tapes. Lui, you're taking the girls on a play date to the Fischer's house. You're going to chat up Louise and find out if her parents are behind whatever is going on with the company. We need to get to the bottom of this quickly before it gets out of hand," I instructed.
"Why do I get the hard part?" Luigi groaned.
"Why so down Lui? She's your number one fan after all," Bianca teased.
"I hate you," he glared at me.
"Not that I care," I deadpanned.
"How do you expect me to get anything from the staff? Last they checked, I'm guilty of corporate espionage, and now I've returned married to my ex-boss. They probably don't trust me," my wife sighed.
"I believe in you mi amore. They were all your friends and I believe you can get them to believe that you're innocent. The fact that I trusted you enough to marry you, despite the charges against you, should work in your defence," I told her.
"I still don't think it's such a bright idea, but I'll try it out nonetheless," she said before walking back to our room.
"You didn't think that through," Luigi and Bianca said simultaneously.
"What are you talking about?" I scowled.
"Those people used to be her friends Ambrosi. They all turned against her, choosing not to believe that she was a better person than that. Anyone who wasn't present at your wedding is a soft spot for her. I understand that you need to find out what's going on, but from that aspect, it was heartless of you to think she'd be willing to do what you're asking," Bianca explained.
I didn't even think about that.
"Excuse me," I said before following my wife. I arrived to find her brushing her hair.
"I'm sorry," I sighed, walking over to her. I wrapped my arms around her waist.
"What for?" she asked.
"For being inconsiderate," I replied, placing kisses on her exposed neck.
"About what?" she moaned.
How am I supposed to think straight when she does that?
"I should've asked you about what I was requesting. I should've checked that you'd be comfortable with it," I managed to inform. She turned to face me.
"That's not what upset me Rafe," she caressed my cheek.
"Then what is it?" I asked.
"I just, I honestly don't think they see me in the same way. I highly doubt they'll open up to me. If anything, I think their loyalties lie with Shelby," she pointed out.
"Their loyalties should lie with me, which in turn means they should lie with you. In fact, they have no choice but to be open with you because this is as much your problem as it is mine. As my partner, we have to tackle this together, and if that means you have to use your authority to get some answers, then so be it," I replied.
"You know that's not how I like to things," she sighed, stepping out of my hold.
"And I understand that fully well. I don't wish to change you Ari, but you need to realize that sometimes being nice doesn't get you anywhere. Besides, you can still be yourself but with authority in your grasp. The corporate world is not for the faint hearted, and I know that despite your personality, you're stronger than you look. I'm just saying that we may potentially be facing a crisis and I just need you right now, as my wife and my partner," I explained.
"Do you really think that the company is in danger?" she turned to look at me.
"I know it is. That glitch at Maestri Telecoms caused more problems than I've dealt with in the past five years and my technicians have still not found the problem. The server is up and running again, but they haven't traced the origin of the glitch. Something big is going on cara mia. I want to stop it now before we have a catastrophe on our hands," I responded. She got up and walked over to wrap her arms around my waist.
"I believe you caro, and I'll do my part to help. It is after all my company too, once I've signed the papers that is. Why haven't you enlisted Lui's help though? I'm pretty sure he could understand the urgency of the situation better than any technician you have," she commented.
"What do you mean Lui?" I frowned.
"Your cousin has an I.T degree mi amore. He's fascinated by anything technological without even realizing it. I've seen him hack into things when he thought no one was watching," she elaborated.
Why hadn't I remembered this?
Luigi obtained his I.T degree when he was twenty, and then he went onto to do architecture. When he got that degree, he didn't want to do anything with his life, so much so that I forgot about his qualifications. He jumped at the opportunity to be the girls' driver because he loves them almost as much as I do.
And not forgetting that he's forever helping in their schemes.
"I knew I married you for a reason," I smirked before kissing her. I left her dazed while I went back to the lounge.
"Lui, I need your help," I told him.
"You've already got me talking to Louise Fischer. This had better be good and worth my while," he glared at me.
"I'll get you whatever you want if you can find the source of the glitch at Maestri Telecoms," I bargained.
"Me?" he scowled.
"Yep!" I nodded.
"Anything I want you say?" he asked. I nodded once more.
"I'll do it, but does this mean I have to actually fly to headquarters?" he asked.
"I think your results would be more conclusive from there," I agreed.
"Cool! Haven't been to Dubai in years," he smiled.
"Maestri Telecoms Headquarters is in Dubai?" my wife asked in surprise as she walked back into the room. The white and pink dress she was wearing was driving me crazy.
"Yep! Your hubby will take you one day," Luigi chuckled.
"And then what happened?" Bianca asked as she walked in with the girls.
"And then Sven gave him one look and he apologized and gave us more ice-cream," Camilla giggled.
"Well, your uncle is here, so you'll hopefully have a better time," she told them.
"We're going to the Fischer's for a play date. How does that sound?" Luigi feigned enthusiasm.
"Like a nightmare! Delia is the worst!" Caterina scowled.
"See? It's not just me. The Fischer's are horrible," he turned to me.
"Daddy, why do you want us to go to that awful house? Mrs Fischer can't even stand us," Calinda asked.
"I need your uncle to do some investigating for me," I told them.
"Do you need our help?" Caprice asked.
"How would you help him?" my wife was the one to ask.
"We could look around their office and ask Delia if she's heard her parents discussing anything about daddy. Adults tend to be very careless around kids, so they wouldn't even suspect us for anything," Caterina explained.
Thank you God for my smart kids!
"That is so wrong! I don't want you snooping around the house. You can ask Delia if she's heard her parents say anything, but that's as far as you're allowed to go. Do I make myself clear?" my wife asked them.
"Yes mummy," they nodded.
I was in full agreement with her decision. While I need to find out the truth, bringing little girls into it is not the way to go. I cannot be instilling such morals into my children. They need to grow up with better morals than I did.
Thank you God for my wife!
*********
ELO SMURFLETTES!!!
So, you guys totally rock! I got this chappie done for you as well! We are currently sitting on #17 in General Fiction, and I'm hoping that you'll help take it higher!
I'm loving your comments! I wish more of you would comment though.
Anyway, please continue to vote, comment, share, add to your libraries and follow! I love you guys!
Katee (^^,)